A high-level lucky bag with only a 0.03% drop rate had managed to give him Love Potions twice —the most useless of useless items. Xie Qing found it hard to believe the system wasn’t targeting him.

[Husband is so pitiful, sending some hearts for comfort. Hearts +50]

[Wife is suffering, injecting love and care. Hearts +200]

[It’s okay, just buy something from the store! Hearts +521.]

Xie Qing: “…Is everything in the store expensive?”

Qin Chen hesitated.

Xie Qing: “If you want to say something, just say it.”

Qin Chen: “The items and their prices in the store… refresh randomly.”

Xie Qing: “…”

Silently, he opened the store.

A dazzling array of glass bottles exploded with rainbow-colored light, nearly blinding him.

And then, the dense, crammed list of item names made Xie Qing’s face colder than the glaciers of Antarctica.

[…Xie Qing is definitely being targeted, right?]

Xie Qing: “Hmm…”

[Why… is his entire store filled with Love Potions?]

The lucky bag trembled slightly in Xie Qing’s hand, as if laughing.

Xie Qing let out a cold chuckle, the he stuffed the bag back into his pocket, took three deep breaths, and then—suddenly—flashed a bright, sunny smile.

His expression changed so drastically that Qin Chen grew even more concerned.

Qin Chen: “How’s your mental stability? Still holding up?”

Xie Qing nodded. “My mental state has always been stable.”

Qin Chen: “Mental stability is extremely important. You shouldn’t share your exact score too easily, or people might use it against you.”

Hearing that, Xie Qing became curious: “Then… can you tell me yours?”

Qin Chen didn’t hesitate. His answer was firm and direct: “Usually, it’s 97.”

Xie Qing: “!”

His pupils quivered, and he struggled to suppress his shock. Keeping his expression neutral, he casually asked: “What’s the full score?”

Qin Chen: “There’s no official limit. Generally, anything above 75 is considered good, and over 83 is considered outstanding. Most people fluctuate between 66 and 73. If you drop below 60, you should start paying close attention to your mental state. Below 50, you’re typically classified as insane.”

“Your mental stability is exceptional—your score must be really high.”

Xie Qing flashed a flawless smile. “Oh, nothing much. Just a little higher than yours.”

Qin Chen genuinely praised him: “I’ve never met anyone with a higher mental stability score than mine. You’re the first. You’re really talented.”

Xie Qing continued smiling in silence.

9.7 was indeed a little more than 97.

That wasn’t lying—he was merely showcasing the beauty of the Chinese language, an exquisite application of linguistic precision.

With Qin Chen supporting him, Xie Qing was led out of the room. His lips were conspicuously red and swollen, and as they passed by, staff members couldn’t help but glance back—half out of instinctive fear toward his title, “Lover of Killing in Dreams,” and half showing a very human curiosity with gossipy expressions.

A delicate beauty, groggy from sleep, lips swollen and flushed—who wouldn’t overthink?

Xie Qing snuggled into Qin Chen’s arms and softly asked: “What do we do?”

Qin Chen: “?”

Xie Qing: “They’re definitely misunderstanding.”

He looked up at Qin Chen, eyes filled with feigned innocence. “Should I clarify?”

Qin Chen met his gaze, his expression genuinely puzzled and upright: “Misunderstanding?”

“…”

No one appreciated his theatrics. Xie Qing suddenly lost interest.

The hallway was spotless. Qin Chen frowned —last night, the wailing and screaming upstairs and downstairs had been miserable. Could it be that no one had died?

Just then, a young woman in a light purple housekeeping uniform walked past them, carrying a bucket and a mop.

A faint smell of blood drifted through the air. Qin Chen glanced into the bucket.

The water inside was a murky red, with a soft, tubular piece floating at the surface— pink, yellow, and red intertwined.

“Is that… intestines?” Xie Qing asked.

Qin Chen nodded.

“Human?”

Qin Chen nodded again.

Xie Qing turned his head. Near the stairs, dried bloodstains were scattered on the floor. The young housekeeper squatted down, and something on her chest shimmered, catching the light.

She reached into the bucket, pulled out a rag, wrung it dry, and slowly wiped away the blood on the ground.

What a hygienic hotel.

The cleaning staff treated murder scenes like routine housekeeping. As long as the blood was wiped away and the bodies were removed, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

Xie Qing withdrew his gaze. “Let’s go to the lobby first. I need to confirm something.”

Qin Chen lifted his pant leg for a quick check. In just this short walk, his long, slender leg had already swollen round.

“Can we go to the infirmary first?”

Xie Qing shook his head.

Seeing how determined he was, Qin Chen had no choice but to support him toward the lobby.

