Chapter 1 Let's Go in First, Shall We?

"Shall we go in first? Didn't they say the night shift starts at eight o'clock sharp? What's the point of standing here?"

Seeing that Lu Xiaoyao was about to stage a domestic drama with her brother, the others immediately interrupted. Julian and Madison stopped Lu Gui, while Bai Xiao and Wang Wenfei put their arms around Lu Xiaoyao, quietly comforting her as they walked towards the metal rose-emblazoned door.

Next to the gate was a security room of less than ten square meters.

All ten players felt a bit cramped when they entered.

"The light in this room is so dim, it's one of those old-fashioned incandescent bulbs..."

When the light in the room was turned on, the dim yellow light illuminated the room, and everyone's vision shifted from darkness to light. It should have been a bit uncomfortable, but the light was so dim that no one felt any discomfort at all.

"Where's the hotel manager? We're here, and we were told to gather here, but no one's explaining anything. Are they really that confident?"

Lu Xiaoyao looked around, even daring to look out the dark window, but she didn't see anyone other than the players.

"There's a letter here, saying it's for us security guards."

Wang Wenfei happened to be standing in front of the workbench and found the letter held down by the desk lamp.

"What does it say?"

Everyone curiously gathered around, wanting to see what the letter said.

However, they were all stunned after reading it.

[My dearest colleagues:

Good evening.

I am Angson, the manager of this hotel. When you read this letter, you should have arrived at the hotel.

Your job tonight is to patrol the hotel and ensure its safety and security.

Oh! Don't pay attention to the rumors outside.

After all, we're not some kind of haunted hotel. The high salary is just due to the recent rumors, because no one would come for a normal salary.

There are no damned beasts here at night. The guests weren't attacked and killed by beasts, they just died suddenly due to poor health.

After all, they were getting old.

Our hotel isn't dangerous at all. At most, there are some strange noises at night. It's just the occasional sound of a woman crying, a man scolding, and the sight of little bears running around. Other than that, there's really nothing (*´-w-`), I swear.

Trust me, the Lord will bless you all.

Sincerely,

Angson, the honest lobby manager]

Everyone felt speechless after reading the letter!

"Didn't they say that guests were attacked and injured by beasts? Now it's 'sudden death'?" Lu Xiaoyao was stunned, and everyone else had a similar reaction.

The letter repeatedly told them not to worry or be afraid, but every sentence hit a nerve.

"I... can I go home?"

Zhen Po raised his hand and smiled wryly.

He knew it was impossible, but after reading this letter, who wouldn't want to go home?

"Forget it, since they wished us good luck, that's all we can do." Julian took a box from the corner of the room, which contained security guard batons and flashlights.

As he distributed the batons and flashlights to everyone, he found a row of batteries at the bottom of the box.

"This equipment..."

Lu Gui looked at the batteries in Julian's hand. He twisted the end of his flashlight and discovered—oh boy—it was the kind that used batteries.

"Since there are spare batteries, does that mean the flashlight might run out of power at some point?"

Everyone exchanged a silent glance, took a spare battery each, and sighed heavily.

Really.

This game was too awful.

"Also, this baton isn't working."

Mu Chen showed everyone that he pressed the discharge button, but Madison next to him didn't react at all.

Madison: ?????

Was this demonstration necessary?!

"Seriously? No equipment, what are we supposed to do?"

[This game isn't for you to play; it's for you to accompany them~]

[Hey bro, can we talk privately?]

[Huh? This new game hasn't even been out for a day, and someone's already beaten it?]

[The forum just updated a simple walkthrough description. Our little ones are playing on hard mode... sigh!]

…

Mingmei used her large, furry bear paw to push her almost-popped-out eyeballs back into her body, watching in a daze as Lu Xiaoyao and the others entered the villa in the livestream.

[Whoa, what just happened?]

Mingmei was watching Lu Xiaoyao's livestream when she saw Lu Xiaoyao rolling up her sleeves, ready to fight her brother, but suddenly her mind went blank for no reason.

[Host, do you really want to know?]

Hearing Gui Gui's hesitant tone, Mingmei felt a sense of foreboding.

[I want to... do you dare to say it?]

Gui Gui: [?????]

After waiting for Gui Gui for a long time, and seeing that it still hadn't said anything, Mingmei sighed resignedly, [Forget it, you can tell me later if you want.]

[The plot hasn't reached that point yet, so, Host, I don't think you should know. It'll just make you suffer, and you can't tell anyone anyway.]

Hearing Gui Gui's words, Mingmei breathed a sigh of relief. [So it's a game setting issue! I thought something was wrong with my body!]

Mingmei had just imagined that she had contracted some kind of intractable disease, and she felt a little uneasy.

[Host, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about your body?]

Although Gui Gui hadn't been with Mingmei since she was a child, it had heard about the natural treasures she had eaten as a child.

[Alright, Host, you can go out now, while the Boss is away.]

At Gui Gui's reminder, Mingmei realized that the little girl was gone after she had been hidden in the closet.

[Okay, while she's away, I'm going to sell boxed lunches!]

…

Meanwhile, the group of players were still debating whether or not to patrol.

"Wouldn't we be doomed if we got separated?" Lu Xiaoyao said, touching the goosebumps that had risen on her body due to the unknown fear.

She saw her brother boldly opening the door to the security room, and the cold, silvery moonlight turned the entrance into a patch of frost.

"Since it's still early, even if something demonic or ghostly is going to happen, it usually doesn't happen until late, right?"

Lu Gui meant that, according to the game character's instructions, they should quickly patrol this small but exquisite villa to complete the task, and then quickly return to the small house.

"But, this game planner is so cunning, I have a feeling that he can guess what you're saying, what if the planner predicted our prediction of his prediction?"

After Lu Xiaoyao finished speaking, she saw everyone's eyes on her, their faces full of disgust that said, "Please stop talking."

Everyone: Speak of the devil!