Hunger

Hunger

Looking at the newly appeared rules, Luo Jun fell into deep thought.

Several of them could corroborate the rules in the Hotel Lobby. If he had been the Luo Jun of last night, he probably would have trusted those rules more because they had supporting evidence.

But things were different now. After Old Yuan's guidance last night, he had learned something new.

When rules conflicted or changed, it most likely meant that more than one force existed within this mission.

Then did the final rule—hunger and fatigue—represent those two forces?

As a human, I am advised to choose the latter. What does that mean?

Was fatigue safer than hunger?

The earlier rules had also mentioned that sleep could ease hunger. Did that likewise represent the opposition between two forces?

But there was a contradiction here. If one could not sleep in a Guest Room, why would they provide Sleeping Pills? Sleep outside? Wouldn't that be even more dangerous?

After last night's ordeal, the room had become the only safe haven in Luo Jun's mind. Now, the new rules strictly limited how long he could stay in it. He had originally planned to hide there until checkout, but that clearly would not work now.

Even so, Luo Jun remained in his room until nearly seven before cautiously pushing open the door. He first leaned half his body out and looked around.

Although dawn had only just broken, the Corridor was clearly much brighter during the day than at night.

There had been lights at night, so the corridor should have been darker in the early morning. That meant the brightness and darkness were not caused by lighting, but by something else.

Just As Luo Jun was carefully observing his surroundings, the door to the room Next Door suddenly opened. He jumped and nearly shut his own door on instinct. But remembering that he had reached the time limit for staying in the room, he forced himself to dart out and sprint at full speed toward the elevator or the stairs.

The moment he stepped out, he heard a scream beside him.

Turning to look, he saw a short-haired Female in her mid-twenties standing at the door with a suitcase, her face full of terror. It seemed Luo Jun's sudden dash had startled her.

"What's wrong, babe?" A Young man in his late twenties hurried out from behind the woman, carrying things in his hands and wearing a backpack. Judging by their appearance, they were clearly a couple traveling together.

"Ah, it's nothing..." The woman glanced at Luo Jun, but ultimately felt too embarrassed to admit that he had frightened her. Luo Jun could only pretend not to notice and walk forward on his own, though his attention remained on them.

The couple packed their things while complaining about the Hotel's bizarre regulations. They looked like Ordinary Persons—just regular tourists.

Had everything returned to normal during the day?

Luo Jun was uncertain. He looked back at their room number: 0317. The Girl had eaten the guest from room 0311...

Luo Jun stared at 0311. That door had not opened at all.

The stairs did not lead to the First Floor. Luo Jun arrived at the elevator, and before long, the couple came over as well and waited with him.

Ding. The elevator doors opened. The couple dragged their luggage inside, but Luo Jun hesitated.

"Hey, aren't you getting on?" the man asked, holding the door-open button.

"Ah, I forgot something. Thanks..." As he spoke, Luo Jun turned and walked back.

Everything looked normal, but Luo Jun still did not dare enter a Sealed Space like an elevator with Others. What if those two suddenly grew an eye and Two Mouths? There would be nowhere for him to run...

But before the next elevator arrived, more guests emerged from nearby rooms. After going back and forth like this several times, nearly Twenty Minutes passed before Luo Jun finally got on an elevator.

He rolled the dice once more and successfully reached the First Floor.

The Hotel Lobby was much livelier than it had been last night. Some people were drinking tea and chatting in the Rest Area, some were consulting the Front Desk about various matters, and some had even entered from outside.

The Great Door could be opened?

Luo Jun casually walked toward the exit, but the moment he reached the door, he felt an invisible force blocking him.

"Sir, may I ask if you have checked out?"

The Hotel Front Desk's voice came from behind him. Though it sounded gentle and polite, Luo Jun felt a chill climb up his spine, as if the one speaking to him was not a beautiful and gentle receptionist, but a man-eating monster.

"Oh, I forgot." Luo Jun spoke casually as he slowly backed away. As he moved farther from the Great Door, the chill faded as well.

