Xingwang Hotel
Chapter 358: Deal
On the pitch-black street, three figures stood facing each other, with only the faint, dim light from Hugo’s lantern casting a feeble glow. In the distance, scattered corpses stood motionless in the darkness.
The atmosphere was heavy and silent.
After a long pause, Hugo finally spoke: “What questions do you want to ask?”
It seemed he had agreed.
In that case, things would be straightforward from here.
“First,” Wen Jianyan looked at Hugo, taking a slow, deep breath before asking, “Are there paintings inside the hotel?”
Hugo frowned, as if he hadn’t expected such a question. But he still answered, “Yes.”
“Are the paintings ghosts?”
“Correct.”
Just as he suspected. Since Hugo had obtained spirit money, there must be a way to acquire it within the instance. Wen Jianyan looked at Hugo and asked his third question:
“How did you obtain the spirit money you used to pay earlier? What was the detailed process?”
Soon, after a brief exchange of questions and answers, Wen Jianyan finally pieced together the general rules and framework of the original instance.
The Xingwang Hotel instance was an ordinary, slow-paced survival instance where players could clear it by simply staying alive for seven days.
Unlike their current situation, not all the rooms in the hotel were empty. Some were already occupied by ghosts—specifically, the paintings.
Players who entered the instance needed to pay a “room fee.” The fee was one yuan on the first day, two on the second, and so on, increasing incrementally. Only those who paid the fee could safely survive the night.
The methods of earning the room fee were not much different from those in the instance they were currently experiencing:
Bringing a guest into the hotel earned one yuan.
Fulfilling a guest’s request earned one yuan.
Tips of varying amounts could be obtained through unspecified means.
However, whether it was bringing guests in or fulfilling their requests, players had to venture outside the hotel into the perilous fog. Unlike the environment Wen Jianyan was familiar with, all the ghosts here had physical forms and could attack directly. But as long as players avoided their true bodies—the paintings—they would not be harmed.
If a painting was brought into an empty hotel room, the player would receive payment.
Wen Jianyan lowered his gaze, organizing this information in his mind.
A large gap in his understanding had finally been filled, and the missing links in the logic chain were gradually being pieced together.
Although there was no element of “rain” in this version, the fundamental rules of the hotel remained unchanged.
Hugo stood to the side, studying him thoughtfully. “Why did you ask these questions?”
In the Xingwang Hotel instance, while these rules weren’t entirely out in the open, they were essentially common knowledge for players who had survived this long.
Wen Jianyan raised his eyes and smiled, deftly sidestepping the question: “Just confirming some details.”
Hugo didn’t press further.
“What about the ritual and banquet you mentioned earlier? Explain that,” Wen Jianyan said.
Hugo kept one hand in his pocket, narrowing his eyes. “Didn’t my teammate explain it earlier?”
“They did,” Wen Jianyan shrugged, “but not in enough detail.”
“Fine.” Hugo paused, then said, “The essence of this instance is a prison, and all the vengeful ghosts in it are the jailers.”
Wen Jianyan had already learned this from Hugo’s teammate, but he didn’t interrupt, simply nodding for him to continue.
“Bringing them into the Xingwang Hotel is itself a method of suppression, gradually loosening the prison’s seals,” Hugo said. “But as long as they remain inside the hotel, the prison doors can never be fully opened.”
Wen Jianyan froze for a moment.
He picked up the thread: “So, you used souls as offerings to hold a banquet, with the goal of making all the guests permanently leave the Xingwang Hotel. That way, you could destroy the prison and achieve the platinum clear for the instance, right?”
Hugo seemed surprised by how quickly Wen Jianyan grasped the concept. “Correct.”
If that was the case…
Everything made sense.
Suddenly, Wen Jianyan thought of something.
He frowned slightly and looked at Hugo: “Wait a minute, where did the souls you used come from?”
Based on his experience on the fourth floor of Changsheng Building, the souls used for the ritual had to belong to living people. In the mirror version of Xingwang Hotel, the banquet materials were players who hadn’t obtained official staff badges, which was why they were so desperate to steal them. But in the original Xingwang Hotel, which had no competitive mechanics, where would the “living” materials come from?
Wen Jianyan stared at Hugo, his mind racing.
No way…
Did this guy kill all the other players in the instance to—
Hugo narrowed his eyes. “You’re sharp.”
“But unfortunately, I’m not that strong, nor do I have any reason to turn against so many players just for a platinum achievement.”
With that, he glanced down the street behind Wen Jianyan:
“Actually, the reason I came to this street’s framing shop was to obtain the materials needed for the banquet.”
Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes. “How so?”
“There’s a painting inside the framing shop that contains the ‘materials’ required for the banquet,” Hugo said. “Once I obtain it, the final step will be complete.”
Wen Jianyan recalled the countless paintings he had seen in the framing shop’s gallery and froze.
So, each painting in the gallery contained a living soul?
If every painting there is alive, then what happens to those who die outside? If they can remain in a living state indefinitely, wouldn’t that—
As if struck by a sudden realization, Wen Jianyan’s breath hitched. If this were truly the case, everything would make sense.
The Red Faction had planned to infiltrate the Xingwang Hotel instance from the beginning. Even after their “defeat” at his hands, they had resorted to extreme measures—using the early stages of the dream ritual to ensure one of their own left behind a painting in the framing shop.
Rather than confronting Wen Jianyan head-on, they had acted covertly alongside the Gentleman, making the framing shop their core objective.
This was essentially creating a respawn point for themselves.
Wen Jianyan’s gaze fixed on Hugo, his pupils contracting slightly.
If Hugo was also aware of this, then his status as the sole surviving player in this instance became understandable.
Even if the instance closed and all players within it perished, as long as he had this extra “life” preserved, Hugo could survive—without needing to strike any deals with Nightmare.
Wen Jianyan took a deep breath and asked:
“How did you know about the framing shop’s existence?”
“A series of tasks.”
Hugo’s teammate beside him grew visibly impatient. “How many more questions do you have? We don’t have much time left—this instance has less than an hour before it ends. Stop wasting it here!”
“One last question.”
Wen Jianyan exhaled slowly, then raised his eyes to meet Hugo’s.
“Where did these tasks originate from?” he asked. “Which painting?”
Hugo frowned.
Though he didn’t understand Wen Jianyan’s intent, he still answered: “Room 208.”
The real Xingwang Hotel only had two floors.
Room 208 in the original instance would correspond to—
Room 408.
The image of the familiar, faceless woman in white flashed through his mind.
Wen Jianyan’s breath caught.
So it was her.
—
In the the well.
Yun Bilan switched on her flashlight, crouching down as she carefully pulled up a half-submerged, rotting corpse from the murky water. The cramped, semi-enclosed space reeked of damp decay.
Under the dim, flickering light, she calmly searched the corpse’s remains, looking for any possible clues.
The corpse’s clothing had decayed, leaving only tattered strips of fabric, but the original color and texture were still faintly discernible.
In the live broadcast barrage:
[Holy shit, sis is insane—I’d be gagging by now, but she’s still digging through it!]
[For real! Sister Bilan’s built different. If her captain were here, he’d have puked by now.]
[LMAO TRUE! I’m dying!]
Above, her teammates called down nervously:
“Hey! You okay down there?”
“Be careful!”
After a while, Yun Bilan’s voice echoed from the well:
“Pull me up.”
The group quickly tightened the pulley, and with a slow, creaking sound, Yun Bilan began ascending the well’s walls. Once she reached the top, she released the rope and landed lightly on solid ground.
Seeing her unharmed, everyone let out a sigh of relief—even Blond turned away, discreetly wiping his nose.
Then, with a thud, a small notebook caked in foul-smelling sludge was tossed onto the ground.
“What’s this?” Chen Mo frowned.
“Found it on a corpse down there,” Yun Bilan said succinctly, wiping her hands clean. She paused, then looked at Chen Mo. “The contents are… off.”
“You mentioned that before finding me, you visited an elementary school here, right?” she asked.
“Yeah.” Chen Mo nodded.
The school was different from other areas—filled with the ghosts of children. Unlike the rest of the town, they were unaware of the outside world, so the group had been able to interact with them safely.
But more importantly, the woman in white from the painting in Room 408 had once been a teacher at that school.
Strangely, unlike the other vengeful spirits in town, she had met her end in an abandoned house on the outskirts—which was why they had initially found her painting in such a desolate place.
“…”
After hearing this, Yun Bilan fell silent.
A few seconds later, she looked up at Chen Mo and said slowly:
“I think the corpse I found down there… is hers.”
“What?” The group froze. “There’s a body in the well?”
And according to Yun Bilan—it was the corpse of the woman from the painting?
“Also,” Yun Bilan continued, her gaze shifting to the notebook in Chen Mo’s hands, “judging by the contents…
I think she was the one who killed all those children in the school.”
“Wait—what?”
“No, ‘killed’ isn’t quite accurate,” Yun Bilan took a deep breath, as if searching for a better way to phrase it. “It’s more like… she preserved them as materials. For future use.”
