"Seven...nights? Seven rooms, seven ghosts..." Mu Anqi tried to connect the current information, but there was too little information, and it was only the first day of his arrival, so no matter how he speculated, he couldn't make any sense of it.
After showering, Mu Anqi went to sleep. Before falling asleep, he placed his backpack on his pillow and tightly clutched the " guansi " (possessions) inside.
"Wishing you prosperity and wealth, take this red envelope—oh wait, wishing you boundless happiness and longevity… what else…" Mu Anqi thought of various four-character blessing phrases, constantly reinforcing his memory. "Peace and safety year after year… abundance year after year… all your wishes come true… everything goes smoothly…"
Amidst a sea of four-character blessing words, Mu Anqi gradually drifted off to sleep.
The night passed peacefully.
However, at least she is safe.
This is only the first night, but someone has already died.
Mu Anqi got up early to wash up, change her clothes, and slung her tattered bag over her shoulder before heading out for the hotel's buffet breakfast. She was worried that the game might make things difficult for them with the food, for example, by cutting out food after a certain time. She didn't want to go hungry and be too weak to escape when the pursuers arrived.
However, she wasn't the first to arrive. When she went down to the hotel's first-floor buffet hall, there was already a male player and a female player there. The female player was the one with long, flowing hair from yesterday, and the male player was the one who suggested drawing lots yesterday.
"Good morning." The boy greeted Mu Anqi very warmly when he saw her come down. "Breakfast buffet is from 6 to 8 a.m. Lunch is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dinner is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
"Thank you." If the boy hadn't said anything, Mu Anqi would have asked the staff to find out, but since this player had shared so kindly, Mu Anqi naturally returned the smile. She casually took a fried egg, a basket of steamed buns, and a cup of soy milk, then found an empty seat to sit down and eat. "Were you all safe last night? I slept well."
"Ah, me too! The hotel bed is so soft, and the pillows are so comfortable." The male player smiled, looking every bit the sunny, cheerful young man. "My name is Chu Zhongfei. But I won't tell you the exact characters, it's safer that way."
"Uh, Mu Anqi." Mu Anqi hesitated for a moment before finally uttering the name.
"..." The long-haired girl glanced over, seemingly somewhat helpless.
"She's the one who told me about the timing! Zhao Guogu is a really nice person too."
"Huh? Zhao Gugu?" Mu Anqi was taken aback. Chu Zhongfei spoke a bit too quickly, and she was initially skeptical. A girl named Zhao Gugu? What kind of name did her parents use?
"Zhao, Guo, Gu." The girl sighed and corrected her pronunciation, enunciating each word clearly. "That information wasn't anything important; it came out with just a casual inquiry."
"Thank you." Mu Anqi nodded, looked at the girl, paused, and carefully repeated her name, " Zhao Guogu," mimicking her pronunciation.
A little while later, another female player arrived. She had a high ponytail, which swayed as she ran over. "Hey, hello everyone?"
The players gradually arrived at the self-service hall to have breakfast. They also exchanged some information briefly. Although that arrogant guy from room 401 had embarrassed Chu Zhongfei yesterday, this guy was still like a little sun today, trying his best to act as a glue between the players and getting everyone to exchange names.
The female player with the ponytail was named Wu Sansheng, and the chubby guy was named Ren Chaohang. The arrogant and aloof guy initially ignored them, but Chu Zhongfei was so enthusiastic that he even introduced himself to everyone. The man elegantly eating with a knife and fork glanced at them and uttered the three words " Shen Bufan " stiffly and disdainfully.
"We're still missing one person. Why isn't he here for breakfast yet? Did he oversleep…" Chu Zhongfei looked at the time; it was almost past breakfast time! He hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Ren Chaohang, the chubby guy who had eaten congee with preserved egg and lean pork, fried dough sticks, soy milk, and fried dough wrapped around shumai… and was now gnawing on a braised chicken leg. "You live in 406. Did you hear him make any noise this morning?"
"Uh..." The chubby boy swallowed the chicken in his mouth, thought for a moment, and said, "This room is really eerie. Once you go in, it's like being cut off from the world. You can't hear any sound. When I came out, there was no movement from his side either." After saying this, he picked up a chicken leg and started eating it.
Chu Zhongfei scratched his head and whispered a thank you. Then he stood up. "Then, you guys eat first? I'll go upstairs and check..."
"I'm done eating, let's eat together," Mu Anqi said, standing up. Room 407 was at the very end of the room. If this game didn't have any protection period... it definitely didn't! There was no one-day protection period in the Circus performance! At a rate of killing one person a day for seven days and seven nights, the first night couldn't possibly be safe. Mu Anqi figured that the guy hadn't come out for breakfast yet either was incredibly reckless, intent on dying in the game, or he was already dead.
"Let's join in," the two female players said, standing up as well. They clearly didn't think anyone would oversleep during a survival game. Going to investigate now would likely mean seeing the crime scene and finding crucial information there.
