Chapter 274 Crimson Mirror

After resting against the door for a while and replenishing his energy with another round of potions, Xu Zhiyan finally came to his senses.

Putting away the cat mirror, he stood up by supporting himself with the door.

Before I knew it, it was already past midnight and a day and a half had passed since I last appeared in the museum.

The content in the guild dialog box has not changed. It is still Jiang Huaique's last message. More than twenty hours have passed since these messages appeared.

【Xu Zhiyan: @江槐鹧, is your son here? 】

No one responded.

"I really can't see it." Xu Zhiyan touched his chin, looking a little embarrassed.

With Jiang Huaique's temper, as long as he sees this message, he will curse back even if he is seriously injured and dying. Now there has been no movement for such a long time, it seems that they have really lost contact.

"This guild system is garbage."

As he spoke, Xu Zhiyan called up the control panel and began to complain frantically about the system.

"What's your employee number? I want to complain about a system bug. What kind of crude guild system is this? It's completely disconnected. It's the same whether it's open or not. Don't other players have complaints?"

When his words reached the live broadcast room, the audience did not unanimously criticize the system this time.

【Xiao Millionaire is really unlucky.】

[Indeed. I have not yet experienced any loss of connection in other players’ live streaming rooms.]

[The same guild mission copy does not seem to be disconnected. The guild system has been open for a long time now, and only this copy has lost connection. ]

[Hey, what do you want to say? It's not the system's fault? Are you blaming the players? What kind of spiritual master system are you?]

[Hey, stop making noise. ]

[I am more curious about the astrologer. What kind of ability does she have to go to the eighth floor but not lose contact?]

Soon, Xu Zhiyan received a reply from the system.

[Hello, we have seen your complaint and suggestions. The loss of contact you mentioned does not actually exist. ]

[Your message is being delivered, but you just haven't received a response. ]

[The special space loss of connection phenomenon that has been detected so far is only the special scene of collapse and separation. Please check your messages carefully. ]

"Hmm? They can receive it?"

Xu Zhiyan didn't expect the system to answer like this.

But when he tried to send dozens of messages again, the entire guild conversation panel had been flooded with messages, and still no other information appeared.

No matter how he consulted the system, the other party just repeatedly sent these three messages. Obviously, there was no further explanation. Xu Zhiyan just quietly refreshed the screen for a while.

Because they returned at the right time, no 'cleaners' appeared in the Mirror Museum after twelve o'clock.

It was eerily quiet all around.

Xu Zhiyan closed the guild panel and gradually felt that something was wrong.

It's too quiet.

Even if there were enough rooms in the museum, other players wouldn't have been absent for so long.

Thinking of the loss of contact between Jiang Huaique and Yu Xiu, he felt that perhaps other players in the entire museum had encountered the same difficulties.

Suddenly there was the sound of high heels.

The sound came from far away and became louder and louder.

Xu Zhiyan took half a step back and looked towards the stairs cautiously.

"Tatt-tatt-tatt--"

A woman in a gorgeous gown appeared around the corner.

It was the astrologer who came downstairs.

The two looked at each other, and both caught a flash of surprise in each other's eyes, and then the astrologer's expression returned to calm.

Xu Zhiyan smiled and spoke first.

"Hello, Miss Zhan. What a coincidence that you are also visiting the museum."

“…”

Alves didn't expect that the guy in front of her was so unreliable. She didn't like dealing with other people, and now that Xu Zhiyan interrupted her, she almost forgot what she was going to say.

After a while, she spoke in a cold voice.

"My last name is not Zhan."

As soon as he finished replying, the astrologer turned his head away with a somewhat stiff expression.

No, that's not right!

How could she be led astray by this guy!

Xu Zhiyan was not embarrassed at all. He backed away while taking out the glass mask he had sold earlier.

There is only one staircase in the Mirror Museum, and the staircase is now occupied by the astrologer. The corridor is relatively wide and suitable for fighting. If a fight occurs, his best solution is to run into a room surrounded by mirrors.

As for a head-on confrontation?

Xu Zhiyan never thought about it at all.

Stop joking.

After leaving the game in the last round, he watched the replay.

The auxiliary Pope, who is ranked lower than the Astrologer, is very fierce in a fight. He doesn't think he can beat the Astrologer without paying any price.

