Chapter 152.2 The Horror Club
In a dimly lit room at night, the feeble light barely illuminated it. The male lead had a competition the next day, and his girlfriend prayed late into the night with her hands folded on a cushion. The wind howled outside, further dimming the room’s atmosphere, but the shrine in front remained vivid, unaffected by the darkness.
The scene flashed by, and Wen Shi caught a glimpse of the statue inside the shrine.
Compared to the shrines displayed in the study and the Celebrity Museum, the shrine in the movie had an unprecedented enchantment. After watching it, one’s brain would uncontrollably imprint the contours of the statue, creating a strong urge to make a wish.
Just as he was about to immerse himself in the screen, the ghost child forcefully turned Wen Shi’s head back.
Wen Shi was grateful, except for the part where they wanted his head to complete a 360-degree rotation.
He lightly rang a bell with his finger, a bamboo-like instrument that held significant sway over mischievous children. The ghost child dared not touch anymore and withdrew his tiny hand, quieting down a bit.
Once his rationality returned, Wen Shi immediately looked at his watch.
【Rationality Bar: 69100】
The sharp decline in rationality left him feeling somewhat disoriented. Not only did it hinder his blood circulation, but he also nearly mistook the interactive item the director was holding for a long-haired female ghost.
Xiao Hua gestured with her fingers, indicating that her rationality value had dropped by twenty points. Without the interference of the ghost child beside her, she was less affected overall. Seeing Wen Shi swaying slightly, she reminded him, “You should find a way to increase the number of viewers.”
Wen Shi had already put this on his agenda. He was now experiencing the illusion of seeing ghosts even when looking at normal people. He could only discern the changes in the audience’s expressions through Xiao Hua.
Xiao Hua’s protective goggles remained undisturbed in the darkness. “The audience is very confused, their gaze is scattered, as if they’ve been bewitched by something.”
“What about the City Lord?”
“How can I tell with his mask on? But I feel his breathing rate isn’t right, it’s perfunctory,” Xiao Hua voiced her suspicion, “During the time when the shrine appeared in the movie, I even think he wasn’t breathing at all.”
However, at that moment, everyone’s attention was fully absorbed by the screen, so she was unsure if she had seen it correctly.
“If Ji Yuanzhi were here,” she sighed, “we could gather more information.”
As she spoke, she couldn’t resist taking a slight dig at Li Nan, who was peacefully enjoying himself in the casino.
Wen Shi: “Golden City has many professions, but Li Nan chose to work at the Golden Plum Casino. It can’t be that simple.”
The city of gamblers was filled with wealthy individuals and abundant information. It was indeed an excellent channel, but for Li Nan to be the top choice, being steady wasn’t enough. The movie currently playing also had Golden Plum Casino as its backdrop. Inside this gambling city, there might be some hidden secrets they didn’t know about.
The shrine appeared only once throughout the entire movie. After the screening ended, the lights in the cinema hall came back on.
It took the audience almost half a minute to regain their senses and start applauding enthusiastically. The director and actors returned to the stage, sharing amusing behind-the-scenes stories in detail.
“Just convincing the casino owner to let us shoot on location took me three months. I nearly ran myself ragged.”
The audience below erupted in laughter.
Wen Shi discreetly used his phone to search for information about the Golden Plum Casino owner, but Xiao Hua had beaten him to it. “It’s all hearsay. Even the owner’s identity isn’t clearly mentioned online. They say their last name is Mei (meaning plum).”
“I’ll ask Li Nan when I meet him tonight.” Li Nan had already replied to his text. They planned to meet after 10 PM, when Li Nan finished work.
The City Lord had completed his schedule for the day, so there was no longer a need for the two to handle security duties. Thanks to the curator of the Celebrity Museum, Wen Shi had an hour of early rest.
After leaving the cinema, Black-Clad Man nodded at them and said, “Your job is done.”
His words implied that they couldn’t ride in this modified car anymore.
The City Lord, as usual, boarded the vehicle surrounded by bodyguards. It might have been Wen Shi’s imagination, but when passing by him, the City Lord’s footsteps seemed to briefly hesitate for a moment, sending a chill down his spine.
The car swiftly left the vicinity of the cinema.
Wen Shi kept his gaze fixed on the disappearing vehicle, lost in thought about various matters.
“Pei Wenwei.”
Xiao Hua called him twice before Wen Shi snapped out of it.
“What are you thinking? Come on, let’s go grab some lunch.”
They found a nearby restaurant, and as Wen Shi was halfway through his meal, his smartphone vibrated intensely. He took it out and saw a notification about a transfer.
Alongside the successful professional certification, an electronic account was automatically created. The notification had informed him of a transfer of 90 million, which was the remaining reward.
The currency in the Golden City didn’t circulate outside. Without limits on large transactions inside the city, the people spent money like water.
Wen Shi raised an eyebrow. “We’re millionaires now.”
Xiao Hua gestured towards a direction and quipped, “More like billionaires.”
Wen Shi looked in the indicated direction and noticed a skyscraper belonging to him in his electronic profile. A new entry was added to his resume: Successfully protected the City Lord once.
