Chapter 301: Locust Tree Hotel 19
Having walked through the gates of hell and returned, Chu Yian was on the verge of collapse.
She checked her room to make sure nothing strange had entered, then pulled out the lighter from the room.
Rule 10: After 3:00, the Sleep Tester must return to her room. Be sure to ensure that only she enters the room, and use the lighter in the room to burn the ribbon, then mix the ashes with water and drink it.
The yellow ribbon, while burning, didn’t smell like plastic from synthetic fibers, nor like cotton or animal hair.
After burning, it smelled somewhat like burnt hair.
Immediately after, the yellow ribbon turned into black residue.
Chu Yian looked at the water, which had become murky after the ashes were poured in, and, pinching her nose, gulped it down.
It was a bit disgusting.
But compared to the difficulty of getting out earlier, this was just a minor inconvenience.
In the latter half of the night, there were no more tasks to complete, yet Chu Yian slept very restlessly. The flickering stairs, the automatically opening elevator, and the scene of Li Mingzhu tumbling down the stairs appeared in her dreams all night long.
Day three of the game, 8:27 AM
Chu Yian arrived at the Hotel restaurant with dark circles under her eyes.
Fewer familiar faces were dining in the restaurant today; many people had not made it through last night’s game, especially players staying on the tenth floor and above, who were almost completely wiped out.
Even the players who had narrowly escaped were not in good shape, with bloodshot eyes and extreme fatigue.
However, it wasn’t over yet.
Everyone quickly ate breakfast and headed to the front desk on the first floor to gather.
The reason was simple: the review hadn’t been written yet.
When they heard the staff member reiterate that the review must be submitted before 10:00, all 20 remaining players sat in the nearby lounge area, writing furiously.
This included Chu Yian.
She had been scared and exhausted last night, so she hadn’t written it either.
However, as soon as she found a corner to sit down, three or four people instantly appeared around her.
It wasn’t that they wanted to cause trouble; rather, these people suddenly realized that Chu Yian was the one who wrote the best review yesterday. Sitting closer was actually to see how Chu Yian wrote it.
To put it less politely, they wanted to copy.
Under normal circumstances, being copied wouldn’t matter. But everyone knew that the quality of the review determined the quality of the handbook they would receive this afternoon.
Chu Yian paused, then covered the part she had already written with something.
The nearby players watched Chu Yian’s actions, and some grumbled unhappily.
She was about to turn her head to see who it was when Lu Qingyuan walked out of the elevator with his laptop and thermos. Due to last night’s incident, Chu Yian’s feelings for Lu Qingyuan had warmed considerably, and her eyes lit up when she saw him.
The nearby seats were already full, so Chu Yian gathered her belongings and found a less crowded spot.
Lu Qingyuan sat down and looked at the paper and pen in her arms, “What are you doing now?”
“Writing last night’s review.”
Chu Yian glanced at what she had written, feeling it was barely acceptable. But everyone was very serious today, and she looked at Lu Qingyuan, who had opened his laptop, “Teacher Lu, can you take a look at how this is written?”
She felt she had written it very well, at most with a few minor flaws.
Lu Qingyuan finished reading and gave a very scathing review, “No professionalism, no academic rigor, just plain language.”
Chu Yian hadn’t expected her little essay to be so terrible in his eyes. If it were someone else, she might have been unhappy, but her mind was only on getting a perfect score.
“Then how should I change it?”
She asked, and Lu Qingyuan actually started helping her revise it.
The content was still the same, but it read much more concisely than her initial draft. With the addition and replacement of a few words, the entire piece became business-like and sophisticated.
“You’ve already written it; extensive changes will affect the overall structure.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.”
Chu Yian quickly stated, “Compared to what I just wrote, this is already much better.”
Teacher Lu truly lived up to his title; he deserved to be called “Teacher.”
With this quality, it should at least rank in the top three.
She submitted her review to the Hotel 20 minutes early, full of confidence.
Lu Qingyuan watched her swagger out with an air of not recognizing anyone, a smile playing on his lips that even his teacup couldn’t hide. “What else do you Sleep Testers have to do?”
“Originally, I was going to do the entertainment experience task, but it’s almost ten o’clock now.”
It would still be fine to do it in the afternoon.
“I want to go check on Room 8806 now.”
That was Li Mingzhu’s room.
Li Mingzhu’s actions yesterday were completely outside the rules; if Chu Yian hadn’t been cautious enough, she would have died in the game. Since rushing to experience the entertainment facilities now would be too tight, Chu Yian planned to go to the room to see if Li Mingzhu had left any clues.
But how would she get in?
When she reached the 8th floor, she suddenly remembered that she didn’t have the key card for 8806.
“I can’t get in.”
“This… I have a way.”
Lu Qingyuan took her to the front desk, then placed his key card on the counter, “I’d like to change rooms.”
The front desk staff member seemed very enthusiastic, “May I ask what kind of room you’d like to change to?”
“8806.”
“Alright, we’ll check first.”
The staff member quickly checked on the computer, “The guest in 8806 has already checked out. We will immediately send someone to clean it, and you can go up in 10 minutes.”
How could Li Mingzhu have checked out? She was clearly dead.
“Tell housekeeping to wait a bit before going. I need the key card to go in and check now.”
Lu Qingyuan said calmly, and they easily obtained the key card for 8806.
Chu Yian felt it was a bit too smooth, so smooth it was almost unbelievable, “How did she hand over the key card to you so easily?”
“Because I am a VIP customer here.”
Lu Qingyuan held up a black card and wiggled it, “They basically fulfill my requests as long as they are within a reasonable scope.”
So that’s how it is.
Chu Yian took another look at the dark card, feeling that Teacher Lu’s identity was quite impressive.
But thinking about it more carefully, Teacher Lu always seemed to have an impressive identity in every round, whether he was on the good side or the bad side. Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but stop and seriously examine him.
“What’s wrong?”
Lu Qingyuan also stopped and looked at her.
“Teacher Lu, why are you so good to me?”
After Chu Yian asked this question, she suddenly felt a bit nervous. Memories flooded back, and she vaguely recalled asking a similar question in a previous round of the game, a round where Lu Qingyuan almost killed her.
“Because you were crying your heart out last night.”
Lu Qingyuan glanced at the key card in his hand, pointed to the room ahead, “Tonight I’ll sleep in your room, and you sleep in 8806.”
“Ah…”
Chu Yian’s eyes widened at his words, “Teacher Lu, let’s just check it out and then go downstairs to switch rooms. You’re a Black Card VIP, the Hotel won’t mind if you switch rooms three times a day.”
