WTNL Chapter 308

(2/2)

Xingwang Hotel
Chapter 308: Fierce Battle

Unlike when they first arrived, this time, they no longer needed to search the surrounding houses one by one. Additionally, the “guest” that had been closely following them earlier was now temporarily restrained. With no obstacles in their way, Wen Jianyan and Bai Xue quickly and smoothly returned to their starting point.

The crooked two-story building loomed in the rain, becoming clearer as they approached.

Just as they were about to draw closer, Wen Jianyan suddenly sensed something and abruptly halted.

He frowned slightly, lifting his eyes to look at the small building in the distance.

…Something felt off.

The drizzling rain drowned out all other sounds, and the gloomy sky pressed down, its reflection distorted in the murky puddles, creating a suffocating atmosphere.

In the damp air, Wen Jianyan could faintly detect the odor of rotting corpses mixed with a lingering metallic scent of blood.

Fresh blood.

A sense of foreboding washed over him.

Wen Jianyan’s heart clenched, and he instinctively stepped forward.

As he moved closer, he could clearly see the rain-diluted blood pooling on the ground. The nearer he got to the building, the deeper the red became, as though…

…it was seeping out from inside the building itself.

In that instant, Wen Jianyan almost immediately realized—

Something terrible must have happened while he was gone.

A chill crept up from his feet.

Wen Jianyan’s face darkened.

He turned to Bai Xue and hastily instructed, “Wait outside.”

Without waiting for Bai Xue’s reply, he turned back and rushed toward the building.

His foot splashed into a blood-stained puddle, scattering pale red droplets. Wen Jianyan gripped the umbrella handle tightly, his knuckles whitening from the force. His eyes were fixed intently on the pitch-black interior of the building.

As he ran, he pulled his phone from his pocket.

The last message was from Blond. Beyond that, there were no new notifications.

Wen Jianyan gritted his teeth, his expression tense. His fingers clenched the phone so tightly that his knuckles turned pale.

“…”

His heart pounded violently, and his breathing grew labored.

The small building was just within reach.

Wen Jianyan took a deep breath and slowed his pace slightly.

He saw, lying in a puddle not far from the building, three blood-soaked human-skin umbrellas.

Two of them were damaged, their handles marked with dark, bluish-green handprints—marks that no human could possibly leave.

The third umbrella appeared unused. It lay crookedly to one side, free of any bloodstains.

“…”

Given his recent experiences, Wen Jianyan had little difficulty piecing together what had likely transpired here.

After all, two “guests” had pursued them into the town.

One had followed him, which meant the whereabouts of the other were predictable.

Wen Jianyan recalled that the “hollow” he had trapped under his umbrella was tall and imposing. Coupled with the blood pooled across the ground, he could reasonably conclude that the “guest” chasing the Black Team must have been the woman from Room 408.

Apparently, the Black Team had better luck than he did.

Based on the number of umbrellas, it seemed they didn’t have to search many places before finding their destination and obtaining an umbrella. After completing their task, they immediately headed back.

But their luck didn’t hold.

Before they could enter the building, the human-skin umbrella in their possession underwent the same transformation Wen Jianyan had experienced—the ghost beneath the umbrella began to emerge and attack.

In the process, their location was exposed.

Thus, the “guest” from Room 408 became aware of their presence.

It attacked them.

And killed them before they could enter the building.

By all logic, it should have ended there.

But the problem was…

Wen Jianyan’s gaze landed on the steps, and he restrained his trembling fingers, taking another deep breath to steady himself.

Sticky, crimson blood flowed down from inside the small building, quickly blending into the rainwater.

If, during this process, someone outside the building attempted to seek help from those inside, and the people inside reached out in response, the advantage of being in a safe zone would be lost.

One umbrella wouldn’t suffice. There was a high chance it would get soaked during this process…

And then their position would be exposed.

“…”

A terrible sense of foreboding chilled Wen Jianyan’s back and clenched his stomach, as if countless cold needles were piercing the back of his neck, causing sharp pain.

He folded up the umbrella, prepared to activate the Holy Infant’s Remains at a moment’s notice, and stepped into the building.

The moment he entered the first floor, a strong stench of blood overwhelmed him.

Wen Jianyan’s expression grew grim. Covering his mouth and nose with one hand, he turned his head, slowly scanning the room.

It was clear a fierce battle had taken place here.

The walls bore marks left only by special items or talents, and the previously neat tables and chairs were shattered and strewn across the floor. The indentations in the floor were filled with thick, sticky blood, which was shockingly vivid in the dimly lit room. Drag marks made by clawing fingers stretched across the ground, faint traces of nails and scraps of flesh and skin visible—gruesome and horrifying.

The blood was still fresh.

It looked like it had only happened a few minutes ago.

Wen Jianyan’s heart sank.

His guess had been correct.

The “guest” from Room 408 had been lured here.

Even just looking at the scene before him, he could clearly feel the sheer terror of what had transpired moments earlier.

There were no bodies.

Of course, there were no bodies.

Anyone who died here would be dragged into the water and become one of “those things.”

“Buzz, buzz!”

The phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated twice.

Wen Jianyan froze, pulling it out.

[Captain, where are you?]

It was a message from Chen Mo.

“…?”

