“Is this really an E-level nightmare? Could the system have made a mistake?” Zhao Qingchun’s expression was filled with despair.

Other players shared the same doubt—how could an E-level nightmare be this difficult right from the start?

Lin Xiaohong parted her lips slightly. Seeing Zhao Qingchun looking so dejected, she instinctively wanted to say something to comfort her. Just as she was about to speak, Xie Qing suddenly snapped her fingers. “I’m hungry. Can we get the food served already?”

Somewhat displeased, the red-clothed waitress rolled her eyes and responded, “You haven’t ordered yet.”

Xie Qing: “Oh, really? I forgot.”

Lin Xiaohong and Zhao Qingchun froze, cold sweat instantly forming on their foreheads.

If Xie Qing hadn’t interrupted, they would have almost broken the rule: No talking to people outside your room while inside the restaurant.

The players immediately lowered their heads and focused on ordering. Stuffing their mouths with food seemed like the best way to avoid accidentally violating the rules.

The digital menu made Xia Shangzhou regret memorizing Appendix 2 so thoroughly. The menu was crudely divided into two categories: one labeled “Healthy Food” and the other “Unhealthy Food.”

Under the “Healthy Food” category, there was only one dish: Hot Spring Delicacy.

Meanwhile, the “Unhealthy Food” section was filled with a dazzling array of dishes, including over a dozen types of desserts.

After drooling over the unhealthy menu, the players, unwilling to risk their lives, reluctantly ordered the Hot Spring Delicacy.

This so-called delicacy turned out to be a bowl of cabbage and lean meat macaroni. Its deathly pale color made it seem as if both the cabbage and the pig had died with unresolved grievances.

Zhao Qingchun held her breath, scooped up a spoonful, and put it in her mouth. The macaroni was slippery and elastic, wriggling around like a live worm.

She forced herself to swallow it, and her stomach immediately churned.

The players glanced at the disgusting Hot Spring Delicacy in their bowls, then at Xie Qing and Qin Chen, whose table remained completely empty. This only deepened their suspicion that the so-called healthy dish was anything but.

“Oh dear, oh dear, why aren’t our esteemed guests eating?”

The red-clothed waiter suddenly bent forward, pressing his cheek against the table. As he twisted his neck, he scrutinized the players with an eerie gaze.

His eyes were dull and lifeless, with grayish-black pupils consuming most of the sclera. None of the players dared to look directly at him.

“I don’t like picky little troublemakers. Esteemed guests, do you want to be bad children?”

The players frantically shook their heads in fear.

The sounds of chewing, swallowing, dry heaving, and muffled sobbing mixed together, echoing back and forth in the vast restaurant like a reverberating sound effect.

Xie Qing: “Is this a restaurant or a torture chamber?”

Qin Chen frowned. “This place is worse than a torture chamber.”

Ding, ding, ding!

The red-clothed waiter pushed a dining cart over and announced, “For our picky and troublesome guests, your dinner is ready!”

In no time, Xie Qing and Qin Chen’s table was completely filled.

Grilled meat, cakes, egg tarts, ramen—an eclectic mix of Chinese and Western dishes—even a steaming hot pot of Tom Yum soup was placed in front of them. The rich, tangy aroma made the other players gulp uncontrollably.

Xia Shangzhou was baffled. “All of this is unhealthy food. Is it really worth breaking the rules just for a good meal?”

Zhao Qingchun: “You’d better not meddle in the affairs of pros.”

Regret surged in her heart. It seemed that unhealthy food was actually the right choice. She had made a mistake.

Xie Qing: “Waiter.”

The red-clothed waiter put on an exaggerated smile, but the reluctance on his face was hard to hide. “Esteemed guest, what else do you need? Don’t you think you’re talking a little too much?”

Xie Qing stared directly at the waiter and smiled. “Everyone else ordered the exact same dish, as if they knew what they were supposed to eat for dinner. Yet we’re the only ones left in the dark. Tell me, is there some important rule written in that missing hotel manual from our room?”

[Damn, my wife is so smart. I’ve got nothing left to say.]

[I’m his husband, thank you. Please don’t go claiming other people’s spouses.]

