“You should run.”

As soon as the acting manager finished speaking, the scene before Xie Qing’s eyes underwent a complete, dramatic transformation.

The walls and corridors, once stained with blood, changed their appearance entirely—wall sconces and decorative paintings vanished, and even the ceiling light shifted from an ostentatious design to a simple frosted lampshade.

The soft carpet transformed into a deep, sauce-red wooden floor. The floor looked aged, its edge paint already worn off, and many shallow, long scratches marred its surface, as if made by some unknown force.

The Qin Chen who had just been holding him disappeared, and a wave of cold sweat immediately broke out on Xie Qing’s back, soaking his thin silk shirt.

He was very tall, with a broad frame, and even his laughter and outbursts exuded vitality—he hardly looked like someone with a terminal illness.

Only when his sweat-soaked shirt clung to him did people notice that his spine was nothing more than a single, jagged bone, and his waist tapered to a shockingly slender form, as if one arm could encircle it.

So thin, it was heart-wrenching.

[You have entered a special space: Health Spa Hotel.]

[Nightmare Storyline “Rust Like Iron” has begun.]

[On some day, in some month and year, Zhong Aiguo had a nightmare—and from that moment on, everything changed.]

[Task One: Explore Special Space.]

[You have 20 minutes remaining for exploration. Once the time is up, if your exploration level of the special space is below 60%, you will be punished by the hotel.

[The acting manager is relentlessly pursuing you. Enjoy the game.]

Xie Qing’s character information now carried an additional hatred marker. After the update, he read the following message:

[Manager’s hatred status remains active. You have been locked on to by the manager. Any attack from the manager on a locked player will be deemed fatal. &％*％￥! can XX％*#@1~ Manager’s hatred％￥#!￥％…&￥*&…（@#!]

The intermittent garbled text appeared in vivid crimson, its texture resembling oil painting pigments flowing downward, exuding an ominous aura.

He still stood at the door of Room 303, as if he had traveled through time, returning to the hotel of old.

The door to Room 303 remained intact, secured with an old-fashioned spherical brass lock.

His footsteps fell on the smooth wooden floor, producing soft creaking sounds that resonated loudly in the dim, quiet corridor.

Deep within the hallway, something seemed to stir. Soon, heavy footsteps echoed—as if someone was so heavily pressing on the floor that it emitted a dying moan.

A monstrous figure in a black security uniform emerged. Standing over two meters tall, his bulging muscles nearly threatened to burst through his clothes, and his white shirt beneath the uniform was splattered with blood. His eyes were hidden by his helmet, revealing only a chiseled nose and thin lips.

In his hand, he wielded a massive axe, nearly half a meter wide. The ax’s tip lightly rested on the ground, and as he moved, it produced a soft scraping sound, leaving long scratch marks on the wooden floor.

Xie Qing immediately understood how those marks had been made.

The man sniffed, then deftly twirled the massive axe in his hand, which emitted a dreadful whooshing sound.

Step by step, the giant-axe man advanced toward Xie Qing. Every stride was measured, slow yet resolute, accompanied by the dragging sound of the axe across the floor—a sound that conveyed an overwhelming sense of menace.

Xie Qing found himself with nowhere to hide and nowhere to run. Whether he tried to go upstairs or downstairs, he would inevitably come face-to-face with the giant axeman.

At this critical moment, Xie Qing suddenly took out his room card.

“??? Are you crazy? Does this even open a door?”

“Ahhh, I can’t bear to watch anymore—please, Xie Qing, don’t die! I really need some unbelievably handsome guys to heal my soul!”

After retrieving the room card, Xie Qing didn’t use it to touch the door—after all, this old-fashioned door lock didn’t even have a sensor area.

Sweat trickled down his forehead, clearly showing his nervousness, but his hands remained steady, and a hint of a smile appeared on his face as he did something no one expected.

Xie Qing tore the hard cardboard sleeve of the room card in half and inserted the larger half into the gap next to the door lock.

