The Pitiful Little Girl?!

The Pitiful Little Girl?!

What was this?

Luo Jun's eyes widened. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.

Through the peephole, he saw a monster standing outside the door!

That was right—a monster.

It was roughly humanoid. Its enormous head was covered in wrinkles, and two gray eyes stared at Luo Jun's door. Beneath its eyes were not organs like a nose and mouth, but numerous slender, fleshy tentacles branching out, as though a giant octopus sat atop a human's shoulders.

And not just its head... its body was not human either. When it raised its hand and knocked again, Luo Jun realized that what looked like a hand was actually a huge crab claw. The monster's body was asymmetrical as well: its right hand was a crab claw, while its left was a claw with four fingers. More bizarrely, this guy was wearing clothes, though its whole body was dripping wet and hung with seaweed and shells. Even through the great door, Luo Jun could smell that fishy stench.

Seeing that no one answered its knocking, the octopus tentacles on the monster's face swayed apart, revealing a circular mouthparts full of sharp teeth. It faced the peephole and asked in a deep, slow voice, "Is anyone there?"

He absolutely could not answer, much less open the door!

Luo Jun retreated two steps. The clothes hanger in his hand felt far too flimsy, so he turned around, grabbed a chair, and held it tightly, ready to smash the monster the moment it broke through the door.

Yet the monster did not continue pestering him. Instead, it left with heavy footsteps.

"Whew..." Luo Jun breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the rules on the door.

Although the hotel's room door was sturdy, it was still just an ordinary wooden door. He did not doubt that the monster had the strength to break in. The fact that it had left so easily meant the rules were most likely correct.

As long as he stayed put obediently, the monsters outside would not come in!

He would believe the rules for now. There was no other information anyway... but just in case, Luo Jun still moved the chair and table to brace the doorway.

Fortunately, his room had no windows. He had knocked on the walls, and they were all solid concrete. The door was the only weak point in the entire room.

"I won't be sleeping tonight!" Luo Jun sat on the bed and found an angle from which he could see the door.

Once everything was ready, the room fell silent, and Luo Jun could clearly hear the ticking of the clock hands.

"Hm?" Luo Jun raised an eyebrow and looked towards the wall.

The quiet room, combined with his beyond-human Perception Attribute, allowed Luo Jun to hear even fainter sounds.

For instance, voices from the room next door.

Right—since this was a hotel, I definitely wasn't the only guest!

With that thought, Luo Jun leaned closer and pressed his ear against the wall.

The previously blurred voices instantly became clear.

"Mom, why isn't Dad back yet?"

"Sweetheart, don't worry. Dad just replied to my message and said he'd be back soon..."

"Mom, you're lying to me! I just checked—your phone doesn't have any signal at all! Where did Dad go? Why did the hotel suddenly lock down? And what exactly does that Strange Note on the door mean? It wasn't there yesterday. What's Going On?"

"Sweetheart, don't be scared. Trust me, Dad will be back very soon..."

It sounded like a mother and daughter. The Little Girl's voice was very young; she was probably around ten years old. According to them, the hotel had been normal the day before, but the lockdown rules had suddenly appeared today. The child's father must have gone out without following the rules, and he still had not returned...

The first rule said not to leave the room. So what would happen if someone went out? What had happened to the girl's father? Could he already have...

Just as Luo Jun was speculating, knocking came from next door.

"Is Dad back?" The Little Girl sounded excited, as though she was about to open the door, but her mom stopped her.

"Don't rush!"

All he could hear after that were faint footsteps. Then, after several seconds of silence, the mom's delighted voice rang out. "Honey, it really is you!"

The sound of the door opening followed.

"Dad, you're back!" The Little Girl cried excitedly.

So the man next door had returned safely? Did that mean there was no problem with leaving the room?

Just as Luo Jun thought this, a woman's scream suddenly rang in his ears.

"Ah!! Honey, what are you doing?"

It was accompanied by the sounds of fighting and growling.

"Dad, what's wrong with you?!"

"He's not your dad anymore! Sweetheart, run! Get out of here and find Others to help!"

The sounds of grappling, screams, very light footsteps, a door closing, flesh being torn apart, chewing...

What had happened?

Had that man undergone some sort of mutation and attacked his wife and daughter?

The woman's screams grew weaker and weaker. She probably was not going to survive. The Little Girl seemed to have run out of the room...

Luo Jun immediately ran to the door, moved the table and chairs aside, and pressed his eye to the peephole.

In front of the Diagonal Opposite room, a Little Girl around ten years old with bangs was slapping at the door and crying loudly for help, but the room across from her gave no response at all.

Crashing came from next door. Having eaten the mom, "Dad" apparently could not open the door and could only ram it with brute force.

The girl glanced back. Her terrified eyes brimmed with tears, then she switched to another room and continued begging for help.

Whether no one was there or the people inside were indifferent, she received no response.

The crashing next door grew louder and louder. The Little Girl became more and more frightened, frantically searching for another room to seek help from.

This time, she came to Luo Jun's door.

"Is anyone there? Save me, please! Open the door, save me!"

A childish plea for help came from outside.

Should he open the door or not?

Luo Jun looked at the rules on the door. Although the second rule told him to ignore knocking, the fifth rule stated that he could let humans in... Though there was some contradiction between the fifth and fourth rules, they at least agreed that the door could be opened.

Luo Jun summoned the Dice of Heavenly Secrets.

"Attempt to determine whether opening the door is safe."

There was no response...

"Determine whether there will be no danger after opening the door..."

Still no response.

After trying several times in a row, Luo Jun understood. This thing could only determine specific events; it could not predict ambiguous outcomes like safety or danger.

