Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Staying on the first floor would be as risky as living inside a fragile eggshell.

Wan Wu, rubbing her temple and pacing a couple of steps, then asked Yino, "What if something bizarre happens again tonight? Even without any incidents, all the doors are broken. There's no privacy or security for us."

"The doors and walls of the rooms on the second floor and above are still intact. Why don't you folks just pay a little extra and stay there?" Yino, spreading his hands helplessly, indicating there was nothing he could do about the damaged first-floor rooms, said, "There are plenty of rooms. Pick any you like. It's a great option."

After hearing Yino's words, Wan Wu remained silent. At this point, wasn't it evident? Yino was pushing them to spend more money to move to higher-tier rooms.

What was truly chilling was Yino's exact words: "There are no spare new doors left on the cruise ship for replacement."

Does "new doors" refer only to those on the first floor or does it encompass the doors of guest rooms across all eight floors?

If it includes doors across the entire ship, it implies that should monsters appear on the second floor tonight and wreck every door, they'd need to relocate to the third floor to stay safe the next day.

And so it would continue, day by day...

By the seventh night, they'd need to spend 1,280 gold coins to secure their lives in the first-class cabins. Even if a room accommodates two, each person would still need at least 600 gold coins.

Yet, aside from Xie Yinxue, no one has amassed that amount, not to mention they’d also need to spend on rooms in the intervening days.

This realization plunged everyone who returned to the first floor into prolonged silence. Yet, oblivious to their despondency, Yino cheerily added, "It’s almost evening. If you’re planning to switch rooms, come pay and collect the keys quickly!"

As soon as Yino finished, some made their move—Yang Manqing, Shu Guangxuan, and Shen Jun, who had earned a significant amount, directly booked rooms on the third floor, spending forty gold coins, most likely influenced by the previous night's events.

Others, after some hesitation, reluctantly parted with twenty gold coins to secure rooms on the second floor.

However, that evening, both Nana and Yun Qian, like most, stayed on the second floor.

Yun Qian explained, "Last night, I wanted to determine the difference between staying on higher or lower floors. But the answer is clear; staying low isn’t a death sentence. And since we have five days here, we must be frugal."

With that, she and Nana entered the same room they'd occupied the previous night on the second floor.

Yun Qian's words resonated with others—sharing the cost of a room between two made things considerably easier.

That night, Han Si shared with Wan Wu, Wen Renyan with He Yao, Ma Xintong with Meng Bei, even Fang Long overlooked gender differences and roomed with the qipao-wearing Su Xunlan.

Among those remaining, only Xie Yinxue, Qiang Zhiyuan, and Yi Zhongjie and his daughter stayed separately.

Xie Yinxue never roomed with strangers, Yi Zhongjie had his daughter to care for, and at only eight years old, there was no suitable work onboard the cruise for Yi Xiaoli.

As for Qiang Zhiyuan...

Glancing around, he spat out, "No one wants to room with me?"

Given his obnoxious behavior, it was evident why no one would.

Finally, his gaze settled on Yi Zhongjie, and with a forced smile and a condescending tone, he said, "Yi Zhongjie, how about rooming with me? If you agree to share the room cost with me daily, I’ll let go of the issue about your daughter scratching my car after we get out."

"What about my daughter?" Even the usually patient Yi Zhongjie couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity, "And I told you, she didn’t scratch your car. If you don’t believe me, we can check the surveillance when we get back."

"Isn’t there a woman named Yang Manqing upstairs? Why don't you ask her if your daughter can stay with her?" Qiang Zhiyuan persisted, "The third floor is safer than our second floor."

Yi Zhongjie firmly shook his head, "That's not possible. I won't leave my daughter's safety in someone else’s hands."

Not giving up, Qiang Zhiyuan continued, "Then let her stay with Xie Yinxue. He saved you both last night, didn’t he? He'll surely protect her."

While those words did prompt Yi Zhongjie to glance towards Xie Yinxue, he immediately rebuffed the suggestion without a second thought. "Mr. Qiang, you're morally blackmailing me. I'm still alive and it's my responsibility to protect and care for my daughter, not Mr. Xie's. If I ever needed someone to look after her, it would only be considered if I were on my deathbed."

"You damn..." Qiang Zhiyuan, having condescended himself and been repeatedly rejected by Yi Zhongjie, became infuriated. "With your meager earnings, you drag your daughter through hardships, feeding her only bread. I wonder if you can even afford a room tomorrow night. By then, she might just die with you!"

