Matryoshka Off-Limits Chapter 134 Part 2

Chapter 134.2

In the dorm room, Ji Yuanzhi gazed outside, removed his glasses, and gently pressed his brow.

The situation hadn’t been confirmed yet, but he estimated that there was a problem inside the hotel. The buying and selling volume probably wouldn’t be too high, as most guests were careful when staying at hotels. But exceptions always existed.

According to Chubby Guy, he had accepted an urgent team request from a colleague during check-in and hadn’t had time for a second inspection. Given Pei Wenwei’s long-term stay at the hotel, oversights were inevitable.

Ji Yuanzhi quickly compiled a suspicious list in his mind. He followed the fragmented light on the balcony with his peripheral vision, planning something slowly.

Before 4 PM in the afternoon, everyone gradually returned to the dormitory. The academy made an official broadcast announcement:

“The music concert will begin tomorrow night at 7 PM. Students needing rehearsal can use the auditorium between 6 PM and 9 PM.”

The auditorium was the quickest place to be renovated and was already in use.

The role might have been small and insignificant, but Wen Shi still had to participate in rehearsals for his part of cracking open the stone. Ji Yuanzhi, on the other hand, had to slip away in advance using someone else’s identity. He needed to prepare to knock out the target he had previously chosen.

On the way, Wen Shi overheard players complaining.

“Who could have known that something like this would happen last night? Better gather points early on.”

Until tomorrow, the daily points for all players would stop counting. If they still wanted to take a chance, they could only seek out surviving teachers and attempt to trigger side quests.

“How about sneaking in to try? Otherwise, we won’t even get a single point reward.”

“Are you willing to risk your life? Getting caught is definitely a death sentence.”

Wen Shi suddenly felt a bit envious of Song Yan. The latter could transform into a mirror and be taken to the concert venue. However, whether this would be discovered or not depended entirely on the game’s design.

Song Yan was well aware of this, so he made sure not to slack off.

The next day was sunny and calm, marking the end of several days of cloudy and rainy weather.

When leaving the dormitory building at 6 o’clock, Wen Shi noticed the absence of the dormitory supervisor.

Seeing him constantly glancing towards the direction of the staff room, Jian Qingrong said casually, “There’s nothing worth paying attention to. Besides, you don’t like her anyway.”

Wen Shi didn’t give it much thought.

Dormitory supervisors weren’t exactly pleasant people. On the day of the room inspection, he almost missed it. He found out the next day that those returning late would be taken to the water room to have their teeth broken.

Inside the auditorium, there were plenty of flowers and plants placed to mask the lingering scent from the recent renovation.

The academy had no plans to hold a memorial service for the principal. They had simply cleared a space to display white chrysanthemums as a form of remembrance. As for Lily and some of the missing staff, the school’s higher-ups unofficially chose to ignore the matter, privately forbidding any mention of the names of the deceased. They were aiming to let time erase the bloody events of that night completely.

Students who obtained audience privileges were all dressed in uniform, looking vibrant and spirited. Later, there would be sponsors and local dignitaries arriving to watch.

The actors who arrived early all went backstage to prepare their makeup. Wen Shi was dressed in a slightly shabby but meticulously detailed costume. A voice of joy from a senior in the crew sounded from the side or behind, “I heard everyone gets extra credits. Our graduation rate might also improve a bit.”

Another person glanced towards Wen Shi intentionally and raised their voice, “The school is about to expel some of the special admissions students.”

As the instance was nearing its end, even this sarcastic tone was quite satisfying to hear.

The only thing that made Wen Shi a bit worried was the Wandering Corpse. The rehearsal time had been tight yesterday, and everyone had hurried through their scenes. For a solo performance like the Wandering Corpse’s, there wasn’t even a need to go through the scenes.

The teacher doing makeup for the Wandering Corpse furrowed her brows. The skin was too unusual, with a chilly, pale complexion. She had to use a foundation with added color. The makeup artist was handling ten people alone, so she didn’t think much about it. She ended up applying blush to make the Wandering Corpse look a bit healthier.

