Chapter 140 – Ming Yue Pavilion (III)

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Xiao Lan opened his eyes and what appeared in his sight was his room with its Republican style.

 

The retro ceilings, decorated with a last century feel, all showcase that Republican feel.

 

It seems that this time he is the one who has really woken up.

 

But when he looked around, the blank book was on the desk as before, and everything in the room was furnished as usual.

 

Except for Luo, of whom there is still no trace at his pillow.

 

Xiao Lan went out and knocked on Luo's room next door, but there was no answer.

 

He opened the door of the next room again with his ancestral hand and it was empty, with no sign of anyone in it.

 

Xiao Lan stands in the corridor, and all around is silence, except for a row of identical doors standing silently.

 

It was as if he was the only one in the space.

 

Xiao Lan returns to his room.

 

At that moment, he noticed that the book he had placed on the table had produced a change.

 

The book still looks like a book, except that on the cover, which was originally nothing but a design, three words appear –

 

Ming Yue Pavilion.

 

These three words are an elegant font that goes well with the delicate cover.

 

Like the title of the novel, the words ” Ming Yue Pavilion” appear matching on the spine.

 

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As if to announce that this is a novel describing the story of what happened at Ming Yue Pavilion.

 

And as characters in the book, it is the readers who have received the invitation, the players.

 

Xiao Lan, of course, will be a part of it.

 

“Interesting.” Xiao Lan flipped open the book.

 

The text already appears in the book.

 

The preceding description is the same as the players' arrival here.
It records the arrival of a group of people at the Ming Yue Pavilion after receiving an invitation to stay with the housekeeper.

 

Xiao Lan flipped further back and found that the back was still blank.

 

It's like it's a novel in progress, only the beginning of which is now completed.

 

It's still serialized, exciting.

 

The writing on the top of the book is not in print, but more like it was written by human hands.

 

Xiao Lan took the book and compared it with the signature of a crow collected by the identity he was playing and found that the handwriting matched.

 

In other words, this is the handwriting of a raven.

 

Rather than being scrawled and illegible, as many modern people are, Crow's handwriting is fluid and strong, and it is a pleasure to look at.

 

But thinking about the fact that this is in-game words, this bit of goodwill ……
is better left alone.

 

Xiao Lan collects his book and advances down the corridor.

 

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He wondered what had become of the Ming Yue Pavilion.

 

The book is slightly obtrusive and the hard cover hardback makes it a bit of a pain to carry around.

 

Luckily Xiao Lan was wearing the [Emperor's New Clothes 2.0] version, he changed the style of his clothes to a sweatshirt with pockets, tucked the book straight in and sealed the pockets.

 

This way, no matter if you fight or go to heaven, you won't fall off.

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Suddenly, he felt a faint connection coming from his storage space.

 

When I opened it, it was the envelope that contained Luo at the beginning.

 

The envelope is now surfacing with the line

 

[Looks like we're separated again, sir]

 

Xiao Lan looks at the envelope, which contains part of Luo's body, so writing on it is like writing on Luo's body, which feels a bit awkward, but there is no other way to contact him now.

 

So he wrote on the envelope with his fingertips still.

 

[How's your side?

 

Luo.

 

[In your room, with no one around]

 

Xiao Lan.

 

[Me too]

 

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He then went on to describe to Luo what he had experienced in his dream earlier.

 

After reading Xiao Lan's description, Luo's reply appeared.

 

[The plot is the same as in a book by Raven called Nightmare Kill]

 

[The character returns to a familiar environment in a nightmare that hides monsters that will attack at any moment, and as time goes on, more and more monsters appear in the environment and grow stronger until they devour the trapped person]

 

[The only way to leave is to find the only break in the environment that doesn't fit]

 

Xiao Lan recalled that he had indeed seen a book by that name on the bookcase, but he had only skimmed through it and did not remember the details in such detail as Luo did.

 

It's generally impossible for a normal person to remember everything around them, and it's difficult to imagine the difficulty of finding that break that doesn't fit in an environment where monsters are hidden.

 

If one is a hoarder, it is a nightmare.

 

Perhaps the only way to get through is by destroying it all, and the cost of destruction is still an unknown.

 

Xiao Lan, however, passed with exceptional ease because of his poverty and lack of family.

 

In a way, suffering is really the wealth of life.

 

Luo's handwriting reappears as follows.

