Translator: Cinder Translations
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The gaze slowly swept over the people in front of him, moving from left to right, until it landed on the last woman. At that moment, Jiang Cheng's expression subtly shifted.
The woman appeared young, dressed in a mature style with an apricot-colored top paired with a green skirt. Her attire exuded elegance with a hint of playfulness.
Her makeup was light, giving off the impression of a young person who had just stepped out of school and entered the workplace.
She still carried an air of youthful innocence.
The woman was very quiet, her light brown eyes giving the impression of being gentle and harmless.
But this was just an illusion.
Jiang Cheng could clearly feel the underlying hostility in her gaze. It almost seemed as if she could see right through him.
Jiang Cheng didn't expect to run into someone familiar here.
Chen Xiaomeng.
She was the pure-looking girl from the first mission, dressed as a student.
After their eyes briefly met, both of them subtly shifted their gazes away.
With the arrival of a new teammate, the atmosphere in the private room became awkward, and for a moment, no one spoke as everyone silently observed one another.
"It looks like we're in luck," a man in his forties, dressed in a refined manner, smiled after surveying the room. His voice was calm yet authoritative. "Everyone is so composed, and this time there are no new recruits, so it should be much easier."
Jiang Cheng had noticed this man when he first arrived. He had a handsome, refined face, dressed appropriately, standing tall. The silver-rimmed glasses made him stand out among the group.
He laughed bitterly and rubbed his forehead. His last mission had been with three or four new teammates, and as soon as they entered the task, two of them had started fighting because they couldn't handle the pressure.
The noise they caused had attracted the police, almost delaying the plot.
"Will the police appear in the mission?" someone asked.
It was a woman, who appeared rather reserved, around 35 years old. She had an average appearance and her skin showed signs of aging, with faint crow's feet at the corners of her eyes.
The man seemed to have guessed her thoughts. He glanced at her and smiled, "Although their identity is that of the police, they won't directly intervene in our plot. The help they can provide is limited."
Upon hearing this, the spark of hope in the woman's eyes slowly faded.
It seemed that relying on the police to solve cases and complete tasks wasn't going to work.
"How long have you been here?" Jiang Cheng suddenly asked.
"I arrived about 10 minutes ago," the chubby man with messy hair spoke first. When everyone looked at him, his tone faltered. He said quietly, "I pushed open the door and appeared here."
"Here means..."
"This private room," he nervously pointed to a shoe print on the table, embarrassed, "I stepped out the door and ended up standing on the table."
"Tsk," Jiang Cheng moved his lips, thinking of his own chubby friend.
Could there be some deal between the nightmare and the chubby players? Otherwise, how could it make sense that every time a chubby player spawns, they end up in such an outstanding place? Last time, his chubby friend had spawned on a table in a café on the third floor, facing the school.
This time, however, the nightmare was even more extreme, spawning him in a toilet.
"And you guys?" Jiang Cheng asked the others, not giving up.
The answers were varied.
Some were in the kitchen, near a pot of braised pork, some were in rooms upstairs, while more had spawned in the private room, but not as directly as the chubby man with the messy hair.
"Bro," the chubby man suddenly seemed to realize something, casting a glance at Jiang Cheng, "You're the only one who spawned in the toilet."
Jiang Cheng leaned back, casually resting on the fabric-covered back of a chair. "It's okay," he said nonchalantly. Then, with a dramatic tone, he continued, "Didn't you spawn standing on a table?"
The chubby man gave him a confused look.
"I have a fat friend who also spawned standing on a table," Jiang Cheng glanced at him and said, "In the last mission."
The chubby man froze for a moment, hesitated, and asked, "And then?"
"Never mind," Jiang Cheng waved his hand, suddenly serious. "The task is more important. I'm still waiting to visit my friend. He's having his memorial service on Saturday."
The chubby man: "???"
Although the refined man quickly steered the conversation back on track, the chubby man appeared somewhat withdrawn after that exchange.
According to the refined man, they were currently in a town called Anping.
The town was small and, even in that era, it was quite underdeveloped.
The inn they were in was the only one in town. Though it appeared to be of considerable size, it was actually only three stories tall.
They were currently on the first floor, which housed the inn's restaurant.
The second and third floors were for guests.
After explaining this, the man also shared where he had gotten this information. He hadn't left the inn, but had learned it from chatting with the inn's owner and passing travelers.
"It seems like this is the place where our task will unfold," Chen Xiaomeng said calmly, completely different from the first task.
"Ha."
A sarcastic laugh followed, and a seductive woman's voice slowly spoke: "You can't say that for sure. With the current situation, are you really willing to take that chance?"
Jiang Cheng turned toward the voice and saw a voluptuous woman leaning back in her chair. Her eyes sparkled with an almost serpentine allure.
Chen Xiaomeng was about to retort when—
"Enough, both of you," the refined man said, his face showing a hint of frustration.
Jiang Cheng understood now. No wonder the man had mentioned the last mission when he first appeared, talking about how team discord had interfered with the plot.
It seemed he was subtly reprimanding these two women.
From the current tension, it seemed that before Jiang Cheng arrived, the two women had already clashed.
"Now, the situation is unclear. Let's all stay calm," the refined man said, half soothing and half reprimanding.
His leadership was similar to the character Fan Li in the first nightmare, but with much more finesse.
After his words, both the seductive woman and Chen Xiaomeng fell silent.
This made Jiang Cheng glance at him a few more times.
"Now, please introduce yourselves," the refined man said. "Name, occupation, and area of expertise or skill." He paused, then added, "This is very important."
He took the lead, looking around at everyone. "I am Zhou Rong, the vice president of Qiancheng International Group, specializing in big data analysis."
He didn't give anyone else a chance to refuse and immediately looked at the next person beside him.
It was a frail-looking middle-aged man dressed formally, with tired eyes. Unable to withstand Zhou Rong's gaze, he quickly replied, "I'm Jiang Zhongyi, an intern pastor, specializing in..."
(End of the Chapter)
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