Cen Yao blinked. “Destroy dungeons?”
“Yes.”
Pei Tinglan tilted his chin, indicating the woman in red.
“The one in red is the Fourth Leader of the Ashen Feather Court, code-named Luan.”
“An S-rank player, ranked seventeenth on the Peak Leaderboard.”
Cen Yao and Zhu Lingxi silently nudged closer to Pei Tinglan almost at the same time.
Cen Yao asked in a low voice, “What about the other five?”
Zhu Lingxi also added very sincerely, “Master Pei, I would like to know as well.”
Pei Tinglan looked at their eager, inquisitive expressions and fell silent for two seconds.
It was one thing for Cen Yao to not know about this.
But why did Zhu Lingxi also look like she had absolutely no concept of the game's factions?
Had her family not told her anything at all?
Sensing his confusion, Zhu Lingxi explained candidly, “The elders in my family only told me that after entering a dungeon, I must not resort to unorthodox methods, believe in evil gods, or casually accept incense from others.”
“As for these guilds...”
She paused.
“They said that if I encounter them, I should take a detour if possible.”
Pei Tinglan: “...”
Cen Yao: “...”
This parenting style was certainly simple and blunt.
Pei Tinglan rubbed his temples. “Fine. I'll explain them to you.”
He first looked at the man and woman standing at the very front.
The man wore a crisp black uniform with a silver badge on his shoulder, his expression solemn.
The woman held a thick register and wore thin-rimmed glasses. She looked refined, but her gaze was so sharp it felt like she could dissect a person from the inside out.
“The Second Leader of the Hanging Mirror Directorate, code-named Judge.”
“Ranked fifth on the Peak Leaderboard.”
“The one next to him is the Fourth Leader, code-named Guanwei, ranked eighteenth on the Peak Leaderboard.”
Cen Yao looked at the badges on their shoulders.
“Is the Hanging Mirror Directorate a guild too?”
“Not exactly.”
Pei Tinglan paused.
“Strictly speaking, it is an official organization of the Global Alliance.”
“The Horror Game randomly selects people from all over the world to enter dungeons, and the Hanging Mirror Directorate is a player organization jointly established by various governments. On the surface, they are responsible for gathering official players, handling dungeon spillover incidents, and exchanging international intelligence. They also coordinate in the real world to deal with troubles that ordinary people cannot handle.”
Cen Yao nodded thoughtfully.
“So they're government people.”
Zhu Lingxi asked softly, “Are they good people?”
Pei Tinglan glanced at her. “That's too broad of a question.”
“The Hanging Mirror Directorate has rules and discipline. If they encounter someone in a dungeon who needs help, they will usually step in depending on the situation.”
“Especially for us Chinese players, if we run into members of our own branch, they are usually willing to lend a hand as long as there is no major conflict of interest.”
“But it is the Global Alliance, after all.”
“The people inside come from different countries, and the factions, resources, and interests involved behind the scenes are far too complex. If you encounter members of another country's branch, don't expect them to treat you well just because you're both human.”
His tone was calm, but his words were incredibly blunt: “Run as far away as you can.”
Zhu Lingxi nodded seriously.
“I understand.”
“If we meet those from our country, we can consider asking for help; if we meet others, we must be on guard first.”
Cen Yao also made a mental note of it.
Pei Tinglan continued, “The Hanging Mirror Directorate is different from other guilds. They won't necessarily use the most direct methods to recruit you, but they will try to ascertain your stance, ability, and level of danger.”
“Don't be fooled by how that woman, Guanwei, hasn't said a word.”
“By now, she has probably already reviewed and analyzed every single one of your actions from the moment you entered the dungeon to the moment you exited.”
Cen Yao instinctively looked over.
The woman holding the register happened to look up just then, nodding politely to her across the crowd.
Cen Yao: “...”
She immediately took half a step behind Pei Tinglan.
The corner of Pei Tinglan's mouth twitched imperceptibly.
“Hiding now is too late.”
Cen Yao glared at him.
“Why didn't you say so earlier?”
“Aren't you supposed to be highly capable?”
“That doesn't mean I like being studied like a piece of data.”
Zhu Lingxi stood beside her and added very seriously, “If Miss Cen dislikes it, then it is a taboo.”
Pei Tinglan: “...”
He didn't reply, simply turning his gaze to the young man standing beside the two from the Hanging Mirror Directorate.
The young man wore a dark gray trench coat and looked extremely ordinary.
So ordinary that he would barely be noticed if thrown into a crowd.
Yet, when he stood there, the surrounding people seemed to instinctively avoid his gaze.
“The Third Leader of the Silent Pivot.”
“Code-named Ash.”
“Ranked fifteenth on the Peak Leaderboard, a peak A-rank player.”
Pei Tinglan said, “The Silent Pivot is best at gathering intelligence and setting up plans.”
