DLMSWSHH Chapter 45

TL: Hua

Chapter 45: Reversal

By the time Ye Qing hurried over, Zhong Ming had just finished directing Matthew to restore Shen Weinian’s room to its original state. He stood with his arms crossed, and after ensuring every detail in the room was perfectly replicated, he said to Matthew: “That’s enough.”

Then, he turned to Ye Qing. “What’s wrong?”

Ye Qing’s cheeks were slightly flushed as she said urgently, “It looks like a fight has broken out downstairs!”

Zhong Ming blinked, thanked Matthew, and said to Ye Qing, “Let’s go take a look.”

Matthew, who had just finished moving the bed, wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead. Seeing this, he reached out to stop Zhong Ming.

“Where are you going?” Matthew frowned. “We have to leave soon. Don’t go running off.”

Zhong Ming paused and looked at him. “Just for a little bit.”

Ye Qing looked at them, a bit confused. Leaving? Where is Zhong Ming going?

Matthew looked at him, narrowing his eyes slightly. Over the past few days, Zhong Ming had been ordering him around to do this and that; he suspected Zhong Ming had been up to some little tricks behind the scenes. He released Zhong Ming’s arm and said: “Fine. Don’t take too long. We must depart before ten o’clock.”

Zhong Ming nodded and followed Ye Qing toward the other side of the corridor.

Watching his back, Matthew felt uneasy and called out again, “Be careful! Don’t get too close to the players!”

Zhong Ming didn’t turn back, just waved his hand to show he understood.

Matthew lowered his hand, shook his head, and went to prepare for the departure.

As soon as they were away, Ye Qing asked curiously, “You guys are going out? Where to?”

Zhong Ming looked at her. “I don’t know either.”

Ye Qing shivered. She hadn’t been a servant for long, and her memories as a player were still vivid, giving her an instinctive fear of the area outside the mansion.

“Nothing bad will happen, right?” Ye Qing asked worriedly. “Who’s going with you?”

Zhong Ming replied, “Matthew and Feng Tang.”

Hearing Matthew’s name, Ye Qing breathed a sigh of relief. He was practically at Zhong Ming’s beck and call; there shouldn’t be any major issues.

Ye Qing’s attention quickly shifted to the dispute downstairs. She led Zhong Ming to the corner of the staircase. Looking down from this vantage point, they could see Shen Weinian surrounded by people two floors below.

“They started arguing for some reason.” Ye Qing frowned. “It looks like they’re about to come to blows. Will there be a problem?”

Zhong Ming stood by the railing, lowering his eyes. “Hmm.”

Ye Qing paused and slowly turned her head, looking at Zhong Ming’s calm profile.

“…Wait,” Ye Qing said. “Why do you have a look on your face like you knew this would happen?”

Zhong Ming blinked and looked at her. “I don’t.”

Ye Qing: “…”

She looked at Zhong Ming leaning against the railing, peering downstairs with a hint of amusement in his eyes. She imagined a vision of an elegant white Persian cat that had caught a mouse; because it thought the mouse was too dirty to kill with its own hands, it sat to the side as a spectator, occasionally batting at the half-dead mouse with a paw.

Zhong Ming looked down at the encirclement that was getting closer and closer: “I’m just a little curious about what they’re capable of.”

In his view, the group led by the buzz cut and Shen Weinian shared a sort of twisted symbiotic relationship. The sports students needed Shen Weinian’s items for protection, but at the same time, they were the pawns Shen Weinian used to intimidate other players and protect his own safety.

To some extent, the small clique led by the buzz cut also provided protection for Shen Weinian. As the saying goes, “A man’s wealth is his own ruin”; since Shen Weinian was a notorious rich player among the group, everyone knew he carried life-saving items. On one hand, this served as a deterrent; on the other hand, everyone has their moments of negligence, and countless players were waiting for him to show a single weakness.

Zhong Ming wanted to see what would happen if Shen Weinian was separated from his “pawns.”

He watched as one of the men standing behind Shen Weinian drew a wooden club from behind his back. Zhong Ming blinked. Will the pawns devour the King?

On the other side, Shen Weinian finally sensed something was wrong. His brow twitched as he turned around, his gaze slowly sweeping over the faces of the sports students. “…What is it?” He curled his lips, his eyes returning to the buzz cut.

“Want to rebel?”

