Chapter 137 The Horror Club
Upon discovering that patients from Frank Hospital were also present, Wen Shi began to take an interest in the number of viewers.
He needed the assistance of all the monsters to spread the word and draw more patients, as it would be beneficial for extracting information later on. Some players in the hotel also carried electronic watches, and the NPCs who were tuning in could definitely see themselves.
In the face of such a death-defying behavior, many might have climbed the wall to access his own live chat room.
He looked and saw that there were indeed more messages on the electronic watch.
【Running away is one thing. But seeing someone actively seeking death like this is a first for me.】
【Same… Honestly, I can’t wait to see him die. This is the first time I’ve actually looked forward to “Eagle’s Vigil”.】
“Sir, where are you headed?” The taxi driver asked with a warm tone.
Wen Shi studied his phone and replied, “A mirror-themed love hotel.”
The quest only said to stay overnight in a hotel, without specifying which one.
The taxi driver’s smile froze for a moment.
“Please drive faster.”
The game was precise. The countdown for【one night】should officially start after midnight. He had to arrive at the hotel before that time.
Realizing the destination was a bit far, Wen Shi asked the driver to speed up twice on the way. The driver got annoyed, thinking: It’s not like he’s in a rush to be reincarnated, so why the rush?
“Faster, I’m catching a cheater.”
The driver pressed the gas pedal, and the car sped up.
Wen Shi had only one mobile phone with him. Social apps were currently inaccessible, but luckily, payment apps worked. There was a substantial amount in there, with twenty thousand in his account. He checked the payment options and confirmed that fingerprint payment was enabled.
Then, he found his electronic ID, and the name section showed his name in this instance was Lin Hejing.
It’s Lin, He, Jing!
Tears welled up in Wen Shi’s eyes. Finally, he wasn’t called Aaron anymore.
The taxi driver, catching this sight in the rearview mirror, wholeheartedly bought into this passenger’s nonsense about catching a cheater.
Compared to Wen Shi’s current appearance, his electronic ID photo made him seem slightly older, with deeper eye sockets and more mature facial lines.
In the bottom right corner of the ID, there was a friendly reminder: “Electronic IDs have the same legal validity as ordinary IDs.”
At eleven fifty, the taxi finally arrived at the most famous mirror-themed hotel in the whole city.
The colorful and flashing lights were so dazzling that almost every passerby took a glance inside. After paying, Wen Shi briskly walked towards the entrance.
Several couples were waiting to check in, but now wasn’t the time to worry about who arrived first. Wen Shi boldly walked to the front and said, “I’d like a room.”
The couples who were cut in line were furious. They never had encountered such a shameless line-cutter.
A tattooed man rolled up his sleeves, ready to give Wen Shi a piece of his mind when he heard him say, “The more mirrors in the room, the better.”
If one needed items like rubbers, they had to buy them at the front desk. Most guests checking in would get one, but Wen Shi pushed aside the items on the counter with some disdain. “I’m alone, I don’t need these things.”
Alone?
The people waiting in line behind had already forgotten about their anger. All they could think about was one question: How does someone have fun alone?
Two more minutes passed, and Wen Shi tapped the table with his fingers. Facing the front desk, who looked puzzled, he said, “Can’t a person have fun on their own?”
The front desk clerk snapped out of it and quickly processed his accommodation.
After finishing, the front desk clerk sneaked several glances, not just her, but all the guests turned their heads, collectively watching Wen Shi enter the elevator.
As the outer door closed, Wen Shi locked eyes with those amazed gazes and mouthed, “Solo romance, you wouldn’t understand.”
The elevator stopped on the fourth floor.
There weren’t many rooms on this floor. Wen Shi’s room number was【406】, conveniently the one farthest inside.
Considered a high-end, the hotel charged eight hundred yuan for one night. It was worth it, as the environment inside was much better than the previous one. The decor aligned with the theme, even featuring a huge mirror on the ceiling.
【Patient 109: I don’t get it, why put mirrors on the ceiling?】
【Patient 144: Why not @ the patient with sex addiction on the third floor?】
【Scavenger: It’s been a while since we’ve seen patients from Frank’s Hospital.】
Over a dozen monsters gradually gathered, all ready to see what Wen Shi would do.
It was eleven fifty-five.
