Where the Pure Land Lies

"Can you walk any faster?! My hand's gone again, this is killing me!"

"Did the main personality ever lose a hand before?"

"Stop with the nonsense, this hurts even more than last time!"

Ji Li no longer had the energy to interfere with the two personalities clamoring in his mind. Clutching the empty mirror frame under his arm, he stumbled towards the public restroom ahead.

Although the mission had ended successfully, he had also fallen into a coma. If the other personalities hadn't been screaming in his mind, forcing him awake, he likely would have died from blood loss by now.

"Bang~"

This man of three shadows slammed open the public restroom door with his body, returning to the Tianhai Hotel's Shop No. 7 as if by magic.

A gentle, warm breeze dried the coolness of the autumn night, and waves of unknown hot currents surged through his body, enveloping Ji Li as he collapsed.

"Congratulations to Tianhai Hotel, Shop No. 7's Acting Manager, Mr. Ji Li, for successfully completing the reception mission and returning.

Shop No. 7 has been promoted from 'Normal' to 'One-Star' hotel, with an expansion of five staff members.

Before reaching Two-Star, the hotel will operate on a 'replacement for the deceased' basis, maintaining a standard of six staff members.

New staff members will arrive punctually in the hotel lobby at 10 AM tomorrow.

Mr. Ji Li, please devise a reasonable management rule before the new staff members begin their duties.

We wish you a pleasant survival."

Ji Li looked at his severed left hand, watching flesh and bone regrow at a visible speed. He ignored this bizarre phenomenon and focused his gaze on the empty mirror frame.

This was the ghost he had brought back this time.

"Ouch, ouch, don't move, don't move...

It's a bit numb, a bit itchy, almost healed..."

The Second Personality's slightly strange voice echoed in his ears. Ji Li frowned but said nothing.

He watched the empty mirror frame, representing the ghost, float in mid-air. Small text suddenly appeared on its reverse side: "Resident 203"!

Then, it completely vanished before his eyes, and a muffled door slam echoed from the second floor.

Ji Li let out a sigh of relief. Tianhai Hotel had accepted this new resident, and his mission was truly complete.

Only now did he finally have the chance to take out his phone and check the new email.

As he went upstairs to check on the three ghost residents, he pondered in his mind.

Ji Li had always attributed his previous failures to a lack of manpower.

In that failed mission, he had grasped the path to survival, but he had lost because he didn't have enough people and time to execute it.

Now that the hotel had been promoted to One-Star, he had five teammates, which greatly increased the maneuverability for future missions.

The corridor on the second floor exuded an unusual chill. Ji Li could feel that the ghosts in "205" and "210" were somewhat restless about the arrival of the new ghost in "203."

Ji Li stood at the end of the corridor, his gaze deep.

He still couldn't understand the purpose of the hotel's supervisory duty over its staff.

Given the current situation, the ghost residents were indeed difficult to manage. They attempted to escape daily, and although this situation was hindered by the staff's reprimands, Could humans truly restrain ghosts?

Ji Li looked back blankly, placing his hands on the banister, and gazed at the seventeen portraits of past managers in the center of the lobby.

"Why is it that when all the hotel staff die, the ghost residents also reset to zero...

When people die, they die, but where did the past residents go?"

"Ji Li, can you tell me what's going on right now?" The Third Personality's usual calm and collected voice sounded in his ear.

It interrupted his unanswered thoughts.

Ji Li sighed, turned, and went upstairs, returning to his private room. He sat down at the computer and began to recount everything in a low voice.

After a long while, the Third Personality silently accepted it all.

"So, I went from being a psychologist to your subordinate personality, losing my rights as a human..."

"I don't know why you have independent memories and will. The second one doesn't," Ji Li rubbed his throbbing temples.

He knew a fair amount about this supernatural hotel, but he was completely clueless about his own mysterious and special attributes.

Although the Second Personality was manic and vulgar, it hadn't shown any special characteristics. However, the newly formed Third Personality displayed abnormal independence, which made him somewhat uneasy.

The Third Personality was calm and composed, and perhaps there would be no variables.

But Ji Li worried that if he died again and new personalities emerged, if they all possessed independent wills and couldn't be distinguished as good or bad.

Then, the personalities within him would become ticking time bombs, not only leading to unexpected changes but potentially even threatening his dominant position!

"Alright, alright, I suspect the third one's brain is a bit off. The new staff arrive at ten tomorrow, and as managers, we need to manage them well," the Second Personality yawned and said dully.

Ji Li nodded. The arrival of new staff was a great thing for him.

But he needed to quickly get these newcomers to accept the current situation, lest they make foolish decisions during missions, leading to a complete collapse.

"I can create a hotel rule within reasonable limits for management. Which direction do you think would be better?"

Hearing the question, both personalities quieted down, and Ji Li also lowered his head in thought.

In fact, within the hotel, there was no shortage of material possessions or wealth. Whatever he wanted, he only needed to speak it into the air, and it would appear in his locker.

With everything readily available, Ji Li didn't know how to create rules.

"Do you remember how you calculated against Blondie and the others just now..." The Third Personality spoke, causing Ji Li's brow to furrow.

"When undertaking missions and facing ghosts, under the intense pressure of death, humans have very little ability to resist.

So, just like you, out of fear of death, it's quite normal for them to do some persecutory things."

The Third Personality's words weren't fully explicit, but Ji Li understood completely. It meant he should create a rule of internal restraint among humans!

"Tianhai, the rule I'm creating is to prohibit staff from calculating against each other..." but Ji Li paused mid-sentence.

He then changed it to, "Within the hotel, staff are prohibited from infighting!"

"The rule proposed by Acting Manager Ji Li meets the standard and is now real!"

Receiving the hotel's response, Ji Li nodded. He had originally wanted to prohibit humans from calculating against each other, but upon reflection, he realized he also lacked the ability to resist ghosts.

Therefore, calculating against others during missions might still occur.

In his view, calculating was a matter of individual skill, but one must not extend their reach into the hotel's interior, otherwise, even this last safe haven would disappear.

"Alright, alright, I'll see about the newcomers tomorrow. I'm exhausted!"

Ji Li didn't rest. He sat on a chair, lit a cigarette, and stared blankly at the corner of the wall, his eyes hazy.

"I am still just the Acting Manager. The hotel email stated that currently, the Manager and Staff have no distinctions.

Does that mean that in the future, when I truly become the Manager, I will have special privileges..."

But then he shook his head again. "The reason I became the Acting Manager was because at that time, I was the only one in the establishment.

Perhaps, in the future, there will be a true Manager selection, and at that time, everyone will need to compete for the title.

Hotel... Tianhai... Me... Ji Li..."