No Exceptions

"I still can't believe there could be an error in the hotel's mission briefing."

Although Fang Shenyan had only experienced one mission, his thinking shifted with remarkable speed. Perhaps, as he said, he was naturally suited for the hotel.

Yu Guo's expression was a bit lost as he chimed in, "That's right. I didn't find any similar cases in the employee handbook from Ji Li either."

Tong Guan glanced at the twenty-odd staff members nervously milling about in the lobby and said softly:

"It's hard to say if the mission details are accurate.

Branch Eleven has always maintained a continuous lineage of staff, passed down from one generation to the next.

Because of this, most past cases are preserved there. I reviewed them after becoming an acting manager, and I only found one similar mission."

Branch Eleven, one of the other branches belonging to Tianhai Hotel, was a new piece of information from Tong Guan.

Fang Shenyan and Yu Guo exchanged a look, understanding each other without words.

"So, all the other branches have a continuous lineage, but Branch Seven had a break!

The previous generation of staff all died in a single mission, with no new recruits. It wasn't until Ji Li arrived that he was immediately chosen as the acting manager."

These words, broadcast through the monitoring room, reached Ji Li's ears.

He frowned, coughed lightly, and turned his head to look at Li Xing, whose expression was bewildered, but he said nothing.

Li Xing was full of confusion. He felt as if his memory had gaps, especially regarding the "mission details."

However, Ji Li's sudden turn of his head dispelled Li Xing's thought of checking his phone.

The fear Li Xing felt towards Ji Li caused his hand to slowly withdraw from his pocket, missing the opportunity to interact with the bloody hand on the screen.

Ji Li, on the other hand, glanced at Li Xing before turning his head back.

The secrets of the other branches that Tong Guan mentioned gave him a strange feeling. Ji Li rubbed the cigarette butt between his fingers, his gaze distant.

Although he didn't think he was special, it was clear he was different from everyone else.

Branch Seven, just the first mission for a Two-Star hotel, how could all the staff have died without new recruits?

Ji Li had a vague, wishful thought:

"Tianhai deliberately purged Branch Seven, just to create a vacuum for his arrival."

This was unreasonable, just a feeling.

It was based on Ji Li's conspiracy theories, as he could never forget his desire to find the truth.

Tianhai Hotel, his special attribute of returning from the dead, and his lost memories must be greatly connected.

"Ji Li, I know you're listening.

The case I'm about to mention is very special.

We all know that hotels also allow ghosts to enter!

It's just that ghosts who enter the hotel under extreme circumstances have restrictions and cannot attack us.

But we don't know the extent of these restrictions.

In the case at Branch Eleven, a ghost blinded the staff!

Making it so that the mission details the staff saw did not match the real details.

If the outcome of our current operation has an unknown anomaly, perhaps all of us were already blinded by a ghost the moment we received the mission!"

Tong Guan tilted his head, looking at the nearest security camera, and spoke loudly.

This was his mission experience and analysis, suggesting that a ghost had entered the hotel and used its blinding ability to show them false mission information.

"The ghost, who is it?"

Ji Li's already hoarse and deep voice sounded like dry wood through the broadcast.

Tong Guan didn't turn to look at the staff members beside him, but quietly met Ji Li's gaze from afar.

Ji Li saw the eyes in the black and white television, flickering with sharp intelligence. He remained calm, understanding Tong Guan's intentions.

"The ghost is Li Xing."

This easily led to thinking about Li Xing. He was supposed to enter the hotel with Tong Guan, but he was delayed by three minutes.

And the mission details were also delayed by several hours.

Li Xing, is the ghost…

This conclusion was weak, lacking evidence, but it fit the current situation.

The Third Personality proposed that the source of the curse was within the staff.

If Li Xing was indeed a ghost, and he created a false mission, gathered around the staff, and spread the curse, then many things could be explained.

Ji Li didn't turn his head. He just stared at the TV screen, quietly watching the nervously uneasy staff in the first-floor lobby.

Through the screen, he also saw Li Xing, who was huddled in a corner, unusually silent and still.

Possession by a ghost was an unsolvable murder; getting close was absolutely out of the question.

If even avoiding the staff still resulted in unsolvable death, then it could only mean that the mission information itself was wrong.

The hotel would never issue a mission without a clear path to survival.

Ji Li didn't believe they themselves had failed to find a way out, because based on the current mission objectives, they had done everything they possibly could.

Now, all they could do was wait.

And all they could do was wait.

"Li Xing's identity mystery hinges entirely on the survival of the 28 employees on the first floor."

Ji Li wasn't in any hurry, because he knew very well that even if Li Xing was a ghost, it wouldn't make a move against him until all the staff were dead.

And most importantly, even if the current mission parameters were overturned, he felt no fear.

Because he knew that within this building, there was one last person whose existence was key to the truth of this mission.

Xiao Qi, a name that sounded like a woman's.

Finding them would unveil the entire mystery of this mission.

This was Ji Li's backup plan, and the crucial next step after this operation.

He wasn't in a hurry, but Tong Guan and the others, who were on the second floor at the corner, surveying the situation below, were very anxious.

"If something major has happened on the first floor and the mission objectives have been fundamentally overturned, how will we find the real mission?"

Yu Guo's heart was in his throat. He spoke rapidly, betraying his nervousness.

However, his face still showed no fear, only a thrill from the unknown.

Fang Shenyan sat on the steps, looked at the eyeball tattoo on the back of his hand, lit a cigarette, and said through the smoke, "Ji Li is hiding something from us."

Tong Guan asked with interest, "What do you mean?"

"Actually, anyone with eyes can see that people must have died on the first floor. So, the mission to protect the staff has likely collapsed.

But Ji Li's plan only stated the outcome, not the subsequent course of action.

I don't believe someone with his intellect wouldn't have thought of it, so there are two possibilities.

One, he's unsure if the countermeasures will be effective. Two, he's hesitant to say due to some concern."

Chang Nian, overhearing this, gained a higher appreciation for Ji Li's caution:

"What concerns could he have? The six of us, perhaps everyone except Li Xing himself, have begun to suspect his true identity."

"Perhaps Ji Li is thinking even more cautiously than us. He's afraid the ghost isn't Li Xing.

He can't trust anyone..."

Time passed quickly. It was now three in the morning on October 26, 2015.

Five hours had passed since the mission began, a long five hours.

The staff had long since stopped their speculation. Yu Guo had even stationed himself at the stairwell and slowly closed his eyes, drowsiness creeping in.

This long night was not yet over, but only one hour remained until the mission's end.

Yet, there had been no further casualties. But no one was letting their guard down, believing they had found a way out.

The storm always came fiercest in the final moments.

And now, it was the final moment!

"Huh? What are you doing?"

"Xiao Dong, what's wrong with you?"

"How could I..."

"Someone, quickly, help..."

Yu Guo had just dozed off when he was jolted awake by the shouts and chaos from the first floor, leaping to his feet from the stairs.

Tong Guan, Fang Shenyan, Chang Nian, and four other staff members emerged from the second floor, watching the first-floor employees from a distance.

Each of them wore an expression of terror!

The 28 staff members, after a brief clamor, simultaneously brought their hands to their heads. Their expressions were unreadable, but the incredibly bizarre sight, the deathly silent scene, was deeply imprinted on the minds of the living.

Tong Guan's hand trembled slightly. He couldn't see clearly, but he could distinctly hear.

"Crack, crack..."

One by one, then another...

Everyone lined up and snapped their own necks!

No one could survive!