"Mountain Inn": He Couldn't Quite Figure the Young Man Out

Without a doubt, going alone to light the candle and deliberately lure the White Humanoid was dangerous.

Let alone locking it in the room afterward. The slightest mistake could cost someone their life.

What was more, they still didn't know whether other dangers lurked behind the remaining locked doors. For all they knew, another White Humanoid was locked inside one of them.

Even without a candle lit, no one could guarantee they would be safe facing something like that.

And the thing was fast.

The Burly Man and the Refined Man had seen with their own eyes how the Short-Haired Woman with Glasses had been killed in an instant. They simply couldn't dodge something that fast.

This had nothing to do with the High-Ponytail Woman, so why was she volunteering to take such a risk for the young man?

Under their probing gazes, the High-Ponytail Woman remained impassive and showed no intention of explaining.

She held out her hand to the Burly Man. "Give me the lighter. Which room should I put the candle in?"

When they had split into teams earlier, the Burly Man had lit the other candle, and he had kept the lighter on him since.

Just then, Xu Xi took the candlestick from the High-Ponytail Woman beside him, then motioned for the Burly Man to give him the lighter.

"All right, give me the lighter. I'll go."

Xu Xi nodded to the High-Ponytail Woman, thanking her for the offer.

Although he didn't know what her intentions were, she was helping him on the surface, at least.

He wasn't the sort of person who would only hide behind others, either.

Besides, he had a cheat.

"Hmph, at least you've got some guts, kid." The Burly Man grinned, pulled the lighter from his pocket, and tossed it to Xu Xi.

He turned to the Refined Man. "Which room should we have this kid put the candle in?"

The Refined Man thought for a moment. "Room 106. We'll hide in Room 103, diagonally across from it. That'll keep us at a safe distance and let us watch easily."

The Burly Man naturally agreed. He jerked his chin at Xu Xi and urged him on. "Let's go."

Xu Xi glanced at him without a word, then turned and walked straight toward Room 106.

The other three followed him.

Only after the three of them entered Room 103 did the Refined Man look at the Burly Man with a puzzled expression. "You seem pretty unhappy with him. Whatever else you might say, he discovered the candle's secret and warned us."

"I was just testing him." The Burly Man snorted. "And don't put on an act with me. Don't think I can't tell you wanted to test him too."

The Refined Man wasn't embarrassed at having his thoughts laid bare and readily admitted it. "I think he's smart, but I can't get a read on his attitude."

He couldn't quite figure the young man out.

At that thought, he casually reminded him, "Don't go too far. Clearing the instance is still our priority."

"I know, of course," the Burly Man replied perfunctorily.

The High-Ponytail Woman listened silently to the whole exchange. She glanced at them, then turned her gaze to the crack in the door.

Through the narrow gap, she could see the rather youthful-looking man shining a flashlight down as he unlocked the door to Room 106.

Compared with the other two, she had spent more time with him and had naturally observed more.

The two men beside her had been on the second floor at the time and didn't know exactly what had happened, but she had followed the young man and seen it clearly.

The death of the Short-Haired Woman with Glasses hadn't been simple. One could say he had absolutely brought it about single-handedly.

He had so easily gotten a player killed that she couldn't even tell whether he had deliberately plotted it or simply screwed her over on the spur of the moment.

But either way, he was nowhere near as harmless as he appeared.

Wasn't his inconspicuous, barely noticeable manner a successful disguise?

Hadn't the two people beside her underestimated him because of it, at least?

Meanwhile.

Xu Xi stood in front of Room 106, alone in the pitch-black corridor. For someone with a fear of the dark, it really was a test of courage.

His quickening heartbeat spurred him to unlock the door briskly, and he carefully pushed it open.

Fortunately, there was nothing eerie in the room.

He shone his flashlight around and decided to put the candle on the bedside table on the inner side of the bed.

After setting down the candle and lighting the wick, Xu Xi hurried toward the door.

He had to hide in Room 103 before the White Humanoid arrived, then close the door and lock it in here after it entered.

But plans couldn't keep up with changes.

When Xu Xi had come in, he had followed the High-Ponytail Woman's earlier example and pulled the door shut behind him. That had successfully earned him a critical hit to the face.

Who could understand? The moment he opened the door, he saw an Eerie Creature two heads taller than him, deathly pale all over, with no facial features except three pitch-black holes.

He distinctly felt his heart skip a beat in fright.

The Eerie Creature in front of him still had its long arm raised, as if it had been about to knock.

...You're surprisingly polite.

In his daze, the beam from the flashlight in his hand inevitably fell on it at close range.

A piercing shriek rang out. Pain shot through Xu Xi's neck, and he instantly lost consciousness.

Xu Xi opened his eyes and found himself back at the moment he was about to pull the door open.

The situation was this: an Eerie Creature was blocking the door outside, and he still needed to lock it in the room. So how could he do that and escape safely?

Knock, knock, knock—

The Eerie Creature outside knocked on the door.

[Ahhh, help! Boss Xu Xi got caught right at the door! What now, what now?]

[It's all that Burly Man's fault. Boss Xu Xi never should've agreed to light the candle.]

[The High-Ponytail Woman dodged a disaster, and Xu Xi ran straight into it.]

[He can't open the door, but he can't leave it closed either. He's screwed.]

[He definitely can't open it. The last person who opened a door turned his own grandson into a crunchy snack.]

[But if he doesn't open it, won't he be trapped in the room? Can he really count on those other three to save him? Hard to say about the High-Ponytail Woman, but the other two probably can't wait for Boss Xu Xi to open the door and sacrifice himself to lure that thing inside.]

[This is ridiculous. That thing wasn't even fast before it was provoked, so how did it get to the door right after he lit the candle?]

[Is Boss Xu Xi going to meet his end here?]

[Unlikely. Don't be so impatient. I think Xu Xi must have come prepared if he agreed to light the candle alone. The whole internet knows how awesome he is.]

[He's only cleared two instances. You people are hyping him up so much you've lost all sense of reality.]

[Even a top expert like Zhang Song died in an instance. How capable could this newcomer be, and the whole internet knows it?]

[Actually, you guys are Xu Xi's true fans, aren't you? The moment Xu Xi runs into danger, you can't wait to come out.]