By the time they arrived at the motel, everyone took their time getting off the bus.
The tour guide stood beside the door, his eyes still closed and his lips curved into an ominously polite smile.
"Slowly, everyone. Don’t trip on the stairs." He repeated the warning with the same rhythm as each player passed.
He Zhihan waited patiently behind Elder Bo, who descended the steps ahead of him. They were the last two left on the bus.
He Zhihan stepped forward, but just as he crossed the threshold, the tour guide’s hand shot out, clamping around his forearm.
He Zhihan stopped dead in his tracks. His dark eyes turned cold as he looked down at the pale hand gripping his sweater.
"Good luck on this Scenario, Player He Zhihan," the tour guide murmured softly. Beneath his pleasant tone, that same distorted echo resonated like three distinct entities were speaking through the same mouth.
[Warning! Do not allow the Tour Guide to maintain physical contact with you. Withdraw your arm immediately.]
He Zhihan’s face didn’t flinch. He simply yanked his arm free and stepped down onto the gravel, continuing toward the motel without breaking stride.
As he walked, he casually rubbed the skin where the guide had touched him.
"What kind of monster is he?" he asked the System mentally.
[A Class-C Soul Reaper. These creatures occasionally serve as guides who transport Players to their assigned Scenarios. They devour players who refuse to participate. Also, prolonged physical contact with a Soul Reaper places a death curse upon the Player.]
He Zhihan’s fingers paused against his forearm. "Am I cursed?"
[You were not touched for a sufficient duration, Player He Zhihan.]
"Good."
He focused his attention to the building looming ahead.
The motel was enormous, a multi-story lodge far too luxurious to sit in the middle of an unmapped forest. Bright, warm lights poured from the polished glass entrance, casting sharp reflections against the oppressive black void of the surrounding trees.
He Zhihan sneered at the grandeur. "They might as well have built a hotel."
Inside, the Players were being lined up toward the reception desk, where a young woman handed each of them a heavy metal key card.
When He Zhihan reached the counter, his gaze settled on the receptionist. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, dressed in a crisp, flight-attendant-style uniform.
Her lips were painted a sharp crimson, contrasting sharply with her unnatural, silver-ringed eyes and skin so ghastly pale she looked like a fresh corpse. You are reading on novelping(.)com, the official source.
"I hope you have a very pleasant exploration," she purred, her smile perfectly steady as she slid a key card across the marble counter. "Please note that due to the high volume of guests, rooms are strictly double-occupancy."
He Zhihan stared down at the key card, then up into her empty eyes. A roommate?
He snatched the key and looked past her, his eyes settling on the towering oil painting mounted behind the front desk.
At first glance, it depicted an ordinary woodland landscape with a dense canopy of thick trees, shadowed greenery, and a narrow, winding path disappearing into the abyss of the forest.
He Zhihan took a step closer, locking onto the shadows beneath the canopy. The trunks weren’t shaped right. Their silhouettes stretched unnaturally long, limbs twisting at angles no real tree could hold.
They looked... humanoid.
"He Zhihan, you coming or what?" Elder Bo’s voice suddenly yanked him back from the painting.
He Zhihan turned his head. The old man was standing near the grand staircase, waiting, while three other Players shifted uncomfortably behind him in the reception line.
He Zhihan didn’t answer. He just pocketed his hands and walked over, his heavy boots making no sound against the thick carpet.
Elder Bo flashed his room key between two fingers. "I’m in Room seven. What’s yours?"
He Zhihan glanced down at his own card, the bold black dye reading 001. "One."
A flick of strange disappointment crossed Elder Bo’s weathered face, gone as fast as it came. He didn’t push. He simply gave a brief nod and disappeared down the left corridor.
He Zhihan stared down at the key card for a long second.
He really hoped his roommate wouldn’t be another spineless brat like Jun.
Although, if he was being completely honest with himself, he was glad the kid hadn’t ended up in this Scenario with him.
He Zhihan was no saint, and he sure as hell wasn’t a team player. He knew his own moral compass, or the distinct lack thereof.
So, he had no intention of playing big brother in a death trap.
Jun needed to learn how to tear throats out on his own. It was eat or be eaten in here. Every man for himself, just like the cold, concrete world he’d been yanked from.
As He Zhihan navigated the upper hallway, groups of Players huddled outside their doors, exchanging frantic, low-voiced theories.
The second he turned the corner, the quiet chatter died instantly.
The Players stepped back against the walls to grant him a wide room. He walked past without giving them a second glance.
Behind his back, the whispering resumed in low, pathetic bursts.
It felt like high school all over again. And just like high school, He Zhihan couldn’t care less.
He reached door 001, tapped his card against the sensor, and pushed it open.
Click.
The room was unexpectedly spacious, spotless, and bathed in the soft glow of a brass lamp. A window took up the far wall, revealing a sharp, silver crescent moon suspended in the night sky.
He Zhihan’s eyes swept the room, then froze. "Why the hell is there only one bed?"
He slipped the key card into his trouser pocket and strode over to the window. He unlocked the latch, cracking the glass open just an inch.
A sharp breeze blew in, carrying the scent of damp earth, iron, and rotting pine.
His dark eyes narrowed. Outside, there was no road, no civilization, no bus stop. Nothing but an ocean of sprawling trees stretching endlessly into the dark.
The Dark Forest.
He Zhihan slammed the window shut and locked it.
Grrrrrrr.
His stomach let out another aggressive growl. He pressed a hand flat against his ribs, his expression twisting into a scowl.
At that moment, the System panel appeared before his eyes.
[MISSION ONE: Survive the night inside the Dark Forest Motel.]
[Reward: 50 Points + One Free Skill.]