Volume 5 - CH 76.2

Right now, the stream has split into three windows, the large one in the centre above featuring the Missiontakers in the elevator, the small one on the lower left featuring Lin Qin and Wu Jian, while the one on the lower right features Xü Beijin.

Wu Jian has been following after Lin Qin, so the camera shows more Lin Qin than him.

Which means… Lin Qin and Xü Beijin, each is occupying a corner rather prominently, and even symmetrically.

“man, even the stream is pairing Beibei and the little apple”

“Bei ‘???’”

“the little apple sure is patient to walk thirty odd floors without a word… robot like will”

“but the little apple probably doesnt want anything to do with the other missiontakers either, like the two arrogant guys from the upper floor… eugh”

“yo, wanna bet on when the little apple will find Beibei this nightmare?”

“ill bet the second run”

“I bet he would not find him”

“? are you underestimating the little apple?”

“hahaha I’m more curious whether the little apple will ask ‘can I fight with you’ if he finds Beibei”

Xü Beijin “…”

Nope, you’re wrong.

If he did find him, Lin Qin would more likely ask, “can I like you now?”

… Xü Beijin is really finding the situation with Lin Qin absurd.

Does he really like him? Probably not. But Lin Qin is somehow fixated on the topic, and is even looking at Xü Beijin with that odd, ‘I have something to say’ look every day. It makes Xü Beijin want to avoid speaking to him more and more.

Seriously, such an un-self-aware, unlikeable, overly present… inexplicably close and lovey-dovey little apple.

Xü Beijin disses him inside.

He treats Lin Qin as a good friend, but he feels like Lin Qin already has the relationship subverted in his mind.

… It has not! For what reason can Lin Qin assert that their relationship has evolved?!

Xü Beijin sighs again, his head throbbing. He knew it… He knew how, for Lin Qin’s simple worldview to be introduced to some complex concepts, would have been risky.

And those Missiontakers of the Tower… So much snooping, so much excessive imagination!

Xü Beijin, recalling how he has been misunderstood as the big bad guy behind everything more than a few times by now, has really had enough already.

He takes a few deep breaths, to finally calm himself back down.

Though while he doesn’t say it out loud, his interactions with Lin Qin──The ‘interaction’ in ‘normal, everyday interactions’──is actually rather positively meaningful for Xü Beijin.

In a sense, Lin Qin has, alongside the viewers of the stream, dragged Xü Beijin outside of his jail, freed him from his chains, from the dark, depressing, hopeless emotions.

Although Xü Beijin is always both pissed and amused by Lin Qin’s antics, but at least, he is no longer as dull as dishwater now, is he?

So really, in his mind, Xü Beijin is even grateful to Lin Qin.

… Not that that is enough for him to agree to fighting, ever. As for romance… Nope, never, never ever, Xü Beijin thinks.

Now that his thoughts have gone back to normal, he takes a look around to take in his surroundings.

Just as the viewers guessed, Xü Beijin is in a safe zone. A safe zone, with clues.

Or rather, all the relevant information to this building, and how it turned out like this, can be easily deduced by coming to this floor.

Because this floor, contains the staff break room.

Many of the office workers, after the disaster, considered their food and water supply, and headed here. Then, they became trapped here.

With provisions still sufficient here, the white-collars here are still largely sane, not at all aggressive or even insane like the people the Missiontakers met earlier.

The employees and staff trapped on this floor, while they are also scared and anxious, they still share the same goal as the Missiontakers – they wish to leave this crumbling building before it tumbles.

Of course, that’s on the surface. The Actors aren’t going to leave. It is merely what their plots demand.

The plot also demands that Xü Beijin sit right here, and have to Act like he’s given up and is now merely observing all the proceedings.

In this Nightmare, he is actually the role of the manager of this floor-wide break room.

Perhaps ‘he’ suffered some sort of concussion or something when the disaster happened, but the plot demands Xü Beijin to sit there looking uncomfortable and wait for Missiontakers to come.

In this Nightmare, Xü Beijin the extra, is more confined as a guiding light, basically, to indicate that there are clues here.

At least, he only has to Act like he has a concussion, and not actually be in a concussion. He just has to look like he’s dazed and empty-headed, which is basically how he usually is before the stream came into his life.

So when he was assigned to this Nightmare in the past, he has always been able to laze about well.

But also, in this Nightmare, he has actually interacted with the owner once. It was, really, really long ago; it was even before the incident where his bookstore was besieged by Missiontakers.

Xü Beijin is now looking quite blanked out──As the Server would probably be pleased to see──Though only because he is currently recalling the distant memories of his interactions with the yet-sane Nightmare owner.

Suddenly, he hears some rather loud voice call out, “eh, it’s you… Xü Beijin! I saw you before!”

Xü Beijin snaps back to reality to look at the big, bald dude standing before him.

… Wei Lezhang.

When they were in the Nightmare featuring the commercial complex, this frank and straightforward guy was eating hotpot for four hours straight as per the Server’s instructions. He looked like he would rather die.

When Xü Beijin greeted him, he was duly invited to join in his hotpot session with enthusiasm.

This time, he’s also here, huh.

And also…

Xü Beijin, with a slightly odd gaze, first greets Wei Lezhang back, before asking, “are you Acting as someone related to food again?”

Wei Lezhang, with a pained expression, replies, “oh, yeah. The Server must hate me, right? Bollocks to this.”

Xü Beijin “…”

He can’t help but want to chuckle.

Every Missiontaker usually has some sort of commonality to their assigned role in the Tower, their assigned Acting role in the Nightmares of other Tower residents, and their own assigned character as their own Nightmare owner.

For example, Xü Beijin, the bookstore owner in the Tower, often gets to be a bookstore owner in other Nightmares, or, failing that, something similar, for example, he is the owner of the break room which sold food and stationery to others here.

While Wei Lezhang, assigned as a hotpot customer in the Nightmare before, is now here in the break room as someone related to food.

Which does make Xü Beijin curious, admittedly, wondering what he could be in the Tower.