And the Astrologer now has tougher enemies.

It would be best if he could get along with the other party peacefully.

Seeing Xu Zhiyan retreating warily, Alves, who was no longer targeted by the clown, crossed his arms and spoke expressionlessly.

"I know where they are."

"Except for those who returned to the hotel, all other players went to the Hall of Mirrors on the eighth floor."

She didn't say anything extra.

“After closing, we can’t leave here.”

The implication is obvious.

Xu Zhiyan smiled awkwardly and quickly replied: "I want to explore the surroundings first--"

The sound stopped abruptly.

Xu Zhiyan stopped walking and took a step forward. He felt a slight suction force behind him.

A palm-sized tear in space was changing in size with his footsteps.

When Xu Zhiyan took two steps forward, the palm-sized star-shaped crack turned back to the size of an eyeball, and in addition, he found that several cracks appeared on both sides of his body.

...Hiss, is this the power of an astrologer?

Xu Zhiyan's expression remained unchanged, and his tone was slightly apologetic: "Thank you very much for sharing the information with me, but I have other tasks to do now."

"Don't you want to go find your teammates?"

The astrologer raised her hand, and a small meteorite twirled around her fingertips.

The cracks in the surrounding stars are getting bigger and bigger.

Her threat was very clear; she wanted Xu Zhiyan to go to the eighth floor.

Thinking of his few colleagues who he could talk to, Alves felt that since he had the opportunity to do it, it would be better to help them solve the task.

Doing it yourself can easily damage surrounding buildings and trigger protection mechanisms. There is no better way than killing in a copy.

What's more, this black-hearted businessman was as slippery as a loach. Although she didn't think she couldn't kill him, she didn't want to be like the Pope, who used all his tricks and ended up letting him escape, which only added to the joke.

Xu Zhiyan felt the suction around him getting stronger and stronger, his smile froze, and then he changed his words.

"I was just planning to check out the eighth floor."

It's the truth.

If the astrologer had not come, he really planned to go to the mirror hall on the eighth floor which was said to be closed to the public, but the other party's appearance and this coercive action made him realize that something was wrong on the eighth floor.

Seeing that Xu Zhiyan was very honest, the astrologer made way for him and the two of them went upstairs together.

On the seventh floor of the Mirror Museum, the stairs leading to the top floor are quietly waiting for the next prey.

…

The sun is shining brightly and it is a sunny day outside the window.

"Xiao Jiang, why didn't you go to eat? There's no rush for the report, so you can write it after you eat." A kind middle-aged man with wrinkles on his face stood in the office.

Jiang Huai, who was sitting in front of the computer, was stunned for a moment, put down the mouse and turned around: "Okay, team leader, I'll go eat now."

After saving and closing the document, he stood up, picked up his coat, and went to the convenience store downstairs to buy a cheap vegan lunch. The convenience store was full of office workers who had just got off work, and the few seats available were occupied.

Jiang Huaique was lucky. Just as he bought his lunch box, someone finished eating and gave up his seat.

But before he could sit down, a man in a tie rushed over, pushed him aside and sat down in his seat.

Seeing Jiang Huaique was a little dazed, the man loosened his tie and stuffed food into his mouth while saying loudly: "You are Xiao Jiang, the intern who just came last month, right? I remember you."

Jiang Huaique, who wanted to say something sweet, opened his mouth but suppressed the curse words.

"Um."

Never mind, he's still a rookie.

Thinking of what his sister said before leaving in the morning, Jiang Huaique felt that it would be better for him not to have a conflict with his colleagues.

He waited until the old employee finished eating before he sat down, opened his cold lunch box, and started eating.

A young person who graduated from university this year submitted many resumes before finding this company with very good salary and benefits, two days off a week and no overtime, and a full range of benefits. Therefore, he cherishes this job very much and is full of motivation.

"drop--"

The phone vibrated.

Jiang Huaiqie finished his meal in two or three bites, took out his cell phone and took a look. It was a text message from his sister.

[Sister: Bro, I got my salary! When you go to the supermarket after work, remember to buy some meat to cook. I haven’t tasted meat in 800 years!]

Jiang Huai'er's expression froze, he closed the text message and sneered.

“Shouldn’t it be that whoever posts it should buy it?”

