The Red-Uniformed Employee Is Here!

[Abnormal target detected approaching.]

The moment the scarlet alert appeared.

The smile that had just formed on Shen Niannian's lips vanished.

She looked up at the restaurant entrance.

A woman was slowly walking in.

A red uniform.

A red hat.

Even the serving cart she pushed was dark red.

Shen Niannian's eyelid twitched violently.

(ΩДΩ)

Rule four.

[All regular staff wear black uniforms. If you spot an employee in a red uniform, move away immediately.]

She remembered that rule better than her own bank card PIN!

At the same time.

The Identity Archive opened automatically.

[Target: Red-uniformed attendant of the Blood Moon Hotel]

[Race: Diner ghost]

[Danger level: B-rank]

[Identity: Not an official hotel employee]

[Current status: Hungry]

Shen Niannian: "..."

Not an official employee.

B-rank.

And hungry.

Put those three facts together.

No matter how she looked at it, the woman didn't seem to be here to serve everyone a fruit platter.

"Red-uniformed employee!"

Zhou Hai's voice rang out almost simultaneously.

The few players who had been eating froze.

The next second.

Everyone turned to look at the entrance in unison.

When they got a clear look at that bright red uniform, their faces all changed.

The livestream chat exploded at once.

"Holy shit! Rule four!"

"Red uniform, run!"

"The problem is, five people still haven't gotten their stamps!"

"If they leave now, won't tonight's trip have been for nothing?"

"Better a wasted trip than losing your life. The rule says to move away immediately!"

Zhou Hai was clearly thinking the same thing.

He barely hesitated.

"Those who haven't gotten their stamps, get out first too! We can come back to the Blood Banquet Restaurant tomorrow, but we only have one life!"

With that, he was the first to leave his seat.

However.

He had only taken two steps.

When the woman in red at the restaurant entrance suddenly smiled.

"Dear guests, dinner isn't over yet. Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Her voice was soft.

But the entire restaurant fell silent in an instant.

On the cart.

Silver serving covers were arranged in neat rows.

The sound of fingernails scraping against metal came from beneath them without end.

Scrape.

Scrape.

The sound made everyone's scalp tingle.

Wang Jianguo's face turned pale.

One young girl who had yet to get her dining stamp was named Lin Xiaoyu.

She had only just finished her first mouthful.

Now she looked at the food on her table, then at the entrance.

She was clearly reluctant to give up.

Just two more bites.

As long as she ate two more bites.

She could get the stamp.

If she ran now.

She would have to face the Blood Banquet Restaurant all over again tomorrow.

People in the livestream chat began to waver too.

"She's only two bites away!"

"Can't she just swallow two bites and then run?"

"Don't court death! Rule four says to move away immediately!"

"But the ghost in red is still over ten meters away from her!"

Lin Xiaoyu had clearly thought of that too.

She glanced at the entrance.

The woman in red hadn't come any closer.

Two bites.

Five seconds at most.

I'll risk it!

She snatched up her spoon.

Zhou Hai's expression changed drastically.

"Stop eating! Leave now!"

"I'm only two bites away!"

Lin Xiaoyu's voice was trembling, but she still shoved the second spoonful into her mouth.

The smile on the woman in red's face suddenly widened.

The Identity Archive before Shen Niannian's eyes refreshed at the same time.

[Current status: Prey locked on]

Her pupils abruptly contracted.

"Stop eating!"

But it was too late.

Lin Xiaoyu had just brought the third spoonful to her lips.

When a pale hand suddenly reached out of the bowl of thick soup in front of her.

Smack!

Five fingers clamped tightly around her face.

"Ah-!"

Lin Xiaoyu was instantly shoved down toward the table.

The woman in red was clearly still standing over ten meters away.

Yet her hand seemed to have grown straight out of the food.

"Dear guest."

The woman's mouth slowly split open.

"You didn't leave after seeing me. It seems you really like tonight's dinner."

Lin Xiaoyu struggled wildly.

But the hand was shockingly strong.

Half her face had already been pressed into the soup.

Her skin began to rot at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Zhou Hai rushed over.

