Wen Xishu said:
"Actually, like the authors of novels, I enjoy having readers deduce some not-so-brilliant designs. Even though they’re easy to guess, they will still purposely hint at some places..."
"This time the clue is quite obvious: heptagon, seven sins, town of seven. 42-7..."
As Wen Xishu spoke, he began to scrutinize the room:
"Have you searched this room meticulously?"
There were three minutes left before the necklace’s power would expire. Wen Xishu’s speech had already started to speed up.
If it weren’t for the fact that searching the room immediately after entering would make An Jincheng uncomfortable, Wen Xishu would have wanted to search the room while trying to win An Jincheng over.
Now he could only hope that the item was hidden not too deeply, but was merely something inconspicuous...
An Jincheng shook his head:
"I’ve searched it, but there doesn’t seem to be anything special."
Wen Xishu shook his head. The most annoying kind are the NPCs who meet the conditions but just lay flat. It’s just rebelling against your grandfather.
You’re not even as good as our Jennifer.
"Have you completely accepted your fate? Fully accepted it? Honestly, haven’t you ever thought about defying your grandfather even once?"
As he spoke, Wen Xishu started rifling through drawers and boxes.
An Jincheng followed suit, rifling through things, and said:
"Not really... I used to think about escaping. I’m not unafraid of death. I’ve actually been maintaining smugglers over at Incheon Port. They are ready to act at any moment."
"I thought, if I ever regretted anything, I’d let them smuggle me out. Only through such means could I possibly escape from my grandfather."
"During the days I was pretending to be useless, I met quite a few people from the gray areas. I can’t vouch for their loyalty, but even in the short term, it wouldn’t be easy for my grandfather to infiltrate them."
"But, when I think about my brother, I am willing to die for him."
Wen Xishu hadn’t expected this side of Young Master An:
"It’s good to be afraid of death. You can find something more valuable than life to protect, but you can’t not be afraid of death."
Wen Xishu looked up at the ceiling. He found nothing there. But he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be some unusual elements in the room.
"The eerie zodiac signs, whether it’s Virgo, Gemini... they all pay attention to me after I complete my tasks."
"I suppose Scorpio will be the same... Their presence must be more advanced than the disruptors."
The characteristic of disruptors, they are troublemakers, and their memories don’t reset with the scenario resets.
So, existing entities more advanced than them, might well be the designers of the levels... Or if they aren’t the designers, they can still modify some aspects of the levels.
Wen Xishu’s gaze landed on a painting on the wall; it was of a woman wearing a flower crown, barefoot, staring into the distance.
In that moment, he seemed to think of something, immediately starting to search for other similar elements.
On the coffee table in the living room, next to the tea pet, there was an imposing looking yellow jade yak.
On the umbrella stand in the room, the metal end of an umbrella handle was imprinted with a lion design, supposedly the logo of the world’s most expensive umbrella brand.
In the cabinet, Wen Xishu found plates with images of fishes biting each other’s tails, forming a continuous loop like an ouroboros.
The refrigerator, a brand that Wen Xishu was very familiar with, was produced in Longxia, featuring a pair of brothers in underwear.
On the table, there were playing cards, with ram heads illustrated on their backs.
"The crabs in the refrigerator, did you buy them?"
"No, I’m allergic to crab meat. I can’t even touch them out of fear. These things were already here."
"Why didn’t you have them removed?"
"I asked them to, they do the cleaning, but there are some areas they just never touch."
Necklace countdown: one minute.
Wen Xishu said:
"Tell me, which other places have you noticed they deliberately avoid?"
An Jincheng realized that Wen Xishu must have detected something.
He pointed to a row of bottles and jars on the kitchen cabinet:
"These things do get wiped clean. I arrange them according to height, but the bottle in the middle is clearly the tallest, yet I always place it at the edge, and every time they put it back in the middle."
Virgo, Leo, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Aquarius...
Wen Xishu was now certain that the room concealed elements of the twelve zodiac signs.
"No more wasting time. Have you ever seen anything with a scorpion symbol?"
"A scorpion? Well, actually yes, there’s a kitchen knife with a scorpion engraved on it. It’s quite heavy; it looks like it shouldn’t be that heavy for its size."
Following the lead, Wen Xishu’s gaze landed on the place where the knives were stored.
The knives were categorized based on usage, stored in different slots.
No doubt, as the heir of the Sanqiu Group, these kitchen tools were luxurious. Everyone knows a good chef’s knives are expensive...
But no matter how good the chef, seeing the knives in An Jincheng’s room, would fall in love with them.
The knife with the scorpion engraving was indeed heavy; it was a Spanish Ham Knife, a type of western kitchen knife.
"Do you eat Spanish ham? Do you practice cooking often?"
An Jincheng said:
"Since you know so much about the An Family, you should know... what my image has been these past years. When I want to eat, there can be a line of top chefs waiting to cook for me."
Wen Xishu chuckled:
A wastrel, but actually, it’s fine. Not engaging in business won’t bankrupt the Sanqiu Group; the speed at which he loses money is still slower than the speed they earn it.
After all, the Sanqiu Group’s industries in Jicheng have formed a closed loop. They’ve almost caught up with the Wayne Family of Gotham City.
"If I am not wrong... this knife is what we’re looking for. Hmm, I like the design of the Spanish Ham Knife."