Chapter 381: Local Specialty

The sigh sounded unusually clear in the banquet hall that was otherwise filled only with the shuffling of footsteps.

Everyone instinctively looked at her.

Cheng Shuili's face showed a hint of helplessness, as if dealing with an unreasonable, whiny child.

She didn't reach for the female attendant's hand; instead, she pulled another item from the Abyssal Ring.

It was about the size of a palm…

A voice from the players behind suddenly shouted, "Speaker??"

Oh? Looks like there are some connoisseurs.

Cheng Shuili glanced back at the person with a hint of approval, then placed the item carefully on the round table, exactly where the phonograph had been.

Not even the Faceless Jester, the BOSS, let alone players from other zones, had ever seen a scene like this!

And moreover…

Her dance partner has been holding up his hand for so long; Wu Ya, this person, is that really not breaking the rules?

The thought just flashed in a player's mind, and he was surprised to see Wu Ya slip his hand into his partner's, yet when it came to dancing, she showed no intention of moving her body at all.

But to say she refused the invitation…

Uh… didn't she just place her hand in her partner's? How is that a refusal?

That move is basically glitching the system!

The Faceless Jester's surrounding air pressure dropped sharply; one could imagine with a toe how displeased it was, but what good does that do?

Cheng Shuili ignored all that, lifted her head, and gave the Faceless Jester an exceedingly sincere smile, even with a hint of "Now you should be satisfied."

Then she pressed the play button.

Perhaps the electronic gear in this cursed place is subpar; after the speaker emitted a 'Screech—' twice, the song finally began.

In an instant, a burst of highly kinetic, pounding rhythm, brimming with power and vitality, exploded across the dead‑silent ballroom!

"Dongci! Daci! Dongci! Daci!"

It was the plaza‑dance anthem! "The Handsomest Ethnic Style"!

The intro ended quickly, and the moment the vocals kicked in, everyone couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"The vast horizon is my love, beneath the endless Qing Shan the flowers are blooming…"

The soaring, bright singing, paired with deafening drums, in an utterly unreasonable manner, completely shattered the previously eerie stalemate!

Not to mention the horror and weirdness, the few Long Guo folk even started singing along.

All the monsters, including the Faceless Jester, completely crashed!

Their movements froze entirely, their hollow eyes filled with huge question marks.

What… what is this?!

This terrifying rhythm! This… this vulgar cheer! This unreasonable music!

Cheng Shuili swayed her shoulders to the beat, and, smiling brightly at the stone‑stiff female attendant before her and the Faceless Jester on the main seat who looked as if struck by lightning, said:

"Weren't we supposed to dance?"

"Come, I'll provide the music myself."

"Do you like this taste?"

"You've never seen it, have you? That's right, you haven't. This is a local specialty from my hometown! I've broadened your horizons, so why don't you say thank you already?"

It truly is a local specialty; even the Long Guo folk have heard of it.

But that didn't stop the bewildered Long Guo players; the female teammate from Rock Squad whom Cheng Shuili rescued now had her eyes wide open, subconsciously hummed two lines, then abruptly covered her mouth, and her gaze at Cheng Shuili had risen from 'admiration' to 'seeing a deity descend.'

"Can… it be… like this?" she murmured.

Pan Shi himself twitched at the corner of his mouth, trying to dissect Cheng Shuili's deeper intent, but seeing her mischievous, triumphant grin, he thought…

The big shot probably just found it fun, and wanted to disgust that pretentious BOSS.

Those foreign players were utterly stunned; they couldn't understand the lyrics, yet the addictive melody and pounding beat assaulted their eardrums and cognition indiscriminately.

This was even more… than having monsters charge straight at you…

…leaving them at a loss!

Yes, exactly at a loss!

So should they keep dancing now? Or just hum along?

All they need to remember is to follow the rules.

The Faceless Jester's emotions had already completely spiraled out of control; it roared, trying to regain control:

"Stop! Stop!! This isn't the banquet's music! This isn't my music! This place… only permits my music! You… you're desecrating! It's an offense! Attendants, eliminate this hateful offender."

