Chapter 142
Chapter 142
In the midst of the mounting tension, a flashing red Instance End Countdown appeared above Jiang Li’s head.
[Time remaining until the collapse of “Clear Spring Hotel”: 6 hours, 56 minutes.]
Currently, the interior decor of the Clear Spring Hotel was decaying at a speed visible to the naked eye.
With a loud crash, a Western-style oil painting on the wall of the first-floor lobby fell, giving Red Infant a start.
“Mommy, the hotel looks like it’s about to collapse,” Red Infant said, looking somewhat distressed.
Jiang Li did not respond immediately.
She remained hunched over, rummaging through the drawers and cabinets at the front desk.
If her deduction was correct, that item should still be here!
Recalling the day she first arrived at the Clear Spring Hotel, Manager Xue had handed her a list, saying, “These are all the guests Jiang Li is responsible for.”
In truth, Manager Xue had been setting a trap for her from that very moment!
Manager Xue was right; the guests Jiang Li was responsible for were indeed the five people on that list.
However, the SSS Rank Clear Condition for the Instance was to see off “all the guests in the hotel.”
“All the guests Jiang Li is responsible for” and “all the guests actually staying in the hotel” were never the same thing!
Manager Xue had intentionally misled her.
If Jiang Li hadn’t realized this in time, she would have remained trapped in this game forever.
Jiang Li searched for four or five minutes.
Finally, in the bottom drawer of the wine cabinet behind the front desk, she found the true Guest List for the Clear Spring Hotel.
“Found it!” Jiang Li let out a small sigh of relief as she held the list.
She quickly left the crumbling hotel and headed for the open space in the courtyard.
Jiang Li carefully compared the differences between the two guest lists.
It was obvious. On the newest Guest List, there was an additional name: Han Xueping.
The reason she couldn’t clear the Instance yet was precisely because the sixth guest, Han Xueping, had not yet left the hotel!
Jiang Li’s gaze fell upon Han Xueping’s information column.
In Han Xueping’s customer information, there was an additional ID Photo compared to the other guests.
Seeing this face, Jiang Li’s pupils contracted for a moment.
Straight bangs, triangular eyes, and a face full of gloom.
A somber aura seemed to permeate from the image.
The records showed that Han Xueping had left a photo because she had once been employed at the Clear Spring Hotel.
Her position was… Elevator Attendant.
Combining the videos Jiang Li had just watched with the memory of the Elevator Attendant’s hostility toward her…
The “one point that never made sense” in Jiang Li’s mind finally clicked.
No wonder the Elevator Attendant hated Jiang Li so much; everything was explained now!
Han Xueping was the guest Jiang Li most needed to see off.
This Instance was derived from Han Xueping’s mental world.
From the B1 floor to the 5th floor of the Clear Spring Hotel…
Rather than saying it trapped five guests, it would be more accurate to say it trapped five sinners.
Every floor was a Living Hell meticulously designed by Han Xueping for those five sinners.
The insidious part of this Instance wasn’t how difficult it was to see off the guests.
It was that once Jiang Li sent those five sinners away, she would simultaneously offend Han Xueping.
Now, guided step-by-step by the Instance, Jiang Li had broken these five layers of hell and released the sinners.
Han Xueping already hated Jiang Li.
As the final guest, if Han Xueping refused to cooperate, it would be extremely difficult for Jiang Li to see her off.
“Mommy, this auntie looks familiar. Are we going to find her?” Red Infant asked.
Jiang Li was silent for a second before shaking her head. “We won’t find her.”
The Clear Spring Hotel Instance was created by Han Xueping.
As long as Han Xueping didn’t want to appear, Jiang Li and Red Infant would never be able to find her.
Han Xueping had gone into hiding.
What should she do…
Based on the final countdown to the Instance’s collapse, Jiang Li speculated that Han Xueping intended to perish along with the Instance.
If Han Xueping were to give up on the Instance past midnight tonight, then the five sinners inside-including Jiang Li, Red Infant, and Han Xueping herself-
Everything within the Instance would be reduced to ash!
The countdown to the collapse of the Clear Spring Hotel Instance had only six hours remaining.
There were too many questions left unanswered; the mysteries of the Clear Spring Hotel Instance had not been fully unraveled.
Jiang Li had to find someone to gather clues about Han Xueping.
There was only one person who knew everything about the Clear Spring Hotel and was willing to communicate with her: Boss Shi!
Recalling Boss Shi’s words-“Without the Time-Space Converter, Jiang Li will never be able to clear the Instance”-she became even more convinced that Boss Shi… definitely knew some well-kept secrets.
Boss Shi had mentioned that she could find him at the Cabin outside the Clear Spring Hotel.
Carrying the Mist-Treading Lantern, Jiang Li stepped into the fog and walked out past the iron gates of the Clear Spring Hotel.
As she passed the Bus Shelter, she saw those guests again.
There was now one more passenger waiting for the bus: Ms. Jiang from the B1 floor.
Jiang Li thought back to the five videos she had just watched. Now, she felt nothing but pure loathing for these five “pitiful guests.”
None of those five were good people.
A sinner’s memory is always remarkably short.
They had forgotten the crimes they once committed, reduced to being “innocent guests” within the Clear Spring Hotel.
The invisible Miss Wang from the second floor was reflected in the glass of the bulletin board.
Both she and the Curly-Haired Puppy saw Jiang Li.
The two of them looked at Jiang Li with smiles, attempting to greet her.
Jiang Li withdrew her gaze, acting as if she hadn’t seen them. She walked straight across the road, not wanting to spare them another glance.
Saving these five people made Jiang Li feel like she had swallowed a fly.
No wonder the System had intentionally erased the S Rank and A Rank clearance conditions, leaving only SSS Rank.
Looking back, these maneuvers weren’t just to increase the difficulty of Jiang Li’s clearance; they were meant to disgust her.
As she passed the Bus Shelter, Jiang Li glanced at the complaint number marked nearby and silently memorized it.
Then, carrying her Mist-Treading Lantern, she arrived at the Cabin across from the shelter.
This Cabin was so dilapidated that only a wooden frame remained.
Jiang Li pushed through the doorframe and stepped inside.
She found a chair that was barely stable enough to sit on and took a seat.
Boss Shi had said that if she wanted to find him, she should come to the Cabin and sit in a chair.
As long as she did that, he would naturally know she had come for him.
Not long after Jiang Li sat down, she heard the door connecting the back of the Cabin to the Kitchen open with a creak.
“Yo, Young Lady, you’re here so soon?”
Jiang Li looked up. One second, there was only a tattered doorframe at the Kitchen entrance.
But in the next second, the doorframe repaired itself at high speed.
The Cabin, which had been so broken that light shone through from all sides, was restored to the appearance of a proper dwelling within a few short seconds.
A shelf extended out from the Cabin’s window, displaying some snacks for sale.
It seemed Boss Shi hadn’t forgotten his old trade.
Boss Shi emerged from the Kitchen with a beaming smile, carrying a plate of hot food.
He placed the dish on the table in front of Jiang Li. “Have you eaten? Have a bite with me.”
Across the dining table, Boss Shi’s Wife was leaning over the surface, fast asleep.
Boss Shi moved the unfinished sweater from his wife’s hands and set it aside.
Jiang Li stood up. “No thanks, Boss Shi. I’ve come to see you on serious business.”
Boss Shi glanced at the red countdown glowing above Jiang Li’s head and understood immediately.
“It’s about the ‘Time-Space Converter,’ isn’t it?”
Boss Shi smiled and went into the Bedroom to retrieve something.