Chapter 36 Mad Dog Hotel

"Let go of me, Lulu!" With her body dangling in mid-air on the stairs, Lu Qi instinctively felt panicked. "Let me down!"

Lulu sensed a hint of panic, though not intense. Compared to this bland emotion, Lu Qi's high-pitched, delicate voice, like that of a chick, was irresistible to him.

He even raised his hands higher.

"Lulu, Lulu!" Lu Qi cried out in a low voice, her face pale, and patted his arm.

The tone was very special. When Lu Qi made that sound because of someone else, Lulu would be furious, but when Lu Qi made that sound for him, Lulu would feel a sense of self-satisfaction.

He wouldn't hurt her, and she knew he wouldn't hurt her, so she was only annoyed and startled, not terrified.

This small stimulus made his name come alive in her mouth. Lulu liked it when she called him with such enthusiasm; at that moment, Lu Qi looked energetic and full of life.

Lulu was even happier when her hand landed on his arm.

Lu Qi's hands were covered with information about her. Her sweet hands landed on him gently, patting him while sharing information about her with him.

She's so good, she really loves him.

They want to be together forever.

The young man's Adam's apple bobbed dryly, and he answered Lu Qi's exclamation, "You'll be alright, baby. Let's go home now and have some fun in a safe place."

An unusual light ignited in those dark, round eyes.

In the crimson corridor, the young man, shrouded in a blood-red aura, sent a chill down Lu Qi's spine.

He was so excited that he revealed his inhuman side. Lu Qi suddenly realized that what was in front of him was not a human, but a dog.

Screaming and begging for mercy will not make the dog give up; instead, they will increase its excitement.

Lu Qi pursed her lips and closed her eyes.

Whether facing a monster or a man, closing your eyes in any dangerous situation is a foolish act of self-deception.

Unless the other person is a dog that loves her.

Lu Qi, who had been lively just a moment ago, suddenly stopped moving. Lulu tilted her head and called out in confusion, "Lu Qi?"

Lu Qi remained motionless.

Lulu called out a few more times, but she remained silent, yet disobedient, emanating a cold aura that Lulu feared.

He called her softly, unwilling to give up: "Lu Qi, baby, little flower... wheat ear, look at me."

Lu Qi heard the slightly hurried calls. He was anxious; he wanted her response, and any response from her would become positive feedback and encouragement for his current actions.

She closed her eyes, neither looking at him nor responding to him, while sighing inwardly.

What "wheat ears"... Only he himself is golden.

I remembered to make some adjustments to her original words before, changing "little toast" to "little bread" and "golden little sun" to "beautiful little sun," and now "ear of wheat" has popped up directly—

Did he realize she had discovered something, so he stopped pretending altogether...?

Fortunately, although Lulu resembled a human, she was still not human. He was not satisfied with Lu Qi's silent obedience.

Fortunately, his way of thinking was completely different from others; otherwise, if he thought about what he had done and said to him in the past, Lu Qi would only wish to die immediately.

She kept her eyes closed with a blank expression, and Lulu quickly grew bored.

As his excitement subsided and he calmed down, a sense of unease began to creep in.

Afraid that Lu Qi would get angry and ignore him, he reluctantly let her go. "Okay, fine, let's go take a look. You have to promise me that you won't do anything, just take a look from afar and leave."

Lu Qi cannot guarantee that she will do nothing.

She didn't say anything, but instead stood on tiptoe and kissed Lulu's lips. "Good Lulu, sweet Lulu, thank you, I'm so happy."

To a human, this answer would be too sentimental; but Lulu is a dog.

When he performs the correct action and receives positive feedback, it deepens his understanding of that action. The more positive the feedback, the more deeply he will remember what he did.

Lu Qi hopes that Lulu will continue to consider her thoughts in the same way she does now.

But she forgot that Lulu wasn't an ordinary dog.

What used to work on him doesn't seem to work as well now.

Even though Lu Qi said she was happy, Lulu didn't detect much joy in her expression.

She was being a bit perfunctory with him.

But she kissed him, she did kiss him after all... Lulu smacked her lips indifferently, barely accepting this perfunctory exchange.

Anyway, it's already over there.

Lu Qi and Lulu walked down the stairs, and when they were four floors away from the conference room, the red lights went out.

The sunlight outside the window returned to its brilliance, and the overhead lights returned to their white hue.

She knew something was wrong and quickened her pace, rushing downstairs.

The security door was locked before they left. Lu Qi thought he would have to go around to the main entrance, but he suddenly stopped when he got to the conference room floor.

The locked security door was opened, but only slightly.

A hand emerged from inside, limply hanging down to the ground.

"Ho!" Lu Qi's blood froze.

She stood on the halfway point of the stairs, staring intently at the outstretched hand.