But the attendants and guests, under the relentless barrage of "The Handsomest Ethnic Style," fared far worse.

Their movements were stiff; trying to obey the command to approach Cheng Shuili, they moved in lockstep like computers infected by a Trojan, looking both comical and eerie.

Cheng Shuili's dance partner, the female attendant, had hollow eyes alternating between blood‑red murderous intent and blankness; she clearly intended to follow the Faceless Jester's orders, yet her grip on Cheng Shuili's hand was limp, powerless, and even as the "Dongci Daci" beat continued, her fingertips trembled slightly.

Clearly she's immersed in it!

"Look," Cheng Shuili shrugged at the Faceless Jester, her tone both innocent and infuriating, "your attendants and guests seem to love my local specialty; they're all swaying along. Isn't that the joy of a feast? I'm just livening the atmosphere for you."

"You… are twisting arguments!" the Faceless Jester, staring like a predator, pressed its oppressive weight down onto Cheng Shuili.

Unfortunately, this human mindset is damnedly carefree, completely ignoring the terror that could kill, even taunting, shaking his head to the beat, nearly driving the Faceless Jester to death with anger.

The ballroom fell into a stalemate for a moment.

Regardless of what music played, there was a group that was happy.

Earlier it was the Faceless Jester who was pleased, but now it's these players who love a good spectacle!

After this brief stalemate, the Faceless Jester let out a cold snort, unsure if it was stunned by anger, its tone returning to normal, "I advise you one last time: now, put away your broken thing. I officially declare the banquet over. You have one hour of free time; you'd better use it to find something useful, otherwise…"

That was all it said, yet the Faceless Jester soothed itself, its tone slipping back to oily smoothness, chuckling oddly as if eager for the next act, "Otherwise, the upcoming post‑dessert time might be… hard for you to digest."

The words fell, and it vanished in the same way as before.

The other guests, as if they had lost their purpose, swiveled their heads bewildered, then each returned to their seat, grasped their knives and forks again, and resumed eating.

Cheng Shuili silently turned off the speaker; she stared at the direction where Wumian Xiaoshang vanished, still a bit stunned—how could that tasteless fellow escape like that, as if she didn't realize that artistic cultivation is hard to come by?

To think she'd be so ungrateful!

But however she thought, it now seems the outcome is favorable.

The other players slowly gathered around, their faces still bearing the bewilderment of surviving a disaster and having their worldview shaken.

"Wu—Wu Ya…" Pan Shi cleared his throat solemnly, "Thank you for earlier…"

Although the process was absurd, the result was indeed that Cheng Shuili used her astonishingly outrageous "local specialty" to forcibly halt the deadly ball, buying everyone a moment to breathe.

Kai Er stood a short distance away with a complicated expression, his lips moved, but he said nothing.

He was arrogant but not a fool; he knew that had it not been Cheng Shuili, they might have lost even more members on the dance floor.

"Boss! You're amazing!"

Haohao, completely unburdened, hurried up to Cheng Shuili, eyes sparkling, "Where did that speaker come from? Any other songs? Could you play 'The Big Apple' next time?"

Cheng Shuili: "……"

This person adapts quite well.

She put away the speaker, her gaze sweeping the ruined banquet hall and the bizarre guests resuming their meals, her expression returning to its usual calm: "No need to thank us. It gave us an hour; the next stage will likely be equally dangerous."

Pan Shi cleared his throat lightly, his face showing a self‑deprecating expression.

Having been a captain for so long, whether by age or experience he surely surpasses Wu Ya by a wide margin. Yet now the Instance's progression requires her to push it forward, and even the players' discussions must be initiated by her.

This person… is practically the backbone of all the players.

Pan Shi suppressed the subtle sentiment in his heart, quickly getting into gear: "Wu Ya is right; time is tight. The next stage sounds dangerous, and the allotted time far exceeds the previous one; we'll definitely have a lot to search for."

He looked at Cheng Shuili, his tone naturally inquisitive: "Miss Wu Ya, do you have any ideas?"

Hearing that question, the others' gazes naturally fell on Cheng Shuili.

