Lin Xiaohong lagged behind the crowd, then she rushed back hurriedly and bowed to Xie Qing. “Thank you for saving me in the restaurant.”

“Xiaohong, what are you dawdling for?” her roommate called out impatiently.

“Coming!”

“My roommate is calling me. No matter what information I find, I’ll tell you.”

She was about to leave but hesitated, nervously twisting her fingers. “I feel like the hotel is luring us into breaking the rules. Back in the restaurant, I didn’t even want to speak, but for some reason, I almost blurted something out. If you hadn’t interrupted me and that girl, we might already be dead.”

Clatter— A rhinestone hair accessory rolled to Xie Qing’s feet. He picked it up and handed it to Lin Xiaohong, pointing at the corner of his lips. “Don’t worry too much. Smile more—good luck clings to upturned lips.”

Lin Xiaohong was infected by his smile and nodded with a grin.

Her roommate called her a second time, growing more impatient. Lin Xiaohong quickly said, “I have to go. You guys be careful.”

Xie Qing: “You too. Remember to sleep early.”

Lin Xiaohong paused for a moment, then nodded before turning and running toward the lobby.

Xie Qing shut the door behind him. “Some people do appreciate it—more than one, even.”

The corners of Qin Shen’s lips curled slightly.

Back inside, the missing hotel manual had returned, sitting perfectly on the desk, as if it had never been taken at all.

As Qin Shen and Xie Qing had anticipated, the hotel manual contained a Traveler’s Guidebook.  

The reason why all the players had chosen to eat that disgusting-smelling hot spring delicacy was that the notice explicitly instructed them to consume healthy food.

“Rule six states that travelers should go to bed before nightfall.” Qin Shen looked into Xie Qing’s eyes. “You noticed the sunlight issue, which is why you warned them to sleep early, right?”

Xie Qing: “The sun was blazing. Hard not to notice.”  

Judging by the mountain vegetation, the terrain, and the position of the sun, the hotel was situated in a high-altitude southwestern mountain region, where sunset should occur between 7:00 and 7:30 PM.  

However, despite it already being past seven, the sun remained at an angle similar to around 4:00 PM, creating the illusion that nightfall was still far away.  

Xie Qing glanced out the window at the sky.  

“If I were designing this dungeon, I’d have the sky turn dark all at once. Catch everyone completely off guard.”

Qin Shen, whose instincts had been sharpened through hundreds of dungeon runs, had a gut feeling— Xie Qing’s prediction might just come true.

He multitasked, thinking as he ran his fingers lightly over the top edge of the paper, but he unexpectedly felt faint raised imprints beneath his touch.  

“There’s a writing on the back.”

Xie Qing raised an eyebrow. “How did you know?”

Qin Shen moved to his side, guiding Xie Qing’s hand to touch the paper. “This was printed using a dot matrix printer. The printer pins leave indentations on the front, which become raised on the back. Feel here—do you notice it?”

Xie Qing’s hands were strikingly elegant; his knuckles were delicate and he had slender fingers, even the curve of his fingertips seemed meticulously crafted.  

His cold fingertips brushed past Qin Shen’s warm ones before being enclosed in Qin Shen’s grip.  

Xie Qing, ever the lazy boneless cat, leaned against whatever was nearby. He rested his chin on Qin Shen’s shoulder, his cheek occasionally brushing against Qin Shen’s exposed skin, which was cool and smooth; his cheek glided past the curve of Qin Shen’s shoulder and neck.  

A vague sense of tenderness stirred within Qin Shen. He guided Xie Qing’s hand, tracing the indentations inch by inch along the back of the paper.  

The raised marks overlapped with the printed text on the front, making them especially subtle. 

Xie Qing’s fingers slipped from his palm— like a sleek, elusive fish —before he abruptly flipped the hotel manual over and slapped it into Qin Shen’s hand.  

“Here. Be my guest.”

Qin Shen held the hotel manual, the lingering coldness of Xie Qing’s touch still imprinted on his skin. He furrowed his brows slightly and pulled out a short, thin blade from his pocket.  

The back of the paper wasn’t fully glued down—only the edges were sealed. Qin Shen slipped the tip of the blade into the adhesive and carefully sliced off the Traveler’s Guidebook. 

Sure enough, there was another notice on the back.