 

[But, sir, the place you know so well is not our home]

 

Even though it is just handwriting, Xiao Lan somehow sees a bit of aggravation in it.

 

Xiao Lan: “……”

 

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By careful reckoning, he hadn't really spent much time in the place the two called home because of the restrictions on returning to the real world.

 

The place he knows best would be the training ground.

 

What is the sudden weakness?

 

Xiao Lan feels like a scumbag who spends all day fooling around and often doesn't come home.

 

He reluctantly changed the subject.

 

[Did you encounter a nightmare killing too?

 

Luo's reply was quick.

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[Yes, I was back in the darkness where I had been for so long before, with nothing around me, but a white ball suspended in the air, which was too conspicuous]

 

Xiao Lan: “……”

 

This is the real simple model.

 

Perhaps the raven could not have imagined that the invited guests would include such two oddballs.

 

One had a family with nothing and one had nothing.

 

After contacting Xiao Lan, he put the envelope away and moved on.

 

—

 

The Ming Yue Pavilion is still quiet, with no sign of players in sight.

 

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Suddenly, Xiao Lan felt the book in his pocket glowing slightly, a fleeting sensation that he caught nonetheless.

 

Xiao Lan took out 'Ming Yue Pavilion'.

 

The otherwise dull design on the cover is now faintly shimmering.

 

He opened the book and, sure enough, something new had appeared: the

 

[Farewell to my most loyal servant]

 

[He is immersed in an eternal dream]

 

[Enjoy the infinite tranquility]

 

Xiao Lan frowned: “What is this?

 

This new appearance is not unlike the previous one, and instead of fictional descriptions, it seems like modern poetry.

 

After these words were written, the new content did not continue to appear.

 

And the original design on the cover has lit up a frame.

 

As if it were some kind of instruction.

 

Xiao Lan ponders over the new content that has appeared in the book.

 

If the person who wrote the book is a raven, the phrase “my most loyal servant” refers to the butler, right?

 

But whether it's “farewell”, “eternal dream” or “infinite peace”, it doesn't sound like a state of being alive and kicking ……

 

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Xiao Lan decided that it would be better to go and see the housekeeper first.

 

Where would the butler be most often found?

 

It was morning and he would have been in charge of arranging breakfast, so he would probably have been in the kitchen, dining room and so on.

 

Using his memory, Xiao Lan heads over to the restaurant first.

 

Instead, his footsteps stopped in the hall.

 

For there was now no need to travel to the dining room any longer, the butler was at the moment lying in the middle of the hall.

 

The butler lay on a Persian rug previously collected by the ravens, his hands on his chest, encircling a book that the players had.

 

His expression looked peaceful, as if he was asleep.

 

But his chest was no longer rising and falling, and the blood had faded from his face.

 

Xiao Lan went up to examine the housekeeper and found him dead, but without any wounds on his body.

 

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He was, as the book says, “immersed in an eternal dream”.

 

Take out the Ming Yue Pavilion again and compare it to the pattern on the cover, which is already lit up in one frame.

 

Xiao Lan felt bad all of a sudden.

 

The death of the butler seems to be a hint to the players that if enough people die, they will be able to light up the patterns in the book, and when the patterns are all lit up, that should be when the book is complete.

 

Readers come with the goal of a new book by Raven, and when the book is finished, their goal is accomplished.

 

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For the player, there is a high probability that this means a pass.

 

The only NPC they saw in the whole Ming Yue Pavilion was the butler, the rest were players acting as readers.

 

It goes without saying who dies next.

 

Wouldn't that make players want each other to die ahead of themselves.

 

Even, not hesitating to push when the conditions are there.

 

Is the way through enough people waiting to die?

 

But Xiao Lan is not sure how many people have come in.

 

Wouldn't it be impossible to pass if there weren't 13 of them?

 

Or if there are only 13 people, do they all have to die to qualify for the pass?

 

And the game never seems to have a precedent of having players kill each other as a condition of passing the level.

 

It always seemed that there would be a bit of another way to get through.

 

“Are you ……
you a human being?” A voice interrupted Xiao Lan's musings.

 

The questions were quite tricky, and one wondered what kind of answer he was looking for, and even felt the urge to say “no”.

 

Xiao Lan turned her head to see a man who was not very tall but had his hair combed up quite high.

 

The man's eyes hovered between the corpse on the floor and Xiao Lan, not daring to approach for a moment, as if he was unsure whether Xiao Lan was a ghost or a murderer.