The entire process was as smooth as a warm knife slicing through butter, the cardboard sliding perfectly into the space where the bolt and the keyhole met.

Click.

The door opened.

Xie Qing dashed inside and immediately bolted the door from the inside. Heavy footsteps were already echoing at the door.

“Hope my luck holds,” Xie Qing muttered to himself as he abruptly swung open a wardrobe door and hid inside.

The light in the wardrobe sprang on as soon as the door opened, revealing a few uniforms hanging inside. Xie Qing exhaled in relief, “My luck really is good.”

Before anyone could react, the giant axe had already split through the door, embedding itself in the wardrobe door beside it. On instinct, Xie Qing recoiled, pressing his entire body against the inner side of the wardrobe, with the axe blade coming to within two centimeters of his throat.

Cold sweat streamed down his forehead as the smile on his face grew wider.

A manic gleam flickered in his eyes, and a perverse delight seemed to radiate from every fiber of his being.

Xie Qing glanced downward; the snow-white axe blade reflected a cold, sharp light. His heart pounded wildly, and excitement surged through his entire body.

He reached out and grabbed a vivid red employee uniform, carefully slipping it onto himself.

Outside the room, the giant-axe man slowly shifted the axe back and forth, attempting to pull the axe away from the doorway.

In that instant, the axe’s blade nicked the skin on Xie Qing’s throat, and fresh blood trickled along the cut onto the blade, then dripped into the wardrobe.

The uniform clung precariously to his arm as Xie Qing removed the uniform trousers—securely clipped to his belt—and, with utmost care, slid them onto his fractured right leg.

“Who would have thought that one day a player’s fate would hinge on being able to get dressed in time…?”

“Is this the part where someone should yell, ‘Put some clothes on!’?”

“I’m holding my breath watching this.”

“Same here. Is he really trying to blend in by wearing the uniform? Will that even work?”

“Help—his right leg is broken! How is he going to put on the left pant leg? Can his right leg even support him?”

The axe wobbled more violently as it was pulled back. Xie Qing halted his movements, cautiously adjusting his position. But even with such careful maneuvering, more blood streaks inevitably appeared on his pale neck.

At this life-or-death moment, he astonishingly paused to remove the golden portrait locket hanging around his neck and tuck it into the inner pocket of his sleepwear.

“Bro, now is not the time for your OCD!”

“Can we focus on staying alive first?!”

“Xie Qing already has a terminal illness. Maybe, to him, this nightmare and the threat of death aren’t as important as that necklace.”

The very moment the axe was yanked free, Xie Qing leaned against the side wall and slid down swiftly, pulling the pants over his left leg. Then, with a sharp shrug of his shoulders, he flipped the uniform jacket up and onto his shoulders in one fluid motion.

In the blink of an eye, the giant axe struck a second time, hacking through the doorframe with a shower of wooden splinters and slamming into the wardrobe. Xie Qing’s fingers moved so fast they left afterimages as he rapidly buttoned up the uniform. The moment he secured the last button, a metal name tag instantly appeared on his right chest.

The axe’s trajectory froze midair—just a fraction of an inch from the tip of Xie Qing’s nose.

For a brief moment, the world went silent. Only Xie Qing’s slow, shallow breaths could be heard.

Even the audience instinctively held their breath, fists clenched tight, afraid that the slightest noise from them—across the screen—might somehow doom him.

Would his disguise as an employee actually work? Could he survive this?

If the monster swung a third time, would Xie Qing still be able to dodge?

Everyone anxiously waited for an answer.

In the suffocating tension, the axe was pulled back. Heavy footsteps gradually receded into the distance.

Xie Qing, weak in both his arms and legs, pushed open the wardrobe door, gasping for breath—not out of fear, but because his body was too frail to handle such exertion.

His thin eyelids were faintly reddened, and a light sheen of moisture covered his skin, making him look incredibly fragile.

But after this ordeal, every viewer now understood the sheer strength of will hidden within Xie Qing’s seemingly frail body.

On the livestream, Xie Qing gently wiped the sweat from his forehead, his slender fingers pressing against it—then he let out a low chuckle.

