Chapter 287: Locust Tree Hotel 5
Ding—
The elevator doors opened, and Chu Yian, seeing nothing, was already preparing to step out.
She used the card for room 8808 to open the door, and before entering, she glanced at Li Mingzhu, who was following her. “This round of the game is life-threatening; it’s better to rely on yourself than anyone else. I suggest you go back to your room to rest and familiarize yourself with the rules you have.”
After saying that, she immediately entered the room and closed the door, then turned on all the lights in the room!
Ahhh, that paper figure just now was so scary!
Chu Yian was almost scared out of her expert demeanor. After turning on the lights, she leaned against the door and began reading the rules in the manual.
[4. The Hotel has a total of 6 guest elevators. Between 6:00 and 20:00, all 6 elevators can be used freely. Between 20:01 and 5:59, only odd-numbered elevators can be used.]
[5. Please keep your room card safe. If lost, you must immediately report it at the front desk and apply for a new one, ensuring the new card is not red.]
[6. The Hotel’s Cleaner time is from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM daily. If a Cleaner offers room service outside of this time, please refuse directly.]
[7. The Hotel is equipped with various entertainment and leisure facilities such as a swimming pool, courts, Movie Theater, sauna, and spa. In addition to completing your trial stay work, you must experience at least three related leisure facilities.]
[8. You can communicate with Hotel staff for any issues you encounter in this Hotel to seek help. However, if you see a staff member wearing red clothes, please leave quickly and find a closed room to hide.]
There were a total of eight pieces of information.
After reading them, Chu Yian had a general idea.
All players’ identities should be trial stayers, and staying here for five days should count as clearing the game. She reviewed all eight rules and felt that the later difficulties in this round of the game would involve completing tasks related to being a trial stayer.
She had heard of the profession of a trial stayer before, but she didn’t know the specific tasks.
Chu Yian felt that the rules for this round of the game were not yet complete.
Should she open a treasure box first?
The thought of using the ‘Creation from Nothing’ skill flashed through Chu Yian’s mind, but she quickly dismissed it. The game wouldn’t give her something that would allow her to clear it directly. While wishing now would definitely yield something useful, its utility might not be what she truly needed.
She put away the manual and room card, preparing to leave her room and look around.
After confirming with the Housing Service Center downstairs that she could explore, she began to familiarize herself with the Hotel’s layout. She avoided overly secluded or less-populated areas, sticking to public spaces.
Floors five and above of the building were residential, and their cards could only access their corresponding floors in the residential area.
This meant that from the 5th to the 16th floor, if using the elevator, Chu Yian could only go up to the eighth floor.
However, she found the stairs, a small detail.
By the time she finished exploring the Hotel, it was already dinner time.
Chu Yian asked the front desk for the dining area, where most of the idle players had already gathered. These people were in groups of two or three, or even seven or eight, which likely meant they had formed alliances.
They didn’t pay much attention to new players. Occasionally, one or two pairs of eyes would scan Chu Yian, but seeing her as a small-figured girl, they wouldn’t deliberately approach her to ask about teaming up.
Chu Yian was used to being a loner and naturally wouldn’t mix with these people.
She took a plate, intending to get some food, and then go upstairs early after eating.
Just as she was about to take the last piece of cantaloupe from the fruit platter, it was taken by another hand.
It was just a piece of fruit, so Chu Yian certainly didn’t think much of it. But when the other person took it, she couldn’t help but look at them, following their fingers.
The familiar face next to her made her so startled that she almost dropped the plate in her hand.
Lu Qingyuan.
“Do you want it?”
A familiar voice came from above. Lu Qingyuan looked at the person with her head down and placed the last piece of fruit on her plate.
He watched her quietly, his gaze carrying an intensity he himself was unaware of.
“Thank you.”
Chu Yian looked at the extra fruit on her plate. After encountering Lu Qingyuan, she just wanted to get away immediately.
But Lu Qingyuan’s tall figure enveloped her, even blocking her escape route. “What’s your name? Are you a trial stayer here?”
Chu Yian didn’t know how to answer. Just then, a voice suddenly called out to her.
“Da Ni!”
It was Li Mingzhu.
Chu Yian felt Li Mingzhu’s timing was perfect. With a polite smile, she pointed towards the door, “Excuse me, my friend is looking for me. Let’s chat another time if we have the chance.”
With that, she bypassed Lu Qingyuan.
“You know that person?”
Li Mingzhu looked at the man standing by the serving area, the same person she had glimpsed in the elevator that afternoon. She suppressed her inner excitement, tugged on Chu Yian’s sleeve, and whispered, “Who is that? He’s so handsome!”
That was the eerie big shot in the Eerie World who killed many people with software;
That was the Vampire Chairman in the Vampire World who almost sucked her dry;
That was the black-hearted capitalist in the Drought World who exploited the working people while others had no water.
Chu Yian noticed Lu Qingyuan looking at her and quickly averted her gaze. “I don’t know him. If you want to know who he is, go ask him yourself.”
She wolfed down her meal and ran off quickly without looking back.
Li Mingzhu looked at Lu Qingyuan, who was alone. His cold and handsome appearance and an aura that kept people at a distance fascinated her. She hesitated for a moment, looking at the tray in her hand, then bravely walked up to Lu Qingyuan’s side. “Hello, may I share a table with you?”
Lu Qingyuan gave her a faint glance but did not refuse.
Seeing this, Li Mingzhu felt there was a chance. She sat down in front of him. “My name is Li Mingzhu. What’s your name, little brother?”
As she spoke, she secretly took out a spherical object from her in my arms.
This was her game item.
Li Mingzhu hadn’t lied earlier; her ability was to find the strongest person in a crowd. The reason she had survived until now was precisely because of this ability: finding the strongest person in the crowd, following him to clear the game, and then living a mediocre, safe life.
For this round of the game, she had originally planned to choose Wang Da Ni, but the man in front of her presented a better target.
She looked down at the glass sphere, which was pointing in Lu Qingyuan’s direction, and while praising her good judgment, she forcefully suppressed her wildly beating heart.
“What was the name of the girl who was with you just now?”
Lu Qingyuan didn’t beat around the bush with her and directly asked what he wanted to know.
“You… you mean Wang Da Ni.”
Li Mingzhu didn’t expect that with such a beautiful woman sitting in front of him, the man would actually be thinking about someone with such a common name. A glint flashed in her eyes, then she said with a smile, “Da Ni is my friend, but she’s from the countryside and has a rather reclusive personality.”
