The little speaker crackled for a long time but failed to produce a single sound. It simply went silent, as if it had given up.

The bus sped through the rocky section of the road, gradually slowed down, and finally stopped in front of a small path shrouded in thick fog.

“Passengers, please take your luggage and get off in an orderly manner. Follow this path straight ahead—the Health Spa Hotel is at the end,” the driver announced. “On the day your trip ends, I’ll be back here to pick you up. Please remember my license plate number and make sure you don’t get on the wrong bus.”

The female student named Lin Xiaohong bowed repeatedly to Xie Qing.

Sitting next to him was a girl with a ‘hime cut’ named Zhao Qingchun. Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at Xie Qing, filled with admiration. “Boss, you’re incredible! You must be a Super Saiyan, right?”

Xie Qing frowned slightly. Super Saiyan? What was that?

The experienced players first dragged the tied-up man in the suit off the bus before signaling for the others to disembark one by one.

Lin Xiaohong suddenly had a thought. “What happens if we don’t get off?”

A balding man replied in a mocking tone, “Of course, you’ll get to return to the real world alive!”

The veteran players burst into laughter, but their laughter wasn’t filled with joy. Instead, it seemed like a desperate attempt to drown out their overwhelming tension.

As soon as Xie Qing stepped out of the bus, he started coughing.

It was freezing here. The thick fog carried a damp, dusty smell. The hospital gown from the Fifth Research Institute, though stylish enough to not look like a hospital gown, provided no better warmth than a regular one.

The wind quickly drained the warmth from Xie Qing’s body. Though his tall frame was hidden beneath the loose gown, he was painfully thin—so thin that it was almost heartbreaking.

He coughed so hard that he could barely move, his earlier display of strength now seeming like nothing more than a fleeting illusion.

Zhao Qingchun and Lin Xiaohong watched anxiously from the side. One was only 1.5 meters tall, the other 1.6 meters, while Xie Qing stood at 1.85 meters. Even if they took off their clothes, they would barely be enough to serve as a shawl for him.

“Wear mine.”

A voice spoke beside him, pressing a bundle of soft, warm fabric into his hands.

Tears still clung to Xie Qing’s eyelashes as he trembled slightly in the cold. His watery eyes made him look heartbreakingly fragile.

He blinked a few times, and his vision gradually cleared.

A tall young man stood before him, wearing only a long-sleeved T-shirt. His posture was straight and unwavering, showing no signs of shivering; it was almost as if he didn’t feel the cold at all.

The young man appeared to be around twenty years old, with broad shoulders, long legs, and a lean yet powerful build. His facial features were sharp and well-defined, deep-set yet not overly Westernized. There was a hint of youthful energy between his striking brows, which, combined with his impossibly well-proportioned physique, created a sense of conflicting beauty.

Beneath his prominent brow bones were a pair of dark eyes, as deep as the night itself.

The clothes still carried the warmth of his body. Xie Qing tugged the soft collar up and lightly rubbed his face against it.

Since the age of eighteen, he had spent four years in a psychiatric hospital and another five in the Fifth Research Institute.

He had always worn hospital gowns, to the point where he had forgotten what it felt like to wear a proper winter coat.

Warm. So comfortable.

Xie Qing held out his right hand. “Xie Qing.”

The young man’s hand was very warm, his grip firm and steady. “Qin Chen.”

Xie Qing’s long eyelashes trembled slightly. “Qin Chen…”

The name rolled slowly off his tongue.

Qin Chen gave him a questioning look.

“Your name sounds nice. I just wanted to say it a few more times.”

The other players gradually made their way down the path. Qin Chen took out his phone and snapped a picture of the bus’s license plate: Feng R77413.

“Let’s go. It’s time for us to move too.”

Xie Qing tucked his hands into his pockets and strolled leisurely behind Qin Chen, eyeing him with great interest.

Qin Chen’s walking posture was textbook perfect, almost like a motion simulation from the Fifth Research Institute’s gait training program.

Only those with absolute bodily coordination could achieve such flawless movement—something theoretically possible but nearly unattainable in reality.

This immediately piqued Xie Qing’s curiosity. He wondered whether this level of coordination was natural or the result of artificial conditioning.

Hmm…

Xie Qing carefully examined the strange sensations stirring within his body.

He had been sick for so many years, completely devoid of impulses, to the point where he thought he was beyond such things. Yet now, just from watching someone walk, he was… feeling something?