Wen Shi hurriedly studied the room layout and looked for the most suitable place to sleep. He pushed open mirrored doors one by one, discovering hidden cabinets, and astonishingly, one of them contained a darkroom. Inside, there was only a suspended bed surrounded by dazzling mirrors.
So many creative little designs!
“Charging a thousand isn’t unreasonable.”
While feeling quite satisfied, Wen Shi took out the protective【Bell】and put it on. After closing the door, he also retrieved the【Small Lantern】for illumination.
The lantern had lost some of its brightness after being smashed in the ancient castle. The floor in the darkroom reflected light, casting the young man’s shadow in all directions, with the bell on his slender neck particularly eye-catching. Once the door was closed, the darkroom started to get stuffy. Wen Shi casually undone a button on his collar and then lay down on the suspended bed. His slim figure gently swayed with the bed’s movement, making the monsters in the live streaming room deeply doubt if he was trying to seduce them with his looks.
Ha, how naive.
Though it might seem naive, for now, no monsters left. Wen Shi’s attention-grabbing act of risking himself was quite effective.
“Will you come tonight…” Wen Shi hummed a tune, leaning against the【Huggable Teddy Bear】and lying on the suspended bed with his eyes closed.
To enter this room, a vengeful spirit had to go through a mirror. His battle record aura helped him dodge seventy percent of mirror-based monsters. With added luck and protection, the likelihood of a direct confrontation with a vengeful spirit tonight was low.
Circumstances forced him to meticulously manage his finances. In the past, when facing such a kill at the beginning, Wen Shi would summon the Wandering Corpse without hesitation. Now, he had learned to conserve his health, considering that potions weren’t cheap.
Midnight passed unnoticed. Even while swaying on the bed, Wen Shi soon grew drowsy and eventually fell asleep.
Midnight, inside the isolated little room, was exceptionally quiet.
Beside the suspended bed, there stood a teddy bear plush toy, its two small black round eyes turning bright red. The plush bear gazed at the young man sleeping on the bed, and finally, it lightly patted his belly. Wen Shi, who had become quite alert, immediately opened his eyes.
“!”
Confronted by the massive bear face, Wen Shi leaped up like a startled fish, nearly falling off the bed.
It was the first time he realized that this bear could actually stand up.
The plush bear showed no signs of remorse for scaring him. It pointed its arm towards the door, and Wen Shi followed its gaze. Foul-smelling liquid was slowly seeping in through the door crack. Some of the water flowed towards where he had placed his shoes, causing them to shift direction as if the water wanted to push the shoe tips towards the suspended bed.
Wen Shi calmly observed for a couple of seconds, then pulled the bedding from the indoor hammock and tightly sealed the door crack. Afterward, he moved his shoes to another spot and turned back to lie down, ready to continue sleeping.
Playing these tricks indicated that it was a bit difficult for the vengeful spirit to enter directly, so there was nothing to worry about.
Before falling asleep, Wen Shi checked his electronic watch and found that there were currently ninety-four viewers.
His expression was indescribable. “Why are you still here?”
After shaking his head, he closed his eyes without any psychological burden.
Wen Shi had long understood some aspects of these monsters’ nature. The more you went along with them, the less interesting they found it.
A quiet night without any incidents passed by.
In the darkroom where no light could be felt, Wen Shi woke up the next day at eight o’clock. He had slept fairly well, with the only discomfort being a slightly sore throat. The bedsheet he used to block the door crack was now damp. He picked it up and threw it on the edge of the bathtub as he got ready.
The number of viewers remained at ninety-four.
“……” Quite stubborn.
Wen Shi had just washed his face, still feeling a bit groggy, when he heard the first notification of the day.
“Side quest – Checking In completed.”
“You can now use the memo pad on your phone.”
The phone app that was unresponsive yesterday suddenly unlocked one function. There was only one entry in the notepad:
Go to Orphanage ?
Address: Blue Street, No. 114.
Since the instance hinted at competition, it made sense to act quickly. So far, besides the few players in the lobby, Wen Shi hadn’t seen anyone else. He hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the young man who joined the same instance with him. Pei Hongxin was nowhere to be found as well.
“Could it be that everyone is in different short stories?”
So, did this mean he was here all by himself?!
Wen Shi quickly dismissed this idea. The instance couldn’t be so fragmented. It must be on some common track where everyone’s stories would connect.
Checking out in a timely manner, the front desk clerk couldn’t help but sneak glances at Wen Shi. He was the first self-service guest since the hotel opened.