He didn't get paid!

While saying this, the young intern honestly opened the memo on his phone and added "pork belly" after a bunch of vegetables.

In the afternoon, when Jiang Huaique returned to his workstation, he did not take a good rest and nap like everyone else. Instead, he opened the document and continued working.

When he first started working, his team leader told him that if he performed well, he could be converted to a regular employee a month early, which would be 20% of the basic salary, enough for him and his sister to improve their meals.

I was busy until sunset.

Jiang Huaique finally finished all the work before leaving get off work.

Hearing the praise from the team leader, he was humble for a moment, returned to his workstation, packed up his things and prepared to leave. Today was the day to go shopping at the supermarket, and he had already planned it.

It's six o'clock now.

His sister usually works overtime and doesn't come home very late, so he goes home first to change clothes and go out for a run. After the run, he does the housework and goes to the supermarket at 8 o'clock, just in time for a sale so he can buy more.

Very good and perfect, everything is under control!

Just when Jiang Huaiqie was about to leave, the middle-aged man who had just taken the report came back and handed Jiang Huaiqie an envelope.

"Xiao Jiang, there's a letter for you at the front desk."

"letter?"

Jiang Huai took the envelope with a confused look on his face. Who the hell still sends letters these days? And he had only been working for a month, how could anyone know his address?

With suspicion, he opened the envelope.

An A4 paper was folded into small pieces, which didn't seem to be anything special, but when he saw the words on it, veins on his forehead jumped.

[@江槐鹧, is your son here? ]

"Where did this idiot come from?"

In the end, he couldn't help but swore.

However, it was already time to get off work, and the team leader left after delivering the letter, so no one heard it.

Crumple up the paper and throw it in the trash.

Jiang Huaique snorted coldly and walked towards the door.

The automatic door of the office opened and closed, and after a few minutes, the door closed and opened again, and the person who had just left came back.

Jiang Huaique found the wastebasket, took out the A4 paper inside, spread it out and folded it.

He stared at the words above in a daze.

Although the content was problematic, he felt inexplicably at ease when holding the paper.

There was no message or stamp on the envelope.

Don't know who the sender is.

Jiang Huaique frowned and tried hard to recall, but he couldn't figure out who was playing the prank.

He has been living with his sister since he can remember. When he was a child, his sister always lied to him, saying that his parents didn't want him anymore and told him not to worry about them. In fact, he had heard the information from relatives a long time ago and he knew that his parents were dead.

The deceased Jiang's father and mother left behind only a house.

They were still young at that time, and their parents' pensions were all divided up by relatives, so the siblings began to live from many different families.

It's not that he didn't have enough to eat, but he always had to depend on others when living under their roof. No family wants to have two more half-grown children to feed. But when my sister went to argue with the relatives and demanded the return of the pension, the relatives became speechless one by one and used the excuse of sending him to an orphanage to threaten my sister.

It was not until my sister turned eighteen that they finally had the right to inherit the house according to the law.

However, when the relatives went over with great fanfare to try to get a piece of the pie, they found that the house had already been sold by my uncle's family.

As far as they were concerned, their uncle's family had long since left the city, cut off contact with their relatives, and gone abroad...

Now the relatives who were waiting to get a share of the house were getting anxious.

They were originally deceived by their uncle, who said that as long as they took care of the child until he was 18 years old, he could force their sister to sell the house as a reward and then divide the money. However, they didn't know that the house had been sold when Jiang's father and mother passed away.

Thinking of the ferocious expressions of his relatives at that time, Jiang Huaique felt a little disdainful.

“A group of legal illiterates.”

After saying this, his memories became somewhat bitter.

Later, no relatives were willing to take care of them. The elder sister was in her third year of high school, and Jiang Huaiqiao had just entered junior high school.

The house cannot be recovered.

When the brother and sister were kicked out of the house, they only had a few clothes on them.

At that time, he was like a young man with a foolish face. He told his sister that he would not go to school anymore and would go out to work to support his sister's schooling. As a result, he was beaten up by his sister.

The elder sister didn't want to give up her studies, nor did she want her younger brother to give up.

She started going to school during the day and working at night. Since her younger brother was too young to work, his sister arranged for him to pick up garbage. At night, the siblings slept in the small warehouse of the restaurant where the sister worked.