It seemed that the special treatments administered by the Fifth Research Institute hadn’t damaged that particular function after all. Once he escaped this nightmare, he would have to report this discovery to his attending physician.

But why would watching someone walk make him feel like this?

Xie Qing stroked his chin, deep in thought. Was he some kind of weirdo?

No way!

He was discharged from the psychiatric hospital five years ago!!

The players made their way through the fog-shrouded path. Those who were still alive arrived in front of the Health Spa Hotel.

The rusted iron gates creaked open on their own, like a gaping mouth.

The players hesitated at the entrance, and none dared to enter first; the events on the bus had already frightened them out of their wits. After Qin Chen led Xie Qing inside, they cautiously followed behind.

The sky was a mesmerizing shade of blue, and the intense sunlight from the plateau baked their skin until it felt like it was burning.

Xie Qing slowly looked up; before him stood the building known as the Health Spa Hotel.

Constructed from rough-hewn stones and red-painted wooden planks, the hotel’s exterior exuded a rugged yet unpretentious beauty. The decorations on the eaves outside the glass windows bore a distinctly ethnic flair.

Beyond the iron gates, the garden was in full bloom, with butterflies and bees flitting among the flowers. Several newcomers instinctively crouched down, vomiting amidst the overwhelming floral fragrance.

Goosebumps rose on Zhao Qingchun’s arms. Compared to the bus with a corpse hanging outside, she found this sunlit hotel even more unsettling. It looked too normal—so normal that it made her uneasy.

Xie Qing’s gaze swept over the players, whose bodies were wracked with nausea from fear. His eyes flickered with confusion as he scanned the area.

The feeling of being watched hadn’t faded. From the bus to the hotel, it lingered, ever-present.

Qin Chen noticed his unease. “Something wrong?”

“Someone is watching me.” Xie Qing turned to look at him. “Do you feel it too?”

Qin Chen’s eyes darkened slightly. “A player? Or an NPC?”

“Neither,” Xie Qing took a deep breath of the honey-scented, dry air. His expression relaxed slightly. “Forget it. Maybe it’s just my imagination. Let’s go register first.”

—“Did he notice us?”

—“His instincts are insane!”

—“Who called my hubby a pretty but useless airhead? Apologize to him right now!”

—“Please don’t randomly call someone else’s wife your husband. And don’t mess up my wife’s gender.”

—“Qin Chen’s answer was basically a huge hint, pushing the boundaries of what the system allows. Now it’s just a question of whether Xie Qing picks up on it.”

Xie Qing and Qin Chen stepped into the hotel lobby.

The interior décor could only be described as boring. The floors were polished imitation marble, reflecting everything like a mirror. Fake rosewood screens stood in the room, decorated with poorly painted folk art.

“Welcome, esteemed guests. May the goddess of Night and Abundance grant you peaceful slumber every evening. Your rooms are ready—please come this way to register.”

If not for the identical, copy-pasted smiles on their faces, the staff at the Health Spa Hotel would have looked completely ordinary. They wore cheap red suit uniforms, with metallic name tags pinned to their right chests.

The manager, dressed in a black suit, was a middle-aged man with an honest-looking face. His name tag read Zhong Aiguo—a name that carried a distinct old-school feel.

There were 26 surviving travelers. The hotel had prepared exactly 13 double rooms, allowing them to pair up as they wished. Not a single staff member asked about the travelers who had died along the way.

Since Qin Chen had reserved his spot earlier in the game, he had priority in choosing a room. From experience, in this kind of scenario, a roommate was essentially a hidden teammate, making the selection a crucial decision.

Xie Qing’s performance on the bus had been impeccable; his sanity level was likely above 90.

Moreover, from Xie Qing’s hospital gown, Qin Chen had already recognized him as a Xie Syndrome patient from the Fifth Research Institute. This only strengthened his resolve to look after him in the dungeon. He turned to Xie Qing and asked, “Would you be willing to—”

Before he could finish, Xie Qing answered, “I’m willing.”

Qin Chen nodded and selected the only ground-floor room: 101.

“—to be your boyfriend,” Xie Qing added lazily.

Qin Chen: “……”

By the standards of a terminally ill patient, Xie Qing was far too lively. Qin Chen was now almost certain that Xie Qing’s sanity level might even be higher than his own—possibly around 97 or 98.

