Back to the Third Floor

Back to the Third Floor

The lobby of the Midnight Hotel looked perfectly normal. Unlike the dim stairwell, this place was brightly lit. On one side stood a black Front Desk, behind which two neatly dressed, pleasant-looking young women stood. On the other was the Rest Area, furnished with sofas and coffee tables. A few steps not far from the Rest Area led up to the Dining Hall, but it was not open at the moment, its entrance blocked by a folded screen.

If there was anything out of place, it was probably the tightly locked Great Door. But it was currently the closed period, and no one was allowed in or out. That had been written in the room rules, so Luo Jun had long been mentally prepared.

Silently preparing himself to activate the Dice of Heavenly Secrets at any moment, Luo Jun walked to the Front Desk with a deliberately relaxed air.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

The Front Desk's service attitude was quite good.

Making a preliminary assessment in his heart, Luo Jun tested the waters. "Sorry, I accidentally got locked out of my room..."

"That's all right, sir. May I have your room number?"

"0315."

"Very well. Please look at the camera for facial recognition. We need to verify your identity."

Luo Jun hesitated for a moment, but still did as asked.

While he was at it, he observed the two women behind the counter.

Their facial features were proper, both had two feet planted on the ground, and neither had Bangs... They seemed to be human, all right.

Humans meant safety.

"Please wait a moment."

While the Front Desk worked, Luo Jun looked around discreetly. Before long, he spotted a small laminated display board on the counter beside him. It read: "Customer Notice."

New rules? Luo Jun's heart stirred as he began reading carefully.

Welcome to the Midnight Hotel. In Order To ensure you have a pleasant stay, please observe the following rules after checking in.

1. This Hotel is open from 6:00 to 22:00. Please check in during these hours. After 22:00, the Hotel enters its closed period, and no one is permitted to enter or leave. We apologize for any inconvenience.

2. Check-out is available daily from 10:00 to 14:00. Once your room has been inspected and found satisfactory, you may leave the Hotel. If you have not checked out by 14:00, your stay will automatically be extended by one day. You may not leave the Hotel until you have completed check-out.

3. If you accidentally forget to check out and do not wish to continue staying at the Hotel, please come to the Front Desk before 22:00 to complete the procedures. You may leave only after paying double the room fee as compensation.

4. The Hotel opens the Dining Hall from 6:00 to 10:00 every morning, providing a complimentary breakfast buffet. The Dining Hall is not open at other times. To avoid hunger, please do not miss breakfast.

5. During your stay at the Hotel, hunger is a dangerous signal. If you begin to feel hungry, you must eat within two hours.

6. If you accidentally miss breakfast and begin to feel hungry, you may contact the Front Desk, collect a Sleeping Pill, and return to your room to take it. Sleep can pause your hunger, and the Sleeping Pill will make you sleep until the Next time breakfast is served.

7. No matter how hungry you are, do not eat food from anywhere other than the Dining Hall. This Hotel has no vending machines. If you see one, do not purchase any food or drink from it.

8. The Hotel's Stairwell currently has certain safety hazards. Please do not use it, and choose the elevator whenever possible to travel between floors.

9. This Hotel has no basement level. The basement button in the elevator is a remnant from renovations. Ignore it if you see it. If you touch it by accident, immediately press it twice to cancel.

Finally, may you have a wonderful night at the Midnight Hotel.

After reading the rules, Luo Jun frowned slightly.

The first few rules seemed fairly normal, all of them regulations regarding time. As Long As he remembered them and followed them on schedule, it would be fine. The last two concerned the stairs and elevator, basically warning guests not to go to the basement. Luo Jun already knew more or less about those.

But starting from the fourth rule, a new concept appeared—hunger.

Anyone could tell without using their brains that this was not a good condition. Luo Jun had already experienced the word "danger" in the rules. It was something he absolutely had to avoid. But the problem was that such a dangerous state only came with one opportunity to eat each day, while at other times one could only rely on Sleeping Pills to hold out... Could a Hotel that abused its guests like this really stay in business?

At the thought, Luo Jun subconsciously touched his stomach.