His dark red short blade came out of its sheath.

Squish!

With one slash, he severed the ghastly pale arm.

"Go!"

Lin Xiaoyu fell to the floor.

The left half of her face had already been scalded into a bloody mess.

She couldn't spare a thought for the pain and scrambled toward the other side of the restaurant.

The livestream chat erupted.

"You really can't get greedy!"

"Rule four doesn't tell you to hurry up and finish eating after you see her. It tells you to move away immediately!"

"You can't gamble even if you're only one bite away!"

"Zhou Hai reacted so fast. Otherwise, she'd be dead already!"

A chill ran down Shen Niannian's back as she watched.

If she had been in Lin Xiaoyu's place just now.

Would she also have thought, It's only one more bite anyway?

Very likely.

The times when people were most likely to get into trouble.

Were often not when they didn't know the rules.

But when they thought-

It should be fine to delay for a couple of seconds.

Shen Niannian silently added another rule to her mental list.

When the word "immediately" appeared in a rule, don't try to be clever.

Run as fast as possible.

(｡ŏ_ŏ)

Fortunately, she had already gotten her first stamp.

The only correct choice now was-

Retreat.

Shen Niannian was just about to leave with everyone else.

But she found Bai Feiyue still sitting beside her.

She was even propping up her chin with one hand.

Looking as though she was thoroughly enjoying the show.

"Aren't you leaving?"

Bai Feiyue blinked.

"Why would I leave?"

Shen Niannian pointed at the woman in red.

"The red uniform! The rule tells us to move away immediately!"

Bai Feiyue said matter-of-factly, "That's a rule for you instance players, not for me."

Shen Niannian: "..."

That made so much sense.

She couldn't even argue with it.

(￣ー￣)

She had almost forgotten.

This young lady was a genuine hotel guest.

Not a player.

"Then take your time watching. I'm running first."

Shen Niannian turned and left.

Without the slightest reluctance.

She had already secured her first stamp.

The objective was complete.

There was nothing to gain from staying in the danger zone any longer.

The risk wasn't worth it.

The livestream chat immediately filled with agreement.

"Right! Get the stamp and leave!"

"That's the way. Don't get reckless just because Bai Feiyue's beside you!"

"Shen Niannian's thinking more and more clearly now. Once the objective's done, she leaves right away without doing anything unnecessary."

"It's already impressive to do this well on her first time in an A-rank instance."

However.

Shen Niannian had only taken a few steps.

When the sound of a cart suddenly came from behind her.

Creak-

Creak-

It was getting closer.

She stopped in her tracks.

And slowly turned around.

(・_・;)

The woman in red hadn't gone after Zhou Hai.

Nor had she gone after Lin Xiaoyu.

Instead, she was pushing her serving cart.

Straight toward Shen Niannian.

The livestream chat abruptly fell silent.

"?"

"Why is she going after Shen Niannian?!"

"She was just about to leave!"

"This is bad! The B-rank red-clothed ghost has set her sights on her!"

Shen Niannian was bewildered too.

Wait.

There were so many people in the restaurant.

Lin Xiaoyu had even triggered your attack just now.

You're not chasing her.

Why are you chasing me?!

She immediately backed away.

One step.

Two steps.

She followed the rule to the letter.

Stay away.

She absolutely wasn't going to play any dangerous games of keeping her distance from the other party.

But the woman in red walked faster and faster.

The corners of her mouth gradually split open.

"Guest in room 701."

Shen Niannian's little face turned pale.

Σ(っ °Д °;)っ

She even knew her room number?

Had this thing really set its sights on her?

The atmosphere in the livestream had grown tense again.

"Where's Bai Feiyue?!"

"Gu Changsheng's outside the restaurant too, right?"

"The problem is, the core rules say they can't directly help Shen Niannian clear the instance. This red-clothed ghost is clearly one of the instance's dangerous events!"

"Everything went too smoothly before. Is something really going to go wrong this time?"

The woman in red drew closer and closer to Shen Niannian.

Ten meters.

Seven meters.

Five meters.

As Shen Niannian backed away, she quickly checked the Identity Archive.