When it came to room selection, only new players worried about gender. Veteran players cared only about whether their roommate was reliable.

Lin Xiaohong had been pulled into the game with her roommate, so the two naturally shared a room.

A young man named Li Yang originally wanted to invite the suited man, Xia Shangzhou, to be his roommate. His tone was practically ingratiating—probably swayed by the man’s diamond cufflinks and tailored suit.

But in this kind of place, strength was clearly more important than wealth.

Xia Shangzhou instead invited Zhao Qingchun. She hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

Once all the keycards were distributed, Manager Zhong Aiguo led the red-uniformed staff into two neat rows and smiled.

“Please take a moment to rest in your rooms. Dinner will be served promptly at six in the dining hall.”

“On behalf of the entire staff of the Health Spa Hotel, I sincerely thank you all for coming. May the goddess of Darkness and Abundance forever bless your slumber.”

The system had mentioned that one of the hotel’s key features was folk beliefs—this goddess was most likely the local deity worshipped here.

Interesting. Xie Qing stroked his chin in thought.

Primitive religions often revolved around humanity’s greatest concerns—life, death, fertility, and survival. Yet here, the deity’s domain was protecting slumber.

Would she truly grant peaceful sleep to the players?

Or would she become their worst nightmare?

Room 101 was directly across from the dining hall. To the left of the room was the staircase —this six-story hotel didn’t have an elevator.

Xie Qing immediately understood why Qin Chen had deliberately chosen a room on the first floor.

It was probably for his sake. After all, he was wearing a hospital gown.

Outside Room 101’s window stood a flourishing wall of flowers, blooming in wild, unchecked abundance. Standing near the window, one could faintly catch the floral scent seeping in through the cracks —but the window itself was locked shut.

The dense flower wall blocked out most of the light, leaving the room dim and damp with a lingering mildew scent. Beneath the mustiness, an odd, sharp sourness pricked at their nostrils.

Qin Chen glanced at his watch.

“Twenty minutes until six. Let’s search the room first—see if we can find anything useful.”

“Alright.”

“Oh, and—eat this first.”

Qin Chen pulled back the sleeve of his down jacket and retrieved a rectangular, vacuum-sealed bag.

Xie Qing looked up at him. Even from this low angle, Qin Chen still looked flawless.

Qin Chen unsealed the bag and handed over an energy bar. Seeing Xie Qing staring at him without blinking, he raised an eyebrow.

“Hm?”

Xie Qing plucked the energy bar from his fingers, licked his lower lip, and smiled.

“I’m hungry.”

Xie Syndrome patients had an extreme craving for energy. Their bodies burned through stamina at an astonishing rate.

Dinner was just around the corner, yet Qin Chen had still chosen to offer him food first.

Clearly, the hospital gown had already given away his identity as a Xie Syndrome patient.

Xie Qing wolfed down the energy bar in a few bites and quickly resumed searching the room. Qin Chen was far more meticulous, checking even the tightest gaps in the drawers.

After a while, Xie Qing felt a bit tired. He plopped onto the bed, crossing one leg, and said lazily,

“Hey…”

Qin Chen instinctively looked up, ready to listen carefully. He assumed Xie Qing had found something.

Instead, Xie Qing’s long lashes lowered slightly, his lips curling into a teasing smile.

“Brother Qin Chen, your ass is really perky.”

Qin Chen, mid-motion, paused—then silently pushed the nightstand back into place. After a moment of hesitation, he replied,

“…Thanks?”

Then, with a strangely serious and thoughtful expression, he gave Xie Qing’s backside a brief, analytical glance before solemnly stating,

“Yours is perkier.”

“Pfft—”

Xie Qing couldn’t hold back his laughter.

Cute.

Xie Qing’s beauty was sharp—almost aggressive. But when he laughed, all that intensity softened. The corners of his lips curved just right, making his expression incredibly contagious.

Qin Chen found himself smiling along with him.

“I’m only nineteen. Calling me ‘brother’ doesn’t seem very appropriate.”

Xie Qing raised an eyebrow playfully.

“You’ve never heard? If you’re handsome, you’re automatically brother.”

Qin Chen: “Are you this familiar with everyone you meet?”

Xie Qing: “Only with you. You just… match my ‘cha pi’ too well.”

Qin Chen: “Cha pi?”

