Volume 5 - CH 82.5

When Xü Beijin is going to switch up his stream, someone suddenly pops up in front of him.

Looking up, and yup, it’s Wei Lezhang.

The guy came chatting almost as soon as the last run started, and he’s here this run again? Xü Beijin is feeling the warmth drain out of his body just picturing the guy accosting him for half a day after this.

… Especially if it’s to only talk about that bookstore owner of the bottom floor of the Tower!

Xü Beijin truly regrets not having told him his true identity. Right, he deliberately kept quiet before, but now he really wants to let it out.

Man, Wei Lezhang, you’re seriously annoying for an Actor.

A different kind of annoying to Lin Qin, who is at least less loquacious…

Thankfully, this time Wei Lezhang has something else to add to the table besides the legendary ‘bookstore owner.’ He’s here to talk about the Nightmare itself.

He seems pretty irate at the Missiontakers, complaining, “what’s wrong with all the Missiontakers this time? That entire first run and only two people even made it to this floor.”

Xü Beijin, feeling a stroke of inspiration, asks, “you know something about this Nightmare?”

Wei Lezhang is grinning and adding mystique to his tone, “I knew you’d be interested in things related to Nightmares. And that is exactly… what this Nightmare is.”

Xü Beijin is all ears.

Wei Lezhang then begins explaining, “I’m the nth-male lead, so basically, something better than being an extra.”

Xü Beijin “…”

Well, technically, he, an extra, would be slightly lower in rank than an nth male lead…

He is looking at Wei Lezhang with this rather exasperated expression, hoping the big bald guy would quickly get to the point and tell him what he knows.

Wei Lezhang does as he wishes, and points to the burning scene outside of the window, and asks Xü Beijin, “this looks pretty terrifying outside, right?”

Xü Beijin is surprised at the suddenly topic switch, but nods.

Wei Lezhang then asks, “so, if it’s that terrifying outside, and this building is kind of a shelter, even with food… Why do you think all of us would be trying to escape outside?”

Xü Beijin thinks for a second and answers, “for two possible reasons. One, this building wouldn’t last much longer before crumbling, or two… there is something in this building, more dangerous than whatever is outside?”

“That’s right!” Wei Lezhang claps his hands, and says, “but there’s a third reason.”

Xü Beijin raises his brows to ask with curiosity, “what is it?”

“Bro, pretty late on the uptick, are you?” Wei Lezhang tells him, “well, there is ‘food,’ that’s what I said, but do you really think, that in this office building without a canteen and only this little staff break area, there really is enough food?”

Xü Beijin gets it, and says, “of course not,” he pauses, and asks, “so…”

Wei Lezhang shrugs, commenting, “I wonder if those Missiontakers would meet the cannibals? They’re probably… down from the 16th floor or so. I wonder what floor they’ve made it to already…”

Xü Beijin says, “isn’t it something they’d only realise if they searched the 16th floor thoroughly…?” Then, curious, he asks, “so why didn’t you tell the two people about this when they were on this floor before?”

Wei Lezhang shrugs, “they haven’t managed to trigger some corresponding… thing?” He seems unsure as well, saying, “who cares, NE always have these strange rules governing the Nightmares. If it wants me to say it, then I do; if it doesn’t, then not.”

Xü Beijin then teases the big bald guy, “so why were you so pissed off when NE had you eating hotpot the last time around?”

Wei Lezhang is staring at Xü Beijin in shock, with ‘omg! so you’re such a Xü Beijin after all!’ written on his face, before sighing, and saying, “but it’s really hard to eat hotpot for four hours straight,” then, he adds, “also, I have to keep eating hotpot even in my own Nightmare.”

Xü Beijin “…”

So basically, hotpots are to Wei Lezhang probably what the doors peepholes were to Shen Yünjü and toilets to whatshisname.

PTSD.

Wei Lezhang then cusses at the Server, “damn NE! One day, I’ll also force you to chomp down on four hours of hellish spicy hotpot!”

Xü Beijin “…”

He’s giving the bro a pretty complicated look. Does Wei Lezhang know that NE might actually be watching the Missiontakers and Actors 24/7?

He probably does not.

So that means, next time, Wei Lezhang would probably have to endure four hours of hellish spicy hotpot again.

Poor him.

Xü Beijin swears he isn’t finding this morbidly amusing inside.

He is just wondering about… right, about this Nightmare.

The Missiontakers’ progress aside, Xü Beijin is more concerned about… for example, where the Nightmare owner is. What happened to her?

In the Tower, he knows she has basically lost herself to this Nightmare, to her assigned role. Why? When she first met Xü Beijin in the Nightmare, she was still completely sane.

And another question, coming from Xü Beijin’s hypothesis that this Nightmare is based on what once happened to Mystic on Earth, then if the Nightmare owner did come face to face with Mystic, what would happen?

There truly are many questions in this Nightmare waiting to be answered, thinks Xü Beijin.

He then turns his attention back to the stream, which is currently focused on Jiang Shuangmei and Mystic. They’re heading for the 31st floor from the 36th, which means they would probably be the first pair of Missiontakers to encounter something. So Xü Beijin has the stream pointed at them.

They haven’t talked at all along the way, silently checking each floor they pass by. Lin Qin and Fei, who headed off early for the 16th floor, is nowhere to be seen by now.

Jiang Shuangmei and Mystic didn’t find any elevators or dangers at all these few floors.

Jiang Shuangmei wonders, “could it be that the situation only deteriorates from the 31st floor, where the little girl is?”

She is surprised for all these floors to be without dangers.

Mystic is silent to Jiang Shuangmei’s questions, and the latter is used to it by now. She also knows that Mystic is a pretty paranoid and probably overthinks things too much.

Though when they reach the stairs of the 31st floor, and Jiang Shuangmei is about to pull on the door for this floor, Mystic suddenly speaks up.

Her voice is exceptionally soft, as if it was drifting down from somewhere high above some dreams. She asks, “have you ever felt, the pain… of watching your own close kin lost in the Nightmares?”