The buzz cut sneered and cracked his neck. “Whether we rebel or not depends on you, doesn’t it, Prince?”

He held an iron rod he had scavenged from somewhere and pointed it downward threateningly. “How about this?”

The man stepped forward, staring Shen Weinian down. “We aren’t asking for much. Give us half of your items, and we’ll part ways peacefully.”

Shen Weinian’s eyes widened, and he let out a short, cold laugh.

In this game, if you didn’t have the right channels, you couldn’t buy even a lower-level item even if you slammed a million in cash on the table. And now, this group of people, whose combined bank accounts probably didn’t total a hundred, had the nerve to demand half.

A classic greedy demand.

Shen Weinian raised his eyebrows in genuine surprise; he hadn’t expected these cowards to have such audacity. He looked around at the faces surrounding him. “And if I say no?”

The buzz cut’s face darkened instantly. He spat on the ground and slammed the iron rod against the railing with a loud bang. “Then don’t blame us for tearing off the mask of civility.”

His expression was grotesque. Previously, they had lived in fear of Shen Weinian, but after the despair of yesterday, they were ready to risk it all! To hell with it! What did Shen Weinian have besides a powerful father? This wasn’t reality. Even if they killed him in the game, people on the outside couldn’t do a thing.

Gripping the iron rod, the buzz cut stared at Shen Weinian. “Young Master Shen, we know you’re capable, but two fists can’t fight four hands.” He pulled back his lips, his eyes full of malice. “Our lives are cheap; if we die, we die. But you’re different. No matter how many items you have, you can’t guard against everyone all the time. Wouldn’t it be perfect if we helped you carry some of that ‘heavy burden’?”

Shen Weinian kept his hands in his pockets, watching the circle tighten around him. The expression on his face gradually went flat.

Then, he looked down and let out a long sigh. “…Talking to people like you is truly exhausting.”

Under their predatory gazes, Shen Weinian pulled his phone from his pocket and unlocked it with a click. “You guys don’t seriously think I can’t touch you just because we’re in a game, do you?”

He tilted his glowing screen toward the crowd. The buzz cut’s eyes fell upon it, and his face instantly lost its color.

It was a memo containing their detailed information: real names, schools, ID numbers, home addresses, and even specifics about their parents and other family members.

The man’s heart sank, his pupils shrinking. He instinctively wanted to ask how Shen Weinian had obtained this info, but he realized it was a stupid question before he could open his mouth.

Shen Weinian smiled at him, withdrew the phone, and looked down. “If I send this one text, your whole family is finished, understand?”

His tone was light, as if he didn’t think this was a big deal at all.

With a clatter, someone dropped their wooden club. The buzz cut jerked and looked over to see one of his followers, face pale, looking at Shen Weinian in terror.

“…I, I…” His lips trembled as he looked at his leader. “What about my sister? And my mom? She’s still sick—”

The buzz cut’s cheek twitched. He knew things were going south. He needed to say something to stabilize their morale, but before he could speak, Shen Weinian’s light voice drifted over.

“Yeah, what will happen?”

Shen Weinian smiled; he was young, his face full of collagen. Having grown up abroad, he possessed a captivatingly cheerful charm. His smile could only be described as sunny. Yet, the words coming out of those smiling lips were chilling.

“Your sister has underlying health conditions. If her medical insurance runs into trouble, she’s done for, right?” Shen Weinian looked down at his phone. “Oh, and your mom is waiting for a kidney transplant? Well, I guess she won’t be getting that donor after all.”

The man turned ghost-white.

Upstairs, Ye Qing’s expression also changed. She whispered to Zhong Ming, “My god, he’s so evil.”

Zhong Ming frowned. He suspected Shen Weinian might not actually have the power to influence the entire medical system, but saying such things in this situation placed immense psychological pressure on the others.

Downstairs, the men were wavering. The buzz cut saw the cowardice on their faces and knew the tide had turned. He himself had family back in China. Seeing Shen Weinian’s fearless, nonchalant attitude, his expression shifted. After weighing his options, he slowly forced a smile.

“…Well, you know,” the man let go, his iron rod clattering to the floor. He raised both hands toward Shen Weinian. “What happens in the game shouldn’t involve our families, right?”

Seeing this, Shen Weinian looked up from his screen and arched an eyebrow. “Not rebelling anymore?”

The man exhaled softly and gave a fawning laugh. “Haha, everything’s negotiable. Negotiable.”