Involvement with the City Lord’s affairs certainly came with a hefty fee. Now it seemed like everyone knew he was a wealthy individual throughout the entire process.
“Ordinary folks are one thing,” Xiao Hua casually slurped her hot noodles and sighed, “but eager players won’t hold back for long.”
Wen Shi pursed his lips and said, “Big Sister Xiao Hua.”
It was all an act, but there was no choice. He had the perfect template for the role of a pitiful soul. Xiao Hua gave him a deep look, her protective instincts kicking in. “You win.”
With the desired response in hand, Wen Shi turned to look at the ghost children beside him, this time with a tone of lament. “Kids, someone wants to steal the specimen from you.”
At this moment, the ghost children were particularly united. Their anger at the thought of someone taking their mommy caused the black burn marks on their arms to nearly spread to their chins. They tightly clenched their little fists, ready to turn anyone who dared to steal their mommy into a specimen first!
“Later, you follow quietly,” Wen Shi instructed the ghost children. “Don’t get too close to me.”
The food had been sitting for a while, and it had clumped together. Wen Shi calmly ate his mushy meal.
After the meal, Xiao Hua asked him to go back alone. Wen Shi sensed the familiar scent of her police work and readily paid the bill and left.
He headed towards the bus stop. As he turned into a less crowded pedestrian path, a group of people walked towards him, blocking his way.
“Excuse me, please make way.”
The person leading the group didn’t move. “Our boss would like to hire you as a bodyguard. The price is negotiable.”
Acting like an NPC in front of me?
No, it couldn’t be entirely an act. Wen Shi had a preliminary feeling that among the people blocking his way, there were both NPCs and players.
Two of them had flickering eyes and even took a step back, obviously sensing an unusual aura around Wen Shi. The other three remained relatively composed.
If this were just the beginning of an instance, Wen Shi might have had the mood to play along. However, with his severely reduced rationality, all he wanted was to get back and rest.
Wen Shi lightly snapped his fingers.
The individuals standing in front of him were baffled, but within the blink of an eye, from behind trees, rooftop edges, and even sewer manholes, a group of grinning ghost children emerged. Their little hands were now all charred black, and while their faces remained somewhat normal, these ghost children were excellent at hiding and equally skilled in causing harm.
The players thought they hadn’t underestimated Wen Shi’s power and had even planned to use NPCs to eliminate him. However, the sudden appearance of the ghost children was beyond their expectations.
“Quick, attack,” one player urged in a hushed tone.
The NPC being egged on had previously worked as a bodyguard. By tonight, he was most likely ranked at the bottom of the industry ratings. In professions related to combat and violence like bodyguards and assassins, there was an unspoken rule that if you could kill someone ranked higher, you’d temporarily earn a get-out-of-jail card.
The NPC, without warning, drew a black firearm. Wen Shi opened his mouth as if to say something, but the NPC didn’t give him a chance to speak. He immediately pulled the trigger.
At such close range, there was no possibility of evasion. In the split second the bullets were fired, the NPC, who thought he had succeeded, even showed a faint smile.
Right in front of him, Wen Shi, the intended target, wore a wider smile on his lips than the NPC.
Bullets encountered an invisible barrier in mid-air, thanks to Xiao Hua’s use of her【Restraint】skill, effectively sealing off a portion of space.
The bullets, struggling in vain, produced sparks as they frictioned with the air. The persistent NPC fired two more shots, but the result was the same. All the bullets encountered resistance, futilely spinning in the air before silently falling to the ground.
Two players who saw things weren’t going as planned tried to retreat, but they were bounced back by the barrier behind them.
Xiao Hua seemed to materialize from the space itself and regarded Wen Shi with an intriguing gaze. “You really trust me, don’t you? Not afraid of being shot dead.”
What was initially perceived as a robbery turned out to be an assassination attempt.
These players chose their moment wisely. With their initial intention of robbing in mind, the target would instinctively believe that everything was negotiable. Who could have anticipated that the NPCs would immediately open fire?
Wen Shi merely smiled in response.
He certainly wouldn’t entirely rely on others for his life. He could activate the【Burial Shroud】at any time to cover his entire face and summon the Old Man Ghost if needed.
“They’re from the Sixth Commandments,” Xiao Hua said with a glance. “One of their skills is【Tracking】, and the other is【Gu Master】.
She emphasized her gaze on one of them and smiled. “Kill the one on the left.”
Athough【Tracking】was just a supplementary skill, it was what allowed the player to consistently rank at the top of leaderboard and always find a pro to guide them.【Gu Master】was different. If one engaged in a life-or-death struggle, it would be easy for both parties to suffer severe injuries.
Wherever Wen Shi pointed, the ghost children immediately rushed towards that person.
The player on the left’s face turned pale, while the other showed no guild loyalty and chose to leave without engaging.
Xiao Hua used her whip to strangle the three NPC who were standing still, her whip-cracking moves resembling a carnivorous flower in action.
Wen Shi casually said, “They knew we’ve worked together before, yet they dared to come.”
“There might also be the element of deception, like a powerful big shot telling them that members of the Second Commandment Guild are only building relationships in order to assassinate me.”
From the perspective of player interests, this reason was more convincing.
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