Lulu looked at her with concern.

Unlike the smell when he picked her up, this time, Lu Qi's scent was truly frightening.

"Go back," he urged again, clearly worried about her.

It's all about the consequences for the perpetrators. She's the most well-behaved and polite girl; these things have nothing to do with her, and she doesn't need to know.

Lu Qi took a deep breath and adjusted her breathing.

Her hair stood on end, and gripping the handrail, she walked step by step toward the drooping hand.

Lulu quickened her pace and blocked her way.

Lu Qi shook her head at him; she needed to know.

She hid by the door, pressing her ear against the security door for a long time, but there wasn't a sound.

The dangerous red light faded, which most likely meant that everything was over and the security guards had left.

After listening for a while without any response, Lu Qi suppressed his fear and squatted down, his toes less than two centimeters away from the pale hand.

She gripped the handle and stared intently into the gap.

When she saw what was inside, she felt as if she had just had an indescribable nightmare.

Dead people dead people dead people dead people dead people—

As far as the eye can see, they are countless.

It was indescribable, beyond words, only the crimson of blood remained.

Suddenly, she saw a corpse wearing a familiar shirt.

It's Xie Yun.

His glasses were still on his face, but his neck was broken in half, his head was tilted to the side, and his stomach had been ripped open, with red and white intestines spilling out all over the ground.

Two hotel cleaners in uniform walked among the corpses, diligently cleaning the blood from the floors and walls with mops and rags, seemingly oblivious to the haphazardly laid dead bodies.

Suddenly, the cleaning staff noticed something, turned their heads 90 degrees, and looked towards the door.

Lu Qi was caught off guard and met her dark, round eyes.

Holding the mop, she stared at Lu Qi, then opened her mouth, revealing eight canine teeth, and mechanically grinned.

Lu Qi plopped down on the ground, her toes touching the cold hand.

Her gaze shifted downwards, and she saw the owner of the hand.

He lay on the ground, still desperately trying to crawl out, his neck arched back, his face frozen in agony and terror.

Those bulging eyes were wide open, the whites of their eyes contrasting sharply with the completely black eyes of the cleaner not far away.

Both the white and black eyes were fixed on Lu Qi.

She closed her burning eyes.

She couldn't see the whole picture in a quick glance; she hadn't seen everything and hadn't found Lü Shi'an yet.

Reason compelled her to quickly check if Lü Shi'an was inside; however, her body was unable to move, and she couldn't even pull back the foot that had kicked the man's hand.

She knew she should go back to the corridor to check again, as most of the troublemakers gathered there, making it an important location with great intelligence value.

She knew she had to find Lü Shian, or at least find that Shiba Inu;

She should also inform the other guests about the security rules as soon as possible...

There were so many things to do, but Lu Qi just stood there dumbfounded as Lulu carried her back to her room.

Why would this happen...? Her assumptions about the [security guard] were completely wrong?

There's so much information about dogs here. A dog is a dog; a normal dog wouldn't go on a killing spree against humans and its own kind.

Could the lord who created this strange tale be a naturally evil creature of the red danger level? Or does it suffer from rabies?

No, no, no, naturally evil breeds wouldn't be so friendly to people, creating harmless pet dogs;

Dogs infected with rabies become mentally unstable and are unable to establish clear and specific rules.

But a normal dog wouldn't be this cruel when faced with a troublesome perpetrator.

They help their kind calm down in three ways: suppression, biting, and expulsion.

Lu Qi had envisioned the [security guards] pinning everyone down, at worst biting off an arm or a face. Why did they all die? Why were they all killed? What was the monster that locked them in this strange tale thinking?

If it wants to eat people, it should just eat the corpses; if it doesn't like them, it should just drive them away! Why be so cruel? Why torture them like a feline?

Wait, expel?

Lu Qi was suddenly startled.

Suppress, bite, drive away...

The perpetrator was neither "suppressed" nor "bitten," so after ruling out both, only "expulsion" remained.

Lu Qi has always viewed the world with the most pessimistic attitude, but what if he adopted an optimistic, hopeful perspective—

If you die in a ghost story, are you really dead?

Is it possible that this ghost story is like a game?

In a game, dying means quitting, but in a ghost story, dying means leaving the ghost story and returning to the real world.

While most ghost stories depict death as irreversible, meaning that if someone dies in a ghost story, they also perish in the real world.

But a novel is a novel, and besides, not all novels have such a negative setting.

Putting aside fictional works, if something truly existed that could take the lives of hundreds of people in an instant, it would have been reported in the news long ago.

Lu Qi's heart began to race, and her body slowly warmed up.

She wasn't sure if this was just wishful thinking, but having this guess made her feel a lot better.

She regained her strength and ran to her bedroom to call Lü Shi'an's room.

