The First Stamp

[The Blood Banquet Restaurant will officially open in ten minutes.]

The announcement ended.

The already oppressive atmosphere inside the Blood Moon Hotel grew even heavier.

On the second floor.

Zhou Hai led the remaining players out of their rooms.

No one spoke.

Even the few who had seemed relatively calm before looked grim now.

After all, everyone knew by now.

To obtain proof of checkout.

They had to complete the hotel's three services.

In other words.

They couldn't lie low.

Even knowing danger lay ahead, they had to walk straight into it.

The livestream chat grew tense as well.

"The real main quest has begun."

"They could still hide in their rooms earlier, but now they won't even let them do that."

"There are very few recordings of past Blood Banquet Restaurant livestreams. A lot of people who went in didn't come out alive."

"Shen Niannian should be fine, right? Gu Changsheng and Bai Feiyue are both there."

"Don't jinx it! Gu Changsheng himself said earlier that the core rules couldn't be bypassed directly!"

Meanwhile.

The elevator doors opened on the seventh floor.

Shen Niannian walked in front.

Bai Feiyue followed beside her, holding a black parasol and in an excellent mood.

Gu Changsheng walked behind them.

It was a strange combination any way one looked at it.

A human newcomer entering a dungeon for the first time.

Accompanied by two A-rank horrors.

The livestream viewers fell silent for a moment.

"Other people going to the Blood Banquet Restaurant: marching to their deaths."

"Shen Niannian going to the Blood Banquet Restaurant: escorted by the hotel manager and the young miss."

"Did this dungeon secretly give her a premium membership?"

Shen Niannian herself, however, didn't feel safe in the slightest.

Clutching her room 701 key card, she was earnestly reviewing the order of actions she had just listed.

First, read the rules.

Then observe the staff.

Don't touch things at random.

Don't eat things at random.

Get the stamp.

Leave immediately.

(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

Perfect.

As long as she followed the plan strictly.

There probably wouldn't be much trouble.

Probably.

At eight o'clock sharp that evening.

The doors of the Blood Banquet Restaurant opened on time.

It was a large Western-style restaurant.

Dark red carpet covered the floor.

Dozens of bone chandeliers hung overhead.

The walls on both sides were covered with oil paintings of figures whose faces couldn't be made out.

A strange mixture of roasted meat and blood filled the air.

Dozens of dining tables stood in neat rows.

Each table bore a room number.

205.

208.

302...

At the very back.

There was also a table with noticeably more space than the others.

[701]

Shen Niannian: "..."

Why was she all the way at the back just to have a meal?

Did this hotel particularly like singling her out?

Beside the restaurant entrance.

A bloodstained wooden sign slowly lit up.

[Blood Banquet Restaurant dining rules]

All the players stopped at once.

Zhou Hai was the first to look.

[Rule one: Please take your seat according to your room number. Switching seats is prohibited.]

[Rule two: Players may only order using the black menu on the table. Do not order any food not listed on the menu.]

[Rule three: Once your meal arrives, please confirm that the number on the bottom of the plate matches your room number. Incorrect meals must not be eaten or touched.]

[Rule four: During the meal, if a staff member asks, "Would you like an additional serving?" please answer, "No."]

[Rule five: Eat at least three bites of the correct meal before ten o'clock to obtain the dining service stamp.]

The rules weren't long.

But no one relaxed because of that.

Zhou Hai warned them in a low voice, "There are three real dangers: the menu, the plate number, and the staff's question. No one should act on their own, and especially don't touch a plate that doesn't belong to you."

Several newcomers nodded.

Shen Niannian silently committed it to memory as well.

Then.

She walked over to table 701.

Looked down.

And froze.

The menus on everyone else's tables were black.

But in front of her lay a dark gold menu.

A line of elegant small print was even embossed on the cover.

[Exclusive menu for honored guests]

Shen Niannian: "..."

(°ー°〃)

Something's wrong.

What did rule two say again?

[Players may only order using the black menu on the table.]

Black.

Not dark gold.

Shen Niannian didn't sit down.

The waitress assigned to 701 had already walked over with a smile.

"Miss Shen, this is a VIP menu specially prepared for you by the hotel. You can tell me directly whatever you'd like to eat tonight."

Shen Niannian looked at the menu.

Then at her.

"Can I use this menu?"

The waitress's smile stiffened.

"Of course."

Shen Niannian pointed at the rules by the entrance.

"But the rules say players can only use the black menu. Mine is gold."

Waitress: "..."

Gu Changsheng: "..."

The livestream chat was also stunned for half a second.

Immediately afterward.

Comments surged.

"Holy shit!"

"There really is a problem!"

"I didn't even notice the menu's color just now!"

"Did the special treatment almost screw her over?"

The Identity Archive also appeared automatically at that moment.

[Target: Blood Banquet Restaurant waitress]

[Danger level: C-rank]

[Identity: Full-time employee of the Blood Banquet Restaurant]

[Current state: Panicked]

Shen Niannian narrowed her eyes slightly.

(¬_¬)

Just as I thought.

There's a problem!

The waitress hurriedly explained, "The VIP menu itself isn't dangerous, it's just..."

She instinctively looked toward Gu Changsheng.

Gu Changsheng had already raised a hand to his forehead.

