Birthday Wishes

Birthday Wishes

The thick wooden door opened toward the Little Girl. With a thud, it blocked the tongue she had shot out.

An Old Man with severe baldness poked his head out from inside. One hand gripped the doorknob as he smiled and nodded at Luo Jun, stepping aside to leave him room to enter.

Luo Jun froze for a moment, then charged into the room without hesitation. With a bang, the Old Man shut the door.

The Monster Little Girl's furious roar and pounding on the door came from outside, but it lasted only a few seconds before falling silent.

"She's gone to look for other prey." The Old Man withdrew his eye from the peephole and turned back to Luo Jun with a smile.

"Thank you, Old Senior, for saving me." Luo Jun stood behind the bed, keeping three or four meters between himself and the Old Man. His tone was respectful, but his eyes never left the Old Man, and he gripped the Dice of Heavenly Secrets in his mind.

During that brief interval, the number of attempts had already refreshed.

The reason he had dared enter this room was partly because he truly had nowhere else to run. More importantly, he had seen the Old Man smile and nod. That was written in the room's rules—someone who could follow the rules should be human. The counterexample was that Little Girl. After the monster killed someone, she had simply pushed the door open and come out, without caring about the rules at all.

But who was this Old Man, and why was he in his room? Luo Jun had a hundred question marks in his mind. So while he appeared respectful, inwardly he was on guard a thousand times over. His gaze remained fixed on the Old Man, searching for any traits that did not belong to a human.

The Old Man was studying Luo Jun as well. After watching him for two seconds, he nodded and smiled. "Not bad. When I first arrived and found no one in the room, I thought you were already dead. You violated the rules and still came back alive. You really do have some skill."

The appreciation in the Old Man's voice left Luo Jun puzzled. Before he could ask anything, the Old Man's eyes suddenly sharpened. He launched himself into the air, vaulting over the bed as he rushed at Luo Jun!

So fast! Luo Jun's face changed drastically. Fortunately, the Dice of Heavenly Secrets had finished cooling down. With his extraordinary reflexes, he activated it instantly. As everything around him slowed, the Old Man had already reached him, one hand reaching for his face from only inches away!

Dodge!

"Ding. Event Difficulty: 96. Final Points: 23+5. Event Failed!"

Difficulty 96? Luo Jun immediately gave up on using the Lead-Weighted Dice for another try. Since he could not dodge it, he would block it!

Driven by his instinctive response to an attack, Luo Jun had raised his hands to shield his face. By the time he activated the dice, his hands were already at chin height, very close to the Old Man's hand. The difficulty of blocking should not be high!

"Ding. Event Difficulty: 61. Final Points: 58+5. Event Success!"

It was still over sixty? Luo Jun was horrified, but his hands had already thrust upward with all his strength. With a smack, he braced the Old Man's wrist!

What tremendous strength!

The Old Man's arm felt as if it had been forged from steel and iron. Even Luo Jun's strength, five or six times that of an ordinary person, could not budge it. Yet under the recoil, Luo Jun was flung sideways, escaping the Old Man's grasp.

The Old Man's eyes lit up. With a tap of his toes against the floor, he closed in again and swept out a whip kick.

Before Luo Jun, whose hands had gone numb, could regain his footing, a leg swept toward his face. In his urgency, he activated the Dice of Heavenly Secrets again. This time, he did not even place his hopes on dodging—he blocked directly!

"Ding. Event Difficulty: 57. Final Points: 61+5. Event Success!"

Luo Jun breathed a sigh of relief. He raised his numb arms to block while both feet left the ground.

With a bang, Luo Jun was sent flying by the kick. He spun three hundred and sixty degrees in midair, landed on both feet, and barely managed to steady himself.

The Old Man's attacks were heavy as mountains, and taking them head-on was unbearable. Luo Jun had jumped precisely to shed part of the force!

But even so, both his forearms hurt so badly they trembled. It felt like one more hit would break them!

Yet the Old Man clearly had no intention of letting him go. He turned and pursued.

This time, however, before the Old Man could move, Luo Jun had already jumped up. With his feet together, he actually kicked toward the Old Man first!

The Old Man was too fast. If he moved first, Luo Jun would not have time to react while responding passively. Since that was the case, he might as well turn defense into offense. There was still a sliver of hope!

The Old Man had not expected this kid to dare counterattack. The corner of his mouth curled up slightly. He did not dodge Luo Jun's kick at all, instead swinging a fist at him!

Was he trying to trade injury for injury? No—with his strength, Luo Jun's kick would not hurt or itch. But if that punch landed, it would take half of Luo Jun's life.

Noticing the Old Man's movement, Luo Jun breathed a sigh of relief and activated the Dice of Heavenly Secrets!

Target judgment: Kick his fist!

With passive dodging or blocking, he could not keep up with the Old Man's speed. But if he moved first and met the Old Man's fist head-on, he only needed to make a slight adjustment to the angle of his legs. The chance of success would rise dramatically!

"Ding. Event Difficulty: 36. Final Points: 48+5. Event Success!"

Good!

Luo Jun felt reassured and kicked out hard!

With a smack, the sole of Luo Jun's shoe struck the Old Man's fist. Two legs against one hand narrowed the gap in strength between them. Even so, Luo Jun did not clash head-on. Feeling the force surge up from the sole of his foot, he bent his legs with the momentum to shed more than half the force, then kicked fiercely, sending himself flying sideways!

He had used the Old Man's fist as a springboard, and the direction he flew was the room's Great Door!

During their brief exchange, the two had unknowingly switched positions. Luo Jun was on the outside, and the Old Man was inside. With this kick, as long as Luo Jun could open the door and escape outside, he would have far more room to maneuver. Besides, that man-eating Young Girl monster probably had not gone far. If the Old Man chased him out, he could find a way to make them kill each other.

Just like when he had encountered the Seafood Monster before!

The Old Man was kicked back one step. When he saw Luo Jun flying toward the door, the admiration in his eyes intensified. Just as Luo Jun was about to escape the room, the Old Man took a deep breath. His clothes stirred without wind as he suddenly accelerated, shooting forward like a meteor!

This charge was several times faster than any of his previous attacks. Even though Luo Jun had already touched the doorknob, the Old Man still moved later yet arrived first, grabbing Luo Jun's wrist!

"What?!"

Luo Jun was aghast. He had never expected the Old Man to erupt with such speed. Had he not been serious at all with those earlier moves? Despair surged through him, but only for an instant before he rallied again!

I can't give up!

Just as he was about to summon the Dice of Heavenly Secrets, a sharp shout rang in his ears.

"Luo Jun!"

Luo Jun froze and looked at the Old Man in astonishment.

"You know me?"

Ever since arriving at this bizarre Hotel, Luo Jun had encountered nothing but monsters and rules. He did not even know where he was. Who would have thought he would hear his own name?

The Old Man smiled and shook his head. "This is the first time I've met you, but I know you very well."

"You're eighteen this year, a student of Class 9, Grade 3 at Ningdong City Second High School. Your parents both died when you were six. Your Grandfather raised you until you were fifteen. Now you rent a place in an old residential complex two streets away from your school. Outside of school, you survive on odd jobs and relief funds... Also, today—no, yesterday—was your birthday."

The Old Man gave Luo Jun what could be considered a kindly smile.

"Happy birthday."