[Traveler’s Guidebook – Health Spa Hotel]

1. There is no butler at this hotel. It is forbidden to ask anyone about the butler.

2. The bathtubs in all guest rooms from the first to the fifth floor are completely out of order. Bathing in the room is prohibited.

3. You may eat any food served in the restaurant—except the hot spring delicacies.

4. The elevator will take you to a safe place. Please remember where it is.

5. We sincerely hope you leave this hotel alive. Good luck.

Xie Qing strode into the bathroom and turned on the faucet above the bathtub.  

Before dinner, water had flowed out freely.  

Now, only a dry, choking sound came from the pipes.  

Whoosh—

Splash— 

The sound of running water echoed from upstairs. Someone was filling their bathtub. 

Could it be that only those who had seen the reversed notice were unable to get hot spring water?

The hotel staff had probably already been bombarded with questions about the butler’s whereabouts.

Outside the hallway, players were still coming and going.  

Yet— there was no elevator anywhere in the hotel’s layout.

The reversed Traveler’s guide completely contradicted the original one.  

“This hotel really doesn’t want us to make it out alive…” Xie Qing murmured, the corners of his lips curling upward.  

Excitement and dread swept through him simultaneously. 

Qin Shen glanced outside—the light was fading at an unnatural speed.

“It’s time to sleep.”  

In the blink of an eye, night had devoured dusk. 

By the time the two had finished washing up, mist had already blurred the small bathroom window.

Qin Shen carried Xie Qing into the guest room and jumped onto the bed. Together, they weighed at least 160 kilograms, yet the mattress made almost no sound.  

He lifted the blanket, stuffed Xie Qing inside, and with a long stride, slipped into the covers of another bed.  

“Night—falls—”  

“Guests—return—”  

An elongated, hollow voice suddenly echoed.  

It traveled into the garden, the lobby, the dining hall, the corridors, and the guest rooms.  

It seeped into everyone’s ears and trembling hearts.  

A soft knocking came from outside the door.  

The thick fog descended with the night.  

Knock, knock, knock!  

Knock, knock, knock!

“Dear guest, have you fallen asleep?”

A thin voice squeezed through the door crack; it was impossible to tell whether it was male or female, old or young. It carried that peculiar, insincere politeness unique to the hotel’s staff.  

Qin Shen kept his eyes closed, his heartbeat steady.

On the other bed, Xie Qing breathed evenly, already fast asleep. A newcomer who had just entered the instance, yet could sleep so soundly in such a perilous environment—Qin Shen wasn’t sure whether to call him brave or just completely unfazed.  

Knock, knock, knock.  

The knocking grew louder.  

“Dear guest, may I come in?”

Each knock felt like it was hammering directly onto Qin Shen’s mind. His sanity was depleting—slowly, but steadily. The question from outside carried an almost imperceptible lure, and deep within him, a desire to respond was beginning to grow.  

He suppressed it, remaining silent, breathing deeply and steadily.  

Click. 

The door opened.  

Dragging footsteps crept closer, each step stretching out with a slow, scraping sound against the floor.  

He—or rather, it—carried the damp, earthy scent of wet dust, instantly pulling Qin Shen’s senses back to the foggy, desolate path outside.  

Knock, knock, knock.  

“Dear guest,” the voice was right beside his ear. “Have you fallen asleep?”

The whisper was in his ear, yet the knocking still came from outside the door.  

It sounded eerily wrong.  

Knock, knock, knock!  

Knock, knock, knock!

The knocking grew louder.  

So loud that the furniture in the room trembled, dust trickled down from the ceiling, as if a small earthquake had suddenly struck the hotel.  

Qin Shen’s sanity began to plummet at an alarming rate. Though his eyes remained shut, preventing him from checking the sanity value on his arm, his experience told him it had likely dropped by at least 20%.  

For an average person, that kind of decrease would be enough to kill them. The fact that mere knocking could have such an effect meant that whatever was outside was no ordinary monster.  

Yet, despite the relentless knocking, Qin Shen’s breathing remained steady, undisturbed.  

It hesitated, then muttered to itself in confusion, “That’s strange… I can feel that you’re still awake, so why aren’t you responding?”

In this copy, where everything was governed by strict rules, even the NPCs hunting players had to follow certain constraints. 