Xie Qing bullshitted effortlessly: “It’s an astrology thing. I’m a very superstitious person, you know.”

Between the two beds hung an oil painting. The subject appeared to be some kind of octopus, its curled tentacles extending beyond the frame. At the center—where a head might be— a pair of dark golden eyes gleamed ominously.

Xie Qing took it down. It had no signature. Just a few cursive words in the corner:

“May you slumber forever in darkness.”

“Is this supposed to be the goddess?”

Because if it was, she sure as hell wasn’t peaceful. In fact… she seemed a little tasty.

“Grilled with chili powder, maybe? Might not be bad.”

He put the painting back, then noticed strange marks on the table.

Xie Qing ran his fingers over the rectangular mark on the table.

A thin layer of dust coated the surrounding surface—except for the empty space where something had clearly been removed.

“Something’s missing.”

Xie Qing had plenty of hospital experience, but not much hotel experience. He wasn’t too familiar with what should or shouldn’t be in a hotel room.

He glanced at Qin Chen. “Are we missing anything?”

Qin Chen answered without hesitation: “The hotel manual.”

“Interesting…”

Xie Qing rubbed his chin, lips curving up in amusement.

“Seems like there’s a naughty little NPC who doesn’t like you. Must’ve pissed them off somehow.”

Qin Chen: “…”

The livestream chat exploded.

[Viewers:]

– “LMAO—This guy deflects like a pro.”

– “Bro, it’s YOU the system hates, not Qin Chen!”

– “Most hotel copies have a random room that loses the manual… But I have a feeling Xie Qing’s case isn’t random at all.”

Xie Qing casually shrugged off the issue, but as he walked to the door, he suddenly paused. Turning back to look at Qin Shen, he playfully shook the room key in his hand.

“This hotel really loves to be incomplete.”

His words sounded cryptic, but Qin Shen immediately understood.

The hotel’s medical room and storage room were located on the sixth floor, yet there was no elevator in the layout.

But that wasn’t even the strangest part.

The strangest thing was—this was a health spa hotel situated deep in the mountains.

Yet, the hotel’s layout contained no hot springs.

“These two are sharp. They already noticed the hidden pitfalls of the hotel copy.”

“Hotel copies always seem easy at first, with low psychological pressure, but they spiral into death traps fast.”

“With Qin Shen here, they should be able to clear it, right?”

“Not necessarily. This hotel copy is famously a ‘One-Day Tour’ copy.”

“One-Day Tour? New audience here—what does that mean?”

“It’s a copy where players die and the copy is forcefully shutdown within 24 hours. Don’t be fooled by its E-rank rating—this copy has been online for over a decade, with over 5,000 players entering.

The first-day death rate exceeds 60%, and the clear rate always remains at zero.

As for the Nightmare Dispel Rate—basically, the level of story progression has never surpassed 3%.”

“Since it’s a low-ranking copy, most of the players who enter are newbies. That’s why it has a nickname.”

“What nickname?”

“The Newbie Meat Grinder.”

—

At the same time, Zhao Qingchun, who was sharing Room 303 with Xia Shangzhou, was flipping through the hotel manual.

The first few pages were fairly normal—just a layout map and contact numbers for different hotel departments.

But on the last page, there was a pasted notice titled:

[Guest Guidelines for the Health Spa Hotel:]  

1. It is strictly forbidden to discuss the Guest Guidelines in any form outside your own room or with anyone who is not your roommate.

2. This hotel operates by phone reservation only. The shuttle bus brings guests every Monday and takes guests away every Sunday.

Please note: Once checked in, you cannot leave early.

The hotel is deep in the mountains —if you choose to leave on your own, the hotel will not be responsible for any consequences.

3. The hotel provides a variety of foods. Please consume only healthy foods and avoid eating unhealthy foods.

Refer to Appendix 2 for the list of healthy foods.

4. There is no danger in this hotel.

However, if you do feel threatened, please return to your room immediately, lock the door, and contact the butler at once.

No matter what happens, do not open the door until the butler contacts you via the room phone.

The butler will never call your mobile phone.

5. The butler is completely trustworthy. Memorize their name and phone number.

6. For your health and safety, you must go to sleep before nightfall.

7. Each room is supplied with only two sets of toiletries.

If you find more than two sets, call housekeeping immediately —they will send a cleaner to remove the extra items.

If the number is less than 2, please immediately check whether your roommate is still alive and follow the instructions in Rules 4 and 5.