[Target: red-clothed server of the Blood Moon Hotel]

[Race: diner ghost]

[Danger level: B-rank]

[Identity: not an official hotel employee]

[Current status: hungry]

The information hadn't changed.

Wait.

Shen Niannian's gaze suddenly stopped on one line.

[Not an official hotel employee]

A thought flashed through her mind.

Why didn't rule four simply say, "Run when you see a red-clothed ghost"?

Instead, it said-

[All regular staff wear black uniforms. If you spot an employee in a red uniform, leave the area immediately.]

Employee.

Staff.

Those two words were important.

The thing in front of her...

Wasn't a hotel employee at all!

Shen Niannian didn't stop moving.

But her mind was already racing.

It wore an employee's uniform.

And disguised itself as a server.

That was why the rule required players to stay away from it.

Then why could it move freely through the Blood Banquet Restaurant?

And why had it come specifically for her?

Just then.

The woman in red had stopped three meters away.

She looked at Shen Niannian.

Her nostrils twitched gently.

Then.

A look of rapture appeared on her split-open face.

"Smells so good..."

Shen Niannian: "..."

(ΩДΩ)

It was over.

Her worst guess had been confirmed.

This thing really wanted to eat her!

The livestream was in a complete panic.

"Run!"

"Bai Feiyue, hurry and save her!"

"That ghost clearly came over because she smelled Shen Niannian!"

The woman in red suddenly took a step forward.

The next second.

It was as though she had suddenly seen something.

Her entire face instantly froze.

Her gaze passed over Shen Niannian.

Toward the area behind the girl.

Bai Feiyue was still sitting at table 701.

Watching her with a smile.

She said nothing.

Only raised one finger gently.

And placed it against her lips.

"Shh."

The woman in red's body shuddered instantly.

But what truly terrified her.

Wasn't Bai Feiyue.

Because just now, when she approached Shen Niannian.

She had finally smelled the aura hidden deep within the girl's soul. It was extremely faint, yet it made every high-level anomaly tremble instinctively.

Familiar.

Ancient.

It weighed on her so heavily that she could barely breathe.

The Identity Archive refreshed frantically.

[Current status: puzzled]

[Current status: shocked]

[Current status: afraid]

[Current status: extremely afraid]

Shen Niannian: "?"

(⊙_⊙)

Wait.

Weren't you just about to eat me?

Why are you suddenly scared?

The woman in red stood stiffly for two seconds.

The next moment.

Under the dumbfounded gazes of all the players and livestream viewers.

She grabbed her serving cart.

Turned and ran!

Creak, creak, creak-!

She pushed it so fast that the four wheels nearly started smoking.

Shen Niannian stood where she was.

Her long, silvery-white hair swayed gently in the breeze stirred up by the serving cart.

"..."

The livestream also fell silent for a full three seconds.

Then.

It erupted.

"?????"

"Wait, why did she run away again?!"

"The doorman was scared when he saw her, and now the red-clothed ghost is scared when she sees her too?!"

"The red-clothed ghost was chasing the others to take their lives, but when she chased Shen Niannian, she ran away halfway through?!"

"I have a very serious question now."

"Who exactly is the ghost in this instance?"

Shen Niannian watched the red figure disappear through the restaurant entrance.

Then slowly lowered her head.

And looked at the first stamp in her hand.

(｡ŏ_ŏ)

Although she didn't know what had just happened.

But at least...

The stamp was still there.

And she was still alive.

Good.

Her first objective for tonight...

Was now thoroughly complete.

Just then...

From the second floor...

A piercing scream suddenly rang out.

Immediately afterward...

The hotel's announcement system sounded again.

[Current time: 9:07 p.m.]

[One hour and fifty-three minutes remain until guest rooms are sealed at 11:00 p.m.]

[All guests, please return to your rooms as soon as possible.]

Shen Niannian looked up.

She had obtained the first stamp.

Next...

She only needed to make it safely back to room 701 before 11:00 p.m.

But for some reason...

As she listened to the scream from the second floor...

She had a feeling-

Tonight probably wouldn't end so easily.