[I’ve never seen a player go head-to-head with an NPC like this before… This is gonna be good.]

The players were in shock.

The hotel manual was missing?

That book’s last page—the Traveler’s Guide —was practically the survival manual for the hotel!

Could it be that Xie Qing had pissed off the system by killing an NPC before?

At that thought, several players instinctively scooted their chairs away.

Seeing this, Lin Xiaohong huffed and dragged her chair closer to Xie Qing instead.

Her classmate tugged at her sleeve. “Why are you moving toward him?”

Lin Xiaohong: “He’s saved my life twice. If I avoid him now, what kind of person would that make me?”

Her classmate fell silent. After all, they were still students—young and thin-skinned. They knew that being ungrateful was disgraceful.

Xie Qing took note of everyone’s reactions but didn’t seem to care. He continued, “Would stealing hotel property count as a violation for staff? And if a staff member breaks the rules… what kind of punishment do they get?”

The waiter’s fake smile wavered. His large, dark pupils suddenly contracted into tiny pinpoints, barely the size of a needle tip, leaving his eyes almost entirely white.

Extreme fear.

Clearly, the punishments for staff violations were no joke.

“I only serve guests dining in the restaurant. For matters regarding guest rooms, please consult the housekeeping department. I will also report your concerns to the hotel. Wishing you an enjoyable meal.”

His words were formal and measured, but his hasty departure reeked of panic—practically the definition of fleeing in defeat.

Xie Qing and Qin Chen exchanged a glance, both thinking the same thing.

Hotel staff must have their own set of rules, though their violations were probably judged with a bit more leniency.

Stealing from guest rooms was likely a staff violation, but unless a guest actively reported it, no punishment would be triggered.

Just as the players were forcing themselves to swallow their meals, two figures suddenly emerged from the kitchen— the balding man and White Down Jacket man. Even those with the dullest senses could immediately tell that the two had changed clothes.

Their bloodstained, dust-covered outfits had been replaced with white aprons and hats, both stamped with the hotel’s logo.

Moving sluggishly, the two walked over to the restaurant’s dish collection area, where a large cart stood for discarded food waste and used plates. Then, they just… stood there, motionless.

Xie Qing put down his chopsticks and commented, “Well, this hotel’s recruitment process sure is creative. Kill the players first, then hire them afterward—pioneering the field of ‘death-based hiring.'”

He tilted his head slightly toward Qin Chen. “It wouldn’t be surprising if past players who died are now busy brewing soup in the kitchen for everyone. Tsk.”

It took a moment for the players to process his words, but when they did, a chilling dread seeped into their bones.

The Hot Spring Delicacy in their bowls suddenly became impossible to swallow.

Dinner at the hotel lasted from 6:00 to 7:00 PM. No matter how much or how little they ate, players weren’t allowed to leave the restaurant until exactly 7:00.

All they could do was sit there, watching Xie Qing and Qin Chen eat, until the balding man and White Down Jacketed man opened the restaurant doors right on time.

Xia Shangzhou grabbed Zhao Qingchun and hurried out of the restaurant. The two former players—who should have been dead—stood on either side of the doorway like eerie door guardians.

Up close, Xia Shangzhou couldn’t avoid seeing the balding man’s head, shattered and then crudely pieced back together.

This was no longer a land of civilization.

A violent shiver ran through him. He clenched his fists. The more desperate the situation, the more people craved a strong and decisive leader. And he believed he was that leader.

“Players who just came out, don’t rush off! Listen to me first!”

Xia Shangzhou knocked over a metal trash bin in the hallway and stepped onto it like a makeshift podium.

“I just thought of two ways to complete the mission. They might be clumsy solutions, but they could work.”

His words hit the players like a bolt of lightning. In an instant, they scrambled out of the restaurant, eager to listen.

“First, about the hot springs —the hotel’s layout map doesn’t show any, but that map might just be a red herring.”

“What do you mean?” A male university student, Li Yang, asked urgently.

“As long as we have hot spring water, anywhere can be a hot spring bath.” Xia Shangzhou grinned confidently. “Every room has a bathtub. If the water from the tap is hot spring water, we can take our baths there and still fulfill the requirement.”

As soon as he said this, many players immediately voiced their agreement.