The call couldn't be connected.

Lu Qi's hand holding the microphone trembled. She gritted her teeth and calmed herself. Now was not the time to be afraid; she had to immediately tell everyone the news from the [security guards].

She dialed the number again, called the front desk, and broadcast the hotel's security measures to all staff, instructing everyone to avoid the floors where the massacre had occurred.

After making the call, Lu Qi collapsed onto the bed, drenched in cold sweat.

She calmed herself down and, after a moment of composure, heard the door open.

Someone has come in.

Lu Qi suddenly stood up, her heart pounding, and leaned against the bedroom door, cautiously peering out.

When she saw that it was Lulu who came in, her eyes widened and she was horrified: "How did you get outside! Wasn't he the one who carried her back to the room?!"

Lulu looked bewildered: "I'm going out."

"when!"

"Not long after I brought you back," Lulu said, picking up the bag in her hand, "you haven't eaten all day, so I brought you some food."

His answer was logically sound, and Lu Qi, exhausted, staggered back onto the bed.

She then realized that she was so engrossed in her emotions that she hadn't even noticed Lulu leaving.

Is she... caught up in her emotions again...?

"Lu Qi." Despite seeing the corpses scattered on the ground, Lulu remained calm and smiled gently. "You're hungry, it's time to eat."

"Thank you," Lu Qi said, looking down and catching her breath. "I'm not hungry yet, you eat."

"No, you need to eat something." Lulu squatted down in front of her, resting her chin on her knees, just like when she was having an attack.

"No, I really have no appetite." Lu Qi shook his head, his mind filled with images of the gnawed and mutilated corpses.

"Eat, just a little bit." Lulu frowned and took a sandwich out of the bag. "Please, just a little bit, okay?"

Lu Qi was in no mood to refuse when she suddenly heard the loudspeaker ring out.

A gentle yet mechanical female voice broadcasts the report.

"Attention all guests! Attention all guests! A female guest who has not eaten for more than 24 hours has gone missing. Her symptoms include abdominal pain and bloody stools. If you find her, please take her to eat immediately!"

“Repeat it.”

"A female student has gone missing after not eating for more than 24 hours. Her symptoms include thirst, abdominal pain, and bloody stools. If you find her, please take her to eat immediately!"

Lu Qi was taken aback.

She slowly lowered her head and met Lulu's pleading eyes as she held a sandwich.

Fasting, thirst, abdominal pain, bloody stools...

Lu Qi suddenly stood up, a wave of fear washing over her, causing her to retreat step by step, moving away from Lulu.

This symptom could indicate a variety of possibilities, but when Lu Qi saw Lulu in front of him, the first thought that popped into his head was "parvovirus".

Is it just another coincidence?

Coincidentally, the ghost story they entered was related to dogs;

It just so happens that the upper floors are mostly occupied by women, while the rooms with average conditions are mostly occupied by men;

Lu Qi suddenly remembered something Lulu had said on the way to the hotel.

"Respect doesn't work on drivers, so there's no need to be polite to them."

All the drivers who chased away the pet dogs turned into dogs themselves, as if it were an act of revenge.

Now, coincidentally, symptoms of parvovirus have appeared.

Lulu, her Lulu!

Lu Qi stared incredulously at the young man at the foot of the bed, unwilling to believe that everything was really as she had guessed.

Even if she holds the most pessimistic and negative views about the world and everyone, she still has the most beautiful beliefs about Lulu.

He promised her that he hadn't killed anyone, so she believed him and preferred to believe it was another dog demon rather than doubt him!

"Lu Qi?" Lulu tilted her head, not understanding why Lu Qi was suddenly so angry.

He approached her and was startled to hear her hysterical scream: "You lied to me...you lied to me!"

Lulu stopped, looking bewildered, and asked, "What's wrong, Lu Qi?"

Lu Qi trembled uncontrollably. "Why did you do this... Do you resent me? Then just take my life! Why drag so many innocent people into this? They didn't hurt you, why are you doing this!"

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Author's Note: Lu Qi is devastated: "If you're going to take someone's life, take mine! Why are you taking someone else's?!"

It's a shame, dogs aren't very good at hiding and lurking.

If he's a cat-like boyfriend, maybe we can keep at it for a while;

My silly, puppy-like boyfriend leaves his mark wherever he goes; every step is a clue.

Especially when playing hide-and-seek with their owners, only cats will be so careful and meticulous in their ambush; dogs can't wait for you to find them immediately.

When I was writing that broadcast, I was thinking: Did I set it up too well? It's one thing for everyone in the meeting room to work together to fight monsters, but why are there no cannon fodder villains hiding rules or using fake rules to cheat people?

It truly is the realm of golden retriever angels; it's a world of truth, goodness, and beauty.