This guest appeared quite energetic. His fingers were quite agile as he typed, leaving a five-star review for the hotel.
【Excellent! The darkroom is even better! Will definitely come back if I have the chance.】
Front Desk Clerk: “……”
After checking out, Wen Shi immediately hailed a taxi.
Today’s driver was far from the friendly attitude of the previous night. When he heard the destination, his face turned even more gloomy. “Extra charge, add fifty.”
The balance in his change wallet was enough to cover expenses for a while. Daily expenses weren’t a challenging issue for players. Wen Shi nodded generously and agreed, “I’ll add a hundred. Can you tell me a bit about the place?”
With the money in hand, the driver’s expression improved slightly. “There’s not much to say, really. A few years ago, there was a fire at an orphanage on Blue Street. It’s said to be haunted.”
Wen Shi nodded in response. “I see.”
It would be strange if the place players had to go to wasn’t haunted.
The taxi continued to a very remote location, where outside the car window, there were hardly any trees in sight. Just as Wen Shi was starting to wonder if he was being taken to be sold, the car suddenly slammed to a stop, and he almost bumped his head on the guardrail.
Taxi Driver: “We’re here.”
This place was almost like the outskirts. The weather was gloomy, and as Wen Shi looked outside, the impatient driver who had been waiting for his payment grumbled, “Pay up and get out.”
Almost as soon as he got out of the car, Wen Shi smelled a burnt odor.
The taxi kicked up dust and left, leaving Wen Shi in a cloud of dust.
After looking around, he good-naturedly walked toward the only building he could see. Even though the fire had happened a long time ago, the scent of burning grew stronger as he moved forward. Wen Shi seemed utterly unfazed as he said, “It seems like an exciting place to be.”
His feigned excitement made him seem like the perfect oddball.
Suddenly, the cold system notification sounded:
“You have successfully rescued the first story, ‘Eagle’s Vigil.’ Keep up the good work and immerse yourself in the story as soon as possible.”
Wen Shi didn’t stop walking. According to this setup, as long as he could fulfill the story’s requirements, it would count as a successful rescue.
One of the ways to train eagles, as the name suggested, was to prevent them from sleeping.
In his case, being a guest harassed by a vengeful spirit and unable to sleep was like being that eagle. If he could successfully fall asleep, it would mean he had completed the chapter. Looking at it this way, it didn’t seem too difficult.
He loved C+ levels!
The notifications continued:
“The protagonist of ‘Eagle’s Vigil’ has been successfully determined. All other players in the same story have been eliminated.”
“Electronic screen functionality has been improved.”
“Please try to keep the number of observers above fifty. If the number of observers falls below fifty, your rationality value will decrease.”
The system’s brief messages erased the ease from Wen Shi’s expression in a second. There was no one around, so he didn’t need to hide his emotions. The gloominess in his eyes matched the overcast weather.
Since there was only one protagonist, someone else’s victory could become a condition for his own elimination at any time.
Wen Shi took a deep breath, forcing himself to focus on the electronic screen.
On the right side of the screen, there were several rows of status bars.
【Fear Bar: 4100】
【Anger Bar: 5100】
【Excitement Bar: 0100】
【Rationality Bar: 100100】 (Note: Rationality Bar is not visible to viewers)
To sum it up, his genuine emotions, like joy, anger, sorrow, and excitement, were all on display for the monsters watching him.
When Wen Shi felt a slight palpitation, the fear bar went up by one point.
This fear came from the disclosure of his inner thoughts. No matter what he said or did, the monsters could make true judgments based on these values.
The monsters in the live chat started the first round of mockery
Acting so composed, they probably thought a fearless story character had arrived, but it was just a facade.
【Scissor Granny: Tsk, fear went up even before reaching the destination. Listen to Granny, play with finger-cutting instead. Hahaha!】
【Patient 144: I can’t handle this. It’s too embarrassing. I almost believed his act!】
Excitement level at zero–how could he claim to be looking forward to this?
Some viewers dropped out, leaving around eighty-something.
Wen Shi: “……”
It was indeed a case of “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”
He quickly regained his composure, and a faint smile appeared on his fair face. “Fine.”
If this was how it was going to be played, he was starting to develop some expectations for this instance.
The excitement bar flickered for a moment, then slowly increased by one point.
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