The hotel staff had evidently prepared things for Shen Niannian according to the highest standards they had used in the past.

The problem was.

Shen Niannian wasn't staying as a normal guest now.

She was a player.

Players had to obey the dungeon rules.

"Replace it with a black menu."

Gu Changsheng spoke directly.

The waitress immediately lowered her head.

"Yes."

Soon.

A black menu identical to those of the other players was brought over.

Only then did Shen Niannian sit down.

The livestream chat was buzzing by now.

"This time, she really didn't rely on her connections."

"She noticed it herself!"

"Can special treatment sometimes conflict with the dungeon rules instead?"

"I suddenly understand why Gu Changsheng can't just give her proof of checkout. The hotel staff can play favorites, but the rules don't care who you are!"

Zhou Hai glanced at Shen Niannian from afar.

His gaze changed slightly.

Before.

He had always thought that the girl had survived this long mainly thanks to some special status.

But the problem with the menu just now...

An ordinary newcomer.

Might not have noticed it right away.

This girl didn't just rely on luck.

She was paying close attention to the rules herself.

Soon.

All the players began ordering.

The black menu had only three dishes.

[Blood sauce roast meat]

[Black bone soup]

[Creamy pumpkin soup]

Shen Niannian stared at the last one for a few seconds.

Without hesitation.

"The creamy pumpkin soup, please."

(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

Of the three, it was the only one that sounded like something a human would eat.

There was no reason to test her own psychological endurance.

Meanwhile.

Wang Jianguo gritted his teeth and ordered a black bone soup.

A few minutes later.

The staff began serving the food.

The first thing brought to Wang Jianguo's table was a bowl of glossy black soup.

A few tiny bones floated on the surface, belonging to who knew what creature.

Wang Jianguo's expression turned grim.

But he didn't move right away.

He remembered rule three.

He carefully crouched down.

And looked under the plate.

[203]

Wang Jianguo's pupils contracted sharply.

His room was 302!

"Don't touch it!"

Zhou Hai spoke almost at the same time.

Wang Jianguo had been about to push the plate away, but when he heard those words, his hands froze in midair.

Cold sweat broke out in an instant.

The rule was perfectly clear.

An incorrect meal.

Must not be eaten.

Nor touched.

A few seconds later.

The waiter in black returned.

Without a word of explanation.

He silently carried away the meal for 203.

And replaced it with 302.

The livestream chat was full of lingering fear.

"Holy shit, they really do deliver the wrong meal on purpose!"

"If Wang Jianguo had pushed it away just now, something probably would've happened again."

"This dungeon is just waiting for players to make mistakes without thinking!"

Inside the Blood Banquet Restaurant.

No one dared let their guard down anymore.

Even the sound of knives and forks touching plates seemed unusually grating.

Soon.

Shen Niannian's meal arrived too.

A perfectly normal bowl of pumpkin soup.

Golden yellow.

Steaming hot.

There were even two small slices of bread on the side.

Compared with the black soup and bloody meat on the neighboring tables, it was almost too normal.

The livestream chat:

"..."

"Sure enough, hers is different again."

"Everyone else gets a blood banquet, she gets a kids' meal."

"Hey, the person above, she's nineteen!"

Shen Niannian didn't rush to eat.

She looked very carefully beneath the plate.

[701]

Correct.

Then she looked up at the waiter's uniform.

Black.

Normal.

Finally, she checked the Identity Archive.

[Current status: nervous]

Shen Niannian: "..."

(｡ŏ_ŏ)

Why are you nervous just delivering a meal?

Never mind.

For now, she hadn't found anything wrong.

She picked up her spoon.

The first spoonful.

It tasted good.

The second.

Still perfectly normal.

The third.

Buzz-

The black-and-gold room card suddenly grew slightly warm.

Shen Niannian hurriedly took it out.

The first of the three empty slots on the back was gradually filling with scarlet.

Finally.

It formed a complete blood moon stamp.

[Food service stamp obtained.]

Shen Niannian's eyes lit up at once.

(✧ω✧)

The first one!

Got it!

The livestream chat likewise erupted with a flood of comments.

"She passed!"

"She really got the first one!"

"This time she noticed the menu problem herself, checked the plate herself, and ate according to the rules herself!"

"Now it finally feels like she's actually clearing a dungeon!"

"Two more to go!"

Shen Niannian couldn't help smiling too.

Great.

Three objectives.

One-third complete already.

As long as I keep this pace-

"Dear guest."

The waiter behind her suddenly spoke again.

"Would you like an additional meal?"

Shen Niannian barely even thought.

"No."

Her answer was as decisive as could be.

The waiter fell silent.

Then silently withdrew.

Shen Niannian nodded in satisfaction.

(￣▽￣)

See that?

Once the rules are clearly written out.

Even an A-rank dungeon isn't completely unplayable.

But just as she was about to get up.

A scarlet notification suddenly appeared in the Identity Archive.

[Abnormal target detected approaching.]

Shen Niannian froze.

At the restaurant entrance.

A figure in a red uniform.

Was slowly walking in.

Meanwhile.

Until ten o'clock at night-

There was still a full hour.

And in the restaurant.

There were still five players...

Who hadn't eaten a single bite.