"It is not yet time to check out. If you are hungry, you may go to the Dining Hall and enjoy the complimentary breakfast first."

Luo Jun nodded, but he did not want to invite unnecessary trouble. What if he entered the Dining Hall and discovered some rule requiring him to fulfill certain conditions before he could leave? That would be troublesome. Besides, according to the rules, there was still a half-hour buffer before hunger struck. He could eat then.

With that in mind, he sat in the Rest Area outside the Dining Hall and waited for checkout time.

As Long As the time came, he could check out and leave immediately. This damned mission would finally be complete!

Second by second, time passed. Finally, when the hour hand on the Hotel clock passed nine, Luo Jun suddenly frowned.

He was a little hungry.

More than eight hours had passed since his Last Time Upgraded. An ordinary person should be hungry by then too. The question was whether this hunger was the hunger described by the rules.

The receptionist had said last night that if he became hungry, he would know very clearly...

The moment that thought crossed his mind, Luo Jun's vision darkened. At the Same Time, an uncontrollable hunger rose from his stomach!

This is... Luo Jun was horrified. He could clearly feel his Heartbeat Sound, and with every beat, the scene In Front Of him warped. Under the assault of that terrifying hunger, when Luo Jun Looked towards the guests moving through the lobby, they no longer seemed human. They were walking Roast Chickens and pork knuckles!

"So this is... the hunger described by the rules?" Luo Jun swallowed unconsciously. Relying on his powerful will, he suppressed the urge to rush over and bite into them, then began circulating the Vital Energy within his body.

As the Vital Energy regulated his body, Luo Jun felt the hunger weaken somewhat. Yet he still felt an uncontrollable urge to eat!

"No wonder the rules say to avoid hunger..." Luo Jun swallowed. "My Mental Power is ten times that of an Ordinary Person's, and I have Vital Energy helping me resist it, yet I still crave food this badly. If it were an Ordinary Person, they would probably lose control the instant hunger struck."

Just as he thought that, he saw a Roast Chicken... no, a tourist suddenly go mad. He pounced on a Roast Suckling Pig beside him and frantically pecked at it with a beak softened from stewing. The Roast Suckling Pig struggled while letting out a pig-slaughtering howl... no, that was a human scream!

Luo Jun shook his head hard. Why did he keep unconsciously seeing them as food?

That hunger was contaminating his perception!

At first, Luo Jun had still held onto a faint hope that he could resist the hunger through his Mental Power and Vital Energy. But now, it seemed that the half-hour buffer in the rules was not meant for Ordinary Persons, but for Polluters who had activated the mission!

He had underestimated how intense the hunger was.

He had to eat!

Luo Jun desperately fought against his hunger, barely maintaining enough reason to stand up and slowly walk into the Dining Hall.

There were quite a few people in the Dining Hall. Some sat at tables eating, while others selected food in the Food Pickup Area. In Luo Jun's eyes, those people were walking chicken legs, pork knuckles, braised pork, fried shrimp, and Jianbing Guazi...

As for the actual food, it was strangely less enticing from his current perspective...

Increasing the circulation speed of his Vital Energy, Luo Jun did his best to clear his mind. Then he went to the staple food area, took a thin pancake, wrapped two fried dough sticks inside, added some sauce and cilantro, and took a huge bite.

"Mmm! That hit the spot!"

He chewed rapidly. As the mouthful of food went down, the hunger immediately eased by More Than Half.

Luo Jun wolfed down his homemade Jianbing Guazi in a few bites, and the world in his eyes finally returned to normal...

Thank goodness.

But Luo Jun did not dare let down his guard. Instead of leaving the Dining Hall, he returned to the entrance and took a look.

Sure enough, a sheet of paper was posted there, covered with rules about the Dining Hall.

Thanks to Wine Dance to the Brim for the 5,000 Origin Point Coin tip!

Thanks to Death for the 100 Origin Point Coin tip!

Thanks, everyone, for your monthly votes and recommendations!

(End of Chapter)