There was an unknown terror outside to guard against, and "companions" inside who could stab you in the back at any moment. The players' faces didn't look too good, and the atmosphere became heavy again.

"Heh."

Bai Haozheng's light laughter sounded particularly grating in the silence. Under everyone's questioning gaze, he calmly shook his head and said with a smile, "Before this, I thought this script mission might be particularly difficult or terrifying.

"But after this new restriction appeared, I actually felt a lot more relaxed."

This Special Affairs Bureau intelligence analyst's smile was kind and gentle. Although he was being coy, he didn't give the impression of being arrogant and clever.

If Li Ang were to say the same thing with the same expression,

the feeling might be, "Someone as talented as me saw through this simple thing at a glance. You guys haven't figured it out yet? Really?"

In short, it would be very annoying.

Perhaps this was the difference between official personnel from the Special Affairs Bureau and ordinary lone wolf players—the former had to undergo employee training, which included courses in social skills and interpersonal psychology.

The Eyeless Demon narrowed his eyes and asked in a deep voice, "...What do you mean?"

"It's very simple,"

Bai Haozheng smiled. "This is a survival mission with no friendly fire shield, a 180-hour survival time limit, and huge rewards for killing other life forms to gain experience points and game coins.

"These factors combined seem to be hinting that players should compete with each other and encouraging them to do so.

"But if we really fall into infighting according to the hints, I'm afraid we won't even survive the first 24 hours.

"The existence of Reward 3 proves that the main enemy we need to face is multiple life forms.

"They are numerous, powerful, and difficult to kill.

"This is mainly inferred from the reward settlement form.

"We are fourteen Lv15+ players. If the reward is generous enough to allow everyone to cooperate without killing each other, we can exert extremely terrifying strength.

"The system won't arrange a comfortable place for us to farm points easily.

"If it wants to create survival pressure and make players feel fear,

"but doesn't want players to be forced to unite and cooperate under great pressure,

"then the strength of a single enemy will most likely remain stronger than any one player, but can be killed by multiple players working together.

"At the same time, it will set up various hints and traps to make it difficult for players to trust each other.

"Or, more directly, it will give those abnormal existences the ability to break up player groups, isolating one or several players."

Bai Haozheng was indeed an intelligence analyst. His simple words, without concealment or deception, simply laid out all the possibilities in front of the players, allowing them to weigh the pros and cons and decide whether to continue cooperating.

After Bai Haozheng finished speaking, he quietly watched the other players. Seeing that no one moved to leave, he pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and smiled, "In that case, let's first follow the second stage mission objective and start looking for the so-called Dolphin Hotel Accommodation Guide.

"If it's an accommodation guide, the most likely place is..."

He took a few steps forward and came to the hotel front desk.

On the hotel front desk were four computers, a customer information form, some office supplies, the front desk staff's personal belongings, and a stack of things that looked like promotional leaflets.

The power cords of the four computers were all plugged into the sockets, but the screens were black and could not be turned on.

The customer information form was full of comma-like characters, interspersed with ink drop-like scribbles, and no useful information could be discerned.

As for that stack of promotional leaflets—Bai Haozheng took out a few from it and spread them out on the marble table of the counter for the other players to see.

The paper was A4 size, the material was hard, and the overall color was black, white, and gold. It looked no different from ordinary hotel brochures, except that the text on it was very strange.

[Dear Customer, welcome to the Dolphin Hotel. Our hotel officially opened in the 1920s and has fourteen floors and more than six hundred rooms. It integrates dining, entertainment, and accommodation. The hotel front desk supports multiple languages ​​such as English, Japanese, French, German, and Chinese. You can call the hotel front desk or book accommodation on the hotel's official website]

The text on the paper was English, which was different from the tadpole characters on the resident information registration form.

[The hotel is a non-smoking hotel. There is a cafe on the first floor. European-style meals are provided free of charge in the dining area on the east side of the lobby. Free wireless internet is provided in public areas. Customers can use washing machines, irons, and ironing boards for free. If needed, you can call the front desk to request a wake-up call service. The hotel provides daily room cleaning services. The hotel will wholeheartedly meet your needs]

Next to this passage was a structural diagram of the hotel, showing the layout of the Dolphin Hotel.