Just as he hesitated, the sound of a door being destroyed came from next door. "Dad" was about to come out!

The Little Girl let out a frightened cry and turned to run.

"Open the door and let in a human!"

At the crucial moment, Luo Jun thought of a reasonable phrasing.

This event is a Mandatory Event. Dice determination cannot be used. One use has been consumed!

A Mandatory Event? Then it was certain that the Little Girl was human!

Luo Jun breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door!

He said nothing, merely looked at the Little Girl and nodded with a smile.

The Little Girl, who had already been planning to leave, froze at first. Then she immediately slipped into Luo Jun's room, and Luo Jun slammed the door shut with a bang!

The next second, a monster's roar came from outside, followed by violent pounding on the door.

Luo Jun had already put away his smile. He gestured for the Little Girl to retreat, then grabbed a stool and stood ready.

The pounding continued for about a minute before "Dad" finally gave up and left with heavy footsteps.

Whew...

Luo Jun breathed a sigh of relief, set down the chair, and glanced back at the Little Girl, who was hiding behind the bedside table and shivering.

"Come out. It's safe for now."

Luo Jun looked back at the intact door. The door next door had been easily destroyed by "Dad" from the inside, but his own door had withstood an attack from the outside. This once again proved the rules were effective.

"Thank you, Big Brother..." The Little Girl timidly came before Luo Jun. "Dad went crazy, and Mom died too... If it weren't for you, Big Brother, I would be too... Sob, sob, sob... What am I supposed to do...?"

The Little Girl wept like pear blossoms in the rain. Combined with her well-behaved bangs hairstyle, she looked pitiful enough to break anyone's heart.

"I don't know what to do either..." Luo Jun shook his head. He did not even know how he had come to this bizarre hotel. As for the Dice of Heavenly Secrets, it could only judge success or failure based on his decisions; it could not point him in a direction.

"But Little Sister, I can only take you in for fifty minutes at most..." Luo Jun looked at the time on the wall. "After fifty minutes, you must leave my room and seek other Protection... Sorry..."

Though his attributes surpassed those of ordinary people, faced with bizarre rules and terrifying monsters, Luo Jun was not even sure he could protect himself.

Still, the girl's experience proved that leaving the room was dangerous, but not necessarily fatal. If circumstances allowed, when the time came, he would consider helping her find a new room.

"You don't need to apologize, Big Brother... I'm already very grateful that you let me in..." The girl wiped away her tears, looked up at Luo Jun, and revealed a sweet smile. "Besides, I don't need fifty minutes. Five minutes will be enough..."

Those final words suddenly made Luo Jun's skin crawl.

Though only the Little Girl was speaking, for some reason, her voice sounded like two voices mingled together!

Something was wrong!

Almost instinctively, Luo Jun darted backward. At the Same Time, a black shadow shot out from the Little Girl's forehead, grazed the corner of his clothes, and nailed itself into the wall behind him!

"What the hell?"

While dodging, Luo Jun tripped over the chair and landed hard on his buttocks. Looking up, he discovered that what was nailed into the wall was a slender, flesh-colored tentacle!

Following the tentacle back to its source, Luo Jun was utterly shocked!

The Little Girl's face still wore an innocent, sweet smile, but the bangs over her forehead had spread apart, revealing a savage giant mouth full of wrinkles and sharp teeth. That tentacle was the tongue spat out by that mouth!

So that was what it meant?

A Mandatory Event could mean inevitable success, but it could also mean inevitable failure!

This Little Girl had Two Mouths. She was clearly not human! The event of letting in a human could never succeed!

That meant he had violated the sixth rule!

He had actually been played!

"Big Brother, what's wrong? Why do you look so scared?" The Little Girl withdrew her tongue. The lower half of her face still held its smile. If one ignored her forehead, she truly did look like a cute child.

But Luo Jun felt nothing but terror now!

"Damn it, I'll fight you!"

Luo Jun scrambled to his feet, grabbed the chair beside him, and swung it at the Little Girl!

The Little Girl giggled and raised her little hand to grab the chair. With a CRACK, the chair shattered into four pieces. The enormous force drove the Little Girl back several steps, nearly knocking her down.

The smile on her face finally turned to surprise as she Looked Down at half a stool leg in her hand.

Was this the kind of strength a Weak Guest should have?

Seeing that his attack had worked, Luo Jun immediately ran toward the door.

The girl's surprise turned into fury. Then the mouth on her forehead opened wide, splitting her entire face into four petals as her tongue shot out again!

Though Luo Jun was running, he was still watching what happened behind him. The instant the girl opened her mouth, he activated the Dice of Heavenly Secrets! Time around him instantly slowed!

Dodge the attack!

Event Difficulty: 45
Final Points: 52 + 5
Event Success!

Good!

Luo Jun twisted aside and dodged the attack. The thick, long tongue nailed itself into the door panel!

Luo Jun took the chance to open the great door, grabbed the tongue, and yanked with all his strength!

"Get over here!"

Though the Little Girl was a monster and stronger than Luo Jun, she was small and light. Caught off guard, she was actually dragged all the way to the open great door by Luo Jun!

At the Same Time, Luo Jun ran a dice roll through his mind. After getting a successful result, he raised his right leg and kicked the Little Girl squarely in the buttocks!

"Get out!"

Luo Jun kicked the Little Girl out the door. Then, without caring that her tongue was still nailed to the inside of the door, he used both hands and all his strength to slam it shut!

BANG!

The force was so great that it directly severed the Little Girl's tongue!

At the Same Time, an inhumanly shrill scream came from outside the door!