(17/20)
Xingwang Hotel
Chapter 195: Personal Grudge
The tip of the blade pressed lightly against the artery, barely grazing the skin of his neck, sending a shiver down his spine.
“……”
Zhong Shan forced his eyes to shift, looking at the young man beside him.
The other man’s lips curled up, still maintaining that harmless look, though the cold, sharp gleam of the knife flashed faintly in his eyes, radiating a hint of menace.
He felt a chill seep through his entire body.
At this moment, Yun Bilan and a few others, now free from their burdens, finally arrived.
The balance of power completely reversed.
Faced with the opponent’s entire squad, Zhong Shan was left alone, with no chance of winning.
More critically, there were less than three minutes left until the next lighting-up. Even if he held onto his reluctance, the best outcome would be mutual destruction. The “Xingwang Hotel” instance had only just begun a few hours ago—it really wasn’t worth risking his last trump card so early on.
“I think I don’t need to say anything more, do I?” Wen Jianyan said with a gentle smile.
Zhong Shan stiffened his neck, swallowing with difficulty before he slowly nodded.
At the end of the cobblestone path, the opposing squad cleared the way.
Wen Jianyan glanced at Chen Mo. “Get the painting.”
In the nearby water, a wet canvas lay quietly.
Although the anchor holding the painting had just been pulled down, the canvas in his hand hadn’t sunk with him; it remained in place, soaked and crumpled, draped across the cobblestone path.
They were only a step away from the door; as long as they moved quickly, there shouldn’t be any major issues.
Chen Mo nodded, stepping forward cautiously, careful not to let his shadow fall into the water, reaching out toward the canvas on the ground—
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the puddle beside him.
In the small water pool, where raindrops rippled, three pale faces faintly reflected. Black pupils, mouths drawn into unnatural smiles, stared out of the water with eerie rigidity.
“…!”
Chen Mo’s heart raced, instinctively quickening his pace.
He grabbed the canvas, feeling its wet, heavy weight in his hand. The strange sensation made his heart skip a beat, but there was no time to think—he charged through the door!
“Go, go, go!”
Once inside, the scene suddenly transformed. The dark, damp, eerie, decaying town disappeared, replaced by a dry, spacious hotel room bathed in dim red light.
The large room echoed with the sound of everyone’s rapid breathing and the faint drip of water falling from their clothes.
Having just returned to the Xingwang Hotel, before they could even catch their breath, a sudden “pop” came from outside the door.
Outside the hotel door, one by one, the lights in the narrow hallway flickered on, filling the corridor with light, marking the beginning of the next lighting-up period.
Wen Jianyan turned and cast a glance behind him.
At some point, the “door” on the wall had vanished on its own.
The painting frame remained hanging on the wall, but the image had changed slightly.
Under the dark, gray sky, the cobblestone path stretched into the distance, ending at a slanted, broken house, all shrouded in a fine drizzle.
The woman’s figure in the dark window was gone.
But in the hazy rain in front of the door, three shadows were faintly visible.
They stood motionless, faces pale and blurry, like three floating masks staring intently in this direction.
…It was the three people who had just died in the town.
When the lights came on, their forms were forever trapped inside the painting.
“Hey, can you let go of me now?”
Zhong Shan stood stiffly, speaking slowly.
“Of course.”
Wen Jianyan withdrew his gaze and smiled faintly.
He raised his hand, grabbed a few strands of hair, and gave them a gentle tug!
“Ow!”
Zhong Shan felt a sharp pain on his scalp, letting out an involuntary yelp.
The next second, he sensed the cold tip of the blade withdraw from his neck as the young man behind him gave him a light shove on the back.
Zhong Shan stumbled forward, caught just in time by his teammates.
“Captain!” “Captain, are you alright?”
Zhong Shan steadied himself, one hand covering the back of his head where it still ached, and turned back to look at the other man in surprise.
Wen Jianyan shrugged. “Alright, now you’re free to leave.”
“……”
Zhong Shan stared at him, his face filled with confusion and doubt.
One of his teammates leaned in, whispering, “Captain, do you want us to—”
“Shut up!”
Zhong Shan snapped, anger flaring up suddenly.
The team members flinched, instinctively falling silent.
Zhong Shan looked back at Wen Jianyan, a hint of caution in his eyes.
If it were him, he would never let someone go so easily after being double-crossed—not in a place as ruthless as a nightmare. It was always kill or be killed. Given a chance for revenge, he’d never hesitate. Only by rooting out all threats could he eliminate any risk.
Yet, this man had let him go so easily, and had even taken a lock of his hair…
It made him overthink.
In the world of nightmares, anchor’s talents varied wildly, and many of them were exceptionally strange.
Especially talents that required a part of someone’s body as a mark—those were the strangest of all.
