"Mountain Inn": Burly Man: Oh No, I'm the Clown
Inside Room 103.
The three of them looked grim.
They hadn't expected the White Humanoid to come over so soon after Xu Xi went in.
It stood right in front of Room 106's door, even knocking on it.
Just like that, their plan had been disrupted.
The Burly Man deliberately lowered his voice. "Looks like that kid's chances are slim."
There was no regret in his tone, only a cold certainty.
The Refined Man couldn't help sighing. "We're not much better off. If he doesn't open the door, that thing might stay outside Room 106 forever, and we won't be able to get out either."
The Burly Man thought to himself that this was true.
Hopefully, the kid would be sensible enough not to keep them waiting here with him.
The High-Ponytail Woman's gaze was complicated.
She wasn't feeling relieved. If she had run into the same situation, she could still have protected herself, because she had an item from the previous instance.
She just wasn't sure whether the young man had an item or something that could save his life.
Perhaps it was intuition, but she didn't think he would die here so easily.
Xu Xi stared at the door being knocked on, his mind racing for a solution.
If he put out the candle, would it leave?
Probably not.
After all, he had left the door ajar, which proved it hadn't been drawn over by the candle.
Besides, his goal was to lure the Eerie Creature inside and lock it in the room.
He had shouted at the stairwell earlier without attracting the slightest bit of attention from the thing outside the door. That meant the candle had to be incredibly alluring to it, even more so than his voice.
As long as he didn't make a sound, and made sure it noticed the burning candle as soon as the door opened...
Xu Xi decided to give it a try.
If he failed, he could just start another run.
With that in mind, he switched off the flashlight and stood in front of the door. As he slowly pulled it open, he moved along with it until his back was pressed tightly against the cold wall and the tip of his nose was right beside the wooden door.
The strong scent of wood filled his nostrils. Xu Xi held his breath and watched the room out of the corner of his eye.
Sure enough, after the White Eerie Creature came in, it headed straight for the candle on the bedside table on the other side of the room, without so much as glancing behind the door.
While its back was turned, Xu Xi quickly slipped out from behind the door and headed outside, pulling the door shut behind him. The next second, he stuck the key straight into the lock and turned it, locking the creature inside for good.
The whole sequence was smooth and seamless.
[Holy shit, that took care of it?]
[You can hide behind the door? How did I not think of that?]
[Faced with a sudden emergency like that, Boss Xu Xi not only got himself out safely, but even completed the task. I don't have the words, so all I can say is he's fucking awesome.]
[His reactions are incredible. That's what adapting on the fly really looks like. His expression stayed calm the whole time.]
[That's not all. He's got guts, too. What if that thing could sense someone behind the door? He'd have been over.]
[So Boss Xu Xi was gambling?]
[It wasn't a gamble. Xu Xi was sure that thing couldn't sense him.]
[Huh? How do you figure?]
[Never mind how that thing completely ignored Xu Xi when he shouted a warning to the three players on the second floor earlier, without even turning its head toward him. When it passed Room 103, there was only a wooden door between it and the three people inside, and nothing happened to them. Xu Xi hid behind the door where it couldn't see him, and with the candle luring it from the other side, I bet he could've sung behind the door and it still wouldn't have bothered with him.]
[I'm dying. Eerie creature: I only have eyes for my sweet, soft, fire-flavored little candle.]
[Where are the haters? Come out, let's have a chat.]
[Sigh, we worried for nothing.]
Xu Xi had successfully escaped a dead end and even completed the task. He secretly gave himself a thumbs-up in his mind.
Just as he'd said, he was on the smart side among ordinary people.
The three people in Room 103 had seen the door to Room 106 open. The Burly Man had thought the other person was about to sacrifice himself, just as he'd expected. Instead, two seconds after the White Humanoid went in, a person darted back out, then locked Room 106's door in one smooth motion.
The young man he had thought was as good as dead then turned and walked straight toward them without stopping.
The Refined Man was about to open the door when the Burly Man grabbed him and stopped him.
"Don't open it yet."
The Refined Man paused. "What's wrong?"
The Burly Man sneered. "Who knows if he's still himself?"
The remark came out of nowhere, but the other two understood at once.
He suspected that the person who had come out was no longer the original.
"It hasn't been long enough for that," the High-Ponytail Woman said, frowning.
"Being cautious is the most important thing in an instance, unless he can prove he's himself." The Burly Man refused to budge.
[??? Is there something seriously wrong with this guy?]
[Prove he's himself? I can prove I'm your dad.]
[Dammit, this suddenly reminded me of having to prove your mom is your mom.]
[What's his problem? Why does he keep targeting Boss Xu Xi? The boss never did anything to him.]
[My fists are clenched. I hate that I can't reach through the screen and slap him.]
Standing outside Room 103, Xu Xi naturally heard everything the Burly Man said.
...So people really did laugh when they were rendered speechless.
Fine. He thought Xu Xi was an eerie creature, did he?
Xu Xi raised his hand.
"Knock, knock, knock—"
The sharp knocking rang through the silent hallway. The pupils of the three people inside the room instantly contracted, and they clamped their mouths shut.
Time passed little by little.
"Knock, knock, knock—"
"Knock, knock, knock—"
The incessant knocking made their scalps tingle.
Just as they thought the Burly Man had really been right, and the quiet young man had truly been replaced by something eerie, a soft chuckle suddenly came from outside the door.
"Idiots."
"You can stay here by yourselves."
Xu Xi switched on his flashlight. Its bright beam pierced the dark hallway as he turned and headed straight for Room 101.
Did they really think he was a pushover?
He wasn't afraid to explore on his own.
His unhurried footsteps gradually receded, and the three people inside the room each wore a different expression.
The Burly Man looked the worst of all, his face turning pale and then green.
[Cackle cackle cackle cackle, that was satisfying.]
[Look at the Burly Man's face. He's so mad, hahaha.]
[Burly Man: Oh no, I'm the clown.]
[Xu Xi: Here comes the fun.]
[Boss Xu Xi is mighty! You think I'm an eerie creature? Then I'll be one for once, hahaha.]
[Tsk, tsk, Burly Man, look at you. You weren't happy when he wasn't an eerie creature, and you're still unhappy when he is one. You're so hard to please.]
[The boss has quite a mischievous streak. Speaking of which, was that the first time he's laughed?]
[It's also the first time he's insulted anyone.]
[You managed to make Boss Xu Xi laugh and got him to insult someone for the first time. How could that not be an honor?]