Chapter 141
Chapter 141
“Sorry.”
Jiang Li bumped into the Bangs Elevator Attendant, apologized with a bow, and took a half-step back.
Caught off guard by the collision, the Elevator Attendant’s neatly groomed straight bangs were knocked slightly askew.
The Elevator Attendant hurriedly turned her face away, frantically smoothing her bangs back into place.
Even though she moved quickly, Jiang Li still caught a glimpse-
Beneath the Elevator Attendant’s bangs, there was a dark, blotchy mass.
It looked like a birthmark.
So, this Elevator Attendant specifically kept her hair in straight bangs to hide a birthmark?
Sensing Jiang Li’s scrutinizing gaze on the “birthmark,” the Elevator Attendant’s face flushed with embarrassment. She lowered her head and hurried away.
Watching the Elevator Attendant’s retreating back, which was shrouded in black mist, the confusion in Jiang Li’s heart deepened.
The black mist on the Elevator Attendant seemed to have grown more severe.
Jiang Li took out a cup of Honey Water and drank it to clear the corruption from her body.
Securing the human skin in her pocket, she returned to Basement Floor 1.
Stopping at the door to Ms. Jiang’s room, Jiang Li raised her hand and knocked.
*Knock, knock, knock-*
The door was pulled open from the inside.
Jiang Li handed over the human skin. “Ms. Jiang, there’s no time to lose. Please go to the Hot Spring Pool to change it immediately.”
Ms. Jiang looked at the human skin, her expression hesitant.
“I… I’ve never changed one before. Is it really okay?” Ms. Jiang asked, sounding worried.
According to Jiang Li, she had to go into the Hot Spring Pool, tear off her own skin, and then put on the new one.
This method was unheard of.
Ms. Jiang was constantly worried that Jiang Li was trying to harm her.
“Ms. Jiang, I have served many guests. I have seen guests perform the skin replacement with my own eyes. I would not lie to you.”
Ms. Jiang took the human skin, her expression tragic. “Will… will it hurt?”
Jiang Li nodded. “Beauty requires a price.”
Jiang Li’s words acted like a sedative, giving Ms. Jiang immense confidence.
Beauty…
Ms. Jiang had pursued “beauty” for so many years. Now that it was finally within her reach, how could she justify giving up now?
When she looked up again, her eyes were filled with determination.
“Fine. I’ll go try.”
Ms. Jiang gripped the human skin tightly, turned back into the room to grab a dagger and some needle-and-thread tools, and then headed straight for the Hot Spring Pool.
Jiang Li stood guard outside the Hot Spring Room.
It didn’t take long.
From inside the Hot Spring Room came Ms. Jiang’s heart-wrenching screams.
The agonizing cries lasted for about several dozen minutes.
After the screaming stopped, Ms. Jiang dawdled for a long time before finally pulling the door open and emerging from the Hot Spring Room.
She had wrapped her face in a towel, afraid to let Jiang Li see her.
“Attendant, could you… could you help me check? Has it recovered?”
Ms. Jiang didn’t dare look in a mirror, so she could only turn to Jiang Li for help.
Jiang Li helped her pull the towel away.
The moment she unwrapped the blood-stained towel, Jiang Li was stunned.
This human skin did not fit Ms. Jiang’s face at all.
Ms. Jiang’s skin replacement technique was unskilled; this attempt was essentially a failure.
The Red Infant on her shoulder was repulsed by Ms. Jiang’s ugliness.
The little fellow quickly let out a silent hiss and looked away.
Jiang Li’s breath hitched slightly.
A failed skin replacement meant that Jiang Li would have to go out and find more skin.
But there had been no more human skin left in that convenience store.
“How is it? Attendant, do I… do I look good now?” Ms. Jiang asked anxiously.
Something clicked in Jiang Li’s mind.
She gave Ms. Jiang a small smile. “You look beautiful, Ms. Jiang. This skin suits you perfectly.”
“Really… really?” Ms. Jiang’s voice trembled with excitement.
Her aged fingers felt the tender skin on her face, her heart filled with an indescribable sensation.
Jiang Li stared at Ms. Jiang’s stitched-together skin for a few seconds.
This face was bizarre beyond words. It clearly looked sewn on, and the features didn’t fit together at all.
“I want to see a mirror. I want to see.”
Ms. Jiang held her face and brushed past Jiang Li, heading toward the shattered mirror by the Hot Spring Pool.
Jiang Li grabbed her. “You can’t, Ms. Jiang!”
Hearing Jiang Li’s interference, Ms. Jiang’s expression shifted slightly.