"Together, together!" The chubby boy stuffed the chicken leg into his mouth in a few bites, then pulled the bone out. He grabbed a wet wipe from the table to wipe his mouth and hands, and said hurriedly.
"Let's go together then!" Chu Zhongfei seemed very happy to see everyone so united. He smiled and stepped forward to lead the way for everyone.
Shen Bufan, who had been elegantly finishing his meal in a corner and silently contemplating life, also stood up at this moment, expressionless, and followed the others upstairs.
4th floor, room 407.
"Knock knock"
Chu Zhongfei politely knocked on the door and asked from the outside, "Are you up yet?", "Is everything alright?", "How are you?", but there was no response. He was a little stunned. "Is he not in the house?"
"Then ask the staff if he's left. The front desk must have a copy of the room key and such," Mu Anqi said, looking at the closed door.
"Okay, then I will—" Chu Zhongfei was about to say that he would go when he saw that Shen Bufan, who had been silent, had actually brought a staff member over.
"Open the door, the lock is broken, my friend can't get out," Shen Bufan commanded, raising his chin slightly.
The staff member smiled, "How could that be? Our room locks are specially made. But... since the guest requested to open the door..." As he finished speaking, the staff member's smile became slightly eerie. He quietly took out the room card from his pocket and placed it on the scanning area. The lock emitted a crisp "beep," and he silently stepped back, standing to the side, blending into the shadows.
Mu Anqi glanced at the staff member, who had a strange and expectant smile on his face, as if he already knew what was going to happen next, and he was looking forward to seeing them scream and be terrified.
"Hello, excuse me..." The word "excuse me" stuck in his throat. As soon as the door opened, an indescribable smell wafted out.
It doesn't smell of blood, nor does it smell of decay.
The entire room was filled with an indescribable, blush-inducing, and nauseating odor. The player who hadn't come for breakfast was now lying naked on the bed, with obvious traces of dried, yellowish-white liquid on the sheets and white blankets. There were even blood-tinged stains.
Even though Chu Zhongfei was usually optimistic, witnessing this scene was a profound shock to his young mind. His face flushed red, his hands trembled, and he almost instantly backed away from the doorknob, slamming the door shut. He turned to the players, stammering, "He...he's dead..."
"...?" The other players, who hadn't seen anything, were completely confused.
"I know, but I want to go in and see the details of the death. We need to know the cause of his death, and also, whether this pattern of deaths started with room 407, or was it due to something else," Zhao Guogu said patiently. She raised her hand to push the door open again, but Chu Zhongfei stood there like a statue. "What are you doing?"
"...I...that..." Chu Zhongfei opened his mouth, but didn't know how to explain. He lowered his head dejectedly, "Then, before you watch, be prepared..."
"Stop dawdling." Shen Bufan swatted Chu Zhongfei away, muttered with utter disdain, then shoved the door open and strode inside... one step. His face darkened completely.
Mu Anqi thought Shen Bufan might feel nauseous, as he seemed to be trying hard to suppress the urge to gag.
"..." Zhao Guogu glanced at the room and was speechless for a moment. "Let's... air it out first."
"Ah, I'm coming." Chu Zhongfei seemed to wake from a dream. He quickly entered the room, being careful not to damage any of the furnishings, and then walked to the bedside and opened the window.
Ren Chaohang, who had just finished eating outside, was also quite disgusted by the scene, even feeling a bit nauseous. However, when he saw Shen Bufan looking so uncomfortable, he suddenly felt much better.
Wu Sansheng, however, remained much calmer. She cautiously entered the room, circled the bed, and meticulously examined the floor, under the bed, the wardrobe, drawers, and even the ensuite bathroom shower. She also carefully checked the mirror in the toilet. Finally, she returned to the bed, took out a pair of semi-transparent plastic gloves from her pocket, put them on, and poked the corpse. Then, with one hand holding the blanket and the other, she quickly turned the body over, covering a certain area. Next, she examined the deceased's pupils and mouth.
"You used to be... a forensic doctor?" Mu Anqi stared in disbelief at the series of actions.
"No, I just like watching crime dramas and reading novels about forensic investigations," Wu Sansheng said calmly. "There were no fatal injuries on the deceased's body, and the death was not due to suffocation or fear. If I'm not mistaken… it should simply be death from excessive indulgence and exhaustion."
"...In a survival game, to be this promiscuous?" The chubby boy was quite shocked. He couldn't believe that anyone would be stupid enough to think that hotels in the survival world offered door-to-door services. Good heavens, he could actually be so shameless towards ghosts—"Ruthless, a real werewolf!"
The author has something to say: I've thought about it carefully, and it seems like this story has over twenty readers following it daily. Since that's the case...
I wonder if anyone's interested in the concept of superpowers? Like, superpowers from Nirvana players! If any of you cuties are interested, feel free to share in the comments! (Sorry, I'm just using this as free material qvq) (Those who aren't interested can ignore this author's note.)