In a hot spring hotel, it was common for the water sources to be split—bathtubs supplying hot spring water, while sinks provided regular tap water.

The tense atmosphere in the restaurant had made everyone overlook this basic detail.

Seeing his idea gain approval, Xia Shangzhou’s smile grew more confident. He continued,

“As for the butler, our first priority should be gathering information about them. I suspect the NPCs won’t easily give us any details, but there is a simple—if crude—way to complete the butler mission.”

“You want to arrange for players to talk to different NPCs. If the butler is hidden among the staff, then at least one person will end up completing the mission,” Xie Qing said lazily, hands stuffed in his pockets as he leaned against the wall.

He and Qin Chen weren’t particularly interested in Xia Shangzhou’s leadership performance, but since he was blocking Room 101’s door, they figured they might as well listen.

“Exactly,” Xia Shangzhou nodded approvingly. “As long as someone clears the mission, the risk drops from half of us dying to just one person dying. That makes things much safer for everyone. But for this to work, we’ll all need to cooperate.”

“Right now, there’s still plenty of time before nightfall, so we can focus on collecting clues first. Talking to NPCs can wait until tomorrow. For now, everyone, come to me and register your name and room number.”

Saying this, he turned to Xie Qing. “I’ll need your help with something—can you hand over that stolen…”

“Here.” Xie Qing smiled and tossed it over before he could even finish the sentence.

“Uh… h-here.” Xia Shangzhou let out an awkward chuckle. “Could you hand over the staff schedule you took? I need it to organize who talks to which NPCs and make the process more efficient.”

Xie Qing straightened up but neither agreed nor refused. Instead, his gaze passed over the crowd and locked onto the hotel lobby twenty meters away.

Golden sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling onto the pale yellow tiled floor. The reflection made the entire lobby glow with brightness.

The clocks hanging in the lobby, each displaying a different time zone, showed that it was currently 7:07 PM.

“The system wouldn’t give us a main quest that’s too easy,” Xie Qing said. “I suggest you all skip the bath and go to sleep early.”

Zhao Qingchun blinked. The Traveler’s Guide did mention that, for their own safety, guests should be asleep before nightfall.

But the sun hadn’t even set yet.

Just then, a loud clattering noise echoed from the direction of the lobby.

“Please, have mercy! It was my first time, I swear! I just lost control for a moment!”

A red-uniformed hotel staff member was being dragged toward the restaurant by two men dressed in black.

The manager stood at the entrance of the hallway, a perpetual fake smile plastered across his face.

“Dear esteemed guests, please do not be alarmed. This employee has violated hotel regulations by taking items from a guest room without permission. He must now face the hotel’s punishment.”

The black-clad men dragged the struggling red-uniformed employee through the hallway, right past the gathered players.

Instinctively, everyone pressed themselves against the walls, making way as the terrifying scene unfolded before them.

The red-uniformed employee suddenly broke free from his captors and lunged toward Xie Qing.

But before he could reach him, the black-clad men yanked him back with inhuman force.

“Xie Qing! Xie Qing—this is your fault!! I curse you to never escape this hotel!”

His screams twisted into something inhuman, a guttural, monstrous roar that rattled the players’ skulls.

For a brief moment, everything went dark.

An overwhelming nausea struck them, and they felt their sanity points plummeting.

Just from those few words, Lin Xiaohong—whose sanity was already on the lower side—lost a third of her remaining mental stability.

Her eyes glazed over, her lips trembled as she muttered in an eerie, trance-like voice:

“Yiyu-xu-hee, O Goddess of Darkness and Abundance, feast without blame…!”

Suddenly, Xie Qing’s arm burned with heat.

His sanity points remained stable, but the “Invasion Level” displayed on his arm crept up to 3%.

He scanned the players around him—some of their faces had begun to change.

Their eyes and ears shrank, while their mouths stretched wider and redder, lips curling into unnatural grins.

The grotesque transformation made Xie Qing’s expression darken slightly.

So, even if his own sanity was stable, if everyone around him became corrupted, his Invasion Level would rise as well.

He turned his gaze toward the manager.

The manager was watching him intently, an unmistakable glint of malicious amusement in his eyes.

