Seeing Lu Qingjia insist on attending the interview in his disheveled state, the staff member’s expression changed. Just as they were about to persuade him further, he had already opened the door to the interview office.
Lu Qingjia’s memory of what followed is a bit hazy. He recalls that there seemed to be more than one person in the interview room, but the details are uncertain.
The figure’s appearance was obscured by the backlight from the large floor-to-ceiling windows in the office, making it hard to discern. He only remembers that the person seemed displeased with his muddy appearance but still offered him a ‘job opportunity.’
They hinted that this was a team effort, which was also the reason Lu Qingjia left himself clues the day before, prompting him to return to the city where the train originated.
Naturally, Lu Qingjia was curious about the identity of the mysterious interviewer. At the time, he had discreetly left something around the person.
But now, when he tried to sense it, there was no response. It seemed the interviewer was no ordinary NPC.
At the very least, they had a calm and composed way of handling Players’ skills and abilities.
These details were not particularly important for now. The instance had too many restrictions, and it wasn’t easy to confirm much with the limited clues available.
However, Lu Qingjia had at least determined the timing and location of the first and second respawn points.
The first respawn point was undoubtedly the moment the Players entered the Game. At that time, there were no traces of the Players’ activities in the instance world. As long as the first task wasn’t completed, the group would return to the respawn point, and most Players wouldn’t notice anything amiss, thinking they had just entered the Game.
What made it even more insidious was that this instance blocked Players’ senses and even used mental manipulation to make them ignore the peculiarities of the other Players around them. Unless a Player behaved exceptionally oddly or had strong mental skills to detect something wrong, it would be difficult to realize the sheer number of Players around them amidst the fast-paced, routine tasks.
Moreover, the initial hints suggested that Players were pitted against each other. Whether they were Gold-digging Players or ordinary Players, before the enemy revealed themselves, they naturally wouldn’t expose themselves, striving to remain low-key and unremarkable.
With these three layers of safeguards, it was no wonder that hundreds of Players couldn’t even make it out of the first train station.
The second respawn point was in the interview office.
If Lu Qingjia had followed the staff’s advice to tidy up and erase traces of his completion of the first task, he wouldn’t have been able to discover the truth so efficiently and return here the next day.
More likely, after confirming the situation, the time for reporting to the internship would have passed, and the factory wouldn’t accept him, thus wasting an entire day.
Wasting a day would mean that Players like Lu Qingjia, who had already passed the first task, would have to wait, while those still stuck in the first task would inevitably waste another opportunity to buy train tickets.
The closer they got to exhausting their ticket supply, dragging this out twice would make Players forget their identities and become NPCs trapped in the Game forever, effectively ending their team.
However, for an intermediate-level instance, such strict and trap-filled rules couldn’t possibly leave Players with no room to maneuver.
Thus, Lu Qingjia concluded that the respawn points and timing must have clear hints. When he heard the staff’s reminder and the train’s synchronized announcement, he was almost 80% certain that the interview office was the second respawn point.
Therefore, he maintained as many Game traces as possible when he entered.
Now that he had sorted out the logic, the memory-blocking state lost its meaning, and his memories were directly restored.
According to Lu Qingjia’s speculation, once the memories were unlocked, they shouldn’t be blocked again, or else the rules would be unfair.
But just in case, he still needed to make some preparations.
After breakfast, the group discussed the current situation and headed to their workplace.
The workplace was a wax figure workshop. They arrived about ten minutes early and found that what was called a factory was more like a family-run workshop.
The wax museum was located in the suburbs of the city, surrounded by overgrown weeds and brambles, lacking maintenance.
The castle had a distinctly medieval European charm, and with the sudden overcast weather, it gave the Players a familiar sense of returning to a horror-themed instance.
Before they could knock, they heard intense arguing inside—a man’s roar, a woman’s scream, and the sound of a teenager who couldn’t take it anymore.
But before they could make out the content, the door suddenly opened.
The person who opened the door was a thin, sharp-looking old woman with an air of shrewdness bordering on the eerie. Her gaze fell on the Players.
Even though any one of them could easily overpower an ordinary old woman, her stare made them feel as if insects were crawling over their skin.
Lu Qingjia, however, remained calm and smiled, “Is this the Jin Family Wax Factory? We’re the new employees starting today. I believe you’ve received the employment notice.”
The old woman didn’t respond but instead gave a strange smile and called out to someone behind her, “Alright, stop arguing. The workers are here. Time to get to work.”