[It is worth noting that if you, dear customer, want to use the hotel services permanently for free and live here safely, healthily, and happily for a long time, you must abide by the following Dolphin Hotel Accommodation Guide.]

[1. From 00:11 to 07:07, areas such as hotel corridors, stairs, lobbies, dining areas, and cafes will no longer be safe. It is strongly recommended that all customers stay in their rooms, keep doors and windows closed, and close the door locks, ignoring all noises in the corridor—whether they sound like injured babies, children, women, your isolated neighbors, or your relatives and friends who have been dead for many years. These sounds all represent malice. Do not open the door, do not open the door, do not open the door.]

[2. Please do not move around outside the guest rooms from 00:11 to 07:07. For your life safety, please don't. If you find yourself in danger, please immediately contact the hotel front desk through the corridor telephone, then stay where you are and wait for rescue. The rescuers will be Portuguese-speaking staff wearing uniforms and Dolphin badges. If the "rescuers" say a language other than English while approaching you, please enter the elevator immediately.]

[3. The elevators at the Dolphin Hotel will activate the safety protection system from 01:11 to 06:07. If you enter the elevator while escaping, no existence can harm you. You can wait in it until the time on the elevator's internal indicator panel exceeds 06:07. But be aware that each elevator can only carry two sentient, living individuals at a time, regardless of their size, height, weight, or injury status. If the load exceeds two people, the elevator will no longer be safe, remember. If necessary, you can use the fire axe inside the elevator to kill malicious intruders.]

[4. The Dolphin Hotel is equipped with two elevators, located on the left and right sides of the corridor. Each elevator entrance is equipped with a red landline telephone. This phone is only connected internally to the hotel. After pressing the numbers, press the # key to dial the phone in any room in the hotel. The telephones in each room of the hotel can only be connected, but cannot be dialed out. Press 0 and then press the # key to contact the hotel front desk to book services or request rescue.]

[5. Please make sure to place a weapon in every room of your suite. The principle of weapons is to be as simple, durable, and powerful as possible. Baseball bats, ice picks, spears, chainsaws, firearms, flamethrowers, etc. are all acceptable.]

[6. Do not leave leftovers outside. The hotel's dining area provides free meals, and you can also call the front desk to order room service. If there are leftovers, put them in the refrigerator or throw them into the trash can at the end of the corridor during the day immediately. Do not place leftover food at the door of yourself or other residents.]

[7. Every floor of the hotel must be inhabited. If there are no people during the off-season, at least four hotel staff members must live on the vacant floors, in pairs, living in the rooms directly opposite the elevator entrance. This is of utmost importance. People living on the floor can effectively calm the hotel's restlessness.]

[8. The Dolphin Hotel has many habits and quirks. We only live in it, we do not own it, so we can only get used to and adapt to it. Every hotel rule is a summary of bloody safety accidents. If a death occurs on a certain floor, the hotel will seal off the floor and send a team to clean up the scene—we deeply mourn any death, but at least that floor does not need to be inhabited for the next 180 hours.]

[9. There is a certain probability that sticky notes will appear in the guest rooms at night. Please ignore the randomly generated content on the sticky notes. If the worst happens, the hotel is lost and all staff members are out of contact, please stay in the room and follow the instructions on the sticky notes. We are with you.]

The above is all the content on the paper.

"All the text and patterns on the papers are the same."

Bai Haozheng pondered and said, "In other words, this should be the Dolphin Hotel Accommodation Guide we are looking for.

"There are several noteworthy pieces of information on the guide.

"From 00:11 to 07:07, other areas besides the guest rooms will no longer be safe. Something is moving in the corridor, and residents need to stay indoors.

"Residents can contact other rooms through the landline phone at the elevator entrance. Press 0 and then press the # key to connect to the front desk.

"The elevator is safe from 01:11 to 06:07 and can be used as a shelter. The elevator can only carry two people, and it will no longer be safe after the number of people exceeds the limit.

