Chapter 021: Chaos, Here We Come

Hoshino Ai was nearly paralyzed with fear.

The sudden changes had caught her completely off guard.

Was it even possible for a hallway to mutate like this?

306, where had Room 306 gone?

She turned to look at the hallway behind her, but all she saw was an oppressive black and red expanse. It stretched endlessly, and she couldn't make out the distorted doors on either side or their room numbers.

"Lin… Lin Ye-kun…"

"Don't worry, everything will be fine."

Lin Ye's calm, steady words were like gentle sunlight soothing Hoshino Ai's panicked heart. In an instant, much of her fear and anxiety melted away.

That's right!

With Lin Ye here with Lin Ye, a time-stopping ability user, by her side she would be safe. Nothing bad could happen to her.

Tap…

Tap-tap…

The sharp sound of high heels clicking on the floor echoed crisply, reverberating down the twisted hallway.

The female receptionist was slowly making her way toward Lin Ye and Hoshino Ai, her joints creaking ominously with every step.

She didn't seem hurried, nor did she appear worried that they might run away. Instead, she simply took one steady step after another, her raspy, grating voice occasionally breaking the silence.

"Noisy… guests…"

"Expulsion…"

Time Stop.

It activated once more.

Hoshino Ai realized what had happened and saw Lin Ye calmly walking toward the grotesque receptionist.

Faced with the receptionist's grotesque and eerie form, Lin Ye showed no signs of fear. Instead, he scrutinized her more closely.

"She doesn't look much different from what I saw on the first floor."

The priority was to find Room 306.

Time Stop ensured he wouldn't be harmed, but time itself still had to flow.

Otherwise, they would never reach six o'clock the time to check out.

Lin Ye grabbed the back of the receptionist's collar and began dragging her further down the hallway. As he moved, he scanned both sides, searching for the door to Room 306.

But it was nowhere to be found.

There was nothing.

Nothing on this side at all.

To be cautious, Lin Ye tied up the female receptionist's hands and feet.

"This better work. Even if it doesn't, it should buy us some time."

He didn't expect these restraints to fully restrict the eerie female receptionist's movements.

Once he was done, Lin Ye turned and headed to the other side. He made a full circuit of the third floor but still couldn't find Room 306.

Instead, he came across rooms like 207 and 408 rooms that should have been on the second and fourth floors.

It was complete chaos.

"The entire hotel has twisted; the room locations are entirely scrambled."

Room 306 was likely on another floor now.

But how was he supposed to get there?

Forget the emergency stairs even the elevator was gone.

"There must be a way to deal with this. Otherwise, this deadly shift would leave participants with no chance to survive."

Returning to Hoshino Ai's side, Lin Ye deactivated his Time Stop ability.

"Lin... Lin Ye-kun…"

She was fully aware and had a good idea of what Lin Ye had done during the Time Stop.

"Room 306 isn't on this floor. We need to wait for the floor to shift. Stay close to me and don't get separated."

"Okay."

Hoshino Ai nodded firmly, gripping the edge of Lin Ye's coat tightly. Her grip was so determined it seemed she'd never let go, not even in death.

"Aaah...!"

A sharp screech suddenly echoed.

From the end of the hallway came the sound of the female receptionist struggling.

Rippp...

Shortly after, the piercing sound of tearing fabric rang out.

Lin Ye realized his restraints hadn't been very effective.

By now, he had reached the door of Room 307 and was helping up the unconscious Kuroda Hikaru.

Knock, knock, knock...

Following Lin Ye's signal, Hoshino Ai knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside.

"Taisuke-kun, open the door! Kuroda-san is still out here!"

But there was no movement from within.

Tap, tap, tap...

The sound of footsteps echoed again, but this time, they were faster. The female receptionist's raspy murmurs seemed to carry an ominous power, grating on their nerves.

"Lin Ye-kun, what should we do?"

They couldn't get back to Room 306!

"Wake her up."

After pushing Kuroda Hikaru toward Hoshino Ai, Lin Ye grabbed a broken wooden stick and began walking toward the female receptionist.

"This time... let's see if I can break your legs," he muttered.

Whether it would work, he didn't know. But he had to try.

In the silent, frozen world of the Time Stop, Lin Ye advanced.

Lin Ye dragged the female receptionist to the end of the hallway and unleashed a barrage of strikes with the wooden stick. Not satisfied with just that, he recalled how she had been making noise earlier and directed his full focus to silencing her mouth. Finally, he stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth for good measure.

After completing these tasks, Lin Ye returned to Hoshino Ai's side.

Click…

The moment time resumed its flow,

The eerie female receptionist looked bewildered. How had she ended up back here? Her body looked like it had been brutally assaulted.

"Noisy… guests… expulsion…"

In just a few moments,

Her battered body began to regenerate.

She stood up, her lifeless gray eyes fixed on the three living humans in the hallway. She began to approach them once more.

This seemed endless.

After several repetitions,

Even the eerie receptionist seemed on the verge of giving up.

She had no idea what was happening.

At this point,

Kuroda Hikaru had regained consciousness and, with Hoshino Ai's explanation, had a rough understanding of the situation.

Every time the grotesque and terrifying receptionist approached, Hikaru trembled in fear. But for some reason, every time she blinked, the receptionist would vanish only to reappear again moments later.

By now,

Hikaru was starting to get used to it, even beginning to believe that nothing would happen to her.

Hoshino Ai, however, felt the most at ease. Knowing the full story, she thought enduring until six o'clock like this might actually work.

But Lin Ye-kun would surely get exhausted, wouldn't he?

Surely, they needed to get back to their room.

Clack, clack, clack…

Suddenly,

The hallway began to shake.

"Hold onto me. The terrain is changing," Lin Ye said.

At his warning, Hoshino Ai immediately grabbed onto Lin Ye's left arm. Kuroda Hikaru wasn't far behind, already knowing what to do from Lin Ye's earlier instructions.

In just a few moments,

The hallway seemed to shift entirely, becoming twisted and unrecognizable compared to before.

Hoshino Ai immediately looked at the room numbers on the right side.

"It's 409. I remember it was 301 before."

"Ten minutes,"

Hoshino Ai realized that Lin Ye had been timing the intervals between these shifts.

"I'm going to check the room arrangements on this floor."

"Wait…!"

Kuroda Hikaru gasped. Lin Ye was going to leave them behind to search for Room 306 on his own?

She felt a wave of panic.

"Lin Ye-senpai, let's look together!"

"306 isn't here. But Room 304 is."

"What?"

Lin Ye's confidence made Kuroda Hikaru believe he wasn't lying.

"But isn't Miss Miho and Mr. Tanaka in 304… didn't they already… turn into monsters?"

"Mm."

"Then…"

But Lin Ye didn't explain. He simply began heading toward the room.

The two girls followed without hesitation.

Knock, knock, knock…

Knock, knock, knock…

Lin Ye knocked on the door.

"Miss Miho, Mr. Tanaka, it's me. I've brought Ai-chan and Kuroda-san."

Was he seriously planning to take refuge in Room 304?

The two girls couldn't help but wonder.

But if Lin Ye dared to do it, they would too.

Click…

The sound of the door unlocking.

As long as they were willing to open the door, that was enough.

Lin Ye glanced down the hallway and caught sight of a figure in a suit, her elegant silhouette outlined. His lips curled into a faint smile.

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