In the hall behind her were four people: a balding middle-aged man, a slender but haggard and neurotic-looking woman, and two teenagers—a boy and a girl.
The girl, slightly older, immediately winked at Lu Qingjia upon seeing him, while the boy was engrossed in his phone, playing an outdated mobile game.
The man welcomed the Players in, giving them a critical once-over before sighing, “Can’t the company send us someone useful for once?”
He then pinched Lu Qingjia’s arm and scrutinized his face, “You seem like you might be of some use, but the others—”
Before he could finish, the new employee looked at him with a smile, “Yes, the boss is also quite useful.”
The look in his eyes was as if he were sizing up a piece of pork. The wax museum owner felt a shiver run down his spine but dismissed it as overthinking.
After all, this was—
The boss laughed awkwardly, “Let me introduce you. This wax factory is a family business, passed down through generations. It’s now family-run.”
“But there are fewer young people willing to focus on honing their craft these days. Most employees don’t last long—either they lack the skills or the aptitude. So we often rely on recruitment agencies to bring in new hires.”
“I hope you can stick around and complete the tasks.”
“So, what’s our task for today?” Lu Qingjia asked.
“Oh, it’s like this,” the boss led them into the workshop. “Tonight, the city’s richest man is hosting a banquet and needs six life-sized wax figures as decorations. The delivery time is 4 PM.”
“If you can complete the task by then, you’ll have completed your internship.”
Lu Qingjia raised an eyebrow, “With all due respect, creating lifelike wax figures is a time-consuming process. With only five and a half hours left before delivery, what’s your current progress?”
“We’ve just finalized the models,” the boss said without a hint of shame, as if he didn’t realize the task was practically impossible.
He even added, “This is a big client. The wax figures must be so lifelike that they’re indistinguishable from real people, or we’ll ruin our reputation.”
He then handed the models’ data and blueprints to Lu Qingjia and the others, “Work hard.”
With that, he prepared to leave the workshop. But before he could step out, a loud crash came from behind.
The boss’s face turned pale as he turned around to see a wax figure had fallen and shattered, leaving only half of its head intact.
The remaining half rolled on the floor and came to a stop at Lu Qingjia’s feet, its eyes staring up at him in a rather unsettling manner.
The boss was furious, “Who broke it?”
Lu Qingjia stepped on the half-head of the wax figure, crushing it, and raised his hand, “It was me!”
Though his tone was humble and apologetic, his actions showed no remorse. It was as if he had deliberately broken it.
Lu Qingjia smiled, “I thought its posture looked a bit odd. When it turned, it seemed like it was about to strangle me. I’m quite sensitive, so out of instinctive self-defense, I pushed it over.”
“But it should be fine, right? After all, it’s just a failed piece that didn’t even make it out of the workshop.”
At these words, the temperature in the workshop seemed to drop a few degrees.
The boss looked grim, “No, every piece is my hard work. Even if some don’t turn out perfect due to limitations, I cherish them all equally.”
Lu Qingjia chuckled, “I’m truly sorry. But what should we do now?”
“It’s already broken. Are you going to fire me?”
The boss, unable to vent his anger, was left speechless. He glared at Lu Qingjia for a long time before finally saying, “Fine, you’re lucky. We’re short on hands today.”
“As long as you complete the task on time, I won’t hold you responsible.”
Lu Qingjia became even more apologetic, “But I’m so clumsy. Maybe I’m not suited for this job.”
“If I stay, I might not only delay your delivery but also cause more trouble. Maybe I should just leave.”
“No!” the boss shouted, then quickly regained his composure, “You need to think carefully. Jobs aren’t easy to come by.”
“If you leave here, you’ll have to go back to the recruitment agency. And if you leave, the others won’t be able to complete the task either. Think about whether you want to drag everyone down.”
The other five Players looked anxious. Even if some knew Lu Qingjia was likely putting on an act, they were afraid he might go too far.
After all, Lu Qingjia was already in the second stage, with a clear advantage. They were still in the first stage. If the task wasn’t completed, they’d probably wake up back at the train station tomorrow.
If Lu Qingjia was feeling particularly ruthless, he could use them to get the next task and then sabotage the progress, leaving them behind and advancing alone the next day.
If he could replicate this method in subsequent tasks, he might complete the Game while they remained clueless, thinking they had just entered the Game, endlessly waiting for a train that would never arrive.