“Dear guest, you already understand now, don’t you? Violation leads to punishment.”

His tone dripped with implication.

The manager’s hungry gaze slowly swept over Xie Qing and Qin Chen, as if assessing two prime cuts of meat about to be served for dinner.

Meanwhile, the balding man and the puffy white jacked man—who had died and been “hired” by the hotel—stood by the door, watching the scene unfold with eerie fascination.

They had completely severed ties with the world of the living.

The black-clad enforcers dragged the screaming employee forward with deliberate, measured steps—ensuring that his agonized wails would continue to torment the players for as long as possible.

Xie Qing’s usually cheerful expression, thanks to his naturally upturned lips, turned cold. He stepped up to the punished employee and sneered, “Who told you to be stupid enough to steal from my room? You deserve to die.”

The punished employee was instantly enraged. Breaking free from the black-clad staff’s grip, he lunged at Xie Qing. Xie Qing swiftly blocked and twisted his arm—there was a crisp “crack” as he dislocated the man’s jaw.

“Go on, scream. Why aren’t you screaming now?”

The punished employee struggled furiously, making hoarse, garbled noises as drool dripped from his lips. Xie Qing glanced at him with a smirk, just as Qin Chen casually handed him a spoon.

Qin Chen: “Got it from the slop bucket.”

Xie Qing shoved the spoon into the red-clad employee’s mouth. The man immediately fell silent.

Xie Qing looked past the black-clad staff, grinning as he addressed the manager on the other side. “This doesn’t count as a violation, right? The traveler’s guidebook doesn’t seem to prohibit guests from stuffing spoons into hotel employees’ mouths.”

The manager gave a cold laugh and turned to leave the corridor.

The black-clad staff were now visibly awkward. Without the roaring and howling that had carried a mental attack, their slow, deliberate movements suddenly seemed sluggish and clumsy.

Still, they stiffly dragged the punished employee into the dark depths at the end of the corridor.

As the agonized howls finally ceased, the players gradually recovered. Looking at the punished employee’s miserable state, they couldn’t help but feel conflicted. Xie Qing was undeniably strong, and they were tempted to cling to him for protection.

But at times, Xie Qing’s presence was even more terrifying than the NPCs. They couldn’t help but be wary of him.

Among everyone, the two girls, Lin Xiaohong and Zhao Qingchun, were the first to step forward and thank him. Only then did the rest hesitantly murmur some polite words. If their voices weren’t still trembling, their gratitude might have sounded more sincere.

Xia Shangzhou’s face involuntarily twitch as he watched all the attention that should have belonged to him being completely stolen by Xie Qing.

In a group, there could only be one leader. And he could only accept himself as this leader.

Xie Qing walked up to Xia Shangzhou, meeting his gaze at eye level despite Xia standing on the overturned trash can. Instantly, Xia Shangzhou became alert. “What do you want?”

Xie Qing: “You’re blocking my door.”

Xia Shangzhou immediately stepped down from the trash can he had used as a makeshift platform—even going so far as to move it aside.

It wasn’t until he realized what he had just done that his face burned with embarrassment, humiliation churning in his chest.

His expression darkened for only a moment before he quickly replaced it with a cheerful smile. Waving to the players, he called out, “Let’s go, let’s search for clues together!”

Among the crowd, Zhao Qingchun remained still.

“Qingchun?” Xia Shangzhou called her name.

“This copy doesn’t feel right,” Zhao Qingchun said slowly but firmly. “I’m going back to my room to sleep. Are you coming?”

Xia Shangzhou forced a smile. “I still want to stay and search for more clues with everyone. How about this? You must be tired —go back and rest. I’ll handle the search.”

Zhao Qingchun nodded and didn’t press further.

Most players followed Xia Shangzhou to the lobby, while Zhao Qingchun, after thanking Xie Qing and Qin Chen for what happened in the restaurant, returned to her room.

“Knows when to bend and when to stand tall,” Xie Qing muttered, watching as Xia Shangzhou retreated while rubbing his chin. “He’s making us look like villains.”

“Does it bother you?” Qin Chen asked softly. “You gave them a kind warning, but they didn’t appreciate it.”

Xie Qing shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I enjoy playing the villain.”