Chapter 65
Chapter 65
Click.
The photograph was taken.
Surprisingly, the media did not use a black-and-white filter this time. The color image preserved the two men exactly as they were.
Lu Yuanshi walked to a photographer and smiled. “Can you develop this now?”
Without hesitation, the photographer replied, “Yes. I can give you a copy immediately.”
“Good.”
Xiao Huai said nothing. Once the picture was taken, he turned and left.
Watching his back, Old Mo whispered to Tang Weiqi, “Is something troubling Xiao Huai?”
Tang Weiqi shook his head, his expression complicated. “Only he knows.”
Because Xiao Huai knew too much, he had been the first person attacked.
He was the kind of man who lived on a knife’s edge.
“Hey, why does Lu Yuanshi get a picture when we don’t?”
Tang Weiqi looked at him speechlessly. “Can we compare ourselves to him? Even NPCs have eyes.”
Tang Weiqi had not cursed, but Old Mo somehow felt insulted.
“Look, it’s the Count! The Count is here!”
A crowd rushed toward the entrance, eyes shining with worship.
Camera flashes fired without pause.
The Count stepped expressionlessly from a black car, wearing the finest blue suit money could buy.
It matched his deep blue eyes. Sunlight cast a pale sheen over his brown hair.
“Good heavens, what a charming darling. As expected of the Count.”
Several women flushed at the sight of him, their shy faces like red apples.
As soon as the Count emerged, beady-eyed Manager Tang hurried from the factory to welcome him, every inch the fawning lackey.
But when the guests saw the general manager, complicated emotions crossed their faces.
Curiosity. Fear. They did not dare look for long and quickly turned away, heading into the Diamond Exhibition Hall.
The hall was the main venue for the diamond showcase, displaying every competing work, most of them produced by the Diamond Factory.
Four diamonds stood on the stage, the pieces Old Mo and the others had submitted in advance.
Later, they would have to take the stage and introduce them.
Under the staff’s direction, Old Mo and the others waited nervously below the stage.
“Why is this part necessary? We actually have to present them onstage? I thought designing the things was hard enough.”
Uncle Li chuckled. “Young man, this is where you lack experience. A presentation lets you make all kinds of grand claims. Something worthless becomes valuable once people praise it to the skies, doesn’t it?”
Understanding dawned on Old Mo. “So that’s how it works. Damn. Too bad I’m no good with words.”
He scanned the area. Xiao Huai was nowhere to be seen. Lu Yuanshi reclined in a chair, holding a stemmed glass of red wine in his raised right hand, head slightly bowed.
He looked so relaxed one might think he had come for afternoon tea.
Victoria stepped onto the stage, and the crowd erupted in cheers.
Smiling, she addressed them. “Honored guests, welcome to the Diamond Factory. Today’s diamond showcase is about to begin. Six new designers have brought their works to us.”
Her smile grew strange. “Can their creations truly be called the most beautiful diamonds? Can they rival the factory’s diamonds at this showcase, or even rise above them?”
The audience was filled with prominent figures from around the world, all impatient for the show to begin.
Victoria looked at the players below. “Who would like to perform first?”
She had used the word *perform*, as though speaking of trained animals.
While everyone hesitated, Lu Yuanshi raised a hand. “I’ll go first.”
Victoria seemed not to have expected him. “You? But you never submitted a diamond…”
Only four diamonds stood on the stage. Neither Xiao Huai nor Lu Yuanshi had submitted one.
They were permitted to bring their diamonds onstage personally, of course.
“Very well. Come up,” Victoria said.
Lu Yuanshi walked slowly onto the stage and gave the audience a gentlemanly bow. Countless spotlights converged upon him as everyone waited for his work to appear.
Then the door shattered with a thunderous crash.
Every head turned. In that instant, they saw a pair of bloodred eyes.
Large patches of blood stained a white suit. On that breathtaking face, blood also marked lips curved in an elusive half-smile.
“Lu Yuanshi, you didn’t prepare a diamond at all. Why not let me go first?”
Lu Yuanshi raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think I didn’t prepare one?”
Enduring the pain, Xiao Huai walked toward him one step at a time, eyes fixed upon him.
He resembled a spirit deer leaping through the forest, carrying in its eyes the flash of light caught by a hunter as it turned.
The one light that existed in Lu Yuanshi’s gaze.
Xiao Huai curved his bloodless lips and leaned close, speaking so only Lu Yuanshi could hear.
“Because I promised you’d make it out alive.” That was why Lu Yuanshi had wanted to see whether he could do it and had not even prepared a diamond.
Time seemed to stop. Every sound faded into perfect stillness.
Lu Yuanshi’s eyes curved as he regarded Xiao Huai teasingly.
He nodded lightly. “Mm. That’s why I’ve been waiting for you.”
Xiao Huai glanced at him and gave a faint laugh. “Any later and I wouldn’t have made it back.”
His voice was soft, but loud enough for Lu Yuanshi to hear.
Xiao Huai turned toward the audience and took the microphone from Lu Yuanshi.
As Lu Yuanshi returned to his seat, Xiao Huai’s body trembled faintly and black vapor began rising from him.
“What’s happening?” Old Mo stared at Xiao Huai in shock.
Tang Weiqi frowned deeply. “Something’s wrong with him.”
Alarms suddenly sounded from every player’s system interface.
[Warning! Warning! Move away from player Xiao Huai immediately! This player’s mental state is extremely unstable. Current Sanity: 6. Breakdown imminent!]
“Holy shit!” Old Mo swore in terror.
Even Aunt Wang regained some clarity. She waved frantically at Xiao Huai. “Child! Calm down! If you finish the diamond, won’t you clear the instance?”
Xiao Huai suddenly laughed onstage.
The sound was low, yet it carried an inexplicably intense sense of danger and terror.
“Clear the instance?” he echoed with a soft laugh. “If they hide the method for clearing it behind a riddle, can the players still win?”
Aunt Wang stared blankly. “What are you talking about? Aren’t we supposed to create the most beautiful diamond?”
“Do you think you succeeded? By what standard?” Xiao Huai sneered.
Old Mo suddenly understood. “But can a second-floor instance really be this hard? Are all of us going to die here?”
Xiao Huai shook his head. “Wrong. The game told us how to clear it from the very beginning.”