At 6:50, all the guests were present.

At 7 o’clock, the concert began punctually. Wen Shi’s performance was adjusted to be the second act, so he remained backstage.

The emcee at the front spoke the opening words while lively and bright music played. The sound of shoes tapping on the wooden stage accompanied the music. After the opening dance concluded, Wen Shi followed the students in front of him onto the stage. As he walked, he couldn’t help but think that it was a pity he didn’t have the chance to be a backup dancer this time.

The planned singing and dancing group didn’t come together as expected, which was a loss for the world of art.

From the moment he stepped onto the stage, Wen Shi sensed someone was watching him. He quickly focused and located Jian Qingrong sitting in the second row, holding flowers. There was even the mini octopus clinging to the flowers.

Wen Shi: “……”

Thanks to the sponsorship privilege, Jian Qingrong managed to secure an audience seat.

Originally, the building he sponsored was called Nianwen Building, but for the sake of seeking good luck, it was renamed Laishi Building. When Wen Shi heard about this, his mouth twitched. He had asked if it was derived from the phrase “luck comes in opportune time,” but Jian Qingrong didn’t give a clear answer. Nevertheless, he was very satisfied with the name.

[T/N: laishi = when the time comes | the “shi” in wen shi’s name means “time”]

At the slope on the roof of the auditorium, using his psychic abilities, Arlon paid close attention to the performance inside.

“Little Brother performed well. His acting is very genuine and natural.”

Leopard Spirit Entity: “Hmm.”

Although they had never seen anyone perform as a stone before.

Flowers weren’t allowed to be presented on the stage. After Wen Shi finished his performance, he changed out of his costume backstage. When he came down, Jian Qingrong handed him the flowers.

Objectively speaking, the students of Mingzhu Academy were quite powerful. Any of their performances could be considered a classic if presented elsewhere.

While Wen Shi enjoyed watching as an audience member, it was time for the Wandering Corpse to take the stage.

Tonight, the Wandering Corpse looked exceptionally neat and clean. He wore a tailcoat and had his hair slicked back. He was tall and broad-shouldered, and his presence suited this hairstyle perfectly.

Finally, he stepped onto the dreamt-of stage, holding a microphone. However, he suddenly spaced out for a couple of seconds.

The emcee on the side of the stage desperately signaled him.

Down below, Wen Shi frantically searched for his earplugs.

“Thank you…”

The unexpected speech from the Wandering Corpse caught Wen Shi off guard. He looked over in surprise as the audience exchanged puzzled looks.

“Thank you, harp. Thank you, heart,” the peculiar words and pauses left the audience bewildered. By the time Mr. Qi’s face had turned dark, the Wandering Corpse finally got to the point: “This song, Tomorrow Will Be Better, for you.”

Wen Shi fell silent for a moment, and after a while, tried to comfort himself: Finally, this rebellious child is starting to understand a bit.

Half-closed eyes, the Wandering Corpse embraced the stage with the demeanor of a soulful singer and began to sing:

“Gently awaken the slumbering soul—”

The Merfolk King’s heart played a role to some extent. The song stayed in tune, but when sung by it, every note was infused with a feeling of suppressed darkness. Between the lines, it felt like an unfolding of suffering. Those who heard it were no longer merely disgusted, but rather it was as if they had consumed poisonous mushrooms, their mouths numbed and dizzy.

The song’s tolling bells struck at the core, and the recently moved Wen Shi clutched his chest. Enough, don’t knock on your dad’s heart so hard!

The dizziness grew stronger, especially among those in the front row, whose eyes nearly popped out in astonishment. Could this kind of performance really make it to the stage?

“Slowly open your eyes—”

The audio technician desperately amplified the accompaniment, yet no matter how loud, the Wandering Corpse’s voice always stayed one degree higher.

