Last night, after hearing what Li Sitong said, Jiang Xia knew there was definitely a bigger crisis awaiting them.
But at the time, Li Sitong didn't seem inclined to explain, so he didn't ask.
[What's going on?]
Li Sitong: [Don't worry, as long as you and Yang Jie do as I say, everything will be fine.]
Jiang Xia: [Tell me more, so I have an idea of what's happening.]
Li Sitong still didn't elaborate, only sending an address—
[Room 801, Drunken Dream Hotel. You and Yang Jie must be there by ten!]
Drunken Dream Hotel, the place that seemed like a gathering spot for Demonspawn.
"Ten o'clock, Mom's flight seems to arrive at ten too."
Jiang Xia was contemplating how to tell his mom he couldn't pick her up when she called, saying the weather was bad and the flight was delayed, possibly arriving tonight.
Coming out of the room, Yang Jie, who had been sleeping on the sofa, was already awake, wrapped in a blanket and playing a game, cursing under his breath.
"Are your brains underdeveloped? How many times do I have to say it, rush C1, C1! Is C2 your dad or your mom? I seriously doubt if you're even human! That tank at the street corner is going berserk, can you blow it up already!"
Jiang Xia usually enjoyed gaming too, but given the current situation, he found it unappealing.
Yet, Yang Jie seemed as passionate about it as ever.
Being Demonspawn, their wounds healed quickly, and after just one night, the injuries on both him and Yang Jie were barely visible.
"Let's go, Li Sitong says there's something important today, we should follow her lead."
"Where to?" Yang Jie glanced up briefly before focusing back on his phone screen. "If it's something shady, I'm not going."
"She said if we don't handle this, we'll all die!"
Yang Jie paused, ears perked, and put down his phone. "Then we have to go!"
The weather was cold today, the sky a dull gray, and pedestrians were bundled in thick autumn clothes.
There were noticeably more patrol cars on the streets than usual, clearly intentional.
Jiang Xia increasingly felt that the day when order collapses was not far off!
More and more people were disappearing, and even if the authorities tried to cover it up and maintain order, it would eventually explode online.
After all, so many people disappearing daily because of Demonspawn, without a single one found, defied all logic.
The two bought a cup of soy milk each, which, though not filling, warmed them considerably.
At 9:00 AM, Jiang Xia arrived outside Drunken Dream Hotel an hour early.
As he was about to head over, he noticed Yang Jie hadn't moved. Jiang Xia turned back and asked, "Come on."
He thought Yang Jie didn't trust Li Sitong and didn't want to go together.
But Yang Jie's reasoning was quite peculiar.
"You go first, I'll come later!"
"Why?"
"Why do you think? It's a couple's hotel, everyone going in and out are couples. If we two guys go in together, how am I supposed to live that down?"
"You're crazy!" Jiang Xia scoffed.
"This isn't crazy, it's about my dignity. You go first, I'll follow in a bit."
Unable to stand Yang Jie's fussiness, Jiang Xia entered the hotel first, retrieving the room card Li Sitong had left in a flowerpot at the end of the hallway.
Strangely, there were two cards.
One for Room 801, the other for Room 802 next door.
He messaged Li Sitong to ask, and she told him to take both, go to 801 first, and not to enter 802 without her instructions.
Entering 801, it was empty, just like the room from a few nights ago.
The familiar setting felt almost like home.
A few minutes later, Yang Jie arrived, sneaking in through the door, his eyes lighting up at the room's ambiance.
"Wow, no wonder this place costs over two thousand a night, the atmosphere is really something!"
Yang Jie licked his lips, heading to the corner vending machine. "Wow, so many props, people must have a wild time here!"
"You don't seem nervous at all." Jiang Xia observed Yang Jie, puzzled by his nonchalance despite the life-threatening situation ahead.
"Nervous? What's there to be nervous about, worst case, we die!" Yang Jie flopped onto the birdcage bed, sprawling comfortably.
"What do you think Li Sitong wants?"
"She's your girlfriend, if you don't know, how would I?" Yang Jie sat up, curious. "Do you trust her that much? Do whatever she says?"
Jiang Xia didn't answer, he wasn't quick to trust anyone, including Li Sitong.
But having just stepped into this "New World," he felt it was safer to follow Li Sitong for now.
Otherwise, he'd be like a headless chicken, blundering about, which would be even more dangerous.
"Actually, I don't trust her, but I trust you!" Yang Jie said.
Jiang Xia chuckled, "What if I'm lying to you too?"
Yang Jie flopped back down, indifferent. "Doesn't matter, I'm tired of being alone all the time. Instead of constantly doubting and suspecting, I'd rather have company with you guys, even if it means dying."
"I'm not the protagonist, living doesn't mean much anyway..."
Yang Jie stared at the top of the birdcage bed, where there was a hanging device, seemingly to suspend a person?
"What kind of position is this?" Yang Jie focused intently.
At 9:26 AM, a new message from Li Sitong arrived.
Following the instructions, Jiang Xia opened the TV drawer, taking out two black hoods, one for each of them.
Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Yang Jie examined himself with the hood on, calling out, "Why do we have to dress like robbers, what's Li Sitong planning?"
"Could it be she wants us to rob the hotel?" Jiang Xia couldn't fathom Li Sitong's intentions.
"Very possible! Exciting, I love it!"
A few minutes later, another message from Li Sitong instructed them to wear the hoods and go to Room 802 next door.
Jiang Xia asked what they were supposed to do, but she didn't say.
It felt like a game, with tasks being given one at a time, only revealing the next after completing the current one.
The two, looking like masked robbers, had just opened the hotel door to leave when they bumped into a cleaning lady pushing a cart.
Seeing the two hooded youths in the couple's room, the cleaning lady paused, then shook her head and pushed the cart away.
"Kids these days... even wilder than we were back then..."
"No, ma'am, let me explain!" Yang Jie wanted to chase after her to explain, but Jiang Xia grabbed him, dragging him to Room 802.
Forget explaining, they had more pressing matters!
Beep beep beep—
Pushing open Room 802, the layout was similar to 801.
As soon as they entered, they were greeted by a pair of sexy, long black-stockinged legs, belonging to a sultry woman lying on the birdcage bed.