Check-In Rules

Check-In Rules

First Floor of Qianyuehui Mall.

Although the mall had already closed, after showing their credentials, Old Yuan led Captain Cheng and several members of Group Three inside without trouble, arriving at the site of the daytime battle.

Although the Yuan Cultivation Society itself was a secret supernatural organization, the authority it possessed surpassed that of ordinary law enforcement departments. Especially when investigating cases related to Supernatural Phenomena, they basically carried credentials from various law enforcement agencies with them to deal with uninformed Ordinary People.

After the Cleanup Department handled the daytime incident, the scene no longer bore any Traces of supernatural combat. As for the witnesses, special methods had erased their memories; they had even deleted the photos and videos they took themselves while under hypnosis. Even if the occasional Lingering Fish slipped through the net, with the Yuan Cultivation Society's intervention, information involving Supernatural Power found it difficult to spread online.

Fortunately, aside from Luo Jun and that child, there had been no other victims in this incident. After the Yuan Cultivation Society examined the child and confirmed that there was nothing wrong with him, he had already been sent home. Of course, why that Polluter had kidnapped him remained a mystery. The organization would continue secretly monitoring him and his family.

"This is the place."

Hao Yong walked up to the discount stall. "That Polluter was standing right here when he activated the World Tree Leaf during the day!"

Old Yuan nodded and stepped forward to examine the scene carefully.

"Teacher, the Cleanup Department sealed the samples for research immediately after collecting them here." Captain Cheng followed him over. "After the scene dissipated naturally, the pollution concentration now is far lower than it was in the laboratory..."

"It's not that I don't trust the research department's conclusions." Old Yuan shook his head. "If that boy had gone to an ordinary world, even one whose 'Door' was overseas, I would have a way to find him. But [Chaos]..."

At the mention of that word, everyone's expressions dimmed somewhat.

"A world without a 'Door' truly gives us nowhere to begin." Captain Cheng nodded and consoled him. "But Chaos Worlds have their convenient side too. As long as he can complete the mission, he can return safely."

"That is no longer a problem an Ordinary Person can solve!" Old Yuan sighed. "The pollution in a Chaos World is so severe that without the constraints of a mission, one cannot even exist stably there. How can someone who has never cultivated primordial energy receive mission prompts? No matter how capable or lucky an Ordinary Person may be, without a goal, how could he come out alive?"

"But we have no other way..." Hao Yong said regretfully from the side.

"There is one more method!" Old Yuan reached into his robe and pulled out a Palm-sized compass. Its luster was smooth and lustrous, its workmanship exquisite, yet it bore obvious signs of patina. It clearly had quite a few years on it.

"This is..." Captain Cheng's eyes widened upon seeing it. "A Soul-Seeking Compass?"

Seeing the Others' puzzled expressions, Captain Cheng explained, "This is a Legendary Treasure Item, a consumable. As long as you possess the corresponding mark, you can enter a certain world anytime, anywhere... without going through a Door!"

"Enter another world without going through a Door?" The young people were greatly shocked upon hearing this. Ling Xin's gaze shifted slightly, as though she had thought of something. "Old Yuan, does that mean even a Chaos Mission is possible?"

Old Yuan smiled and nodded. "As long as we find the location where the Chaos Mission was entered, we can follow the trail there. But we can only stay for one hundred minutes before being forcibly sent back."

Captain Cheng's eyes lit up. "It has that function? No wonder you wanted data on recent Chaos Missions, Teacher!"

"Only..." Captain Cheng frowned slightly. "Using up such a precious treasure item just to save an Ordinary Person, isn't that a little..."

"Do you hear yourself?" Old Yuan glared. "Isn't the Yuan Cultivation Society here to protect the world and protect Ordinary People? Besides, this Young Man encountered danger only because he was implicated by us. How could we possibly stand by and watch him die?"

Captain Cheng shrank back after being scolded, muttering quietly, "I was just worried you wouldn't have anywhere to claim the expense..."

"Let me go!" Ling Xin looked at the compass and volunteered herself. "It was my responsibility that I failed to rescue him!"

"No!" Captain Cheng immediately vetoed it. "Letting you, as an external member, join the public security team in the Main World is already the Bottom Line. An unknown Chaos Mission is far too dangerous. If something happened to you, how would I explain it to your Brother? Teacher, give me the compass."

"I broke through to the Heart Refining Realm when I was thirteen." Ling Xin looked Captain Cheng in the eyes without yielding. "I may not have less experience with Chaos Missions than you do."

"This isn't a matter of experience!" Captain Cheng refused to agree. "Something happened in my district, so it should be my responsibility!"

"Enough, stop arguing!" Old Yuan stopped them. "What could you accomplish if you went? Could you bring him out? Or carry him through the mission? Little Cheng checked on the way here. None of the recently issued Conscription Missions match the timing. If that kid is still alive, it is most likely an entirely New Mission for him alone. If you teleport over without any preparation and only have a little over an hour, what can you do?"

