Jing Minghe couldn't recall when or how he fell asleep the previous night. Upon waking from his dream, his first action was to check the wall clock.
Precisely 6:00 AM.
Jing Minghe leaped out of bed and rushed to his door, needing to confirm the safety of Chi Hao and Gu Chenhui as soon as possible.
The moment the doors opened, Jing Minghe and Chi Hao found themselves staring at each other, both having opened their doors simultaneously.
At the same time, another person, Gu Chenhui, who lived next door to Jing Minghe, also emerged. He observed the expressions of both Jing Minghe and Chi Hao.
Gu Chenhui lowered his head and smiled silently before speaking immediately, "It's great that you two are both alright."
Upon hearing this, Jing Minghe turned to Gu Chenhui. "Ge Hui."
Gu Chenhui stepped out of his room. "Last night was truly perilous. The three of us almost met our end in this instance before anyone else. Fortunately, Mr. Chi reacted quickly and called us back to our rooms."
"Yes," Jing Minghe said, stepping into the hallway and glancing down the corridor. "I wonder how the others are faring."
Gu Chenhui walked to Jing Minghe's side. As he attempted to move closer, Chi Hao positioned himself between them. Gu Chenhui then smiled meaningfully at Chi Hao. "They should be fine. I don't recall anyone else being outside with us last night."
"Mm."
"However," Gu Chenhui continued, "I believe that besides the one named Fang Chao, no one else could hear the sounds from outside. To confirm they are all safe, we'll have to wait for them to come out on their own."
Jing Minghe nodded. "Let's head to the stairwell to wait. If we were 'called' awake by the instance at this time, and there are no unusual circumstances, others should be in the same boat."
"Alright."
As the three walked towards the stairs, they saw Gong Liang emerge from his room first, followed by You Mi and others.
After An Ruo and Xia Rong came out of their rooms, they looked at Jing Minghe and the others. An Ruo appeared to have something to say but hesitated, so Xia Rong spoke directly. "An Ruo and I checked the fourth floor last night. Finding nothing unusual, we returned to our rooms."
"Understood," Jing Minghe replied. "I see."
He wasn't surprised by this outcome.
As he spoke, Jing Minghe scanned the assembled group, noting that everyone except Fang Chao had emerged.
You Mi also noticed one person missing and asked, "Fang Chao hasn't come out. Should we go and get him?"
Remembering that Fang Chao could hear sounds from outside, Jing Minghe proactively walked to Fang Chao's door and knocked. "Fang Chao, are you in?"
As soon as Jing Minghe finished speaking, Fang Chao's door creaked open, revealing only a sliver. Fang Chao, showing half his face, said to Jing Minghe outside, "It's still early. You all go ahead with your plans. I'll tidy up and find you later."
He then closed the door, giving Jing Minghe no chance to respond.
Seeing this, the others turned to Jing Minghe with questioning glances.
Jing Minghe turned around and shrugged. "Let's go eat first. Once we're full, we'll have the energy to explore the instance."
"But, Fang Chao…" You Mi asked with concern, "Is he alright?"
"Don't worry, he'll come out."
With that, Jing Minghe led the way downstairs. Chi Hao and Gu Chenhui followed without a word. Seeing that Jing Minghe had said so, You Mi and Qiao Qiao no longer pressed the issue.
Gong Liang, always appearing indifferent, also went downstairs on his own.
As for Xia Rong and Ning Ping, though they had their doubts, they didn't want to cause trouble within the instance and quickly followed them downstairs.
The food, fruits, and drinks in the dining room had been completely replenished. Everyone seemed to agree with Jing Minghe's sentiment that one needed to be full to have the strength to explore the instance, and they all unceremoniously took large plates of food.
Jing Minghe sat down first, with Chi Hao right beside him. Gu Chenhui, acting as if he belonged, sat opposite Jing Minghe, completely disregarding Chi Hao's cold gaze.
You Mi and Qiao Qiao sat next to Jing Minghe's group, not wanting to experience the extremely frigid atmosphere at the next table.
While eating, Gu Chenhui quietly asked Jing Minghe, "Was there anything unusual about Fang Chao?"
Jing Minghe nodded. "He looked very haggard, noticeably worse than his condition yesterday. I observed the others; they should all be in a similar state. Last night, we were all forced to sleep by the instance rules. Therefore, everyone's condition this morning is much better than when we arrived yesterday. Fang Chao's situation, however, was too obvious."
"So he really is different from us," Gu Chenhui mused. "What could be the reason?"
"If he was simply too scared to sleep all night, that would be one thing," Jing Minghe said with a wry smile. "I hope it's not something else."
Chi Hao leaned closer to Jing Minghe and whispered, "That wry smile of yours carries a lot of meaning."
Jing Minghe raised an eyebrow and added to his previous description, "Besides haggard, there's one more word to describe Fang Chao's state."
"What is it?" Gu Chenhui asked.
"Wasted."
Chi Hao and Gu Chenhui simultaneously stopped eating. As fellow men, they understood that the word Jing Minghe used definitely carried a certain implication.
However, in this place, besides them, the players, there were only the hotel owner, Hu Feiyan, and the members of the art troupe. But within an instance, anything that happened between players and NPCs was extremely dangerous. Every one of them knew this clearly, and Fang Chao, as a player, couldn't possibly be unaware.
Moreover, last night, he had been clearly scared back into his room by something. It was impossible that after fleeing in fear, he would then dare to act recklessly and play with an instance NPC. That was simply too preposterous.
Seeing the two lost in thought, Jing Minghe smiled. "Brothers, let's eat first. When he comes out, we'll naturally find a way to know."
"Mm."
They both responded in unison, exchanged a glance, and ate in silence.
After the meal, everyone was discussing how to divide their exploration of the hotel instance. Jing Minghe still wanted to visit the rooftop garden on the sixth floor again.
However, before they could finalize their plans, the hotel owner, Hu Feiyan, suddenly appeared.
"Good morning, everyone," Hu Feiyan said with a cheerful smile as she approached. "The art troupe will be rehearsing on the third floor. Boss Lu just sent word asking a few guests to watch the art troupe's performance and perhaps offer some suggestions."
"Okay," Jing Minghe stepped forward to respond, then asked, "Are we going now?"
Hu Feiyan shook her head. "Of course not. It's still early, and they haven't even eaten yet. The performance starts at 9:30 AM. I'm just giving you advance notice, so don't be late. Although it's a rehearsal, the doors will be closed during the performance, so if you're late, you won't be able to see it."
"Understood," Gu Chenhui said with a smile. "Thank you for letting us know."
Having delivered her message, Hu Feiyan turned and left, appearing satisfied.
Jing Minghe glanced at the wall clock in the dining room. "It's just past seven. Let's explore on our own for now, just keep track of the time."
Everyone nodded and dispersed, forming teams as previously discussed to explore the hotel.