Chapter 111
Chapter 111
At the final moment of Jiang Li’s countdown to “one.”
The doors of the Staff Elevator behind Jiang Li slid open, and she immediately tossed the Name Tag inside.
The Name Tag landed on the elevator floor with a sharp clatter.
“You!” The Mirror Person watched Jiang Li’s move, its blood boiling with rage.
Jiang Li had indeed placed the item on the ground; she hadn’t gone back on her word.
But…
The Mirror Person’s expression twisted in conflict.
“Hurry up, it’s your turn,” Jiang Li urged.
Jiang Li recalled the human ear she had seen clutched in the hand of the Elevator Attendant with Bangs inside the Staff Elevator.
No wonder that ear had looked so familiar.
Thinking back now, wasn’t that her own ear?
Or rather, it was the ear of the Aberration that was pretending to be her.
The Aberration standing before her, who looked exactly like her, likely wore its hair down specifically to hide the fact that its ear had been bitten off.
As for why the Elevator Attendant had bitten off its ear…
Jiang Li had a faint suspicion.
That Elevator Attendant with Bangs seemed to harbor a deep hatred for Jiang Li.
However, likely due to the constraints of the Staff Rules, she didn’t dare to lay a hand on Jiang Li herself.
Therefore, even when Jiang Li stepped into the Staff Elevator and stood right in front of her, the attendant only dared to seethe with silent resentment.
But this Aberration pretending to be Jiang Li was different.
Though this Aberration looked identical to Jiang Li, they were fundamentally different entities.
Aberrations were not protected by the Staff Rules.
That was why the Elevator Attendant with Bangs had vented all her hatred for Jiang Li onto this lookalike Aberration.
Jiang Li suspected that if this Aberration hadn’t run fast enough and slipped away upon reaching the 3rd Floor, it might have lost its life then and there.
Jiang Li was certain that the Aberration before her wasn’t particularly powerful.
At the very least, it was terrified of the Elevator Attendant.
That was why Jiang Li had thrown the Name Tag into the elevator just now.
It ensured the Aberration couldn’t get the Name Tag-and thus couldn’t steal her identity-without violating their verbal agreement.
In front of Jiang Li, the Mirror Person was practically dying of rage.
It stared at the Name Tag inside the elevator with frantic desperation.
Then, it stole a cautious, terrified glance at the Bangs Elevator Attendant, who was glaring back with a murderous, ghostly aura.
Ultimately, it could only clench its fists and grit its teeth in silence.
It didn’t dare go inside to pick it up.
Compared to losing a Name Tag, losing its life was far more terrifying!
The Mirror Person wanted to go back on the deal, so it bit its cheek and glanced at the Witness, Red Infant.
Their eyes met.
The Mirror Person’s gaze instantly recoiled.
One look was enough to confirm: this was someone it couldn’t beat.
Left with no other choice, the Mirror Person stuffed the Note into its mouth.
After chewing it twice, it spat it onto the ground.
“There. I kept the deal and put it on the ground too.”
The Mirror Person originally intended to stomp on the Note a few times for good measure.
However, at that moment, the corridor lights suddenly flickered into a dim, murky red.
An urgent beeping sound erupted from the electronic screens lining the hallway.
Glowing red numbers flashed against the black backgrounds of the screens as an alarm began a frantic countdown.
The alarm started counting down from “99.”
The moment the Mirror Person heard the sound, its face turned pale.
Ignoring the Note on the ground, it turned tail and fled down the corridor.
A sense of impending doom rose in Jiang Li’s heart.
She stepped forward quickly and picked up the chewed Note.
The first rule was still barely legible.
Clear Spring Hotel – 3rd Floor Rules, Rule 1:
[When the corridor lights turn dark red, please find a place to hide immediately. Remember, you must stay hidden until “it” returns. Do not, under any circumstances, let it find you.]
Jiang Li glanced at the countdown.
Only 90 seconds remained.
On this entire floor, there were three places without a Lock: the Hot Spring Pool, the Staff Lounge, and the Kitchen.
The other rooms all required a room card to open.
The Aberration that had just been mimicking Jiang Li had run into the Kitchen.
According to conventional logic, a place with a “Lock” was bound to be safer than a place without one.
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Li took out the Universal Room Card.
It would be best to choose a room with a lock!
Furthermore, the rules stated to make sure to hide well “before it returns.”
Since it was “returning,” it would typically come from the direction of the elevator.
Even if it were to search, it would start from Room 301, the one closest to the elevator.
Therefore, the furthest room, Room 320, was relatively safer!
Jiang Li ran a few quick steps in that direction.
She took out the Universal Room Card, swiped it, and entered the room.
When Jiang Li pushed the door open, she was stunned for a second by the sight inside.
The room was not tidy at all.
All sorts of objects were strewn across the floor in a chaotic mess.
There were shattered glass cups and chairs with broken legs.
It looked as if a chaotic brawl had taken place here.
The only tidy spot in the room was the bedding in the Bedroom.
There wasn’t a single wrinkle or a stray hair on the quilt.
This indicated that this room was not the residence of the guest on the 3rd Floor.
The reason the room was messy was that someone had hidden here before.
And it seemed they had been found.
Jiang Li estimated the time; about half of the hiding period had likely passed by now.
She did a quick sweep of the room.
Ultimately, she found a wardrobe in the corner that had fallen to the floor.
Judging by her own body size, Jiang Li chose the smallest compartment at the bottom of the wardrobe and crawled inside.
The space in that compartment was extremely cramped.
A normal person wouldn’t think anyone could hide in there.
After Jiang Li squeezed in, she pulled the wardrobe door shut.
She crouched inside, holding her breath.
Through the slats of the louvered door, Jiang Li could see the situation outside.
In less than thirty seconds, the alarm in the corridor stopped.
It was followed by the sound of high heels.
Those thin stilettos stepped onto the red carpet of the corridor, making dull “thud, thud, thud” sounds.
Jiang Li suddenly remembered… the 3rd Floor was Ms. Song’s floor!
Ms. Song was the noblewoman she had encountered on her first day at the hotel, the one buying dog food.
That lady’s Teddy wouldn’t eat dog food.
But the lady herself had eaten it with great relish.
At the time, Jiang Li had found it strange. Looking back now, her intuition had been correct.
The noblewoman was the “Specter who catches people” on the 3rd Floor, the “it” mentioned in the rules.
The true guest on this floor likely wasn’t the noblewoman at all.
It was that little dog, the Teddy.
As Jiang Li was pondering this, the sound of high heels reached the door of Room 320.
This Ms. Song wasn’t playing by the rules.
She actually didn’t start her search from Room 301, which was closest to her!
While Jiang Li was still wondering why, an excited female voice rang out from outside.
“Are you ready, Baby? Mommy’s coming in~”
Outside the door, Ms. Song toyed with the silver dagger in her hand.
Her tone was filled with uncontrollable excitement.
Jiang Li frowned when she heard her refer to herself as “Mommy.”
In most cases, the title “Mommy” was used toward children or pets.
And on this floor, Jiang Li had seen a Teddy that acted very much like a human.
So… if she was caught by Ms. Song, would she be turned into Ms. Song’s pet? Jiang Li thought to herself.
Just then.
There was a “beep” from the door lock.
The door to Room 320 was swiped open from the outside.
“Are you in there, Baby? Stop hiding, Mommy’s coming to find you…”
At the same time, the door to Room 320 shut with a loud “bang,” cutting off any path of escape for the person inside.