However, Lu Qingjia then said, “Really? So just going back to the recruitment agency can get me another job? And this task requires all six of us to complete?”
He smiled at the visibly shaken boss, “Thank you for the information.”
With that, he stopped talking about leaving and instead ushered the boss out, “Alright, we don’t have much time left. We need to get to work. The workshop is a bit cramped. Boss, will you stay and help? If not, could you please step out for now?”
Having said all that, the boss’s face turned beet red with anger, but he was left with no choice.
He could only let out a cold snort before leaving the workshop and closing the door behind him.
The other five Players exchanged glances, feeling a bit ashamed of their earlier suspicions.
They tried to shift the focus by asking, “Lu, what did you mean just now?”
Lu Qingjia took the model data from the boss, “Nothing much, just fishing for some information. But it’s not confirmed yet.”
“However, it’s clear that their primary goal is to keep all of us here. If they’re emphasizing the number of people, then the banquet tonight might be related to our task.”
“But regardless, let’s focus on making the wax figures first.”
One Player asked, “Lu, have you done this before?”
Lu Qingjia shook his head, “No, but logically, with our abilities, making wax figures should be easy.”
Based on their experience with the train, if it were that simple, it wouldn’t align with the instance’s rules that aimed to hinder Players’ progress and keep them stuck in cycles of insufficient clues.
“Of course, the main event might be at the banquet, but I doubt there won’t be any twists here. Wait—”
Lu Qingjia pointed at the data on the blueprint, and the group gathered around, though they couldn’t see anything unusual.
The blueprints were detailed, but there were no image-based models. Instead, each body part had precise measurements.
Each wax figure had at least two hundred measurements, with the head being the most detailed.
There were also materials listed for each part of the body, as well as spaces left for hair, with all proportions clearly marked.
It was as detailed as the one-to-one replica wax figures made for celebrities and famous personalities in the real world.
A female Player asked, “Lu, what’s wrong with this?”
Lu Qingjia smiled and pulled out one of the documents, “Doesn’t this look familiar to you?”
The female Player looked at it for a while but couldn’t spot anything, “Where—what?”
“My height and measurements are similar?”
“More than that!” Lu Qingjia took a measuring tape from the table and handed it to her, “If you measure yourself according to the data, you’ll find that every inch of your body, even the spacing of your facial features and the contours of your face, matches the blueprint perfectly.”
The female Player had a slender figure and was quite attractive—honestly, female Players who reached a certain level, unless they deliberately disguised themselves or didn’t care about their appearance, usually didn’t look too bad.
After all, the Game had plenty of Items and foods that could enhance one’s beauty. Moreover, as spiritual power increased, the body’s metabolism, detoxification, and repair abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people. As long as one’s natural conditions weren’t too poor, the stronger their abilities, the more attractive they would become.
The female Player took the measuring tape and quickly measured various parts of her body, finding that every measurement matched the data perfectly.
The others also took the measuring tape and checked some basic measurements against the data.
Then they were all shocked, “Fuck, are they making us create wax figures of ourselves?”
“Once we finish toiling over these wax figures and realize they’re our own faces, damn, just thinking about it gives me the creeps.”
Lu Qingjia smiled, “What’s so creepy about that?”
The others’ hearts skipped a beat, “Wh-what do you mean?”
Lu Qingjia pointed to a large pot in the workshop, where wax was being melted. The wax was transparent but had a faint yellow tint.
Lu Qingjia said, “When we first entered the room, the wax wasn’t completely melted yet. There were still some solid pieces on the surface, but now it’s like this.”
“Now that you mention it, the room does feel a bit hot,” someone said.
However, Players were naturally more resistant to heat and cold than ordinary people, so the slightly increased temperature in the room wasn’t particularly uncomfortable. It could be explained by the closed door reducing air circulation or the excitement from seeing the model data.
“But this temperature shouldn’t be enough to melt the wax, right?”
“Yet the wax figures are already reacting,” the female Player pointed at a nearby wax figure.
The lifelike wax figure had beads of liquid resembling sweat on its face and hands.
A Player touched it with his finger, “It’s melted wax. But its facial features aren’t blurred, and its contours haven’t changed. How is this possible?”
It was as if these wax figures were truly sweating.
These wax figures already looked incredibly real. Since entering, the Players had occasionally felt as if they were being watched.
Now, with the wax sweat appearing on their bodies, they didn’t seem any less real—on the contrary, they seemed even more lifelike.