It seemed that whatever she said, they planned to act on it.

Cheng Shuili did not answer immediately; she was genuinely uninterested in playing the savior.

If I recall correctly, we're supposed to be two factions, right? We were clear rivals—how did it become as if we're inseparable partners now?

She spread her hands, her tone distinctly detached: "Of course, do whatever you want. Didn't the master say? It's now free‑action time."

Cheng Shuili's 'don't get involved' attitude was like a splash of cold water dousing the newly sparked flame of collectivism.

Everyone looked at each other, the atmosphere briefly awkward.

"Ahem," Pan Shi, true to his veteran captain status, his thick‑skinned confidence matching his experience, immediately nodded in agreement, "Wu Ya is right; free action is more efficient. We'll split up to search for clues and reconvene here in half an hour to share intel."

He said that mainly to his own squad and the few foreign players.

As for Cheng Shuili and that steadfast Haohao who follows her?

Forget it, the boss's way of operating isn't something they can guess.

Kai Er let out a cold snort, turned first, and led his team toward the deep side curtains of the banquet hall, clearly unwilling to linger another second.

The other players each dispersed, carefully avoiding the guests still mechanically eating, and began to fumble through the vast dining area.

Cheng Shuili stayed where she was; when she saw them all spread out, she grabbed Haohao and said, "Find a guest and verify your identity."

"Huh?" The sudden order startled Haohao: "Confirm identity? Boss, you mean… using that previous method, just ask the servant whether I'm a guest?"

"Mm." Cheng Shuili nodded, her gaze scanning the servants moving among the tables, "We need to confirm whether players in the same team share a single identity, and whether guests might lie."

Haohao's heart pounded, yet she trusted Cheng Shuili's judgment almost blindly.

She inhaled deeply, her eyes wandering among the stiff‑moving servants, finally fixing on one that seemed… relatively less frightening.

Its movements were sluggish, its gaze hollow, slowly polishing a bottle, appearing gentler than the other restless ones.

"I'll give it a try!" Haohao encouraged herself, lifting a foot to step forward.

Cheng Shuili stared at the chosen fellow, a strange thought suddenly flashing in her mind.

Is this 'servant' truly a 'servant'? Why does it differ… from the others?

Haohao stepped forward, while Cheng Shuili watched quietly from a distance.

He's at least among the top few in their zone; even if they can't defeat this servant, he can still speak, say 'sorry'.

Moreover, she still has remaining forgiveness counts, so Cheng Shuili felt at ease.

She watched quietly as Haohao approached the slow‑moving servant polishing the wine bottle, forcing a suitable smile, and asked, "Um… may I ask, am I a guest or a servant?"

Cheng Shuili: "……"

She's even… polite.

The servant's motion halted.

It slowly raised its head, its hollow eyes gazing at Haohao.

That gaze wasn't the icy, piercing stare of other servants; instead it held an… indescribable focus, as if carefully discerning something.

Seconds ticked by, and Haohao felt her heartbeat thudding loudly in the silence.

Just as she was about to lose her smile, the servant's cracked lips moved, a hoarsely raspy voice, oddly hesitant: "Why would you… ask me that?"

"Aren't we colleagues?"

Haohao's complexion vanished in an instant; she lunged backward a step, staring at the servant in disbelief.

She's a servant?!

Wu Ya was clearly a guest! So… they aren't in the same faction?!

But they're teammates!

That realization felt like a bucket of ice water poured over her head, chilling her limbs.

Instinctively she turned back to Cheng Shuili, her eyes filled with panic and seeking confirmation.

And Cheng Shuili remained calm; she stepped forward, locking eyes with the attendant. She didn't know when, but Night Hunt was already in her hand.

"Colleagues?" Cheng Shuili said softly, "You're sure?"

The attendant, faced with Cheng Shuili's noticeably extraordinary long blade, stopped wiping the wine bottle. It slowly raised its head; its voice remained hoarse yet carried a hint of certainty, as if afraid she would not believe its words.

"Of course… certain. We… are all attendants… serving… at this feast."