Finally, after three minutes, the Wandering Corpse finished singing. As the emcee took the stage, stumbling slightly but managing to stand firm, they said, “Tired of the same old routines, this year we’ve specially arranged an invigorating act for everyone, with beautiful lyrics and a unique singing style, symbolizing the resurgence after suffering!”

Thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

This deliberate explanation seemed quite plausible, given that most people couldn’t authentically produce such an effect.

Wen Shi’s head drooped weakly. He felt the need for a breather. Seeing the mini octopus faint amidst the bouquet, he took a moment to give it makeshift cardiac resuscitation with his fingers.

The music concert continued until eleven in the evening. For many years, it had always concluded with a grand chorus. This year’s finale was the same as the first day of class when Mr. Ruan played the song “A Warm Day in the Sunshine” on the phonograph.

With a touch of sentiment, Wen Shi listened as the emcee energetically stood on stage, proclaiming, “Talent has brought us together. Thanks to all our attendees… Until we meet again next year!”

As the sound of a ‘pop’ echoed, little golden streamers floated down from above. Students stood up, applauding and cheering. Even the players present genuinely applauded a few times, celebrating that they could finally leave the instance.

“Congratulations to players for completing the S-level instance ‘Merfolk Shore.'”

“Faction quest rewards have been distributed to your inventory. Please check your notes.”

“Instance settlement is about to commence.”

“Player successfully secured a performance opportunity at the music concert, earning a 2x point reward, totaling eight thousand points.”

The instance hadn’t been teleported yet. Wen Shi directly opened his inventory to check:

【Small Cloak: A must-have for chaotic evil faction’s members. Provides +40 Concealment and +30 Warmth. Can grant one minute of invisibility per day.】

Wen Shi: “……”

He just loved the game’s fairness!

The wounds inflicted by the Wandering Corpse’s singing were finally soothed.

Just about to check the companion skills as well, the emcee on stage bowed in gratitude, signifying the complete end of the music concert.

Amidst the noisy crowd of students and audience members leaving, the surroundings suddenly became less distinct, a sign that teleportation was about to commence.

Wen Shi looked at Jian Qingrong and began to say, “Tea party…”

Originally intended to say “Tea party meeting,” but his voice was bounced back by an invisible force.

Helpless, after a burst of white light, Wen Shi could only wait for the teleportation to finish amidst the blurry mosaic.

•

Virtual world.

Cloudy day, heavy mist.

Just like usual, Wen Shi directly returned to the high-end suite provided by the Second Commandment Guild.

The matter with the hair strands, Ji Yuanzhi would naturally investigate. He began by luxuriating in a hot bath, and now with an hour left until the tea party, after ordering room service, Wen Shi’s curiosity piqued, prompting him to leave a message in the game:

“Why was the Earl absent when the fox spirit was pulled in using the function【Come to My Place】?”

A chilly, mechanical voice replied:

【Please refrain from skipping the target when sending afternoon tea invitations.】

“……” Wen Shi laughed awkwardly.

He had been careless. As someone considered a one-in-a-thousandth family member due to exploiting a game glitch, Wen Shi had always kept his distance from the lunatic Earl, and he had been directly ignoring the invitations.

The game’s response time had been getting faster lately, making Wen Shi strongly suspect that it was related to the Wandering Corpse’s impending second evolution.

He had no idea what kind of connection existed between the two sides.

“Wandering Corpse…”

A foster son who had never shown loyalty above ten but had learned to express gratitude on stage. This proved that his educational approach hadn’t been wrong.

However, Wen Shi quickly put aside thoughts of the Wandering Corpse. Upon relaxing, long-forgotten memories reminded him of how pretentious he had been during his last performance in front of his family.

“I hope they’ve forgotten about my chuunibyou phase from the last time.”

Wen Shi devoutly prayed.

Until the kingdom was firmly established, let the blame fall on the Wandering Corpse. If asked, just say it was the effect of a cursed song.

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