“How is this place safe at all?” Xia Shangzhou’s hands trembled slightly.

Right now, the most important thing was to find the butler’s contact information!

Zhao Qingchun held the room phone and shook her head at Xia Shangzhou. “It only has speed dial options for the front desk, housekeeping, and the dining center. There’s no number for the butler.”

“We can ask the hotel staff. They must know.”

Zhao Qingchun wasn’t as optimistic. “If these rules are real, then the butler is our lifeline. His number won’t be easy to obtain.”

“No matter what, we have to try.” Xia Shangzhou clenched his fist. “Trust me, there’s always a way out.”

Was there?

Zhao Qingchun didn’t answer. She often felt that nightmare copies were filled with dead ends everywhere.

At six o’clock, the dining room doors opened on time.

Inside, there was only a single long dining table, with nameplates and room numbers placed in front of each seat.

The nameplates were simple in design. The front read: “Welcome to the Health Spa Hotel. May the goddess of Darkness and Abundance bless your sleep.” On the back, the dining rules were posted.

Wellness Hot Spring Hotel Dining Rules:

1. No loud noises or whispering in the dining room.

2. No conversation with anyone who is not your roommate.

Xie Qing finished reading and put the nameplate back in place.

The dining room had rules that seemed reasonable on the surface but concealed an eerie undertone.

It was likely that the missing hotel manual also contained internal hotel rules. Someone in the hotel clearly wanted him and Qin Chen to break them.

All the remaining players had already arrived, yet the dining room doors were pushed open once again.

A man wearing a white down jacket walked in. Three blood-red lines ran across his body, and as he moved, his segmented torso swayed unsteadily, as if he might fall apart again at any moment.

Lin Xiaohong was already timid by nature, and she immediately whimpered in fear.

The man with a receding hairline turned pale the moment he saw the white down jacket. Beads of sweat as large as soybeans dripped from his forehead. He couldn’t control his voice and screamed out:

“Impossible!!! How are you still alive?”

The man in the white down jacket raised a single finger.

“Shhh—”

His crimson lips stretched almost to his ears, his teeth stained entirely with blood. Thick, sticky blood oozed from his body with each movement, soaking into his white jacket until it turned bright red.

“Oh dear, oh dear!”

A waiter in a red uniform skipped toward them. His sallow face featured two disturbingly large, black-pupil eyes that lacked any light or focus, sending chills down anyone who met his gaze.

“It looks like a naughty child broke the rules. Didn’t the dining room regulations tell you? No loud noises in the dining area!”

The man with receding-hairline snapped back to his senses and clamped his hands over his mouth. But it was already too late.

The mouth of the man in the white down jacket stretched wider and wider, as if his entire head was about to split apart. He staggered over to the receding-hairline man, giggling.

“Now you’re just like me.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he casually grabbed a chair from the floor and smashed it on the receding-hairline man’s head. Then, swaying unsteadily, he dragged the still-breathing body step by step—one, two—slowly into the kitchen.

Everyone stood in stunned silence.

Just then, the system voice suddenly rang out.

[Attention, players. The main mission has been released.]

[Please choose one of the following two tasks to complete.]

[A: Learn the butler’s name and contact information within 24 hours.]

[B: Take a soak in the hot spring within 24 hours.]

[If the timer ends with no task completed, half of the surviving players will be randomly eliminated. Players who complete both Task A and Task B will receive double points.]

[The countdown starts now.]

After flipping through the hotel manual ten times, Xia Shangzhou’s face turned pale. He turned to Zhao Qingchun and said, “There’s no hot spring in this hotel at all!”

His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but every player at the table heard it clearly. One by one, their faces turned just as pale.

Just then, Xie Qing seemed to remember something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

Seeing Qin Shen’s questioning gaze, he explained, “I accidentally took the hotel’s duty roster when I was registering at the front desk.”

Qin Shen: “Accidentally…”

Xie Qing was quick to react. “You don’t believe me?”

Qin Shen shook his head decisively. “Not at all. Go on.”

Xie Qing unfolded the roster, which listed all the hotel staff members along with their job titles, working hours, and contact numbers.

His fingertips moved slowly down the page, and his eyes lit up, as if he had found something amusing.

“Tsk, this hotel doesn’t have a butler at all.”

---

TN:

I really needed a good horror novel in my life ｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