—
Wen Jianyan lowered his eyes, the flickering lantern light casting shifting shadows across his face, making his expression inscrutable.
No one could tell what he was thinking.
“Hey, we’ve already answered all your questions. You should be able to fulfill your promise now, right?” One of the team members couldn’t hold back anymore and said loudly.
“Of course.”
Wen Jianyan seemed to be awakened from his deep thoughts by the voice. He looked up.
He pointed toward one of the shops behind him, whose door was wide open. “Let’s go. There, you’ll get the necessary tools to enter the mounting shop.”
As he spoke, he turned around and took the lead in walking toward the shop.
The team member estimated the distance between where he was standing and the shop. His face turned slightly green.
Ha, this is way too close. It’s only five or six meters away.
Thinking about the huge lap he had just run, the team member’s expression darkened even more.
Even without this person leading the way, they would have reached it with just a few more steps!
Forget it, forget it. No need to get angry.
At least, in some sense, they avoided the risk of entering the wrong shop.
He turned his head to the side and fell silent again.
Wait a minute.
It seemed like this was the only shop with its door open.
Not far away, the culprit had already reached the shop entrance. He turned back and waved at them with an utterly carefree expression: “Right here.”
The team member took a deep breath and wiped his face with one hand.
Maybe she still had other crucial information to provide.
He glanced at Hugo, who was following along with a blank expression, and steadied himself.
The captain must have thought the same thing. That’s why he made the deal with her.
Thinking this, he quickly stepped forward and followed.
The shop was pitch black inside. The shelves were filled with countless ghastly white masks, eerily resembling real human faces. They silently stared at them from the darkness, sending chills down their spines.
“Take a mask and put it on,” Wen Jianyan said. “Your identity will be recognized as a ghost, allowing you to enter that nonexistent street. Leaving works the same way.”
The three of them each picked a mask.
Just as they were about to leave, a stiff, mechanical voice echoed through the narrow, dark shop: “Nine yuan in total.”
Nine yuan?!
Nine yuan??!!!
That meant each mask cost three yuan.
Upon hearing this, Hugo and his teammate simultaneously turned to look at Wen Jianyan, who was standing to the side.
The anchor looked shocked and angry. He lowered his voice and said:
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[Hahahahahaha!]
[AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]
[I knew it! He was definitely going to mess up!!! There was no way his wild guessing would be right!!!]
[I’m dying! He went over budget just like that!]
Wen Jianyan blinked, his innocent and beautiful face showing the same look of surprise:
“Ah, the price went up!”
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[?]
[???]
[Have some shame!]
[The hell do you mean the price went up?! Did you even know the original price?!
Hugo narrowed his eyes slightly. A trace of unmistakable displeasure appeared on his face, his lips pressing into a hard, cold line.
“Alright, alright.” Wen Jianyan swiftly took a step back, raised his hands, and made a gesture of gracious compromise. “How about this? I’ll pay for my own mask. Is that good enough?”
Hugo: “…”
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[Why is he acting like he’s being so generous?]
[Isn’t paying for his own mask just common sense?]
[]”So you have money?” The teammate took a deep breath, gritting his teeth. “How much do you have?”
“Exactly three yuan.”
Wen Jianyan shrugged.
The reward he got for completing his first-day task was precisely three yuan. Luckily, the mask’s price stayed within that amount. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to afford it.
As he spoke, he pulled out a small booklet from his pocket, which had some ghost money tucked inside.
Besides the three bills of ghost money, there was an additional small stack.
A total of eight bills.
Wen Jianyan: “…”
He stared at the five extra spirit money bills in his booklet, wide-eyed.
Beside him, someone spoke in a voice filled with suppressed anger:
“This is what you call ‘only three yuan’?!”
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[Hahahahahahaha!]
[AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!]
[How to make a terrible deal with Wen Jianyan: The shop is right next door, the price quote is unreliable, and you still get tricked into treating him to food and covering the cost of a coat.]
“Enough,” Hugo said from the side.
His voice was calm, instantly shutting down his furious teammate. After speaking, he turned his head to look at Wen Jianyan, his gaze cold and restrained: “Fine, you pay for your own mask.”
It seemed he wasn’t planning to argue with Wen Jianyan over the human skin jacket he had been scammed out of earlier.
At that, the smile on Wen Jianyan’s face became noticeably more sincere:
“Ah, really? Thanks, bro!”
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[I know it’s not the first time, but I’m always shocked by how shameless this guy is.]
[No issues when it’s about scamming others, but suddenly so polite when thanking someone. Unbelievable.]