He had rushed to the movies that evening without eating. From noon until now, he had gone over ten hours without food. His stomach felt a little empty, but not unbearably hungry. Did that count as hunger?

Just as he hesitated, the Front Desk handed him a blank Room Card.

"Sir, your temporary Room Card is ready. You can use this to open your door. But remember, when you check out tomorrow, you must return both Room Cards together."

Luo Jun took the Room Card and thanked her, then asked the question weighing on his mind.

The Front Desk smiled faintly upon hearing it. "Don't worry, sir. When you are truly 'hungry,' you definitely won't mistake that feeling."

Luo Jun frowned, then Turned head to look over the rules once more. With his extraordinary Mental Power, he committed them to memory before leaving the Front Desk and entering the elevator.

Checking the time, he saw that it was almost midnight. Luo Jun chose to use his last Dice of Heavenly Secrets attempt to head to the Third Floor.

It was still difficulty five. With Point Correction safeguarding him, success came without suspense. But this time, there was no Great Success.

His trip to the First Floor had gone smoothly, giving Luo Jun the illusion that he Was in an ordinary Hotel... But he Knew deeply how sinister and dangerous this place was. After thinking it over, his ability to obtain the temporary card without incident was most likely thanks to the Great Success he had gotten when coming down.

Wait... Luo Jun suddenly remembered that when he had been sucked into the Black Hole at the mall, he had rolled the dice and gotten a Great Failure. According to the dice's rules, that would bring extremely dire consequences. What exactly were those consequences?

Was it this bizarre Midnight Hotel?

A guess formed in Luo Jun's mind. Perhaps being sucked into that Black Hole did not always send someone here. Among all the possible destinations, this Hotel was the most dangerous one, worthy of being the consequence of a Great Failure.

Then did that Great Success just now mean that even if he successfully came down in the elevator, he would not necessarily arrive here... Could this Hotel have several different "First Floors"? Was the one corresponding to Great Success the safest, most peaceful one?

The thought made Luo Jun break out in a cold sweat. At the same time, he became wary of the Third Floor that awaited him.

This was not the Third Floor of a Great Success!

"Ding!"

With a crisp chime, the elevator doors opened, but there was no one inside.

Only after two seconds did Luo Jun jump down from above the elevator, darting swiftly out.

To prevent the doors from opening onto a monster, he had braced himself against the elevator ceiling with his hands and feet. With his current attributes, such a maneuver was not particularly difficult.

The long corridor was dimly lit, but it was indeed empty. He was the only person there.

Luo Jun swallowed, rose onto his toes, and ran as fast as he could toward his room, 0315, without making a sound.

0323, 0321, 0319...

He was almost at his room!

But Just As that happened, the door to room 0311 suddenly opened, and a petite, familiar figure stepped out!

It was that monster! It had changed back into the form of the Little Girl, but this time her Bangs had been lifted aside, leaving the bloody maw on her forehead completely exposed. That mouth was still chewing half a finger, blood streaming down the Little Girl's adorable cheeks. She had clearly just eaten an innocent guest!

Luo Jun's scalp went numb at once!

He suppressed the urge to turn and run. No longer caring about making noise, he immediately accelerated. He had to get into his room before the monster did!

Both of them were about the same distance from room 0315's door. He was already running, while it had just stepped out and would definitely lose a beat accelerating from a standstill! As Long As he swiped his card and opened the door in the shortest possible time, he could slip into the room!

The Girl had clearly Noticed him as well. She Turned head toward him, and both her cute little face and the mouth on her forehead grinned at him simultaneously. Then, a tongue shot out!

"Aaargh!"

This guy had a ranged attack—it did not need to run at all...

Luo Jun instinctively wanted to activate the Dice of Heavenly Secrets, but he had already used up all his attempts! There was less than a minute until Refresh!

He could only rely on himself. Could he dodge it?

Though he had not activated the dice, Luo Jun still felt as though everything around him had slowed slightly.

This was the effect of adrenaline surging at a critical moment!

He could clearly see the tongue, bristling with Bone Spurs, shoot from the Girl's forehead toward him.

So fast, but I have to dodge it!

And Just As that happened, there came a click, and the door to room 0315 opened!

End of Chapter