In the Lobby.

The manager was, as expected, nowhere to be seen.

Only two players were present—a girl with a bun hairstyle and a tattooed man.

The girl with the hair bun was Tang Xiaowan. The tattooed man was Lu Youwen. Though they always acted like they didn’t get along, Xie Qing suspected that was just an act.

They were probably a couple.

Xie Qing impatiently knocked on the front desk.

“Where’s your manager?”

“Don’t~~ knooow~~”

The receptionist maintained a professional smile, but her body language betrayed them.

The three wavering tones in her words exposed their fear.

The title “Lover of Killing in Dreams” was effective.

Looks like the receptionist was a Fog Ghost too.

The receptionist trembled, but her forced smile remained in place.

“H-how can I help you?”

Xie Qing: “There’s a corpse in my room. Might be your manager. Please take care of it.”

The lobby fell dead silent.

In that moment, NPCs and players became one —they all turned to look at Xie Qing, their gazes sweeping across his swollen red lips, his obviously weak legs, and Qin Chen’s tall, muscular frame.

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

Eyes burned with implied meaning.

Tang Xiaowan, too shocked to regulate her volume, blurted out:

“Holy shit, was that… some kind of victory ritual?! Bosses are really built different. What a unique XP(TN: fetish) —I’m in awe!”

Lu Youwen slapped a hand over her mouth.

“…”

Qin Chen lowered his gaze to Xie Qing. “What’s XP?”

Xie Qing looked utterly confused. “Huh? What XP?”

Qin Chen was silent for a moment. “Never mind. Probably not a good word.”

Xie Qing looked down. “Oh.”

He pressed two fingers against the corners of his lips, trying to stop himself from smiling.

Adorable.

As expected of a nineteen-year-old kid.

The receptionist finally processed what had happened—the mysterious disappearance of the lobby manager was no longer a mystery.

In an instant, the roles had reversed —Xie Qing was no longer prey, but predator.

Seeing her tremble like a vibrating phone, Xie Qing’s voice softened as he comforted her.

“Don’t be scared. Sure, I did break his spine with a kick, but I’m really not a violent person.”

The receptionist instantly clutched her waist.

Xie Qing added, “I suspect he had severe osteoporosis.”

The receptionist, numb with shock, mumbled, “Osteoporosis…”

Xie Qing sighed weakly, placing a hand over his chest. “I’m so frail. If he didn’t have osteoporosis, how could I have possibly broken him?”

He coughed delicately and cast a kind gaze at the receptionist’s neck.

The receptionist felt a sudden chill, instinctively stepping back, but she was completely out of sync and moved both her arm and leg at the same time.

Xie Qing leaned forward onto the counter and reached out to snatch her red necktie, forcefully dragging her back.

“The manager trespassed into a guest’s room. Who should I file a complaint with?”

The receptionist, clutching her neck, shrieked, “We have an acting manager! You can tell him anything you’re dissatisfied with about the hotel!”

“That’s a relief.” Xie Qing glanced regretfully at her neck before discreetly slipping the stolen staff schedule and phone into his pocket.

Just as the scene was settling into a bizarre atmosphere of peace and harmony, a man quietly arrived.

He entered from the front doors, striding toward the counter. Nodding at the staff, he introduced himself with a polite smile.

“Hello, everyone. I am the acting manager.”

Xie Qing and Qin Chen exchanged glances— So fast? The acting manager was already here?

The newcomer had a gentle demeanor, medium build, and looked to be in his forties. After a brief greeting, he excused himself, saying he needed to change into his uniform, then swiftly left the front desk.

Xie Qing wanted to call after him, hoping to fish for information, but Qin Chen simply lifted him up and carried him away.

Meanwhile, in Nightmare 7023’s live broadcast room, the chatroom was already exploding.

“This hotel actually has an acting manager? Unbelievable.”

“Fog ghosts are supposed to be boss-tier enemies. If Xie Qing just kicked one to death on the first night, how is the story supposed to progress?”

“Isn’t this just a rule-based instance? How has no debt collector cleared it in all these years? Has the Great Wall gotten this weak?”

“Heh.”

“Young man, too young, too naive.”

“Let me put it this way: since this copy was created, the nightmare dispersion rate has never exceeded three percent.”

Observer 009 grew increasingly serious as he pulled up all historical records of the Health Spa Hotel copy.

Since its launch, this copy had been opened 238 times across all timelines, with nearly 5,000 players participating. The main mission completion rate was zero, and the highest nightmare dispersion rate recorded was only 3%. The first-day death rate? A staggering 64.3%.

Meanwhile, on the live broadcast, Qin Chen carried Xie Qing into the sixth-floor medical room.