"Do not leave leftovers at the door, and dispose of them in time.

"Each floor must be inhabited, and if a death occurs, the floor will not need to be inhabited for the next 180 hours."

"These should be the things we need to abide by, right? Fourteen players correspond to fourteen floors, and the last one also corresponds to the 180-hour time limit."

Black Saint said indifferently: "So, it's asking us to choose a floor and room to live in and survive for 180 hours?"

The fish tank head player named Ω shook his head and said with the voice synthesizer on his bow tie: "I'm afraid it's not that simple.

"The corridors, stairs, and other places are dangerous at night, and only the rooms and elevators are safe.

"But sticky notes will be randomly generated in the rooms, and the instructions on the sticky notes are likely to lead people to danger, such as pushing open the door, stepping out of the room, or calling out to evil spirits in the mirror.

"And the elevator will only activate the safety system for a period of time, and can only carry two people..."

Ω didn't finish his words, but his meaning was obvious.

In order to survive, players are likely to fight and kill each other to occupy the elevator.

"Thinking about these things too much is useless. The second stage mission objective is to find the hotel accommodation guide and survive for 180 hours.

"It doesn't say that we must completely abide by the hotel accommodation guide.

"In other words, the accommodation guide is likely not completely accurate and true.

"Even if we don't follow the instructions, there may be a chance to survive."

Bai Haozheng pushed his glasses and glanced at the clock at the front desk, "The time on the clock is... 19:11 in the evening.

"It's consistent with the time on the clock in the first floor lobby, so let's take this time as the standard for now.

"We entered the hotel at around 19:00 and triggered the second stage mission. We have to stay here until seven o'clock in the morning seven days later. There is still some time before the curfew, so we can explore the hotel first and then make a decision."

Bai Haozheng's analysis was well-founded, and the others had no objection. They each took a few accommodation guides and began searching along the hotel's floors.

The power supply system was operating normally.

The self-service dining area was filled with a large number of fresh European-style meals, and the plates on the table were neatly arranged.

The door of the staff lounge was open, and a cup of steaming coffee was placed on a table.

The landscape plants at the end of the corridor still had dew on them.

Just as the players had guessed, there was no one else in the hotel besides them.

The travelers and staff who had lived here seemed to have evaporated from the world, disappearing abruptly.

The materials inside the hotel were exceptionally sturdy.

The doors and windows were tightly closed and welded firmly to the space, and no escape passages could be found.

The seemingly fragile brick floor could withstand the player's full strength strikes.

Even releasing combat skills towards ordinary walls would greatly reduce the damage effect.

It was equivalent to weakening the player's influence on the surrounding environment.

The players found several sets of keys in the drawers of the hotel front desk, corresponding to the hotel's six hundred rooms, and were able to easily open every door, including the locked hotel manager's office.

The group took the keys and searched the hotel rooms on the first and second floors.

The rooms here were as ordinary as the hotel rooms in the real world. No pinhole cameras or sticky notes with words written on them were found.

At eleven o'clock in the evening, out of safety considerations, the players decided to temporarily end their exploration.

First, according to the instructions on the accommodation guide, each person chose a floor and moved into the room on the same side directly opposite the elevator entrance.

After eleven thirty, they closed their doors and stayed inside, trying to get through the first night.

The order of housing was arranged according to personal strength and degree of intimacy.

From the top floor down, the fourteenth floor was Bai Haozheng,

the thirteenth floor was Black Saint,

the twelfth floor was the Eyeless Demon,

the eleventh floor was Dan Fei,

the tenth floor was Ka Fei,

the ninth floor was Bob,

the eighth floor was 13mArk,

the seventh floor was Yu Yi Xinzhong,

the sixth floor was Plague Doctor,

the fifth floor was Li Risheng,

the fourth floor was Mule,

the third floor was Liu Wudai,

the second floor was Wan Li Fengdao,

and the first floor was Ω.

After determining the order of housing, everyone moved into their rooms,

waiting for the curfew and the so-called mutation to arrive.