[Hugo is really generous. I’m becoming a fan.]
Soon, the three of them each paid for their masks and left the shop.
Wen Jianyan looked at Hugo. “I won’t be walking with you any further. I need to go back.”
“You’re heading to 208?” Hugo was just as sharp.
“Yes.” Wen Jianyan didn’t try to hide it. Instead, he nodded directly and admitted to Hugo’s guess. His expression grew serious as he said:
“Remember what I’m about to tell you very clearly.”
“As you leave here and continue straight, the lotus decorations on both sides will gradually decrease, and the road will become wider. But that’s just an illusion. This path is deceptive. If anything along the way distracts you, you’ll veer off course. Even I don’t know what lies beyond this road or how to return once you stray from it.”
“Keep going, and you’ll soon reach the framing shop you need to enter.”
“Unlike this street, where only ghosts can step in, that shop has a door that ‘only the living can push open.’ The moment you get close to it, you’ll feel an unconscious urge to push it open. However, as you do, your mask will gradually deteriorate and lose its effect.”
When Wen Jianyan entered that door before, he had exploited a glitch. He didn’t push the door open himself but tricked someone inside into doing it for him. But that trick wasn’t an option for Hugo and his team.
However, they did have one advantage that Wen Jianyan hadn’t.
It wasn’t raining, and their human skin coats were purchased rather than revived entities, meaning they wouldn’t suddenly come to life. As long as they could withstand the attacks of other vengeful spirits for a short period and seize the opportunity to enter the shop, they would be fine.
That part, Wen Jianyan didn’t bother explaining. He had already provided plenty of information. With Hugo’s abilities, holding off the ghosts for a while shouldn’t be a problem.
“Without the mask, leaving will be trickier, but not impossible.”
Wen Jianyan paused for a moment before continuing:
“Since you have human skin coats, as long as you find something that can conceal your aura and disguise your identity as a ghost, you can leave.”
The rules for entering this path were much stricter than the rules for leaving it.
To enter, you needed both a human skin jacket and a mask. But to leave, the requirements were looser. Any tool that could temporarily turn you into a ghost was enough. Wen Jianyan had personally tested this himself.
“Alright, that’s about all the information I have.” Wen Jianyan placed the ghastly white mask onto his face. Through the eyeholes, his pale-colored eyes gleamed. “See you around.”
His muffled voice came from beneath the mask.
With that, Wen Jianyan turned around and walked back the way he came.
“Hey—”
The teammate seemed like he wanted to say something, but Hugo stopped him.
“Captain, why are you stopping me?” The teammate was confused. “How do you know she’s telling the truth? We should make her come with us—”
“No need.”
Hugo’s gaze lingered on Wen Jianyan’s disappearing figure.
“But—”
The teammate still seemed reluctant.
“She has eight spirit money bills,” Hugo said coolly.
The teammate froze, as if suddenly realizing something.
“You remember how difficult it was for us to gather nine spirit money bills, don’t you?” Hugo withdrew his gaze and glanced at his teammate.
The teammate inhaled sharply, instantly understanding what the captain meant.
Today was the final day of this instance, yet that person was carrying eight spirit money bills—a fortune—while moving around alone. Their team had fought tooth and nail, barely surviving countless close calls, just to get nine bills.
This meant that the seemingly fragile and harmless girl might be far more terrifying than she appeared.
Someone like that… was not an enemy they could afford to make.
“Setting aside minor details, whether it’s the human skin coat or the mask, she’s clearly very familiar with them,” Hugo said. “That proves she really has entered this street before and successfully left alive.”
Given that, Hugo was more inclined to believe the information she had provided.
However—
Hugo frowned slightly, a trace of doubt flashing across his face.
If she was such a powerful player, then why had she asked him so many basic questions earlier? And…
Just then, Wen Jianyan, who had walked some distance away, suddenly stopped in his tracks as if he had just remembered something. He turned around, waved at them, and called out loudly:
“Oh, right!”
“A free piece of advice for you!”
“Make sure to leave your portrait in the hallway!”
His figure seemed to fade into the distant darkness, almost blending into the surrounding shadows. Perhaps because of the mask, his voice sounded even more indistinct—lighthearted, yet carrying a subtle hint of amusement:
“Good luck, Hugo.”
With that, he turned back around and disappeared into the darkness.
“Huh? What?”
The teammate frowned. “What does she mean by leaving a portrait? What is she talking about?”
Hugo stood motionless, his brows furrowed deeply, but a storm raged in his mind.
Since they met, he had never introduced himself.
So how did that person know his codename?
