LABMY CH59

“The script-killing game here was indeed novel, but weren’t they being too careless? There wasn’t even a guiding DM. Weren’t they afraid that we wouldn’t be able to keep the game going?”

The eldest spoke, and the second brother who came with him naturally replied, “Didn’t they say that the staff members were among the players, invisibly guiding the progress? This way, it’s more immersive.”

His question was answered, and after a brief silence, he changed the topic, “These girls are really slow at changing clothes.”

The eldest fiddled with the wine glass on the table and couldn’t help but say to the second brother who came with him.

“Once they arrive, the game will begin. Why don’t we take this time to reveal our roles? What’s your identity?”

“What identity could I have? Just a guest who was invited.”

The eldest laughed it off and exchanged a glance with Wang Songwen.

“Brother, my name is Qiu Leshan, and this is Wang Songwen. What about you? What’s your name?” The eldest, Qiu Leshan, naturally leaned over and asked Jian Yuanbai.

Something suppressed within Jian Yuanbai’s body was stirring restlessly. Jian Yuanbai understood that this thing could alter people’s memories and slightly control their thoughts.

Following the memories he had obtained, Jian Yuanbai said, “Naturally, I’m here as a guest seeking pleasure.”

Damn, he was even more immersed in the script than they were. Qiu Leshan secretly rolled his eyes and exchanged another glance with Wang Songwen before awkwardly smiling, “I see.”

At this moment, there were only the three of them in the room. The spacious room resembled a grand hall in a brothel. The three of them sat side by side behind a long table. The surroundings were dim, with only the candlelight on the table providing a faint glow.

Directly in front of them was a small stage.

Jian Yuanbai’s fingers tapped lightly on the table. Suddenly, his hand froze, and at the same time, red gauze curtains slowly descended around them.

A faint and ethereal fragrance began to spread throughout the hall, and one candle after another around the stage lit up, flickering like orange stars. A woman in a gauze dress emerged from the darkness.

“Whoa, this scene setup is so high-end,” Qiu Leshan exclaimed in amazement. Then, he lowered his voice and whispered to Wang Songwen, “How much did you pay for this ticket? How much should I split with you later?”

“It shouldn’t be too expensive, right?”

He didn’t want to lose face by talking about money in front of outsiders, but little did he know that Jian Yuanbai’s abilities allowed him to hear everything clearly.

Wang Songwen also clicked his tongue and whispered back, “Not expensive. It’s a new venue promotion. We got lucky.”

The two of them exchanged a few more whispers before quietly watching the dancer on stage.

After the first dancer performed for a while, another emerged from behind, followed by another. One after another, women in gauze dresses appeared. Among them, Jian Yuanbai spotted two familiar faces: Liu Hong and Liu Zhuqing.

Until finally, the last person stepped onto the stage, where the flames flickered like dancing orange stars.

Her long hair draped over her shoulders, and a thin veil covered her face. Her eyes curved slightly, filled with emotion. The veil didn’t actually obscure her delicate features but instead added a sense of mystery, making her seem distant yet alluring.

Her gauze dress was thin but not transparent, covering what needed to be covered. The slightly slit design revealed a glimpse of her fair, slender leg as she danced.

Jian Yuanbai straightened up, resting his hand on the table, his knuckles supporting his chin as he watched the woman who stepped onto the stage. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his gaze grew deeper.

That woman was clearly taller than the others. Perhaps because of this, she stood in the center. With every spin and every graceful lift of her hand, the light gauze on her arms slipped down, revealing her dazzlingly pale skin.

From the slit in her dress, her porcelain-white calf peeked through as she danced barefoot on the cold ground, her toes tinged with an unnatural redness.

“The selection for the Most Beautiful Qingniang is now underway. The nine Qingniang participating in this event are all present here.”

Suddenly, a hoarse and rough voice, as if it had been scraped by sandpaper, echoed through the hall, startling Qiu Leshan and Wang Songwen, who were engrossed in watching the performance.

A hunched man wearing a wooden mask and carrying a red paper lantern stepped out. His voice sounded like an elderly man in his seventies or eighties, filled with the heaviness of twilight, but the hand holding the lantern looked youthful.

He was very short, only about 1.4 meters tall, inconspicuous and unappealing.

“Everyone, you may use the chips you possess to select the Qingniang you fancy.”

“If two guests fancy the same Qingniang, then the one who offers the highest price will win.”

Qiu Leshan raised his hand like a primary school student and asked, “Are you the DM of this game?”

The man remained silent, seemingly acknowledging it by default, and continued explaining the rules, “The selection of the Most Beautiful Qingniang depends on who receives the most chips. You can reward the Qingniang with chips based on how much you favor her. The event lasts for three days, and the number of chips each Qingniang receives will be announced every night.”

“Now, everyone may begin selecting your favorite Qingniang.”

After speaking, the hunched man stepped aside. The Qingniang on the stage began to descend, approaching the three men sitting behind the long table.

“Esteemed guest, choose me.”

“Guest~ choose me, you won’t regret it.”

“I’m great at dancing~ I can even dance with you in your room later.”

In no time, the nine Qingniang surrounded the three of them, each trying her best to win their favor. Qiu Leshan and Wang Songwen blushed from embarrassment, but the situation was completely different when it came to Jian Yuanbai.

His gaze was cold, directly scaring off the Qingniang who approached him. Just as the others retreated in disappointment, he suddenly grabbed the tall one among them.

