"Ah!"
As Jing Minghe's words fell, a scream echoed from downstairs. Unlike the previous continuous shrieks, which were all from women, this one was a man's voice.
"It's Fang Chao," Gong Liang quickly identified the owner of the voice.
The shout grew closer, ascending from below, accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps running up the stairs.
"Let's go see," Jing Minghe said, leading the way down, the others following closely.
Before descending, Gu Chenhui glanced back. He had been the last to leave the flower garden and clearly remembered not closing the door. Yet, the flower garden door was now shut tight, with not a sliver of light escaping from within, even though it was bright inside and the gap under the door was wide.
Seeing everyone else had already gone downstairs, Gu Chenhui decided to put the question aside for the moment.
When Jing Minghe and the others reached the fourth floor, they encountered Fang Chao stumbling up from below, as if being pursued by something terrifying.
Upon seeing Jing Minghe and the others, Fang Chao didn't stop. Instead, he shoved Jing Minghe, who stepped forward to block him, and bolted back into his room, slamming the door shut.
"What's with him..." Qiao Qiao looked confusedly at Fang Chao's room. "Did something happen?"
Having failed to stop Fang Chao, Jing Minghe and the others kept their gaze fixed on the stairwell entrance. After a long while, nothing appeared.
You Mi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "He didn't come up? What did Fang Chao see? Why was he so scared?"
"Who knows," Gu Chenhui said, walking to the stairwell and looking down. "There's really nothing. But that guy's holed up in his room now. He probably won't come out for a while."
"You all stay here. I'll go down and check," Jing Minghe announced, starting downstairs. He'd taken two steps when he heard Chi Hao and Gu Chenhui speak simultaneously.
"Let's go together."
"I'll go with you."
Jing Minghe looked back, tacitly agreeing to their company.
The others remained in place, some hesitant, others observing the situation.
Jing Minghe and the other two descended, scanning their surroundings. The hallway showed no anomalies, though the lights seemed dimmer than before.
Upon reaching the third floor, Jing Minghe recalled the wooden chest Gu Chenhui mentioned couldn't be opened and debated whether to check it.
Seeing Jing Minghe stop, Chi Hao and Gu Chenhui exchanged knowing glances. However, just as they were about to speak, they heard voices from downstairs.
"You're finally back. If you didn't return soon, I was going to close up."
It was the owner, Hu Feiyan's voice.
Hearing this, Jing Minghe knew new conditions had arrived. In a normal world, hotels didn't have rules about closing at a certain time. Therefore, whatever Hu Feiyan was referring to as a closing time for the hotel would surely be when something happened.
"Understood, understood," a man replied to Hu Feiyan. "We're back now. Thanks for your concern, boss."
"Hurry upstairs and get back to your rooms."
Jing Minghe and the other two heard the group ascending and, with unspoken agreement, walked down, intending to casually encounter the key NPCs.
As the three reached the second-floor landing, they saw the so-called art troupe members. Those people didn't seem surprised to see Jing Minghe and the other two. The man leading them even casually greeted them.
The two groups passed each other. Jing Minghe made a point of counting their numbers.
Arriving in the first-floor lobby, Jing Minghe saw Hu Feiyan standing motionless directly in front of the entrance, staring at the door. Only when the three approached did Hu Feiyan abruptly turn to them, as if a switch had been flipped.
"Why are you three guests coming down so late? Is something the matter?" Although she was smiling, there was an undeniable hint of displeasure on her face.
Jing Minghe stepped forward to explain, "I was a bit thirsty and came down to find some water."
Hu Feiyan tilted her head, puzzled. "Looking for water? Don't you have water in your rooms? Why come downstairs for it?" Before Jing Minghe could reply, Hu Feiyan added, "Hurry back to your rooms. Don't wander around outside at this hour." With that, she ignored Jing Minghe and the others and walked directly behind the bar to sit down.
Jing Minghe glanced at the wall clock above the bar, which showed 11:00. He turned to the two beside him. "Let's go. Back to our rooms."
On the way upstairs, Gu Chenhui leaned closer to Jing Minghe and asked, "When you encountered those people earlier, did you notice anything unusual?"
"Yes," Jing Minghe replied. "One thing is very strange, and I haven't had a chance to tell you yet. The layout of the fifth and fourth floors is identical, with eleven rooms. The nameplates on each room door are also people's names. If the fifth floor houses the entire art troupe, it means their numbers correspond to ours, also eleven people."
"Ten went up just now," Chi Hao interjected.
Gu Chenhui whistled, a playful glint in his eyes. "One short. Maybe they haven't returned yet?"
Jing Minghe countered, "Do you think there would be such a setup?"
"No," Gu Chenhui's expression finally became a tiny bit serious. "Then, this is one of our key exploration points moving forward."
Jing Minghe nodded. "Also, Fang Chao. I wonder if he's the only exception. It seems that while we in our rooms can't hear outside sounds, he can. And what we can hear, he can't."
"If he's the only exception," Gu Chenhui speculated, "something is likely to happen to him tonight, at the earliest."
Jing Minghe pondered for a moment. "I'll keep watch outside tonight and see what exactly happens."
"Together."
Chi Hao and Gu Chenhui spoke in unison again.
Jing Minghe knew the reason Chi Hao always insisted on going together, but he didn't understand why Gu Chenhui was so eager. Was he worried about missing important clues? So he jokingly said to Gu Chenhui, "I didn't expect Brother Hui to be so enthusiastic about exploring instances. My brother always told me you're someone who would let others do what you could do yourself."
"What?" Gu Chenhui laughed, speechless. "Lu Fanfei, that guy, dared to badmouth me to you. I'll deal with him when I see him." He then sighed heavily. "But he's not entirely wrong. It's just that in this place, you can't afford to be lazy. One wrong move can cost you your life. So, since coming here, I've been more inclined to take the lead."
Jing Minghe nodded in agreement with Gu Chenhui's sentiment. Chi Hao, however, looked at Gu Chenhui with only two words in his eyes: Liar. But Chi Hao couldn't figure out Gu Chenhui's motive for lying. Regardless, this person was Jing Minghe's friend. As long as he didn't do anything to harm Jing Minghe, Chi Hao was reluctant to expose his lie for now.
The three returned to the fourth floor, each leaning against the banister as if by agreement, their gazes focused on Fang Chao's room. After they fell silent, the surroundings immediately became still, devoid of any sound.
Time trickled by. Jing Minghe's brow furrowed. He felt as though the oxygen in the air was diminishing, making breathing increasingly difficult, as if he were suffocating. His heart leaped, and a wave of intense dizziness washed over him.
"Quick! Back to our rooms!" Chi Hao exclaimed, grabbing Jing Minghe. The three stumbled towards their rooms. The corridor before them began to warp and distort, and piercing screams entered their ears, making it impossible to discern their source. Their footing was unsteady, their vision blurred, and the screams seemed potent enough to shatter their minds.