Chapter 186: The Old Man Got Himself into Trouble! (2/4)

Following Fang Qi's procedure from yesterday, it did not take long before Nalan Hongwu opened the door and encountered the monster in the triangular headpiece, currently brutalizing a mannequin.

Nalan Hongwu's face instantly froze before the screen: "..."

After a brief pause: "Since this old master made a promise, at worst I shall allow this monster three free moves! I will show you all that there is nothing to fear from this beast!"

Having spoken, he marched directly toward the brutalizing Pyramid Head, extending his wooden stick to prod it twice: "You! Make your move!"

The monster slowly turned its head: "..."

What rushed at him next was a massive, overwhelming wave of pressure!

Nalan Hongwu furrowed his brows; he had felt nothing when watching before, but standing right here, an inexplicably bizarre sensation crept into his heart.

The scene before him, the monster, and indeed everything should have been entirely alien, yet it felt strangely familiar, as if some part of it overlapped with something long buried deep within his soul!

Perhaps, as the saying goes, everyone has a Silent Hill in their heart.

Distinct from what Fang Qi had witnessed, this monster approached slowly but did not attack Nalan Hongwu; instead, twisting its body, it reached up to violently pry at its triangular headpiece, as though trying to force it open and expose the tightly sealed secrets hidden within to his eyes!

A jolt of shock struck Nalan Hongwu's heart, as if whatever lay hidden beneath that headpiece was the very thing once buried away in his own mind!

Subconsciously, he drew his gun and fired!

Unlike the relentless pursuit Fang Qi had faced, the Pyramid Head monster encountered by Nalan Hongwu did not pursue him further, but instead retreated as if submitting to his will.

"The old master actually managed to drive the monster away?!"

"The old master is truly magnificent!"

"Exactly, the boss only teaches us to close doors behind us, look how formidable others are!" Nalan Mingxia chimed in from the side, thoroughly concurring.

Perhaps those watching from behind would not notice anything amiss in that fleeting moment; they might even believe they should feel exhilarated by the monster being driven away.

Yet this scene held an entirely different meaning in the eyes of Nalan Hongwu!

"Was it this old master's illusion?" Nalan Hongwu shook his head, staring blankly for a long moment at the inexplicably departed Pyramid Head monster.

Within Silent Hill, every monster possessed its own implicit meaning; in Silent Hill 2, every manifested creature was the concretization of the inner shadows of the protagonist or other entities present in the town, and though the Pyramid Head had not changed yet, it seemed to have struck a chord deep within Nalan Hongwu.

His next sequence of actions followed immediately:

Swiftly log off and exit the game!

"This old master just recalled some urgent clan matters, so that will be all for today!" Nalan Hongwu stroked his beard, "Old Fu, we are leaving!"

"Right away, Master!"

Watching the backs of the two departing the internet cafe in the heat of summer, wearing thin shirts: "Why is the old master's shirt sticking to his back?"

"In this blazing heat, perhaps sitting for too long made him sweat a bit more..." Nalan Mingxia remarked.

"Is it really that hot today?!" Jiang Xiaoyue tilted her head in confusion.

Everyone: "...Could the old master have been too terrified to play anymore?..."

"Seeking death has brought consequences..." Fang Qi agreed completely, looking around the room, "Who wants to play next?"

Xiao Yulu: "Me!"

"..." Fang Qi's face darkened, "Why hasn't this guy been thrown out yet?"

"I will play for a while." Although Su Tianji did not quite understand what that thing was just now that had frightened even Old Master Nalan, she declared herself entirely fearless, having been deeply inspired by the old master's death-seeking playstyle!

So this kind of game could actually be played like this?!

It felt remarkably entertaining!

Su Tianji felt she could hardly wait to try, intending to reclaim the dignity she had lost when previously frightened by these monsters!

"Boss, do you dare to do the same during tomorrow's live stream?"

"Yes! If you play like that, we won't feel scared at all!" Dong Qingli thoroughly agreed; not only was it not scary to watch, but it was also incredibly amusing!

"The boss always startles us with his constant panicking during streams!" Jiang Xiaoyue complained, "He's scared to death inside, yet he still tries to frighten us."

"Err..." Fang Qi's face darkened; it was generous enough of him to let them watch, yet they were still nitpicking!

Then, Su Tianji could be seen on the screen beginning her own death-seeking antics.

"See, even Sister Su is playing that way!"

"You should call her Aunt Su!" Fang Qi said with a dark face.

"If the boss doesn't stream like this tomorrow, I won't watch." Jiang Xiaoyue pouted, "Lest I can't sleep at night again."

"I agree!" Dong Qingli said, "Watching the boss's stream isn't originally scary, but we get startled by the boss first."

"I agree as well!" Nalan Mingxia quickly added fuel to the fire, speaking calmly, "If the boss streams like this tomorrow, everyone will come watch; if not, no one will."

"Unconditional agreement!" Xiao Yulu said, "How wonderful it is to watch my aunt play, why bother watching this boss."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Su Tianji failed her death-seeking attempt on screen, accidentally getting grabbed by a mannequin, and having still not practiced martial arts, she unleashed an invincible firewheel technique this time!

Xiao Yulu's face twitched.

Everyone: "...This is indeed much better to watch than the boss's play!"

Fang Qi's face was completely dark; was it really necessary to go all out like this?! In this day and age, even live streaming in another world required such fierce, varied competition?

What the hell!

Fortunately, his progress in Silent Hill was among the fastest, and his state of mind had improved, so he really wasn't that scared anymore. Fang Qi said, "Tomorrow I will show you what a true death-seeking playstyle looks like! Someone like Old Master Nalan hasn't even scratched the surface!"

As he said this, why did he feel a bit uneasy in his heart...

Fang Qi looked awkward; it was just a game, surely nothing bad would actually happen...

Yet thinking of a certain old master who had already suffered consequences, Fang Qi felt a wave of uncertainty.

"Boaster!" Jiang Xiaoyue was full of disbelief!

"A true death-seeking playstyle! Can playstyles even be divided into schools?"

The surrounding people also rolled their eyes at him: "Boss, we already saw your performance yesterday; it can be summed up in one word: 'cowardly'."

...

"What do you think of Nalan Hongwu?" Ji Wuyou sat at the edge of the courtyard cliff, pinching a chess piece in his hand.

"Tradition says that at the founding of the Great Jin, the enemies encountered were not just the neighboring countries and the various forces then towering over this land." A dark shadow appeared behind Ji Wuyou, "Heroes rose together; that era truly produced far too many exceptional figures!"

"I do remember that." Ji Wuyou chuckled, "I recall the battle that made Nalan Hongwu famous across this land was the Battle of Mount Tianlao, was it not?"

"Precisely!"

"However..." Ji Wuyou placed a black piece down, "I have heard that within this battle, there remain some long-forgotten secrets, though whether it is true or false, I know not..."

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