 

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Xiao Lan asked, “What's up?”

 

The man looked Xiao Lan up and down again and was slightly relieved to see that he was a normal looking person.

 

He pointed to the body of the butler on the ground, “So ……
that he's dead?”

 

Xiao Lan nods.

 

The man hesitated twice before coming over, “Are you a senior player? It's impressive at first glance, and so young.”

 

Xiao Lan was a bit confused, wasn't this a high level field? What is this person talking about?

 

He looked at the man again and finally read a little something in the other man's eyes that were cautious and a little calculating and expectant.

 

This person, who is not a senior player, has somehow managed to blend in and is currently trying to hug Xiao Lan's leg.

 

When Xiao Lan didn't say anything, the man added, “Gee, I tell you I'm particularly miserable, really.”

 

“I got a rare prop and then a high level player approached me and said if I gave him the prop he could take me through the high level field once, which would send my battle power soaring,”

 

“As a result, I gave him the props and today he just disappeared, you name it.”

 

Xiao Lan understands that this is another junior player who is good at speculation.

 

It's just that this guy was bold enough to try to take a bite out of the senior field, and he didn't expect Ming Yue Pavilion to separate the players.

 

But I guess the player who claimed to be able to take him through wasn't having any good intentions either.
A beginner player can easily die when entering an intermediate field, let alone an advanced one, so what's the difference between that and giving away food.

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Seeing Xiao Lan's lack of reaction to his pandering, the man continued, “I actually have another rare prop, how about I give it to you if you take me through the level?”

 

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Xiao Lan raises his eyebrows, unmoved.

 

Let's not even mention that the difficulty of the advanced field simply does not allow him to bring people through, just this kind of blank check is foolish for anyone who believes it.

 

Seeing Xiao Lan's expression, the man gritted his teeth and continued with a new bait: “Don't look at me like this, but I'm actually a stockbroker, just ask around and find out Long Shiren's name.
If you take me through, I'll take you to invest, and I guarantee that you'll make a good profit.”

 

No one who has ever played stocks would dare to say that.

 

Long Shiren seems to be used to speculation, a habit that has not changed since he entered the Advent world.

 

But he did not understand that the only thing that the Advent world could become dependent on was his own strength.

 

Xiao Lan tells it like it is: “I don't need the money.”

 

Money will tarnish his noble poor air and lead to a deduction of poverty value.

 

Seeing that this person is simply uninspiring, Long Shiren became irritable: “Aren't you an advanced player? You're so good, what's wrong with saving me! I think you're just selfish! You're cold-blooded!!!”

 

“Can't you have a bit of compassion, can't you do yourself a favour?!”

 

Long Shiren speaks eloquently, standing on the moral high ground and reducing Xiao Lan's personal integrity to nothing, and if one didn't know better, one would think Xiao Lan had done something outrageous.

 

It was really just so that he could take advantage of it himself.

 

There is absolutely no belief that it was a misjudgement of speculative risk that led to the situation in which you were in danger.

 

When confronted with this scene, Xiao Lan just calmly said, “Oh.”

 

Long Shiren: “……”

 

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Why doesn't this person follow the rules?

 

Shouldn't he feel ashamed, or reach out to help himself out of moral pressure?

 

Why is it an oh? Oh, my God!

 

Xiao Lan doesn't mind helping players, but is not at all interested in rescuing people who have made their own deaths.

 

If Long Shiren dares to gamble, he must have the courage to take the risk of losing, and Xiao Lan is not obliged to wipe his ass.

 

Not to mention this righteous attitude.

 

His calm eyes changed instantly, and he glanced at Long Shiren with a cold look in them.

 

It is useless to talk to such people.

 

How about using physical exhortation.

 

Xiao Lan still looked calm as he pulled out his [Bone of Dalet], switched to blade form and pulled a beautiful blade in his hand.

 

The ghastly white blade of bone cuts a cold, eerie light.

 

Long Shiren paused in his attempts to deliver a volley of gibberish.

 

Years of experience in speculation and flimflam told him: run, you're flipping.

 

Long Shiren turned tail and ran away, his little legs moving fast, and he was gone in almost no time.

 

Xiao Lan: “……”

 

That's a lot of bending and stretching.

 

But just as he turned to flee, he noticed a dark handprint on Long Shiren's back, of which he seemed oblivious.