By perfectly simulating the state of deep sleep, Qin Shen had ensured that despite the NPC sensing his wakefulness, as long as the conditions to confirm he was awake weren’t met, it couldn’t attack him.  

It paced around in agitation, its footsteps betraying its frustration and confusion.  

Then suddenly, it let out a chilling, giggling laugh.

“How could I forget? There’s another rule-breaking guest.”

The dragging footsteps shifted toward Xie Qing’s bed. It was only then that Qin Shen truly felt a sense of urgency.  

Knock, knock, knock.  

“Naughty guest, have you fallen asleep?”

Knock, knock, knock. 

“Annoying guest, have you fallen asleep?”

Cough, cough!

The monster’s dusty stench must have been too thick—Xie Qing started coughing.

Hearing the sound, Qin Shen’s heart sank. This was bad. Even if Xie Qing wasn’t fully awake yet, the coughing might force him awake.  

Qin Shen slowly opened his eyes. Direct confrontation wasn’t ideal, but if he wanted to save Xie Qing, there seemed to be no other choice.  

Knock, knock, knock.

“Naughty and annoying guest, you—”

Before it could finish its sentence, a pale foot shot out from beneath the blanket, landing squarely against its waist.  

With a loud thud, the creature was sent flying, crashing against the desk. Its body folded cleanly in half; it was silent and motionless.

Xie Qing retracted his leg immediately after kicking, as if feeling cold. He wrapped himself tighter in the blanket and grumbled angrily, “So noisy.” 

Then… he showed no signs of waking up.  

Qin Shen: “!!!”

…Killing an NPC like this was possible?! He had never been this shocked in his entire life.  

—

【Congratulations, Player Xie Qing and Player Qin Shen, for defeating Fog Ghost-01. Points +20.】 

【Fog Ghost-01 entry added to the Monster Encyclopedia.】

【Fog Ghost-01: Forever starving, forever tearful, a man willing to dedicate his life to the Health Spa  Hotel. Don’t ask his age—men remain boys until they die. Feeds on players who break the rules. Extremely ferocious, incredibly difficult to kill.】

—

【Skill: “Have you fallen asleep?”】 

– Targets deemed not asleep are marked as “living sacrifices” and become its food.  

– This skill stacks in power. If used on the same target for three consecutive nights, the target will be forcibly awakened.  

—

【Passive Skill: “I Can Heal, Can You?”】

【Healing power increased by 2000%.】 

【Danger Level: A+】

【Weakness: Attacks from a player in deep sleep can inflict damage on the Fog Ghost.】

【Tremble, fear, and submit to the horror of the sleepless night!】

Qin Shen: “……”

He glanced at the Fog Ghost, now broken cleanly in half. Then, he looked at Xie Qing, still sleeping soundly.  

With a silent sigh, he resigned himself to reality.  

Even though he had done absolutely nothing, he still received the kill rewards—probably because they were in the same room.  

An A+ ranked monster. A skillset that was practically inescapable. If not for its slightly limited ability, it could have easily served as the final boss in a high-level instance.  

But the system probably never anticipated that such a formidable NPC—one that should have struck terror into players—would be one-shot killed by a single kick.

And the most ridiculous part? Xie Qing had been asleep the entire time.

Ever since Qin Shen became a debt collector for “The Great Wall,” he had completed countless missions across different copy. He had always been the one carrying others to victory—this was the first time he had ever earned points just by lying down.  

It gave him a strange feeling… almost like he was being kept.  

—

【Attention all players: A sudden anomaly has been detected. The nightmare has been distorted. The difficulty of 《Health Spa Hotel》 has increased. The extent of the increase is unknown. Enjoy your game.】  

—

Distorted?

Qin Shen’s mind sharpened. A nightmare distortion was no small matter. It meant this NPC wasn’t just any random monster—he likely played a pivotal role in the instance.  

In other words, he might have been… the final boss. 

Great. Qin Shen thought expressionlessly.  

First night in the instance, and Xie Qing already kicked the boss to death.

Currently, the nightmare dispel rate was only 3%. The remaining 97% of the storyline—how much of it actually required the boss to function?  

No wonder the nightmare had glitched. The system was probably panicking, trying to figure out how the hell to patch the rest of the plot.