Qiang Zhiyuan's cutting remarks pierced Yi Zhongjie's heart, casting a shadow over his eyes. True, he had been feeding Yi Xiaoli mere bread each day, struggling with the scanty wage of a temporary crew member. Although serving the elite guests on the seventh floor promised a better pay, Yi Zhongjie felt inherent dangers in it.

Seldom in this world does money come easily, especially in a place like this.

However, Yi Zhongjie had made up his mind. If by tomorrow afternoon his wage couldn't cover the room's expense, he would indeed serve the elite guests at the Dream Cradle Hall to earn the money.

Noticing her father's distress, a teary-eyed Yi Xiaoli clung to Yi Zhongjie's legs and shouted defiantly at Qiang Zhiyuan, "Even if it's just bread, it's earned by my father's hard work! I love it!"

"You little brat!"

Incensed by Yi Xiaoli's defiance, Qiang Zhiyuan stepped forward, ready to strike her.

"Why doesn't she stay with her father? If you want to share, why not room with me?" Xie Yinxue moved swiftly in front of Yi Xiaoli, blocking Qiang Zhiyuan's path. "Or better yet, let's save more and stay on the first floor, shall we?"

"Are you insane? Keep your distance." Qiang Zhiyuan not only halted but retreated, as if trying to avoid a contagious disease.

Catching his drift, Xie Yinxue raised an eyebrow, "Ah, so you're aware of the ancient wisdom: 'A wise man keeps away from peril.'"

Recognizing his considerable gold, the monsters would surely target Xie Yinxue, so Qiang Zhiyuan would never share a room with him, yet he suggested that Yi Xiaoli should.

"What do you mean by that?" Qiang Zhiyuan, failing to comprehend Xie Yinxue's remark but sensing its sarcasm, became incensed, ready to pick a fight.

Wen Renyan opened his door, standing at the threshold, he retorted, "It means who in their right mind would room with you, especially with the danger looming. Idiot."

Indeed, Wen Renyan always stepped in to defend others against Qiang Zhiyuan, especially when it came to protecting Yi Xiaoli.

Being a bully at heart, the moment Qiang Zhiyuan realized the majority was siding with Yi Zhongjie, he avoided direct confrontations. Clenching his teeth, he quickly booked a single room on the second floor with Yino and retreated before nightfall.

"Mr. Xie, Mr. Wen, thank you." Holding his daughter's hand, Yi Zhongjie bowed gratefully to both men before departing.

Xie Yinxue watched their departing figures, lost in thought.

"Mr. Xie, do be careful," Wen Renyan said, pausing briefly to offer a piece of advice, "It'll be dangerous tonight. If you can move to a higher floor, you should."

Xie Yinxue paused for a moment, then smiled, "I will. You take care too."

Nodding, Wen Renyan closed his door without another word.

With only ten minutes left until eight o'clock, Xie Yinxue approached Yino, trading twenty gold coins for a key to a second-floor room.

But as Xie Yinxue was about to leave with the key, Yino suddenly called out to him, "Mr. Xie, I've heard your massage chair is quite a hit among our elite guests."

Turning around, Xie Yinxue saw Yino standing amidst the dim corridor, eyes curved like crescent moons, smiling sweetly. The contrast between Yino's endearing appearance and his eerie tone was chilling, "Managing to charm them into parting with their fortunes day after day... truly remarkable."

Alas, throughout the years, there was rarely anything or anyone that could instill fear in Xie Yinxue. He too smiled in return, retorting, "That chair is indeed comfortable. Don't you fancy it too, Deputy Yino?"

"After all, it's a high-tech item that operates without burning coal or oil."

With that, Enoch sighed for the last time and then he left.

Yet, it was Xie Yin Xue who remained, her brow ever so slightly furrowed.

Ten minutes later, the chimes signaling the approach of night rang out again.

The sticky, heavy footsteps echoing from the corridor informed everyone — the monster had returned.

Just like the previous night, it went door to door on the second floor in sequence. The iron doors, which Yun Qian had described as "indestructible", where the monster couldn't make a scratch, now seemed as fragile as a thin sheet of paper, effortlessly torn apart by the monster's razor-sharp tentacles.

The terrified screams of the game participants echoed throughout the entire floor, at times even drowning out the monster's roar.

Xie Yin Xue sat at the edge of the bed, silently waiting... for the monster to knock on his door.

At last, the monster arrived as expected.