If Lu Qingjia hadn’t already shattered one earlier, revealing its internal structure, they might have suspected that these wax figures contained real people.
Suddenly, the enclosed workshop exuded an eerie atmosphere.
“Let’s open the door,” the Players said without hesitation, kicking open the workshop door.
It opened easily, and they stepped outside, but the lingering sense of discomfort didn’t fade.
Instead, they bumped into the landlady, who had just finished cleaning upstairs.
She was holding a vacuum cleaner and seemed slightly unnerved when she saw the group suddenly pouring out of the room.
She then put on a stern face, “You’ve barely started working, and you’re already taking a break?”
The others ignored her, but Lu Qingjia asked, “Were you just cleaning?”
Perhaps due to his good looks, the landlady’s expression softened slightly, “Yes, with a big family like this, there’s always a mountain of chores. It’s a hard life, taking care of four people all by myself with no one to help.”
Lu Qingjia smiled, “Such a large house must have a lot of daily chores. Did you just finish vacuuming?”
The landlady followed up, “Yes, the entire upstairs is carpeted. The family keeps forgetting to take off their shoes, and they don’t care how hard it is to clean up after them.”
Lu Qingjia said, “That does sound tough, especially for someone like you who just finished vacuuming and yet the vacuum brush is so clean.”
The landlady stiffened and gave an awkward smile, “Yes, I always clean it before putting it away.”
She then changed the subject, “If you’re done taking a breather, you should get back to work. Missing the delivery this afternoon would have serious consequences.”
“Sure, no problem. Do you need help carrying the vacuum cleaner? It looks heavy.”
“No, no,” the landlady said, but then suddenly let out a pained gasp, “Ouch—”
Lu Qingjia quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”
The landlady held out her arm, where a drop of hot wax had somehow landed.
But the wax didn’t solidify. Instead, it acted like a spark landing on a candle, causing the skin around it to start melting.
The landlady’s face changed, and she quickly pulled her sleeve over the spot, saying hurriedly, “I need to go take care of this.”
As she left, Lu Qingjia watched her retreating figure with a deep, enigmatic smile.
The other Players, though standing a few meters away, had keen eyesight and quickly understood what had happened—
“That was wax from the pot?”
Lu Qingjia nodded, “I didn’t expect it to have this effect.”
“That’s really malicious,” the Players said.
“That’s really perfect,” Lu Qingjia said.
The others didn’t understand what he meant.
“Actually, completing the task shouldn’t be too difficult,” one Player said. “I have a skill that allows me to mold things. As long as I’ve touched something, I can recreate it within a certain volume using clay.”
“If the model data is based on us, then we can create molds from clay, pour in the wax, let it dry, and we’ll have the finished product. We might just need to do some touch-ups and color adjustments.”
“But with the wax being so volatile, if we had proceeded without knowing, we might have ended up damaging our bodies.”
Lu Qingjia, however, held a contrary opinion: “But I think the plasticity of this wax is really good.”
“Moreover, I need to correct a clue.”
“What?”
“These wax figures all over the room,” Lu Qingjia said. “At first, I thought they weren’t real people, at most they were controlled Items or possessed by evil spirits, but now it seems that’s not necessarily the case.”
As soon as he finished speaking, it seemed like the atmosphere in the workshop froze.
One of the wax figures, whose eyes had been dull, seemed to flicker for a moment.
The female Player closest to it immediately spoke up to warn, “Did its eyes just move?”
Several people looked over cautiously but didn’t notice anything unusual.
Just as they were about to relax, Lu Qingjia sneered, “More than just the eyes moved.”
“Didn’t you notice that the positions and even the postures of all the wax figures have changed since we first arrived?”
With a wave of his hand, several small ice sculpture models appeared on the table, corresponding to the wax figures in the workshop.
Lu Qingjia said, “This is the positions and postures of the wax figures when we first entered. Now, compare them to how they are now.”
With the reference for comparison, everyone immediately noticed that, although the changes were subtle, every wax figure had indeed moved to some extent.
“It’s just that the speed of change is too slow, averaging a few millimeters per minute. Combined with their inorganic nature, it’s impossible to see with the naked eye.”
“But they are indeed moving with a certain purpose.”
This was enough to prove that these wax figures were, in a sense, alive.
A fire-controlling Player suddenly conjured a flame in his hand and sneered, “Won’t burning them solve everything?”
As the flame approached the nearest wax figure, a scream suddenly came from upstairs.
