He was somewhat surprised; the girl in front of him should be on the Beauty Rankings, and her rank certainly wouldn't be low, but why hadn't he seen her photo before?
"You're too close."
Nan Yue looked at You Teng and spoke indifferently, "I'm not used to people being so close to me."
"I might attack instinctively."
You Teng's charming smile faltered for a moment, and then his grin widened.
Was she not his fan?
Well, this woman looked quite strong.
You Teng liked meeting fans in missions, but he liked meeting strong people even more.
The former could take a blade for him, while the latter... could carry him through the clearance.
"My apologies," You Teng leaned back gentlemanly. He stood at 1.8 meters tall, a height that usually allowed him to create a sense of protective security for women through the height difference.
But Nan Yue was very tall; she only had to lift her head slightly to meet his gaze as an equal, and her aura even seemed to overpower his.
You Teng didn't like this; he didn't like women who were too assertive.
If it were outside a mission, he wouldn't approach Nan Yue, but inside a mission, Nan Yue happened to be exactly what he needed.
"Want to be friends? I'm You Teng."
Nan Yue's gaze returned to the roof. After watching for a moment, she walked toward the back. "No need. I don't like making friends."
Behind them was the third courtyard, where the layout finally matched that of a normal residence, with rockeries, dried-up canals, and withered plants.
There were about a dozen wing rooms on both sides, which served as the living quarters for the servants and maids.
Further back was the ancestral hall, where most of the scavengers were gathered.
Nan Yue frowned slightly; that man named You Teng was still following her.
The doors to the ancestral hall had already been pushed open. Because there were many people inside, their flashlights illuminated the space significantly.
On both sides were one-arm-thick, person-tall floor-standing white candles. The platform facing the main door was so high that one had to look up to see it, and every level was packed with densely arranged spirit tablets.
Looking at this ancestral hall, one could see why the Zhou family was so wealthy; looking at these tablets, one could tell how many branches the family had and how great their influence was.
Nan Yue heard a chaotic murmur of discussion inside the hall. Wen Xiang Yuan squeezed through the crowd to reach her, with Gu Xiang Kai behind her, helping to block the people pushing in.
Wen Xiang Yuan's looks were too outstanding; wherever she went, crowds would stare, and some with ulterior motives would even deliberately try to squeeze toward her.
"Boss, we couldn't find the genealogy in the ancestral hall."
Logically, the genealogy should be in the ancestral hall. It had either been hidden by those who arrived first or by the Zhou family themselves.
"But this ancestral hall is a bit strange," Wen Xiang Yuan looked back. "There are too many tablets."
"A wealthy family has a large population, but the main house usually only enshrines the tablets of the primary lineage. However, I see they even have some collateral branches and even people with different surnames enshrined up there."
"This is highly irregular. Moreover, I see there are over twenty people in just the most recent generation. If nothing else, this Zhou residence couldn't possibly house them all."
Although Wen Xiang Yuan saw many problems in the ancestral hall, she had no answers.
Qingfeng was also in the hall. Her expression was heavy, and she kept swaying her head. People around her didn't approach, making her look somewhat eccentric.
Ding
Before everyone could exchange more words, the streaming equipment in their hands rang in unison.
A line of red text appeared on the phone-like streaming screen.
"Welcome, viewers, to the Entertainment to Death Live Streaming Platform. Our exploration site today is: the Zhou Family Compound."
A massive amount of bullet comments appeared on the screen, so dense they almost covered it, surprising all the scavengers.
This stream was so popular; it seemed the things those NPCs said before weren't exaggerated.
【The Zhou Family Compound! I suggested this one before, thanks to the platform for listening to my opinion!】
【I'm also very interested in the Zhou Family Compound!】
【The streamers this time look pretty good too, so many pretty ladies and handsome guys.】
【Yeah, a few of them are my type. Man, I'm so excited.】
【I like that handsome guy! Looking forward to meeting him!】
There were too many bullet comments to read, but the blood-red notification text was not obscured by them.
"Currently detecting 48 streamers. Now, in random order, each person will begin a thirty-minute streaming session. Please interact actively to provide the audience with high-quality content."
The screen flickered, and then a boy's face appeared.
The boy's features were somewhat asymmetrical, and his sudden appearance at such a close distance on the screen was not a pleasant sight.
"Hey, you're the first one!"
The crowd that had been gathered together all looked at a short boy. The boy didn't react for a moment and stood frozen on the spot.
【What the heck, he's not a hottie.】
【Ugly, don't like it. Next.】
【Why hasn't the perspective switched yet? Who wants to look at his face!】
The boy was at a loss. He poked at the screen for a long time before finally switching the streaming perspective.
Nan Yue looked at the screen in her hand. Now she shared the same perspective as the audience, seeing what the equipment on the short boy's body was illuminating.
There was a small square box in the upper right corner showing the boy's face. It seemed to be a dual-perspective stream, allowing the audience to see the streamer's reactions as well.
The boy also saw those harsh evaluations. His face turned slightly red, and he said nervously and stutteringly.
"He... hello everyone, my name is Xiao Ming. Thank you to the platform for giving me the first streaming slot."
"We are currently at the Zhou Family Compound. The Zhou Family Compound is very gloomy... haha."
【Who wants to hear you talk about that? I didn't spend money to see this.】
【Exactly, he clearly has no experience. I bet he won't last one round.】
【We want to see something exciting!】
Xiao Ming looked at these bullet comments, feeling helpless.
【Walk further away! With so many people around, the ghosts won't dare to come out.】
【Yeah, take us through the Zhou Family Compound from the beginning.】
Xiao Ming could see the audience's growing impatience, so he had no choice but to walk toward the main gate.
He originally wanted to ask if any companions would join him, but no one paid him any mind. Everyone wanted to gain experience from the first few streamers.
He could only bolster his courage and walk out alone.
The remaining people paired up in twos and threes. Although everyone was a potential competitor, they could still form teams for now.
The five of them gathered together again. It seemed this courtyard was strange everywhere now; everything would only become clear once the mission progressed.
The five of them found a wing room to stay in, watching Xiao Ming's stream along with the audience.
Thirty minutes was a very short time, and Xiao Ming knew he had to hurry. He adjusted his mindset and began introducing the sights to everyone starting from the main gate.
The stream proceeded normally. The words in the bullet comments were sharp and vicious, but fortunately, no strange scenes occurred.
Xiao Ming had just finished introducing the front courtyard when the stream switched to another girl.
With Xiao Ming's experience as a guide, the girl quickly switched her perspective, put on a smile, and ran out to continue the explanation from where Xiao Ming had left off.
These people were very clever.
Although starting the stream early was somewhat disadvantageous, it was also safer. They could get away with just introducing the layout of the Zhou Family Compound.
Rate on N.U.