Wen Jianyan stared at the unexpected sender, his eyes widening slightly.

At that moment, steady footsteps sounded behind him.

Holding his phone, Wen Jianyan turned his head.

Bai Xue had shaken off the rain from his umbrella and silently walked in from outside.

He hadn’t followed Wen Jianyan’s instruction to “wait outside” but had instead chosen to come in directly. This meant… Bai Xue had judged that there was no danger inside the small building.

It suddenly clicked for Wen Jianyan.

He lowered his head and typed a few words into his phone before pressing send.

[I’m on the first floor.]

Within seconds of sending the message, hurried footsteps echoed from above.

Moments later, Chen Mo and his team came into view, descending the stairs one by one.

The three of them were pale, their clothes still stained with blood that hadn’t dried, clearly showing signs of a harrowing ordeal. But fortunately… all three were unharmed.

Chen Mo, Yun Bilan, and Blond.

Not one was missing.

Wen Jianyan exhaled deeply, the sharp stabbing sensation in his back easing, and the cold stiffness in his fingers gradually fading away.

Seeing Wen Jianyan standing before them safe and sound, the three others were just as emotional.

Even Chen Mo, usually the most composed and stoic, appeared visibly relieved. “Thank goodness, Captain, you’re okay!”

Blond’s reaction was even more dramatic—his eyes reddened with unshed tears. “Waaah! Captain, you don’t know, just now—”

Unexpectedly, Wen Jianyan interrupted him:

“It didn’t attack you, did it?”

Blond froze, the words stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down.

Even his tears were forced back.

“H-how did you know?”

What had just occurred in the small building was horrifying.

The attack was nearly impossible for anyone to withstand. Initially, they had been prepared to retreat to the second floor for a desperate last stand. However, to their surprise, after killing all the Black Team members, all the noise abruptly ceased, as if… the entity had abandoned its attack on them entirely.

After hearing this, Wen Jianyan’s gaze deepened.

…As expected.

He had been uncertain before, but now, Wen Jianyan fully understood.

The “guests” wouldn’t attack the side that brought them into the hotel.

This explained why, back in the Xingwang Hotel, Wen Jianyan’s group had been able to leave Room 408 unharmed. It was also the reason why, on the first floor, the guest in Room 408 hadn’t chosen to target the unluckiest and most vulnerable—Wen Jianyan—but instead had gone after the Black Team.

The same principle applied to other guests.

That’s why the two guests in the town had split up.

The tall guest had followed Wen Jianyan and Bai Xue, while the female guest from Room 408 had pursued the Black Team.

Chen Mo and Yun Bilan were momentarily stunned, but they quickly grasped the implications of Wen Jianyan’s earlier statement. The two exchanged glances, seeing the same realization in each other’s eyes.

“If this is true, then to survive, shouldn’t we bring more guests into the Xingwang Hotel?”

If this hypothesis held, it would overturn all the conclusions they had reached so far.

The “guests” weren’t just threats—they were also resources.

Bringing them from the rainy town into the Xingwang Hotel wouldn’t just enable them to occupy more rooms and curb the opposing faction’s growth; more importantly, even if the guests began wandering, they wouldn’t attack their side—they would only target the opposing faction’s streamers.

Although the process of bringing the guests out of the town was incredibly dangerous, once they were inside the Xingwang Hotel, they would become a tremendous advantage.

After all, people die, but ghosts do not.

Wen Jianyan said nothing, his lips pressed tightly together in thought.

“So, Captain, did you find the single-guest painting?” Yun Bilan asked.

Wen Jianyan snapped out of his reverie, lifted his gaze, and nodded.
“Yes.”

This mission had been highly fruitful. Not only had they secured three umbrellas, but they had also discovered the exact location of the single-guest painting.

However… based on their newly established theory, returning to retrieve it might not be the best course of action.

Their best option now wasn’t to retrieve the single-guest painting. Instead, they should enter the room with the double-guest painting and use it to return to the Xingwang Hotel. Doing so would allow them to bring two guests to their side at once, significantly increasing their chances of victory.

The Black Team would eventually figure out this mechanism as well. When that happened, they would undoubtedly exploit it on a large scale. If Wen Jianyan’s team didn’t act quickly to gain the upper hand, they might lose the opportunity altogether.

More importantly, the guest trapped under the umbrella was still standing at the entrance of the single-guest painting’s room. Although its movement was currently restricted, this state wouldn’t last much longer.

From every perspective, heading to the double-guest painting and using it as a portal back to the Xingwang Hotel was the optimal choice.

It seemed Wen Jianyan had made up his mind.

He lifted his gaze and distributed the umbrellas to his teammates.

The umbrellas used by him and Bai Xue, as well as the two retrieved from the Black Team, were no longer functional. However, the umbrella brought back by the Black Team and the two Wen Jianyan had found in the house were still usable.

Their five-member team had three umbrellas—barely enough, but sufficient.

Wen Jianyan said, “Follow me.”

With that, he opened his umbrella and stepped into the rain.
“There are only ten minutes left in the one-hour blackout period. We need to move quickly.”

No matter what, they had to return to the Prosperity Hotel before then.

Wen Jianyan took a deep breath, the ouroboros ring on his finger gleaming faintly.

He had too many questions that needed answers.

And far too much work left to do.

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