Chapter 229: The Trap of the Copy’s Task

Words : 1531 Updated : Oct 4th, 2025

Chapter 229: Chapter 229: The Trap of the Copy’s TaskRapid footsteps echoed in the exhibition hall, but the sound of hard objects scraping the ground did not quicken. It maintained its original rhythm and moved towards the hall, the contrast between its speed and the running footsteps enhancing the sensation of horror and strangeness. Searᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As Big Bear rushed into the exhibition hall, he looked up to see only two rows of dim yellow lights that illuminated just three feet in front of the pillars. The vast art gallery was otherwise swallowed by darkness, in the tightly closed space, one could faintly hear a sound reminiscent of a strong wind passing through a gap, which quickly turned into the sound of flowing liquid! A hand grasped the wall at the corner of the room, Big Bear took a glance back then charged into the darkness, running towards the portrait that had been damaged during the day! The slender shadow of a figure emerged from the corridor, blending into the darkness, and proceeded along the route that Big Bear had fled. After it disappeared, two more shadows emerged from the left and right corridors, successively entering the exhibition hall. Big Bear chose the central wall of the exhibition hall to hide himself in the darkness. He estimated he was nearly at the portrait when he slowed down, quickly circled to the side of a pillar, and immediately reached out for the painting! Just as his hand touched the frame of the painting, a game notification suddenly appeared: "Congratulations to the player Hidden One for finding a counterfeit, completing the first task of this instance." Before Big Bear’s smile could spread across his face, it froze as the creature in the darkness unleashed a roar, furiously slashing and smashing inside the exhibition hall. Meanwhile, the shadows situated on both sides of the hall quickly retreated. The Girl in the Painting floated leisurely above the art gallery, drifting through the exhibition hall, around the pillars, and arrived at the spot where Big Bear had been hiding — but by then, there was no one in front of the pillar. She looked around on the ground then turned her head back. Seeing the landscape painting hanging on the pillar behind her, where the flowers and grass were fluttering, she walked over... In the darkness, the low growls of the creature never ceased, even though there was no one left in the exhibition hall. It still lingered among the pillars, seemingly searching for something. Xu Huo, who had been waiting for the Girl in the Painting’s return, gently opened the ajar door and slipped out of the room, grasping the string of his instrument to raise his height and moved towards the exhibition hall. The darkness did not entirely block one’s vision, and from his vantage point above, Xu Huo could take in the entirety of the art gallery. Thus, he could see clearly what the creature that roamed the darkness looked like. It had a height of five or six meters, with a humanoid body and limbs, but proportioned awkwardly. Its long, thin arms and legs were somewhat reminiscent of a praying mantis, and its overly long footfalls scraped the ground, producing a distinct sound. Notably, on its right arm was a white long object that seemed to be a hand cane. A hand cane? Xu Huo’s brows furrowed slightly as he looked towards the center of the exhibition hall. The statue that had been standing there was gone, leaving only a plaster statue covered in cloth! Could the creature active at night inside the art gallery be a statue? From the Girl in the Painting and what Yuan Yao had mentioned about "gods," it was understood that certain special items within the instance had a degree of autonomy. They could simply be items left in the instance, or they could become bosses of the instance. Clearly, the statues in the Hundred People Art Gallery belonged to the latter. The moving creature stopped, then suddenly turned its head to look in Xu Huo’s direction. Xu Huo quickly hid behind a column. Just as he steadied himself, the sound of hard objects scraping the ground suddenly erupted close by. As a long, thin arm embraced the column from the side, he used the strings to elevate himself. Then, when the creature peeked around to check, he moved to the other side behind its back and hid behind the next column. Catching a glimpse of the creature hunched and perched on the column from the corner of his eye, he began searching around the exhibition hall. He quickly found the missing painting on a pillar to the right. The missing painting must have been the counterfeit taken by a player, while during the day, a group photo hung in its place. From the moment Big Bear was attacked to when he entered the exhibition hall, only a few tens of seconds had passed, yet the player who completed the first task didn’t take a nearby painting but instead took a group photo from the center of the exhibition hall. This indicates that besides needing to take the fake painting after the lights went out, there was a second condition. Carefully avoiding the monsters searching behind each pillar, Xu Huo reached the front door of the art gallery. The person in "The Time of Stillness" hanging from the first pillar turned their eyeballs to the side, and the hands that were originally crossed over their chest were raised towards him in a gesture. His gaze lingered for a second on the smiling face of the person in the painting. He crossed the exhibition hall to the left and found the torn portrait of a woman. The one who actually tore the painting was Big Bear. After Deng Yu’s disappearance, he was still the first player to be attacked by the monster. His running into the exhibition hall was merely an attempt to try his luck; if he could get his hands on the counterfeit, he could immediately escape the instance for safety. Seeing a few drops of fresh blood on the ground, Xu Huo casually wiped them away, then took down the woman’s portrait. [Congratulations to Player Passerby A for finding a counterfeit. Would you like to submit it to complete the first task?] [Upon submission, you will receive a Return Ticket and an art gallery rating no lower than Level D, and the second instance task will be unlocked.] The face of the girl in the painting was somewhat distorted, a double image undulating around her outline, as if there was another face inside the painting, simultaneously shouting something. Even though it was covered by the colors of the woman, Xu Huo still recognized that the face was indeed Big Bear’s, the player from before. So Deng Yu hadn’t disappeared, but had been absorbed into the painting? Glancing back at "The Time of Stillness" that was staring intently at him, he suddenly realized that the living paintings here were very likely all transformed players. There were no fake paintings during the day, but has anyone seen a moving painting? Other than reacting with fear and avoidance like Big Bear, there was another line of thought—that the moving paintings were the counterfeits. And if one came to take a painting at night, they would end up being absorbed into the painting, becoming a part of it, and thus successfully creating a counterfeit! "Bang!" Ten meters away, a monster suddenly smashed a picture frame. Xu Huo immediately tucked the painting under his arm, took up the violin strings, and made his way back around to the front door of the art gallery. As he left, he looked towards the column in front of the door again, ignoring the angry expression of the man in the portrait, instead looking at "The Silent Umbrella." The shadow behind the umbrella was tilted to the right, just like when he had entered the art gallery. As the monster moved closer, he didn’t linger any longer and turned back to his room. In the unlit room, darkness enveloped everything. He glanced at the couch where Ni Tian had been lying before returning to the bedside. After storing the props and removing the disposable gloves, he placed the painting at the edge of the cabinet. He didn’t rush to submit the painting. There was no doubt Deng Yu and Big Bear had entered the painting, and after "Hidden One," the player who completed the first task, submitted their work, the painting had vanished. Submitting the task would mean the game would reclaim the counterfeit, and the players trapped inside would not be able to come out. However, his hesitation wasn’t because of the players inside but because of the instance task traps. In instances he had done before, multiple tasks usually appeared simultaneously, but in the Hundred People Art Gallery, one had to submit the first task before unlocking the second one. This implied that submitting the first task might impose restrictions on subsequent ones.

Chapter 229: The Trap of the Copy’s Task

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