Its body seemed even larger than the night before. After tearing apart Xie Yin Xue's door and wall, it didn't immediately attack. Its head, covered in human faces, appeared to be searching for something in the room. Upon realizing that the only thing in the room was that irritating young man, the monster grew enraged, and the expressions on the human faces became even more twisted and malevolent.

Xie Yin Xue noticed that the leading face on the monster tonight seemed different from the one yesterday. The eyes of yesterday's face were emerald green, but tonight's were gray, reminiscent of the gray-eyed guest who was the first to get a massage earlier in the day.

Before Xie Yin Xue could get a closer look, the monster lunged at him with its tentacles, turning his bed into a sieve.

Yet the young man on the bed had already leapt away with the grace of a swallow, dodging the monster's ferocious attacks like a shadowy phantom, not a single hair was cut, and his breathing remained steady.

"Forty, forty-one..."

He was barely moving his lips, as if muttering some numbers. Finally, when Xie Yin Xue counted "one thousand and two", the monster gave up its assault on him and left room 208, heading for another door.

Xie Yin Xue watched its retreating figure, his eyebrows deeply furrowed: the monster's speed and physical strength seemed to have increased since last night. He contemplated testing his hypothesis by stabbing it with a sword, but he feared injuring himself — that's how he got hurt last night.

His attack on the monster had rebounded onto himself.

Xie Yin Xue understood that this was probably the game's way of limiting him. After entering the game, his abilities were already significantly restricted, which is why he couldn't save Chu Li in the previous instance, the "Gluttonous Feast."

In this instance, he couldn't kill the monster that formed from the essence of the elite guests directly.

It seemed that to clear the game, he must follow its rules. However, Xie Yin Xue pondered; the monster grows stronger every day, its strength possibly doubling, just like the cost of the rooms on each floor.

What would the monster become on the last day?

Xie Yin Xue's brow furrowed even more deeply. He located the only intact piece of furniture left in the room — a small cabinet — and sat on it to gather and analyze the clues he found tonight.

However, not long after, he suddenly heard shouts from Wen Ren Yan and He Yao in the neighboring room 209.

The monster's onslaught on them seemed intense, making it hard for them to fend off. Wen Ren Yan's voice lacked its usual composure, and even Han Si, from the opposite room and part of their team, was loudly inquiring about what was happening.

But something wasn't right.

After Yang Manqing and her group left, the biggest earners on the second floor today were Yun Qian, Wan Mo, and him. While it was evident that the monster's next target after him was Wen Ren Yan since they were neighbors, the monster didn't attack Yun Qian and Nai Nai, who were ahead of Xie Yin Xue, as ferociously. Why was its attack on Wen Ren Yan and his group so intense?

"What's going on?!"

After He Yao cried out in pain, Han Si became more anxious, wanting to burst out of the room to assess the situation.

Wen Ren Yan, however, shouted for her not to come out.

Xie Yin Xue approached the wall, placed his hand upon it, and asked, "Wen Ren Yan, do you need my assistance?"

When Wen Ren Yan heard Xie Yin Xue's soft voice, he was taken aback. Normally, the soundproofing between rooms on the second floor wasn't very strong, and one could hear noises from adjacent rooms. But that usually required loud vocalization. It was surprising that he could hear Xie Yin Xue's gentle voice so clearly.

Regaining his composure, Wen Ren Yan recalled his own hesitation to help Xie Yin Xue when he'd heard noises from his room. Grinding his teeth, he responded, "No, it's too dangerous here."

He and He Yao might be facing death, but they couldn't risk the lives of Han Si or Xie Yin Xue in the process.

Undeterred, Xie Yin Xue calmly replied, "I can save you, but it won't be free. I demand compensation."

Assuming Xie Yin Xue was asking for money, Wen Ren Yan recalled past experiences where newcomers would pay veterans for assistance in clearing game levels.

Even if Xie Yin Xue wanted coins from the 'Dream of Helios', they were willing to pay. Surviving the night was the priority.

Sharing a glance, Wen Ren Yan and He Yao firmly stated, "Alright! We'll pay!"

Just as their words settled, the wall separating their room from Xie Yin Xue's collapsed. While Xie Yin Xue stood close to the falling debris, not a speck of dust settled on him.

In the next moment, He Yao, who had been impaled by the monster, felt himself being hoisted up and carried into room 208 by Xie Yin Xue.

The monster, diverted from He Yao, focused its attack on Xie Yin Xue and Wen Ren Yan in room 209.