Whether it was in the 0723 broadcast room managed by 009 or in Xie Qing’s personal livestream, every viewer—including 009—found themselves unable to look away from him.

At this moment, Xie Qing possessed a maddening, almost intoxicating allure.

And within the room, a man hidden in the air was watching him as well.

Xie Qing had captured the full attention of the current acting manager. He murmured to himself, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a high-quality soul.”

His voice didn’t carry anywhere, and the audience remained unaware of his presence.

[The pursuit mission has begun. Please execute the elimination task immediately.]

[Delays without a justified reason are prohibited.]

By the time the system beeped for the third time, the acting manager had already silenced the voice prompt.

Compared to his predecessor—who had been dismissed within half an hour of taking the position—he was clearly taller and much younger.

He was, by general standards, a very handsome man. But what truly set him apart wasn’t just his appearance—it was the coexistence of refinement and savagery in his demeanor.

One could easily believe that even while slicing someone apart with a chainsaw, he would still remember to say, “Please” and “Thank you.”

After having its voice function forcibly shut down, the system stubbornly conjured up a massive speech bubble in front of him.

[Please begin executing the pursuit mission immediately. Your unjustified delay in fulfilling your NPC duties violates Article 10 of the “Nightmare Invasion NPC Management Regulations.” According to Article 43, Section 2 of the same regulations, you may be subject to warnings, demerits, or major demerits. In severe cases, you may face imprisonment of one to three years. In particularly serious cases, the system reserves the right to sacrifice you to any chosen nightmare deity at its discretion.]

Faced with the system’s threat, the current substitute manager raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flashing in his dark gold eyes.

“Dear idiotic system,” he paused as if considering what title would be appropriate. Then, he decided on a formal one.

“Dear idiotic system, Your Excellency, if you want me to kill him, I can snap Xie Qing’s neck right now.”

The speech bubble flickered, and the system displayed a string of text.

[NPCs must follow the game rules.]

The substitute manager leisurely dusted off his suit.

“The premise of this mission is that he escapes while I pursue him, and he barely manages to get away. But he’s got a broken leg. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate if I couldn’t catch up? If I do catch him, it will only make it easier for him to notice inconsistencies—namely, that the manager’s skills are deeply tied to Zhong Aiguo himself. As a substitute, I can only access a fraction of those abilities. So even if I do chase him down and attack him, he won’t actually die.”

The system displayed a string of ellipses in the speech bubble.

The substitute manager’s physique was vastly different from an average man’s, making the manager’s uniform look ill-fitted on him. He frowned as he adjusted his tie and continued:

“If he realizes that I can’t actually do anything to him, do you think he’ll still follow the mission’s predetermined course, dear idiotic system?”

The speech bubble flickered violently a few times before displaying:

[You called me an idiot.]

The substitute manager chuckled. “Didn’t I also address you as ‘Your Excellency’?”

The speech bubble dimmed and brightened, as if the system was contemplating whether to punish the substitute manager for verbally attacking it. After a moment, new text appeared:

[Please explain how you intend to fulfill your NPC duties.]

“That’s none of your concern. The manager merely wants the guests to willingly sacrifice the most important person to them to the goddess of Darkness and Abundance.” His tone turned slightly gritted as he spoke. “I will make sure the manager’s wish is fulfilled.”

The speech bubble flickered in silence, processing the response. Finally, it shattered into the air with a small snap.

The system governed all nightmares. While its preset programming occasionally made it seem unintelligent, that didn’t mean it was truly an idiot.

Although the substitute manager believed this was the highest form of praise for the system, at best, it was merely his personal bias.

His gaze slowly swept over every inch of Xie Qing’s skin.

“Smart,” the substitute manager murmured, a cold cruelty flickering in his eyes. “I like smart people.”

They had a much better texture than fools.

He could hardly wait to devour Xie Qing. And when the time came, he would be sure to chew slowly and savor every bite.

---

TN:

Who’s my mllllllll?

i think 009 🤞