LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 21: Mansion of Five (4)
Winnie approached Bai Lian, her gem-like eyes fixed on him.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?”
Her gaze was filled with confusion. It was clear that this rather handsome young man was different from the others. Everyone else she encountered expressed fear. But Bai Lian? Not only was he unafraid, he boldly met her gaze.
“Why should I be afraid? Are you planning to eat me?”
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he shrugged.
“As long as I don’t break the Rules, you can’t attack me, right?”
Winnie smiled faintly and settled onto the sofa beside him.
“Of course, but your reaction is genuinely surprising.”
In all her time, this was the first she’d met someone like Bai Lian.
Winnie glanced at the clock on the wall, then turned back to him.“One minute left.”
Nine o’clock was approaching—the start of work hours. If Bai Lian didn’t begin working by then, she could attack him.
But hearing this, Bai Lian’s expression didn’t change. Instead, he leaned back comfortably against the soft sofa and asked casually:
“Are you still a student?”
Winnie blinked, puzzled. Meanwhile, both the other players and the Stream Chat were in shock!
【 You’ve got one minute left—shouldn’t you be preparing to work?】
【The streamer’s blowing everyone’s minds, even finding time to chat with a pretty girl.】
【I don’t get it… What’s his strategy?】
【Is this even a strategy?】
【Strategy, my foot! The streamer’s just slacking off!】
【Work time’s almost here. If he doesn’t act, he’ll break the Rules!】
“What’s he doing?”
“Trying to befriend this Anomaly?”
“Ignore him. We’ve got work to do.”
“This guy’s clearly out of his mind.”
The other four players smirked at Bai Lian’s odd behavior. As the clock struck nine, they immediately got to work. Those assigned to sweep began sweeping; those tasked with washing windows did the same. Yet, their attention remained on Bai Lian and Winnie.
After all, Bai Lian had already broken the first rule. He remained seated on the sofa, showing no intention of getting up.
Winnie held her book, her pen twirling smoothly between her fingers. She watched Bai Lian out of the corner of her eye, waiting for the moment she could strike. ɽ₳𝐍ŐʙΕ𝐬
But when the clock hit nine, the opportunity never came!
A flicker of surprise crossed her calm eyes. The pen in her hand stopped moving. She turned to Bai Lian, her gem-like eyes locking onto him.
What was going on?
He’d clearly broken the Rules. Based on past cases, she should’ve been able to kill him. But the chance never appeared. This meant she couldn’t attack him!
Why?
“Miss Winnie?” Bai Lian’s voice brought her back to reality.
“What?”
Frowning slightly, she asked, “How did you do it?”
“Do what?” Bai Lian raised an eyebrow, feigning ignorance.
“You can ignore the Rules, can’t you?” Winnie’s frown deepened.
“What if, maybe, the Rules don’t explicitly say you have to work during work hours? Maybe you can just relax?” Bai Lian joked, though his tone was serious enough to make some believe him.
【So that’s it!】
【You can use wordplay like this in Anomaly games?】
【The streamer’s right. Don’t we mostly slack off at work anyway?】
【Don’t listen to him! Do you think no one’s tried this before? I’ve seen players try to relax, and they died the moment the clock struck nine!】
【Exactly. If you slack off in a dungeon, you won’t even realize how you died.】
【So what’s up with this streamer?】
“Wait, so we can just slack off?”
“Yeah, the Rules say work hours are from 9 to 12, but they don’t say you have to actually work!”
Hearing Bai Lian’s words, the other four players felt something click in their heads. If they could just slack off, who’d want to work? Bai Lian’s example was right in front of them.
As the saying goes:
“Where there’s a crowd, there’s always a smart one.”
Some thought it, and one acted on it.
One of the four players, a middle-aged man, glanced at the rag in his hand, then at Bai Lian lounging on the sofa, chatting with Winnie.
He made up his mind and tossed the rag aside.
“Screw this! In real life, it’s 996 (working 9 to 9), and now I have to work in a dungeon too? No way!”
Cursing, the man decisively walked over to Bai Lian. He plopped down on the sofa without hesitation.
“Ah, this is the life~ This is the real strategy for this dungeon!”
Lying on the sofa, the middle-aged man sighed deeply, his face filled with contentment.
Winnie, sitting across from him, was visibly confused.
What was wrong with this guy? Did he have a death wish?
Bai Lian could sit here because he could ignore the Rules. But who did this guy think he was?
“Uh…”
Bai Lian looked at the middle-aged man with a strange expression. “Are you out of your mind?”
Hearing this, the man turned to him, puzzled. “What do you mean? Didn’t you say there’s a loophole in the Rules, and we don’t have to work?”
“I’m like you, just slacking off. What’s wrong with that?”
Bai Lian fell silent and glanced at Winnie, who already understood what was happening.
The middle-aged man, thinking he’d figured it out, smiled at Bai Lian. “Thanks, man!”
If it weren’t for Bai Lian testing this loophole first, he’d never have known about it.
Bai Lian facepalmed: I know you want to thank me, but hold that thought.
Before he could say anything, Winnie’s face twisted into a sinister smile.
“How pitiful, poor little mouse~”
“Hehehe~”
Two sounds followed—one was Winnie’s laughter, and the other was the metallic screech of her pen transforming!
As the eerie laughter echoed, the ordinary pen began to change. Stripes appeared on its surface, and it elongated until it became a snake covered in black scales!
The middle-aged man froze in terror, staring at the giant snake before him.
“Help… help… aah!”
Before he could finish, the snake opened its mouth and swallowed him whole!
The scream ended abruptly.
The snake flicked its bright red tongue, its vertical pupils sliding over Bai Lian before it shrank back into a pen, now resting in Winnie’s hand.
The player had been devoured by the Anomaly!
The three remaining players and the Stream Chat were in complete shock!
Especially the three players who had considered following suit and slacking off. They were now immensely grateful they hadn’t. Otherwise, there’d be more casualties!
But one question remained:
Why was Bai Lian still fine?