He took half a step back, trying to make peace. “None of us have it easy. How about… you just give us half of those talismans? That way we won’t bother you at night. It’s a win-win.”

From demanding half of all items to just sharing the talismans. The buzz cut felt he had made a huge concession.

However, Shen Weinian’s eyes widened as if he had just heard the biggest joke of the century. “Holy shit, do you guys really think I’m going to keep hanging out with you?”

The buzz cut froze.

What did that mean? He frowned. He didn’t think Shen Weinian would be that stupid. No matter how many items he had, a lone player in this game was like a gleaming, juicy piece of meat.

Shen Weinian looked down and sneered. Then, he suddenly walked to the edge of the corridor. He gripped the railing with both hands, his metal rings clicking sharply against the wood. He leaned half his body over the edge and shouted to the floor below: “Hey! You lot!”

Shen Weinian yelled to the players who had just finished breakfast and were gathering in the lobby in small groups. “Who wants to team up with me?”

The lobby below fell into a sudden silence. Every player instinctively looked up at Shen Weinian’s smiling face, their expressions filled with shock.

As if he wasn’t conspicuous enough, Shen Weinian put one foot on the railing, leaning most of his body out into the air, and suddenly raised his right hand.

In the next instant, countless banknotes fell like rain.

Green bills floated through the air. There were so many that it took several seconds for them to reach the first floor. The people in the lobby were stunned, watching the money fall until it almost carpeted the entire floor.

“Whoever teams up with me gets 100,000 USD per person, paid daily.”

Shen Weinian smiled. Then, as if remembering something, he leaned on the railing. “Oh, and items can be shared too, though that depends on my mood.”

As his voice faded, the last of the bills settled on the floor, piling up like a shimmering field of green grass.

Shen Weinian looked down at the Rolex Submariner on his right wrist. “Starting now, counting down ten seconds. First come, first served.”

Behind him, the buzz cut was completely shell-shocked. The other sports students were also frozen in place, unable to react.

In the lobby, everyone realized at the same time that this was a golden opportunity. Shen Weinian was undoubtedly one of the players with the highest potential to clear the game. Previously, his items were reserved for himself and his small clique. Now was the perfect time to replace them.

However, Shen Weinian was by no means a good teammate. Looking at his smile, people felt a chill. 100,000 USD a day was great, but you had to live long enough to spend it.

Who had the guts to team up with this venomous snake?

Zhong Ming’s eyes darkened. In this game, he suspected there were plenty of people with that kind of nerve.

Scanning the lobby, he saw someone move.

A few seconds later, two men climbed the stairs and arrived behind Shen Weinian. Zhong Ming looked down and saw one was a brown-haired Caucasian. He had an impression of this player for no other reason than that the man was too conspicuous.

Besides being nearly two meters tall, he wore a long black robe from head to toe with a crucifix hanging from his chest. He appeared to be a priest. Zhong Ming frowned; the fact that there was a priest in modern society was strange enough.

The other man was a dark-skinned Southeast Asian with bulging muscles. He revealed a row of white teeth when he smiled and looked like he could certainly hold his own in a fight.

Shen Weinian looked at the two and was satisfied. Having grown up abroad, his English was fluent even if his other skills weren’t. He reached out to shake the Caucasian man’s hand. “I’m Shen Weinian. Looking forward to working together.”

The brown-haired man opened his mouth and spoke a string of rapid-fire German.

Shen Weinian: “…”

He turned to shake hands with the Southeast Asian man. This one spoke Chinese and bowed to Shen Weinian, saying his name was “Terry.”

“Good. We’re a team from now on.”

Shen Weinian patted their shoulders and turned back to the sports students, who were now paralyzed and deathly pale. He curled his lips in a mocking smirk. He couldn’t be bothered to figure out why these people had suddenly lost their minds. To him, a dog with a rebellious heart had zero value.

Shen Weinian’s expression went cold. He turned his head and snapped his fingers at the players busy picking up money in the lobby. “Hey, look over here.”

The players in the lobby looked up. Shen Weinian gave a lazy smirk.

“Consider this a reward for your hard work.” He smiled and pointed to the few sports students who were standing there dumbfounded: “In return, please don’t show any mercy when you see these guys. If you have any old grudges, feel free to settle them now.”

The sports students’ pupils shrunk. They seemed to foresee their end; their expressions could only be described as “the color of the dead.”