Chapter 223: The Blinking Portrait

Words : 1412 Updated : Oct 4th, 2025

Chapter 223: Chapter 223: The Blinking PortraitThe art gallery was very large; a rough measurement from the entrance to the deepest mural wall was at least three hundred meters away, around the length of three soccer fields. It seemed less like an art gallery and more like a palace. Both the walls and the domed ceiling were embellished with bas-relief murals. Below the dome hung three massive crystal chandeliers whose light reached every corner of the gallery, while softer lamps were installed behind the pillars for viewing the paintings in slightly shadowed areas. Paintings in the gallery were all hung around the circular columns. Passing the door column, Xu Huo and his companion met the other players who were participating in the instance. Six men and four women. "Everyone is here," the man standing right in front of the door column was the first to speak, "The game has mentioned what needs to be known. There are twelve of us, and the first task is to find a fake painting. The next two tasks are hidden and should be revealed after the first is completed." "Usually, in such instances, completing just one task is enough for low-level clearance, so as long as we find the fake painting, we can get the Return Ticket." After he finished speaking and saw that no one else made a statement, he took the initiative to introduce himself, "My name is Pan Siming. I’ve already completed four Level E instances, White Player." Several glances were directed at him, but Pan Siming smiled and said, "Player classification starts with the initial screening on the train. Just because a player didn’t kill anyone on the train doesn’t mean they lack combat ability." A gloomy man with a cleft in his chin sneered not far from him: "I don’t know about your combat ability, but this instance definitely isn’t about all players passing together by finding one fake painting. Instead of making nice here under a facade, it’s better to see if there really are twelve fake paintings in this gallery." No sooner had he finished his sentence than a young man wearing a headscarf said, "I just looked over it. There are at least two paintings hanging on each column here, not to mention some blank spaces, probably around seventy to eighty paintings in total." "But to be honest, they all look fake, without any real value for exhibition." "Which is why there might indeed be twelve fake paintings." The gloomy man snorted and left on his own. Just as he left, a woman in a leather jacket popped her bubble gum with a "snap" and went on her way as well, her half head of braids swishing behind her. The rest exchanged glances, then Pan Siming added, "It’s better if we can watch out for each other, but it’s not mandatory." As soon as he finished speaking, a muscular man in a tank top and shorts grabbed the hand of a girl dressed as a maid beside him and pulled her towards the depths of the gallery. The girl seemed to want to look back to say something, but before she could open her mouth, she was dragged along by the muscular man and then scurried to catch up with him. "Pervert," a short-haired, pretty woman muttered under her breath as she crossed her arms. The man standing beside her said, "Don’t be fooled by appearances. That girl is a player too." The pretty woman looked at him, and he introduced himself, "My name is Deng Yu, Black Player. This should be my third instance. Compared to you all, I’m a newbie fresh out of the oven. Please take good care of me." The pretty woman rolled her eyes, "Xie Man." The others who stayed behind introduced themselves in turn. Aside from the departed gloomy man, the leather-clad woman, the burly man, and the maid-dressed girl, the remaining were Pan Siming, Deng Yu, Xie Man, and including Xu Huo and Fan Shiji, the other three people were Gao Jun, Ni Tian, and a player nicknamed Octopus Card Bear, who was the man with the headscarf that mentioned the number of paintings. In the group, whether using real or fake names, he was the only one using a player nickname. Feeling a bit embarrassed, the man with the headscarf touched his head and said, "This is only my second instance, I’m not too familiar with the rules. Is it not okay to use a nickname?" "Of course, it’s fine," Ni Tian said with a coy smile, "Anyway, we’re unlikely to run into each other a second time." The man with the headscarf also started laughing, "You can call me Big Bear." Out of the eight players, aside from Pan Siming, Deng Yu, and Fan Shiji, the others were all Black Players. "It’s such a relief that there are no Cannibal Players," Big Bear said, patting his chest thankfully. "You’ve only done one Instance and don’t know the situation. Actually, the more Instances you do, the less obvious the Cannibal Player’s advantage becomes," Ni Tian explained. "Because under normal circumstances, you can obtain Evolution Potions in the Instances, and it’s not only Cannibal Players who can evolve physically. Additionally, there are abilities to compensate for weaknesses." Big Bear put on an enlightened expression. "Now that everyone has met, let’s go take a look at the paintings," Pan Siming suggested. "There’s still three hours before lights out, plenty of time for us to see all the paintings." After matching names to faces and receiving some information that seemed partly true, partly false, the players still split up to view the paintings on their own. Xu Huo stood in front of the doorpost, examining the two paintings displayed above. The first was an oil painting of a person, a raggedly dressed man standing in front of a glass window, his face gaunt and eyes bulging, set against a black background, an absolute image of horror. The second was a sketch, a monochrome piece of paper featuring only a broken umbrella lying at an angle, with the ground and background heavily shaded in black. Under each painting was an electronic screen, its numbers constantly changing. "The Stillness of Time, The Silent Umbrella..." Fan Shiji read out the names of the two paintings from behind, puzzled. "These names are so weird, and they look so quirky; they don’t seem like proper paintings at all." "Are those clocks below? They look a bit like countdown timers." Xu Huo stroked his chin. "Neither of these looks like a real painting." "Should we take them down for a closer look?" Fan Shiji asked. Xu Huo nodded, and just as the two of them were about to take down the paintings, Pan Siming, who was keeping an eye on their actions from a distance, cautioned, "It’s best not to touch the paintings unless we’re certain." Sёarch* The novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. However, Fan Shiji had already taken the painting into his hands. "Why didn’t you say so sooner!" Fan Shiji attempted to hang the painting back in its place, somewhat anxiously, but his hand slipped, and the painting fell to the ground. A loud clang resonated, causing all the players scattered throughout the art gallery to look up. The gloomy man cursed outright, "Are you an idiot? The premise of authenticating a painting is not to damage it. If you don’t have a bright mind, keep your hands to yourself. If you bring trouble on us, I’ll be the first to kill you!" Fan Shiji’s face turned red with embarrassment at the scolding; although the other players said nothing, their expressions were not good. Xu Huo picked up the painting, checked that it was not damaged, and intended to hang it back up, but as he turned around, he saw the man in the painting blink. Seeing him standing still, Pan Siming immediately approached, "Is it broken?" "No," Xu Huo hung the painting up again. Pan Siming’s gaze lingered on him for two seconds before rotating back to the painting and then he said, "Be careful." Xu Huo nodded and moved towards a large column next to him to continue examining other paintings. Fan Shiji followed behind, whispering, "Pan Siming is still watching us. It was just a slip of the hand. Is there any need to guard us as if we were thieves?"

Chapter 223: The Blinking Portrait

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