“And you? Why don’t you say something to make me stay with you?”

The person bit her lip and couldn’t utter a word. Her lips, painted with rouge, looked moist and alluring. Through the thin veil, her timid eyes seemed to softly scratch at one’s heart like a feather.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, Jian Yuanbai exerted a bit of force and pulled the person directly into his arms. Leaning in close to the panicked Qingniang, he teased, “Say something sweet, and I’ll choose you. How about that?”

The person in his arms looked up. Even though she hadn’t been bullied too much, her eyelashes trembled as tears fell, “Guest…”

Jian Yuanbai unconsciously licked his dry lips, his Adam’s apple rolling as his voice turned hoarse, “It seems no one is competing with me. Little Qingniang, if I don’t choose you, you’ll end up with no chips at all.”

Judging by her state, she must have had her memory altered. Yet, Jian Yuanbai showed no mercy and enjoyed playing along, “What’s your name?”

Feeling so shy that she wished she could hide, the little Qingniang softly replied, “Tang Tang.”

“Tang Tang,” Jian Yuanbai murmured huskily. His hand slid down to touch her foot, “Your foot is so cold.”

Tang Tang, whose foot had turned red from the cold, trembled slightly at the sudden touch and timidly said, “Sorry… I froze the guest’s hand.”

However, Jian Yuanbai’s warm hand slowly slid up along her ankle, ambiguously stroking the smooth skin of her calf. His voice became even lower, “Your leg is cold too?”

“Let me see if it’s this cold inside as well.”

His hand moved toward the slit of her dress, about to reach in. Tang Tang panicked and quickly pressed down on her dress, her eyes watery as she pleaded, “Guest!”

Jian Yuanbai chuckled lightly, “Alright, I’ll choose you.”

Qiu Leshan and Wang Songwen, who had been blushing as they politely rejected the other Qingniang, eventually chose Liu Hong and Liu Zhuqing, who had come with them.

Seeing that among the remaining six Qingniang, two of them were also acquaintances but had been left unchosen, Qiu Leshan hesitated, “What about those two girls?”

As he spoke, he glanced toward Jian Yuanbai, who also had the right to choose.

He had been too busy pushing away the other Qingniang earlier and hadn’t paid attention to what was happening on Jian Yuanbai’s side. Now, when he looked over, he was utterly stunned.

That man… How did he already have a Qingniang in his arms? And in such an intimate position?!

And that Qingniang… Now that he was seeing her up close, why did she look more and more like Tang Tang from their dorm?

She was practically the female version of Tang Tang

Qiu Leshan was so shocked that he kept poking Wang Songwen, “Look, look, look!”

Wang Songwen was poked so hard that it hurt, and he said impatiently, “Look at what? You’re poking me like crazy. What could be that surprising?”

Following Qiu Leshan’s jaw-dropping gaze, the two of them instantly turned into statues with their mouths wide open.

“Holy sh*t, now that we’re this close, I just realized… that Qingniang really looks like Jiang Tang!”

Qiu Leshan slapped his thigh excitedly, “Right? Right?!”

“If it weren’t for our phones being confiscated when we entered, I would’ve taken a couple of photos, no matter what.”

Wang Songwen replied, “We can take a picture with the staff after the game ends, right?”

Their conversation caught the attention of Liu Hong and Liu Zhuqing, especially Liu Zhuqing, who asked, “What? Jiang Tang? Is he here?”

“Look.”

At this moment, Jian Yuanbai suddenly pressed Tang Tang deeper into his chest, burying her face into his shoulder. He turned his head slightly, his gaze cold, “What? You want to snatch her from me?”

Qiu Leshan and Wang Songwen quickly shook their heads, feeling intimidated for no reason. One of the girls who came with them said, “They’re probably staff members, right?”

“Otherwise, they wouldn’t be acting so intimately.”

“The so-called most immersive script-killing experience really lives up to its name. Look at their level of dedication.”

The other girl pouted, “Forget that for now. What about the two of us who didn’t get chosen?”

The other Qingniang who were also left out stood quietly to the side. At this point, the hunched man with the red paper lantern walked over and said, “It seems that each of you has chosen your desired Qingniang.”

“Next, you’ll need to pay one chip.”

Qiu Leshan was confused, “But… you never gave us any chips.”

The hunched man smiled, “The chips are on you. Each of you can exchange for seven chips. Do you want to exchange?”

Since they were here to play a script-killing game, Qiu Leshan and Wang Songwen didn’t hesitate and immediately said, “Of course!”

Jian Yuanbai raised his eyebrows slightly and said, “Exchange.”

The hunched man took out three different-colored sets of chips and handed seven to each of them.

The moment the chips touched his hand, Jian Yuanbai felt something connect to his body, as if some unknown force was now linked to his organs.

“Guest, it’s time to pay your chip.” The hunched man grinned strangely and stretched out his hand to ask for the chip.

Qiu Leshan took out a chip, ready to hand it over, but Jian Yuanbai slapped it out of his hand, “I’ll go first.”

He handed over one chip, and at that moment, he felt something stir within his body. A glint of understanding flashed through his eyes.

This wasn’t something that could be taken away immediately.

It required a certain condition to be met.

Jian Yuanbai raised an eyebrow at Qiu Leshan, “Your turn.”

Qiu Leshan looked into his eyes, filled with resentment but dared not speak. He silently stretched out his hand and handed over one chip.