# Chapter 225: That Bastard Stabs First
"Let's assign the rooms then." Xie Man said. "I've already checked—at the very back of the gallery, on both sides of the largest Madonna painting you can see from here, there are rooms. Twelve in total."
"But the layout of this place is a bit strange." She added. "Including this exhibition hall, the entire gallery is shaped like the letter 'T'. The horizontal section has four rooms on each side, and at both ends there's a corridor parallel to the exhibition hall, each with two rooms. All the room doors face the mural on the inner wall of the gallery."
The description wasn't vivid enough, so everyone went to check the room layout themselves. Fan Shiji complained, "Doesn't this look like a person standing with arms outstretched and hands hanging down? If you extend the center of the large mural forward a bit to make a head, the shape is exactly like a dead man nailed to a cross."
Xu Huo glanced at him. "You really know how to say auspicious things."
Fan Shiji saw the others staring coldly at him and said sheepishly, "Pretend I didn't say anything."
"Twelve rooms total, how do we arrange them?" Deng Yu looked around at everyone and shrugged. "To be honest, no one wants to stay in those four rooms on the ends."
The corridor was about ten meters wide, but the rooms on both ends were recessed, so the distance from the door to the mural was over twenty meters—completely boxed into the corner.
"Do whatever you want. I'm not going there anyway." The gloomy man said. "Also, I'm not sharing a room with anyone."
"Who wants to share with you anyway?" Xie Man said discontentedly. "No one wants the corner rooms, leaving only eight rooms. What gives you the right to have one all to yourself?"
The gloomy man rubbed the pitted scar on his chin and smiled darkly. "It's fine if you want to squeeze in with me, but I can't guarantee you'll walk out tomorrow morning."
"You—" Xie Man was provoked, but Pan Siming reached out to stop her. "There are plenty of rooms. Why fight over such a small thing?"
"That's right, the rooms here are all quite big. Two or three people can stay in one room." Ni Tian said. "If you don't want the bed, you can sleep on the sofa or the floor."
After speaking, she proactively walked up to Xu Huo and Fan Shiji. "Hey, handsome guys, can I share a room with you two?"
Fan Shiji looked embarrassed and said awkwardly, "Two grown men, that wouldn't be appropriate."
Ni Tian looked between them, then grabbed the more physically fit Xu Huo. "Handsome, how about I room with you?"
Xu Huo tilted his head to look at her and flashed a smile. "Sure."
A flicker of surprise passed through Fan Shiji's eyes, and after glancing over Xu Huo's face, he looked away.
"Lucky man." Deng Yu gave Xu Huo an ambiguous look.
Pan Siming, who was nearby, moved his lips as if to speak but said nothing.
"I like quiet. I'll take the end room." The leather-clad woman said.
The other players were slightly puzzled by her choice and also grew a bit more wary, but the leather-clad woman clearly had no desire to chat and walked straight to the right corridor.
After hearing the sound of a door opening and closing, the other players began choosing their rooms.
Pan Siming—first room on the left. Deng Yu and Big Bear—second room on the left. Fan Shiji—third room on the left. You Huanhuan and Lu Gang—fourth room on the left.
Gloomy Man—first room on the right. Xie Man—second room on the right. Xu Huo and Ni Tian—third room on the right. Gao Jun—fourth room on the right.
The rooms were temporarily assigned like this.
"What time do we come out tonight?" Pan Siming asked again.
"Lights out is at nine. Let's come out at nine." Deng Yu said. "I've already set my phone to game time."
"I suggest we wait a bit." Pan Siming said. "Although this instance is about finding paintings, that doesn't mean there's no danger. Wait half an hour after lights out, make sure there's no movement outside before we go out."
Xie Man couldn't help but glance at him. "Who are you to decide when people come out? Can you stop them from coming out early or late?"
Pan Siming smiled. "I'm just suggesting. My intention is everyone's safety. More people is always better than fewer."
"I think you have a point." Xu Huo spoke up at this moment. "The game said not to wander around after lights out, remember? On the preliminary train, it also warned not to turn on lights or go to other cars. There's meaning behind these things."
"That's right." Deng Yu nodded, looking as if he'd suddenly realized something. "We should be careful. How about we set a signal? If it feels safe, knock twice on the door."
"Heh!" The gloomy man let out a cold laugh. "You're afraid people won't know you're coming out?"
"Don't forget—there might not be twelve fake paintings in the exhibition hall."
After saying this, he looked around at everyone and entered his room.
Deng Yu couldn't help but feel awkward. "He has a point."
No one responded, and everyone returned to their own rooms.
Xu Huo closed the door, then opened it again. Holding the doorknob, he waited until exactly nine o'clock, when the main lights in the exhibition hall went out, before closing the door tightly.
At nine, the main lights went out. The small lights on the pillars still cast some illumination onto the mural, though it was quite dim. Only the mural directly facing the exhibition hall was somewhat visible. The corridors on both sides up to the second room door were already plunged into complete darkness, and the corners at the back were even worse.
The room itself was brightly lit, though it had no windows.
He thoroughly checked every corner before sitting down, playing with the lighter as he stared at the woman by the bed.
Ni Tian was lying diagonally on the bed, one hand propping up her head, the other patting the spot in front of her. "Handsome, come up here."
Xu Huo didn't move. She let out a coquettish laugh and sat up, pulling her jacket open on both sides to reveal her shoulders. She turned slightly to show her number. "Don't be so serious. We players live on borrowed time anyway. Why not enjoy the moment?"
Xu Huo's gaze lingered on her shoulder for a moment, then he stood up and walked toward her.
Ni Tian smiled with satisfaction and stood up, reaching out her hands toward him. But before she could hook her arms around his neck, he grabbed one hand, twisted it behind her back, and pressed her face-down onto the bed.
"What are you—" Ni Tian's accusatory words were cut short as she saw a cold flash from the side. She yanked her right arm upward, her shoulder joint making a cracking sound as it dislocated, then she shoved her body sideways, knocking the person behind her backward!
Xu Huo was pushed back several steps by the monstrous strength, and by then Ni Tian had already leaped up from the bed. As she jumped to the other side, she quickly popped her arm back into its socket and cursed, "That bastard stabs first! I was going to let you enjoy yourself before you died, but now—your auntie is going to torture you to death!"
Before her words faded, she kicked off the chair behind her, launching herself like a wild beast straight at Xu Huo!
Xu Huo shifted his feet but didn't dodge. Instead, as she closed in, he sidestepped and kicked her in the side, sending her crashing into the wall. He quickly followed up with a knee strike, but she rolled away to avoid it.
Gripping the wall lamp, she flipped upward like a gecko, evading the attack before pouncing down again, pinning Xu Huo to the floor. She opened her mouth and lunged for his neck—but at that close distance, she couldn't bite down.