"The second hand hasn't moved for five seconds."
Yue Zhou, who was sitting outside the sofa, suddenly spoke. Her voice was very hoarse and hollow, just like the voice of a witch in a fairy tale.
Xu Yin and Si Yan were both taken aback. They glanced at Yue Zhou's back, which was turned away from the clock, and then looked at the silent clock on the wall. The stopwatch had indeed stopped.
The hoarse voice came again, "Guess, is it because time stopped, or is there something wrong with the clock?"
Xu Yin quickly checked the time and gasped in surprise, "The watch's time function has disappeared!"
This has almost never happened before in any of the previous dungeons!
Yue Zhou raised her arm to look, clearly startled, before lowering it a few seconds later.
Just then, the sound of dragging footsteps came from outside the hall.
The group looked warily towards the door. Liu Wei was finally awakened by the noise, so he rubbed his eyes and got up, gripping his weapon tightly in his hand.
--
The door was pushed open, and a man dressed in dark blue clothes entered, his flashlight beam shining on each player.
"It's a security guard." Liu Wei relaxed as soon as he saw the color of the guard's uniform and sat back down on the sofa. "I knew there wouldn't be any ghosts on the first night."
"Are you the watchmen for tonight?"
The security guard stopped beside them, his face stern as he reprimanded them, "How can you be so lax! Get up and come patrol with us!"
"How long will the patrols continue?" Xu Yin asked.
Forty-five minutes! Didn't the waiter tell you that?!
The security guards were unusually fierce, all with the same impatient expression on their faces. "Hurry up and keep up! Don't waste time!"
Si Yan remained seated on the sofa, showing no intention of getting up.
"The wall clock is broken, and nobody knows the time. What if you start exploiting our labor?"
The security guard looked in the direction he was pointing. "Nonsense, what's wrong with it? It's perfectly fine."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a white light flashed, and a hidden blade pierced the center of the watch face, shattering the glass and causing it to explode.
Si Yan's tone was innocent as she withdrew her hand and rested her chin on it. "Now it's ruined."
security guard. "..."
"9:30."
"Thank you for your answer." Si Yan nodded politely and followed with leisurely steps.
"Brother, you're really brave. If you really piss off some NPCs, there's a small chance they'll trigger monsters," Liu Wei couldn't help but admire.
[Sometimes, if Si Jiaojiao gets really angry, she can even solo a monster.]
This guy seems pretty relaxed; he can even sleep in such a dangerous situation.
[ Yue Zhou's presence is so weak; she's startled me so many times, like a ghost.]
[Could this be intentional, to reduce the chances of being targeted by ghosts? After all, every player is something else.]
The security guard led the four players into the elevator on the right. As the doors opened, Jiang Nuo waved to the group.
Good evening everyone!
In the dimly lit elevator, the heterochromatic eyes, one red and one black, gleamed with an unusual quality, startling Liu Wei quickly stepped back.
"What are you doing here? You weren't on tonight's mission!"
Jiang Nuo smiled and took Si Yan's hand. "My wife isn't feeling well, I've come to keep her company."
Jiang Nuo's wife Si Yan, wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a dangerous, light squeeze.
Jiang Nuo pressed her hand down and gave Si Yan a disapproving look.
The security guard silently watched Jiang Nuo, saying nothing, but simply pressed the button to go to the floor he was supposed to patrol.
"The fourth floor?!" Xu Yin exclaimed in surprise, "How... can there be a fourth floor?"
The light was on on the fourth floor.
Yue Zhou reached out and kept the elevator doors open.
In his panic, Liu Wei tried to change the floor number, but the security guard grabbed his arm firmly, saying, "Don't press anything, it's the fourth floor."
The security guard's face looked somewhat pale in the elevator. Liu Wei swallowed hard and boldly said, "The hotel rules state there's no fourth floor."
The security guard's face visibly paled, like a character from a silent film.
"You must be mistaken. It does have four floors. You're going to the fourth... floor."
The last four characters of the sentence sound exactly like "death."
With a whoosh, the elevator doors closed automatically. Yue Zhou quickly withdrew her hand, glanced back at the security guard, and her face behind the veil became even more blurred in the dim light.
Yue Zhou looked at everyone, and her gaze met Jiang Nuo's in mid-air, their expressions unreadable.
After hiding for so long, she was still caught. Jiang Nuo suddenly shrank her neck and hid behind Si Yan, as if avoiding Yue Zhou's gaze.
This action aroused Si Yan's suspicion. He lowered his eyes and asked silently. Jiang Nuo smiled and whispered in Si Yan's ear, "She didn't wear hats before."
"Because... I burned my hair."
Not a single hair was left.
Si Yan frowned, her first concern being for Jiang Nuo, "Has she hurt you?"
Jiang Nuo's eyes darted around.
"No, it's just that she's so elusive. I wasn't paying attention and mistook her for a ghost."
Si Yan: "..."
I never expected it to turn out this way; no wonder it smelled burnt.
A few seconds later, the elevator doors opened.
The surroundings caused everyone's expressions to change, and their faces became serious.
Unlike the other floors, the fourth floor felt like suddenly being in a dilapidated tenement building, dark and gloomy, as if every breath was filled with damp, cold air and musty smell.
"Make sure you patrol diligently."
The security guard suddenly said something cryptic, then disappeared right before everyone's eyes, along with the elevator.
The elevator behind me suddenly turned into a wall.
<Congratulations to the five players who have triggered the side quest: Midnight Patrol Scare >
<Please continue your patrol, and make sure every door is open! Poor little things, I hope you'll see the sun rise tomorrow.>
<First Place Completion Reward: Correct Front Desk Hotline Number>