“Why not?” Ms. Jiang’s gaze turned suspicious. “Could it be… you’re lying to me?”
Jiang Li immediately countered, “No, Ms. Jiang.
“Have you forgotten? The rule on this floor is that you cannot trust what your Eyes see. The things in the mirror… will deceive you.”
[Clear Spring Hotel, Basement Level 1 Rules] Rule 5:
[Do not believe what you see; believe what you hear.]
Recalling the strange occurrences she had encountered in the hotel, Ms. Jiang remained skeptical of Jiang Li’s words.
“Then what should I do? I really want to look in a mirror,” Ms. Jiang insisted firmly.
Jiang Li recalled Rule 2 of the Clear Spring Hotel, Basement Level 1 Rules:
[Guests must not be allowed to see any mirror. If an intact mirror is found, please break it.]
“Ms. Jiang, there are no intact mirrors on this floor. If you want to look in a mirror, it would be best for you to leave this place.”
Jiang Li continued her attempt to persuade Ms. Jiang.
“Furthermore, the humidity on this floor is too high. If you stay here any longer, your newly restored face will revert to its original state before long.”
As soon as Jiang Li said this, Ms. Jiang became visibly panicked.
Under Jiang Li’s combined persuasion and coaxing, Ms. Jiang quickly went to Room B101 to pack her things and headed toward the Guest Elevator.
Water was still oozing from the top of Ms. Jiang’s head-all of it filthy.
Before leaving, she took a small mirror that had been shattered.
She intended to look in a mirror the moment she left this floor.
If things were different from what she expected, she would return immediately.
The surface of the small mirror in Ms. Jiang’s hand rippled twice like water.
The Mirror Person was inside the small mirror, waving at Jiang Li and mouthing the words “Goodbye.”
Jiang Li made a “silence” gesture and saw them off.
Even after leaving Basement Floor 1, Ms. Jiang would not discover that anything was wrong with her face.
The Mirror Person’s greatest talent was mimicry.
The Mirror Person would make Ms. Jiang believe her appearance had been restored.
Even if Ms. Jiang discovered her face was horrifying a few days later, she would never have the chance to return to the hotel again.
After seeing the two of them off, Jiang Li took Red Infant and left Basement Floor 1 as well.
As they stepped into the Staff Elevator, blood-red water spilled out from the Hot Spring Room, flooding the floor.
The dark, damp basement level lost power, the water rose, and a seal appeared.
The entire process of abandonment was seamless.
Inside the Staff Elevator, the Elevator Attendant with Bangs was nowhere to be found.
After Jiang Li swiped her card, the Staff Elevator returned to the 1st floor.
The elevator doors opened.
What met her eyes was the lobby of the Clear Spring Hotel, now covered in cobwebs and thick layers of dust.
The hotel staff were long gone.
In a corner cabinet, however, a hibernating Cobra lay curled up.
“Mommy, did we go to the wrong place? I remember the decor here being quite nice.”
Red Infant found the place unfamiliar.
Jiang Li observed the eerie scene as she walked out of the hotel.
The Clear Spring Hotel Instance SSS Rank Clearance Requirement:
[Send away all hotel guests and obtain a Positive Review from every guest.]
Jiang Li had already met the clearance requirements.
However, the System notification for a successful clearance did not sound in her mind.
Jiang Li took out the Guest List she was responsible for and checked it once more.
There was one guest on each floor; that was correct.
There were five people in total on the list, and Jiang Li hadn’t missed any of them.
Where exactly was the problem…
Jiang Li walked over to the hotel’s front desk.
The computer monitor was still functioning. Jiang Li casually clicked on a few screens to take a look.
There were six short videos on this computer.
The top right corner of each video was marked with labels that looked like floor numbers.
There were the 5th Floor, 4th Floor, 3rd Floor, 2nd Floor, Basement Floor 1, and the Staff Elevator.
Jiang Li gripped the mouse, clicked on the video for Basement Floor 1, and enlarged it.
The video wasn’t long, only ten seconds, and it played on a continuous loop.
After watching the video of Basement Floor 1, a sense of foreboding rose in Jiang Li’s heart.
Jiang Li exited the interface, frowning as she clicked on the video for the 2nd Floor.
After seeing the content inside, the unease in her heart spread, and her expression grew increasingly solemn.
Next were the 3rd Floor, 4th Floor, and 5th Floor.
After watching the looped video clips for each floor, Jiang Li’s heart… clenched violently.
All the strange phenomena within the Clear Spring Hotel Instance were now connected.
But things had already… turned very bad.