Chapter 743: Disappeared in the Bathroom
"We're probably among the first batch to come in. Most of the players who came before us are dead. It's only today that more people have shown up. There's no way anyone could have found the instance's items," said Long Aotian.
Xu Huo studied his expression. It seemed Xiao Ling and the other person had already told him about the instance's time trap.
"How did you two run into each other?" he asked.
Long Aotian scratched his head. "Don't even mention it. I was unlucky enough to get blocked by that group of dead guys ahead of me. It took a hell of an effort to escape, and I happened to run into Xiao Ling and the others, so we just teamed up."
"Liu Chengyi is probably dead. When I ran, he was just getting caught."
The players Xu Huo had encountered when he left the psychotherapist's office were likely part of that same group. The reason that leader had been so relentless in pursuit was probably because he had his eye on the items in Xu Huo's hands.
"Let's get back to the topic at hand," said Xiao Ling. "If the item really has been taken by a player, are they going to kill everyone who comes in?"
"Whether they can kill everyone is another matter. If their only goal is players, they don't need to bother clearing the instance—they just have to wait," said Long Aotian. "They'll always pick up the scraps."
At night, the various venues weren't safe either. Whether a player fell into a trap or ran out of a venue, they were at a disadvantage compared to those who hadn't expended any energy.
"So, are they ticket players or not?" Yu Guangnan couldn't help asking. "The Sphinx's Riddle might be an instance that never ends."
If they weren't using tickets, it meant they might never be able to leave from the moment they entered.
"These people know there are high-level items in the instance, so they probably understand how it operates. Looking on the bright side, maybe the time trap has a solution, or they're using tickets and have thoroughly investigated the instance's inner workings beforehand," said Xu Huo.
"So that means they might actually lead us through the instance?" Xiao Ling squinted, her intentions obvious to anyone with eyes.
"That's just speculation. I'm not going to take that risk," said Xu Huo. "There are plenty of venues. It's easy enough to avoid them. Five people can't search every corner."
Long Aotian agreed with him. "The venues are safer."
After a moment's hesitation, Xiao Ling said, "Then let's use this time to search the hotel."
She was about to go out through the window when Xu Huo stopped her. "Take the stairs."
At that moment, Yu Guangnan also spotted the players standing outside the venue across from them. He frowned. "They've probably sent people to both the front and back. The moment we show ourselves, we'll be exposed."
It was unclear what those few people were planning, but there was no one on the stairs. However, when Long Aotian and Yu Guangnan stepped onto them, the concrete and metal staircase suddenly started moving like an escalator. The two of them uncontrollably fell flat on the steps and began sliding downward rapidly.
Xu Huo and Xiao Ling each grabbed one of them and looked down through the gaps in the stairs. Sure enough, figures were moving quickly below!
Dodging a few flying darts that shot out, Xu Huo melted the metal in several nearby stair sections, causing the now metal-stripped steps to collapse. Long Aotian and the other man no longer lay stiffly on the ground like corpses. After leaping back up, Yu Guangnan took out a container and tipped it over. The liquid inside automatically flowed down the turns of the stairs.
Ignoring the commotion below, the four of them pressed against the wall and went up several floors before slipping into the hotel's corridors. For safety, they didn't split up but chose a room in the middle to hide in.
It was a small suite facing the Decapitation Cemetery, with two bedrooms and a living room. The space wasn't large, and having four people moving around inside made it feel cramped.
Xu Huo stood by the door, Xiao Ling went to the window, while Yu Guangnan and Long Aotian checked the room's furnishings. Half a minute later, the four of them withdrew their gazes. Xu Huo nodded, and the other three relaxed slightly.
"Only three are tracking us. The other two are at the front and back of the hotel," said Xiao Ling. "If they're spread out, that's our chance."
With the remaining three confirmed to be inside the hotel, they could break through from either the front or back.
Xu Huo didn't plan to leave. The Corpse-Hiding Hotel was one of the tallest buildings in Museum City, covering a large area with many rooms, making it more deceptive than most venues. Unless the people following them had the energy and ability to tear down every floor, this would be a game of hide-and-seek.
The enemy was coming in force, so there was no need to clash head-on and start a brawl. Given enough time, an opportunity would naturally arise.
"It's almost dark," he said.
"The hotel isn't safe either," Xiao Ling said, her brow furrowing.
"At least the hotel isn't sealed off. If things go wrong, we can escape," said Long Aotian, glancing at Xu Huo.
Xu Huo, however, was thinking about the three wax figures that had run out yesterday. He wondered if they had entered the hotel.
As soon as it got dark, most of the hotel's lights automatically turned off. The room they were in was left with only a small desk lamp, and the visibility suddenly dropped. At the same time, various sounds emerged nearby—faint television noises, music, the patter of children running in rooms, the footsteps of adults, the scraping of chairs, and the sounds of water and toilets being used.
"I'm not hallucinating, am I?" Long Aotian shuddered. "I kind of need to go to the bathroom."
"In any horror or suspense movie, going to the bathroom alone is a death trigger," Xiao Ling shot him a glance. "Not afraid there's a secret passage in the bathroom that you'll never come out of?"
"Probably how the players with Liu Chengyi disappeared," Yu Guangnan added.
Smart people knew not to split up, but players were still going missing. That said enough.
"You're no different. At least the cemetery was wide open," Long Aotian said without any fear. "I'll go in first. If something happens, I'll call you... And if something really does happen, it might be a breakthrough. Maybe we can make some progress here."
With that, he actually went into the bathroom. The door wasn't locked, and the sound of water came from inside, but soon Long Aotian opened the door and walked out, drying his hands. "Sorry to disappoint you. Nothing happened."
"I'll go," Yu Guangnan said and entered the bathroom.
Three minutes later, he still hadn't come out. Xiao Ling immediately rushed over and kicked the door open, but inside, it was empty.
She checked left and right. "He didn't leave any clues."
"There shouldn't be a secret passage in the bathroom," said Long Aotian. "We already checked earlier, even the mirror."
In fact, aside from the ventilation duct above, there was no hidden space in this room. That's why Xu Huo's eyes immediately went to the window beside them.
That's right—in this hotel, even the bathroom had its own separate window.
Xiao Ling released a mechanical bee the size of a finger through the gap. The thing crawled around outside, and the image from outside the window was transmitted to her phone screen. As the perspective shifted, all three of them saw a human face flash by at the edge of the screen.
(Chapter End)