Not far away, the young man stood, his posture tall, his gaze gentle. The elusive brass knife had vanished without a trace. He had a faint, ambiguous smile on his lips, looking incredibly harmless, seemingly unconcerned about whatever action Zhong Shan might take next.
“……”
Zhong Shan gritted his teeth and turned, rebuking in a low voice:
“Stop embarrassing yourselves and get moving!”
With that, he gestured to his remaining team members and stormed out of the hotel room.
As the clatter of footsteps faded, Yun Bilan finally exhaled, her previously tense body relaxing slightly, relieved from her combat stance.
She walked over to Wen Jianyan, her gaze falling on the wide-open door:
“You’re just letting them go?”
“What else would I do?”
Wen Jianyan shrugged, shifting his gaze away. “Fight them to the last person?”
Sure, he could, but it would be a serious waste.
The [Xingwang Hotel] scenario had just begun; they hadn’t even figured out the hotel’s rules yet, nor had they encountered the dark forces. Engaging in a fight to the death with members of his own team under these conditions wasn’t his style.
Besides, Wen Jianyan wasn’t one for direct confrontation. He disliked fighting, combat, and anything related to it.
Yun Bilan: “But what if…”
“Don’t worry, they won’t.”
Wen Jianyan smiled.
He opened his palm, and several strands of jet-black hair slipped from his hand, discarded on the floor like trash.
What he enjoyed was deceit and manipulation.
Wen Jianyan blinked, “Believe it or not, they’re scared to death of me right now.”
This idea came to him from his last scenario.
In the end, he had to thank Mu Sen for his persistent framing.
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[No doubt about it—my favorite anchor! After being fooled in the last instance when someone stole a lock of his hair with a black talisman, this time he’s using the same tactic to mess with others!]
[No, no, he’s much nastier than Mu Sen. Mu Sen only cut a lock; he grabbed a whole handful!]
[Hahahahaha, look at the amount of hair on the carpet… the guy was nearly plucked bald! I’m sure there’s some personal vendetta there!]
[Hey, where’s the painting?]
Wen Jianyan turned to Chen Mo.
Chen Mo took the soaked, crumpled canvas from his coat, cold water dripping from its edges, dampening the hotel carpet.
Wen Jianyan reached out to take it.
However, as soon as his fingers touched the canvas, the texture suddenly changed.
The heavy fabric seemed to transform into water, trickling between their fingers and dripping onto the ground.
“What’s going on?!”
Chen Mo gasped, instinctively reaching out to catch it.
But his fingers passed right through the fabric, and the canvas dissolved into water with a splashing sound at their feet.
It no longer resembled rainwater; instead, it was streaked with the colors of oil paint—gray, black, and dull—that quickly stained a patch of carpet.
Everyone was stunned.
Could it be… that their previous assumption was wrong? Was all their effort for nothing?
“Buzz… bzzz…”
Suddenly, the lights above flickered violently.
The lighting grew dim, then brightened, as the temperature plummeted. The room became cold and damp.
Bai Xue paused, seeming to sense something, and turned to look in the direction of the painting.
Wen Jianyan followed his gaze.
Under the eerie, flickering light, a pair of wet footprints appeared without warning in front of the painting’s frame.
“!”
Wen Jianyan’s pupils shrank, a chill creeping up his spine.
As he stared, more damp footprints appeared.
It was as if…
Some invisible, water-soaked presence was slowly, stiffly moving forward.
The distance between them closed.
The temperature continued to plummet, and the air turned piercingly cold, cutting into their skin like tiny knives and causing a sharp pain.
A damp smell of rain filled the air, tinged with a faint odor of rotting flesh.
One step, two steps, three steps.
Each step came at an unnervingly even pace, as though carefully measured, drawing closer to them step by step.
“Move!!”
Wen Jianyan ordered in a hurried whisper.
The others snapped out of it, retreating quickly with Wen Jianyan, their eyes fixed on the wet footprints as they made for the hotel room’s main door.
Then, with a sudden “clack,” the door shut in front of them.
They found themselves in the brightly lit hallway, faces pale, breathing heavily.
“……”
Wen Jianyan gripped the door handle tightly, his palm sticky with cold sweat. He took a slow, deep breath and looked up at the old-fashioned sign on the door.
His heart pounded loudly in his ears.
As he stared, the “Do Not Disturb” sign’s light gradually lit up.
This was the signal.
It marked that the room was now occupied.
They had indeed succeeded.
This confirmed that their initial hypothesis was correct and that this was exactly what the rules wanted them to do.
But Wen Jianyan’s heart sank.
This also meant that the hotel’s previous safety and calm had indeed been real.
Because it had been “empty”.
Now, under the guidance of the rules, they had personally “welcomed” a ghost into the once-vacant Xingwang Hotel.
In other words…
They had just turned this place into a terrifying hell filled with lurking dangers.