It was hard, but by doing this, both of them were able to continue their studies and get better educational opportunities.

Thinking of this, Jiang Huaique couldn't help but laugh.

"Fuck, if Xu Baopi knew this, he would definitely laugh..."

Halfway through his words, he suddenly froze.

Xu Ba Pi? Who is this?

Jiang Huaiqiao's childhood experiences made him very withdrawn at school. In addition, he had to earn tuition fees, so he was always in a hurry on weekdays and was not familiar with his classmates.

How did this name come out of my mouth?

After thinking for a while and still unable to figure out the reason, Jiang Huaique looked down at the time, put the paper in his pocket, and hurriedly left the office.

No matter who played this prank, it would not affect his current life.

He and his sister are saving money, hoping to buy back the house their parents owned, and no one can stop him.

Running, doing housework, and shopping in the supermarket.

By the time Jiang Huaiqie returned to the rental house and started cooking, it was already nine o'clock in the evening.

He bought some discounted pork belly from the supermarket and stewed a big pot of it with potatoes. The aroma of the food filled the whole room, making people salivate with the smell.

Just then, the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Huh? So early?" Jiang Huaiqiao thought it was his sister who came back early. He put down the soup spoon and walked to the door. When he opened the door, he found a courier box.

The box is not big and does not weigh much. When you pick it up and shake it, it makes a rattling sound.

"What the hell."

Mumbling back to the living room, he found a paper cutter and opened the package.

In an instant, the white A4 paper inside came out!

The young man's pupils shrank slightly. He recognized it at a glance. It was the same paper that was in the letter that the team leader handed to him before he left.

An eerie sense of incongruity emanated from the paper.

The Jianghuai partridge's Adam's apple moved slightly.

His hand trembled a little as he reached for the box.

I could hear the gurgling sound of soup in the kitchen; there was a paper flower stuck in an empty plastic water bottle in the living room; I could see the lights on the street from the kitchen window...

Everything is so normal.

He found his dream job, and he and his sister finally got out of trouble and started a new life.

Next, they will continue to save money and buy back their parents' house. He and his sister will walk on different paths in life, get promoted and get salary increases, meet better people, and live a better life... Everything goes so smoothly.

This should have all gone so smoothly.

But the paper that appeared in front of him made Jiang Huaique feel panic.

He always had a feeling that if he opened the paper inside, something bad would happen.

Just as he touched the box, the door was unlocked.

It’s my sister who’s back.

Jiang Huaique hurriedly put the note that fell on the table into the box, then ran back to his room with the things in his arms.

I don't know why.

He didn't want his sister to see the note.

Two minutes later, Jiang Huaique, who had just hidden the note, heard his sister's voice in the living room.

"The meat is all mushy! I'd rather raise a piece of barbecued pork than you!"

If it were an ordinary day, Jiang Huaique would definitely retort... No, if it were an ordinary day, he would definitely not cook the rice into a paste.

But now, he looked down at the words on the note, his mind a little confused.

[@江槐鹧, son, daddy misses you very much. ]

[Jiang Jiang~ If you don’t reply to my message, I will die. I just want to take a look at your reply before I die~]

[@Yu Xiu, Xiao Yu, don’t be like Lao Jiang, that heartless man. At least reply to my letter, even a 1 will do.]

[It’s late at night, I’m so lonely, reply 1 to start a hot♂ group♂ chat…]

"...fucking idiot."

Jiang Huaique cursed with a low laugh.

He felt as if he had forgotten something important.

Something more important than living a good life.

…

Inside the Mirror Museum.

Xu Zhiyan and the astrologer arrived at the seventh floor of the museum one after another. The stairs leading to the eighth floor appeared after midnight.

In the live broadcast room, the audience had different opinions about the astrologer's intentions.

[What does Sister Zhan want to do? ]

[It’s so funny, his last name is A, not Zhan! ]

[…You two keep talking nonsense, aren’t you afraid that the astrologer will see it when he reviews the situation? Then he will send the star servants to beat you up! ]

[I really want to know why the astrologer let Xiao Baiwan go upstairs.]

[Of course, we have to eliminate the opponent. All the players who are still in the museum in this instance have lost contact after looking in the mirror.]