Xie Qing was very displeased with this weird carrying posture.

“Have you never carried anyone before?”

“I’ve carried people over my shoulder, never like this.”

“…” Xie Qing couldn’t help but comment, “Bro, are you carrying an injured person upstairs or delivering a package? Are you sure you weren’t a forklift in your past life?”

Qin Chen kept his expression taut. “Packages don’t talk.”

Xie Qing: “…”

Why had little Qin been in a bad mood all day?

The sixth floor was completely empty, with all the doors tightly shut except for the infirmary.

A leave note was stuck to the infirmary door.

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, I will be on leave for a week and unable to provide services for our esteemed guests. Feel free to use anything in the infirmary.”

The note was yellowed and curling at the edges—who knew how many years it had been there?

Inside the infirmary, there was nothing useful. All the medicine bottles were empty, likely used up by the countless players before them.

In a copy like this, there was no room for being picky. Qin Shen had to make do, using bandages and wooden sticks to stabilize Xie Qing’s fractured right leg.

As he worked, his face was dark as an impending snowstorm.

Xie Qing’s skin was incredibly fair and translucent, making his injuries look even more alarming. The swollen area seemed like it was about to burst through the skin.

Qin Shen moved as gently as possible, pausing after each motion to check: “Does it hurt?”

Xie Qing finally realized what was going on and couldn’t help but laugh. “I was the one who kicked the manager to death. Tripping over his corpse could be considered karma. Why are you blaming yourself?”

Qin Shen didn’t agree with his reasoning. If he had cleaned up the manager’s corpse in time last night, Xie Qing wouldn’t have tripped.

But he didn’t argue. His expression, however, remained unpleasant.

“If it hurts, just say so. Don’t grit your teeth.”

Xie Qing let out a dramatic “Ouch!” Qin Shen immediately looked over, tense—only to see Xie Qing grinning at him. Realizing he’d been tricked, Qin Shen pressed his lips into a thin line.

Xie Qing playfully ran a finger along Qin Shen’s chin. “I’m eight years older than you, so I should be the one taking care of you. Little Qin, please recognize your own age.”

Qin Shen: “You were the one who insisted on calling me ‘gege’ (older brother), so—”

Xie Qing: “So?”

Qin Shen fell silent.

“Besides you, no one else would carry me on their back for hours.” Xie Qing’s voice softened. “And no one else would risk breaking the rules just to eat unhealthy, high-calorie food with me.”

Xie Qing cupped Qin Shen’s face and said seriously, “I don’t know how to express my gratitude, so I can only offer myself to you.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Qin Shen was still a little unhappy, but his expression had softened considerably.

Xie Qing struggled to pull out two crumpled sheets of paper from his pocket and smoothed them out on his left knee.

“You accidentally took today’s shift schedule too?” Qin Shen asked, glancing up.

Xie Qing: “No, it accidentally fell into my pocket by itself.”

Qin Shen: “…”

Comparing the schedules for the two days, Xie Qing’s naturally upturned lips pressed into a thin line, his tone laced with sarcasm.

“This hotel’s HR is really dedicated—hiring eight new employees in just one day.”

Four cleaners, three assistant cooks, and one manager.

Yesterday, the manager’s name was Zhong Aiguo, but today, it had changed to Meng Chunsheng. Aside from the manager, the newly added staff members’ names were already printed on the schedule.

The people had changed, but the phone numbers remained the same.

“Zhong Hai, Bai Yurong, Zhao Menglan, Qian Duoduo, Sun Zixuan, Li Ziqing…”

These names had all appeared on the nameplates in the restaurant last night.

“Lin Xiaohong…”

Xie Qing slowly read out the last name, and the image of the woman in a purple cleaning uniform, whom they had passed in the lobby earlier, surfaced in his mind.

At the time, he had noticed something sparkling on her chest.

Lin Xiaohong had a rhinestone hair tie—one that Xie Qing had picked up and returned to her.

She had tied the rhinestone hair tie to the end of her braid after receiving it.

Suddenly, Xie Qing recalled what had happened last night in front of Room 101. Lin Xiaohong had bowed deeply to thank him, the angle of her bow so sharp that it seemed excessive—as if she wasn’t good with words and could only express her gratitude through an extreme ninety-degree bow.

She had promised that no matter what clues she found, she would share them with Xie Qing and Qin Shen. She had anxiously warned them to be careful.

But she had already died last night.

The image of the woman in the purple cleaning uniform crouching down to scrub the bloodstains kept replaying in Xie Qing’s mind.

She had been cleaning up the scene of her own death.

She had been wiping away the bloodstains left behind when she was killed.

And the organs floating in her bucket—were her own.

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