"Besides, because Chaos Worlds are unstable, you may encounter Space-Time Turbulence during the transmission process. What level is your Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation at? Who is confident they can survive the turbulence?"

"Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation..." Captain Cheng's face twitched. "Teacher, you aren't planning to go yourself, are you?"

"Other than me, no one can accomplish this." Old Yuan stretched his body and raised a hand to press down Captain Cheng and Ling Xin, who were still about to dissuade him. "It's settled. Don't worry, I have my own plan. Just wait here. When the time comes, you can receive me!"

With that, he raised the Soul-Seeking Compass and slowly infused it with primordial energy.

Inside a Hotel Guest Room, Luo Jun, who was about to open the door, spotted a note.

"What does it say?" Luo Jun reached out to pull it off, only to discover that the paper seemed embedded in the door itself. He could not pry it loose at all. Leaning closer, he saw black lettering written on it:

Welcome to the Midnight Hotel. To ensure your safety and provide you with a better stay, please observe the following rules.

1. This Hotel is closed from 22:00 to 6:00. No guests are received during this time. Guests who have already checked in must remain in their rooms and must not go out.

2. During the closure period, Hotel staff will not disturb your rest. If there is a phone call or knocking at your door, please ignore it.

3. During the closure period, if you accidentally answer the phone, remain silent no matter what the caller says. Once the person on the other end has stopped speaking for three seconds, you may hang up. Immediately after hanging up, call the Front Desk and repeat word for word what you heard during the call.

4. During the closure period, if you accidentally open your door and a human is standing outside, keep smiling at them. No matter what they say, simply nod and do not give any response. Close the door only after they leave.

5. You may allow other humans into your room, but you may shelter them for no more than one hour. Ensure that they leave your room within that hour. For one hour afterward, please do not shelter anyone else.

6. Do not allow any living creature other than humans to enter your room.

7. Remember: humans are creatures with one head, two eyes, one mouth, and two hind legs that allow them to walk upright!

8. Humans are safe. Aside from humans, all living creatures are dangerous.

Please remember the above rules. As Long As you ensure that you follow them, you will make it through a safe Night.

"What kind of nonsensical mess is this?"

Luo Jun was puzzled. The first two of these so-called rules were barely reasonable, but starting from the third, they became somewhat strange. As for the ones below, they could only be described as bizarre.

Why did they emphasize humans over and over? Could there really be non-humans in the Hotel knocking on doors? Even stranger was the seventh rule. Did I not know what people looked like?

If it had been the old Luo Jun, he would probably have thought this was a prank by the Hotel. But now, having experienced supernatural incidents, he had gained a deeper understanding of this world.

He looked at the Hotel clock. It was now 10:40 at Night, precisely within the closure period described in the rules.

The question now was whether he should follow these rules.

Who the hell knows what this Hotel really is? If the rules are real, then as long as I go to bed and sleep until dawn, I'll be safe and sound.

But if the Hotel itself wants to harm me, then following the rules would be dangerous instead. Maybe this is just a scam meant to make me obediently stay in the room!

How can I verify it? Luo Jun thought of the Dice of Heavenly Secrets.

He activated the system and set the event as "Follow the rules on the door and make it safely through tonight."

But after Luo Jun used the dice, he was informed that the Event Complexity was too high and could not be determined.

"Complexity? What does that mean?" The moment he questioned it, new information appeared in his mind.

The Dice of Heavenly Secrets could only determine simple, clear, immediate events. It could not determine events that were too complex. If an event required too many conditions to be met, involved complicated steps, had a Blur objective, or took too long, then the dice would not take effect.

Clearly, many things would happen over the course of this Night. If he used the dice at every step, he would be nowhere near having enough attempts!

So I can't exploit a loophole... Luo Jun frowned. Then could I simply issue a mission to make it safely through tonight? That way, I could get a few more chances to roll the dice.

However, the dice's mission mechanism was not under his control. After a mission was issued, Luo Jun could choose whether to carry it out. But if the system did not issue a mission, it was useless no matter how Luo Jun arranged things himself.

This was difficult...

Luo Jun stared at the rules, frowning in deep thought. Suddenly, a knock sounded from the door.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Heavy and slow, with such tremendous force that even the door trembled slightly.

It's here! Luo Jun's heart leaped into his throat.

Should I respond? According to the rules, it would be best not to—but I still don't know whether the rules can be trusted!

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Three more knocks sounded.

Luo Jun narrowed his eyes and Noticed the peephole.

I won't open the door. I'll look through the peephole first...

With that thought, he casually took a wooden hanger from the wardrobe and weighed it in his palm. It was quite solid. Then he quietly approached the door and looked through the peephole.

Once Luo Jun saw the scene outside, cold sweat poured down his back...