[I was standing upstairs. The Joker and Yu Bai were not spared either. Except for a few weaklings who went back to the hotel, all the others who had seen the mirror were gone. If Xiao Baiwan also disappeared, wouldn't the Astrologer be the only one in charge in this instance?]

[But this time the copy requires cooperation...]

[Huh? Stopped? ]

Everyone's speculation stopped following the actions of the two people on the screen.

Standing on the stairs leading to the eighth floor, Xu Zhiyan turned his head and looked at the astrologer who called a halt.

"Didn't you ask me to go up there?"

The astrologer leaned against the railing, his expression slightly conflicted, and then he made a request: "The Hall of Mirrors is very strange. If you go in, you will most likely enter a strange space. I have explored the entire museum, and the special props did not light up."

"So, you want me to enter the special space and help you complete the guild mission?"

Xu Zhiyan raised his eyebrows.

He is not opposed to helping other players after entering the dungeon.

"Um."

Alves graciously admitted.

She originally wanted to give up the guild mission, but who knew that the Hall of Mirrors on the eighth floor was designed to target the mental weaknesses of human players.

Now that all the opponents were wiped out, although the monsters in the dungeon could not be killed, they could be avoided successfully. Her originally extinguished mind became active again.

If she could find a human player to help her complete the mission...

Upon hearing that the other party had work to do, Xu Zhiyan instantly stood up.

"Boss, how much money do you plan to pay?" He touched his palms, which were a little sweaty, not because of nervousness, but because of excitement.

Astrologers rank higher than the Pope, so they must be richer than the Pope, right?

The young man's standard business smile left the astrologer speechless for a moment. She couldn't help but say, "I don't have a last name."

"Oh, okay, then how much are you going to pay me, boss?"

Xu Zhiyan changed his words very smoothly.

"I am an honest person. I will definitely help you if I get paid, so I suggest you don't use violence."

As if he had thought of something, he quickly added another sentence.

"From what we know, the mirrors in the Hall of Mirrors are very strange. Although most people who look at them will disappear, there are some like you who don't disappear."

If everyone who entered the Hall of Mirrors disappeared, then no one would bring out the news.

Since the astrologer knew so much, she must have been there before, but the strange thing was that she was not taken into the strange world. In other words, not everyone can enter the mirror.

"This is quite dangerous, so let's pay first, but I can't guarantee that I can get in..."

"No, you will definitely go in."

The astrologer is very sure.

Seeing Xu Zhiyan's curious expression and wanting to get more information, she said calmly: "One hundred thousand, pay first. If you can't get in, I don't want you to return the money."

“The boss is generous!”

Xu Zhiyan gave a thumbs up. He liked customers like this who didn’t refund their money.

The astrologer wrapped the three special props in transparent props and handed them to Xu Zhiyan. Seeing that the young man accepted them obediently, she raised her chin.

After collecting the payment, Xu Zhiyan turned around and walked upstairs without hesitation.

Is he nervous?

Of course he was nervous, but he had no choice. He had to go to the eighth floor anyway, and it seemed not bad to be able to earn some money in advance.

The two came to the eighth floor.

There is only an old wooden door left here.

“Squeak—”

The old door was pushed open with a harsh sound.

The astrologer watched the young man in front of him push open the door and be enveloped by the countless mirrors in the Hall of Mirrors.

A minute passed.

Then two minutes, three minutes...five minutes passed.

The astrologer was a little overwhelmed.

She looked at Xu Zhiyan's back with confusion in her eyes.

What happened? Other people looked at the mirror and disappeared after a short while, so why was this person still there?

Standing in front of a full-wall mirror, Xu Zhiyan was a little anxious. He looked at the words appearing on the mirror in front of him with a strange expression.

[Have you ever regretted something?]

"No."

Xu Zhiyan answered in a low voice.

He rarely regretted doing things in his life. The occasional things he did were just because he earned less money and would make it back later. As for regretting a lot? Not really.

[……]

After six dots appeared on the mirror, there were no more words.

What the human in front of the mirror didn't know was that the mirror in the Hall of Mirrors could distinguish between truth and lies. This was the first time it met a human who truly had never regretted anything!

What the hell! How can someone never have a serious regret?

And through memory retrieval, it seems that the other party really has no desire to be reborn...

???

Is this still a human being?