Chapter 302: Locust Tree Hotel 20
As they talked, they unknowingly arrived at the door of Room 8806.
Chu Yian’s voice unconsciously lowered as she watched Lu Qingyuan swipe open the room door.
The moment the door opened, a damp smell permeated the room.
Inside the dim room, curtains fluttered like a human figure flashing past the window, a sight that instantly made Chu Yian not want to step inside.
Click.
Lu Qingyuan turned on the light.
The room brightened, and everyone felt much more comfortable.
Room 8806 had not yet been cleaned by the Cleaner; everything was still as Li Mingzhu had left it. Since they were already here, they might as well look around.
Chu Yian clutched Lu Qingyuan’s sleeve and walked around the room.
The layout of Room 8806 was actually the same as Room 8808.
However, with messy bedding on the bed and papers strewn everywhere on the floor and cabinets, Li Mingzhu’s room was significantly more cluttered.
Chu Yian checked everywhere one by one and found that the doorknob leading to the bathroom had been smashed. The lock now wouldn’t close, hanging loosely on the wood.
And inside the bathroom, the mirror directly opposite had been shattered.
The broken shards were not removed; they were all swept next to the toilet. The sharp parts of the mirror were stained with already blackened blood, and as one approached, several broken pieces of the mirror together reflected a distorted human figure.
Chu Yian was now a startled bird, feeling danger in everything she saw.
She pulled Lu Qingyuan and quickly exited the bathroom, guessing that Li Mingzhu might have violated a rule on the very first night of the game.
It wasn’t Trial Sleeper Handbook 01, but rather Hotel General Rule No. 2: During their stay at the Hotel, Trial Sleepers may use Hotel facilities as they wish, but they must take care of Hotel facilities.
Clearly, Li Mingzhu had damaged the bathroom door.
Lu Qingyuan also looked at the shattered mirror piled next to the toilet. If one looked a little longer, a little closer, they would notice that the reflections in these mirrors, regardless of the angle, stared intently at the reflection’s true self.
He frowned and reached out to close the bathroom door again.
On the other side, Chu Yian was bending over, examining the waste paper on the floor. Almost all of these papers were stained with blood, and one paper had the most blood, also wrapping a broken, blood-stained mirror shard.
She immediately thought of Li Mingzhu’s suddenly limping leg.
On the first night of the game, Li Mingzhu had to run into the bathroom to hide because of some incident. For various reasons, she damaged the bathroom door, and in her panic from the shattering mirror, she was pierced through the sole of her foot by a sharp shard.
Then what?
What was the reason she became so deranged?
Chu Yian searched the entire room and then found a crumpled Trial Sleeper Handbook 02 in the trash can. And at the very bottom of the trash can, a red paper with black text was hidden.
“Hello, Trial Sleeper of Room 8806. Due to your failure to complete the relevant Trial Sleeper tasks, you will face the consequence of terminating your contract with the Hotel. Once you lose your Trial Sleeper qualification, you will be killed by the anomalies present within the Hotel.
You still have a chance to salvage the current situation. Please read the following rules carefully.”
“1. Before 03:00 on the third day, your identity is that of a Pseudo-Trial Sleeper. During this period, you are no different from a regular Trial Sleeper and need to seize a Trial Sleeper qualification within the specified time.”
“2. You need to find a Trial Sleeper and pat her shoulder three times. After completing this action, if she says ‘willing to save you’ verbally, you will successfully strip the other person of their Trial Sleeper identity.”
“3. Please pay attention to disguise. If a Trial Sleeper questions your identity, you will lose the chance to seize a Trial Sleeper qualification and will be killed by the anomalies present within the Hotel.”
“4. As a Pseudo-Trial Sleeper, the ‘Trial Sleeper Handbook 02’ does not apply to you, but you need to find the yellow ribbon placed in the room and tie it to your right wrist. If you successfully pat a Trial Sleeper’s shoulder three times but cannot get her to verbally say ‘willing to save you,’ untie the yellow ribbon and strangle the Trial Sleeper to also strip the other party of their qualification.”
“Pseudo-Trial Sleeper of Room 8806, please choose your target for deprivation: Room.”
This booklet was printed, but only the number “8808” on it was handwritten.
Clearly, among the many players, Li Mingzhu’s chosen target for deprivation was herself.
Chu Yian was stunned. She had initially helped Li Mingzhu to build good karma, but it unexpectedly turned into bad karma. Among a large number of players, she actually chose to seize her own identity.
Chu Yian couldn’t help but click her tongue, feeling that the treasure box hitting her last night was well-deserved.
But in that case, there was now a very important question.
Was Li Mingzhu the only one who failed to complete the task the night before last?
If others also failed to complete this task, would they also become Pseudo-Trial Sleepers vying for Trial Sleeper qualifications? Besides the night before last, how many people failed to complete the task last night?
Chu Yian realized this problem.
This round of the game, in addition to the problems brought by the rules, also seemed to have added trouble within the players’ own teams.
“What’s wrong?”
Lu Qingyuan saw her squatting motionless by the trash can and asked.
Chu Yian looked at him upon hearing this, suddenly realizing that in this round of the game, Teacher Lu, as an NPC, seemed even safer and more reliable than players from the same faction.
“Teacher Lu!”
She reached out, wanting to hug Lu Qingyuan’s thigh, but Lu Qingyuan quickly blocked her with his hand.
Chu Yian looked up at him.
“You just rummaged through the trash can, and you’re trying to wipe your dirty hands on my pants?”
Lu Qingyuan, with seven parts aloofness and three parts disdain, bent down and pinched her wrist, “Let’s go.”
That room, having become like that, certainly couldn’t be lived in anymore.
Lu Qingyuan informed the front desk, and the room was switched back.
However, when she encountered familiar players again, what Chu Yian thought of was no longer resource exchange or doing favors, but rather caution.
Especially when she saw some small teams traveling together, she used to think they were safe, but now she felt they were the most dangerous. After all, who could ensure that there wasn’t a player with ulterior motives among teammates, wanting to seize a Trial Sleeper identity?
Compared in this way, Teacher Lu suddenly became a hot commodity.
Chu Yian suddenly remembered her plan for this afternoon and shamelessly sidled up to Lu Qingyuan, “Teacher Lu, are you busy this afternoon?”
“Doing what?”
“The Trial Sleeper Handbook has a requirement for us to experience at least three entertainment activities.”
Chu Yian awkwardly rubbed her hands, “I think the arcade is a relatively safe option. If you’re busy, I can go by myself.”
She had already troubled Lu Qingyuan too much from yesterday until now.
Even though Chu Yian thought she was thick-skinned enough, after saying this, she still felt a bit ashamed—
Teacher Lu had no relation to her in this round of the game; why should he risk his life with her?