“Most of the people in their guild run puzzle-solving dungeons. The dungeon intelligence, rule loopholes, and clearing clues they hold are more than you can possibly imagine.”
“It's said that their Second Leader's Talent is related to precognition.”
Cen Yao's eyes widened slightly.
“Precognition?”
“It's just a rumor.”
Pei Tinglan's tone was flat.
“However, they indeed always manage to obtain a lot of information that others don't know ahead of time. The Silent Pivot is also one of the wealthiest guilds in the entire game. They make a killing by selling intelligence, clues, and dungeon guides.”
Cen Yao immediately caught the key point.
“So they are very rich?”
Pei Tinglan glanced at her.
“Is money the only thing in your head?”
“This is called being pragmatic,” Cen Yao said righteously.
“Being rich means they can afford to hire people and buy many good items. If we ever have a chance to cooperate with them in the future, at least they won't default on payments.”
Pei Tinglan didn't refute her.
“That's true.”
Zhu Lingxi looked thoughtful.
“They seem to be standing very close to the people from the Hanging Mirror Directorate?”
Pei Tinglan looked at her with some surprise.
“You're quite observant.”
Zhu Lingxi was very candid.
“Just now, when Miss Guanwei looked at Mr. Ash, her expression didn't look like that of a stranger.”
Pei Tinglan fell silent for a moment.
“Yes.”
“The Silent Pivot and the Hanging Mirror Directorate have a good relationship. One has official channels and manpower, while the other holds a vast amount of intelligence and clearing clues. They often look out for each other in many dungeons.”
“But don't think the Silent Pivot is easy to approach because of that.”
“They are best at drawing people into their schemes. What you think is a coincidence might actually be a path they calculated for you from the very first step.”
Cen Yao said in a low voice, “That also sounds very formidable.”
Zhu Lingxi nodded. “Listen more, believe less.”
Pei Tinglan glanced at her.
“That's a good way to put it.”
Finally, his gaze fell on a pair of man and woman who looked quite similar.
The man wore a moon-white robe, spinning an old copper coin in his hand with a gentle smile on his face.
The woman was dressed in a black skirt, fine silver threads wrapped around her fingertips as she stood quietly behind him.
The two did not stand very close.
Yet they gave off an extremely dangerous sense of tacit understanding.
“The Eclipse Corridor.”
Pei Tinglan's voice lowered slightly.
“The Third Leader, code-named Eclipse, ranked sixteenth on the Peak Leaderboard.”
“The Fourth Leader, code-named Shadowweaver, ranked twenty-second on the Peak Leaderboard.”
Cen Yao asked, “Do they also do intelligence business?”
“No.”
Pei Tinglan looked at them, a rare trace of impatience creeping into his tone.
“They are a bunch of lunatics.”
Cen Yao: “...”
Zhu Lingxi silently pressed her hand against the Nuo mask at her waist.
Pei Tinglan continued, “Most of the people in the Eclipse Corridor have incredibly bizarre Talents, and their behavior is completely uncontrollable.”
“They don't necessarily enter dungeons to clear them or earn points. Sometimes, it's simply to test an absurd hypothesis.”
“Can you imagine them entering a dungeon, tying up the dungeon boss, just to research whether it actually has a sense of taste?”
“Can you imagine in a battle royale dungeon, while everyone is busy fleeing for their lives, they run off to tear down the dungeon walls and lure all the NPCs and bosses over? It caused players who could have survived to die, all just so they could see if there was anything hidden inside the walls.”
Cen Yao fell silent for two seconds.
“And they managed to survive that?”
“That's why I said they are crazy.”
Pei Tinglan said, “If you ever run into anyone from the Eclipse Corridor in a dungeon in the future, don't be surprised no matter what bizarre things they do.”
“That's just their standard operating procedure.”
“We run if we can. If we can't run, we'll try to take them down with us.”
“Hiss—” Cen Yao rubbed her arms, which were covered in goosebumps. “Is it really that exaggerated? Why do I feel like you have a massive grudge against them?”
“Who said that!” Pei Tinglan's voice suddenly shot up, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
“I... I'm just being objective!”
“Fine, fine, fine. If it's an objective description, why are you so worked up?” Cen Yao rubbed her nose and mumbled softly.
Then she exchanged a mischievous grin with Zhu Lingxi. It seemed there was definitely some bad blood between them.
Zhu Lingxi said softly, “Then they are the biggest taboo.”
Pei Tinglan nodded firmly. “Yes!”
“The biggest taboo!”
The woman in red, Luan, took a step forward at this moment.
Her gaze bypassed Pei Tinglan and fell directly on Cen Yao.
“Cen Yao?”
She spoke, her voice crisp and direct.
Cen Yao looked up and paused.
“That's me.”
Luan smiled.
When she smiled, her sharp features softened slightly, but they still carried an aggression that was hard to ignore.
“Ashen Feather Court.”
“Shall we talk?”
Rate on N.U.
