"Everyone, don't move. Lin Shaojie, turn on the light, and be careful not to hurt your own people."
The sudden darkness caught everyone off guard, but fortunately, Yuan Qingli reacted immediately and notified Lin Shaojie, who was closest to the pass.
"Smack."
The room was brightened again, and the four of them were dumbfounded.
There was no shrine, no memorial tablet, just an ordinary standard hotel room.
"this……"
The group was surprised and remained silent.
Was what I just saw all an illusion?
Yuan Qingli was stunned; the file folder she had been holding was nowhere to be found.
Lin Shaojie and the others raised their hands; the dust on the bath towels was still there, proving that the cleaning had actually taken place.
“Unpredictable,” Yuan Qingli muttered to herself.
"What?"
“I think I understand what the long-tongued ghost meant by ‘wandering’,” Yuan Qingli explained, looking up. “It’s true that the thirteenth floor is all hotel rooms, but for some reason, this shrine for worship keeps drifting around.”
"So how do we find it?"
"Go search room by room again?" The chicken-claw man swallowed hard, pushed open the unknown door, and knew it would be difficult.
"This is the most basic method, so we'll use it last. Let's first figure out the possible patterns in how this thing appears and the reasons for its disappearance."
"The room number was 1314 just now. Could it be related to some other number?"
"Could it be that it will run to 520?" The chicken-claw man received another bunch of eye rolls and shut up sheepishly.
"Logically, there are only two patterns to their occurrence: one is their own operating mode, such as time or place; the other is being attracted, such as having something they particularly like," Lin Shaojie said, speaking eloquently as if he were Conan.
How many rooms are there on this floor?
The three remained silent; in this terrifying atmosphere, who could possibly pay attention to anything else?
Zhuang Xiangyi, who had kept quiet, dipped her finger in water and wrote "48". Her room number was 45, just enough to see the end of the number.
24 hours a day, 48 rooms, which means...
"So, if we're talking about time, it means changing rooms every half hour?"
"But it was less than half an hour ago, how could it have run away?"
Lin Shaojie looked at the digital clock on the wall, which pointed to 15:39.
“If we rule out the possibility that this thing went wrong or that people are just slacking off at work and not clocking in, then there can only be one possibility.” Yuan Qingli looked up but didn’t continue.
"It was attracted by something," the chicken-claw-shaped man said weakly, finally earning a bunch of praise.
"That's right. It was initially attracted to something about us, but then, perhaps because we did something that made it lose interest, it drifted away..."
"So, what was everyone's last action just now?"
"Mmm..." Zhuang Xiangyi couldn't make a sound, but continued wiping.
"I'm checking the memorial tablets."
“I was wiping the table too.” Chicken Claw Brother fell into thought. “Then I pulled my finger and felt a little pain in my hand, so I tightened the bandage.”
"Hmm?" Six pairs of eyes fell on Chicken Claw Brother's face, and Chicken Claw Brother blushed.
"I think I understand."
Yuan Qingli pulled up a stool and sat down, showing no hurry.
Although the three were puzzled, seeing her calm and composed demeanor, they all sat down by the bed, waiting for Yuan Qingli to continue.
"You all know about the elevators in this building, right? What's the highest floor they go to?"
18.
"Yes, in our mythology, there is a rather terrifying representation of the number 18."
"The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms?" Chicken Claw Brother received another eye roll.
"The eighteen levels of hell".
“Yes, what’s the thirteenth level?” Seeing the three shake their heads, Yuan Qingli continued, “The Blood Pool Prison.”
"So, we don't know what that shrine was originally used for, but after the incident at the hotel, the thirteenth floor became the corresponding thirteenth level of hell."
Aside from inexplicably clocking in and out for work, the shrine's only other activity now is its interest in blood.
As soon as he finished speaking, Brother Chicken Claw once again attracted six pairs of eyes.
"So, the next time we encounter it, we'll have half an hour to look for clues to the exit."
However, if the half hour is up, you'll have to remove the bandage from your hand.
Chicken Claw nodded: "Okay, no problem."
"Let's go, let's continue the search."
Yuan Qingli opened the door, only to find the corridor bustling with activity.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