With a swift roll, Wen Ren Yan retreated into room 208. Now, even though the monster glared fiercely at Xie Yin Xue, it no longer attacked him. Instead, it directed its tentacles at He Yao and Wen Ren Yan inside room 208.

"Damn it!"

Witnessing the turn of events, Wen Ren Yan cursed, clumsily dodging back into room 209, fearing for the incapacitated He Yao. As they evaded the monster's relentless assault within the room, Xie Yin Xue occasionally tugged Wen Ren Yan by the sleeve to help him out.

Thankfully, the monster didn't fully enter the room, opting to remain by the door and attack with its tentacles. Otherwise, Wen Ren Yan and He Yao might not even have had a chance to call for Xie Yin Xue's help.

After what felt like an eternity, when the monster finally abandoned its pursuit in room 209 and moved to the next room, a drained Wen Ren Yan sighed in relief, collapsing on the floor and gasping for breath.

Feeling a sharp pain in his lungs and tasting blood in his throat from the intense exertion, he looked over at Xie Yin Xue. Not a hair out of place, Xie Yin Xue merely dusted off his sleeves, his demeanor frail and weary as usual.

Comparing Xie Yin Xue's pale face with their own disheveled appearances, Wen Ren Yan wondered who truly was the weaker one.

Xie Yin Xue approached He Yao and informed them, "The monster only targets those inside the rooms."

"And only two individuals can occupy a room at any given time." Grasping for breath, He Yao accepted a medical kit from Wen Ren Yan, administered an injection to himself, and carefully cleaned and tended to his wound.

Wen Ren Yan handed him some medicine, advising, "Take these antibiotics."

The duo's efficient treatment displayed a clear familiarity with their medical supplies, indicative of hard-won survival skills from past game levels.

Seeing He Yao's compromised mobility, Xie Yin Xue decided not to return to room 208. Conveniently, there was an intact couch in room 209, where he took a seat.

Once He Yao had bandaged his wound and reassured Han Si with a shout, he leaned on Wen Ren Yan's shoulder, half-sitting, and expressed his gratitude to Xie Yin Xue: "Mr. Xie, thank you for saving us."

Wen Ren Yan added, "Mr. Xie, we will pay whatever compensation you ask for. How much do you require?"

Xie Yin Xue chuckled, countering, "Do I look like someone in need of money?"

Consequently, He Yao inquired, "Then, are you asking for... gold coins?"

However, recalling that Xie Yin Xue would not lack gold coins from the 'Dream of Helios', both He Yao and Wen Ren Yan were puzzled.

This was indeed a challenging situation.

Problems that money could solve were often the simplest.

"I need a favor from you." As expected, Xie Yin Xue's requested compensation wasn't monetary. "I'll ensure that you face minimal life-threatening risks."

That essentially meant that the "favor" did come with life-threatening risks.

Nevertheless, He Yao and Wen Ren Yan inhaled deeply, nodding in agreement, "Alright. Tell us what you need, and we'll do it."

Having made that promise, they intended to honor it.

Xie Yin Xue grinned, "Good, I knew saving you two was the right decision."

While the quality of newcomers in this version of the game seemed subpar, the veterans, like He Yao and Wen Ren Yan, certainly surpassed previous ones like Wei Dao and Qiu Yu Xing.

Yet, He Yao and Wen Ren Yan couldn't figure out why the monster had attacked them so ferociously that night. They hadn't earned the most gold coins. For added safety, they even redistributed their coins to ensure a minimal difference between their room and Han Si's.

But when Xie Yin Xue picked up a bag of gold coins from the crumbling doorway of room 209, they were stunned.

"Someone placed gold coins outside our door?!"

Although the painkiller injection had numbed He Yao's wound, this revelation left him incensed, causing him to wince as he inadvertently strained his injury.

Swinging the coin pouch, Xie Yin Xue remarked, "There are forty coins here, quite a substantial amount."

With bloodshot eyes, Wen Ren Yan pounded the floor, "It must have been that bastard, Qiang Zhi Yuan!"

Having worked for the esteemed guests in the Dream Cradle Hall, Qiang Zhi Yuan seemed to have earned a significant amount. His payment of twenty gold coins for room rent, with four coins left over, was evidence enough.

By merely placing gold coins outside He Yao and Wen Ren Yan's door and swiftly retrieving them at dawn, Qiang Zhi Yuan could discreetly use the monster to either kill or injure them during the night. Given that no one, aside from Xie Yin Xue, would venture out at night, no one would detect the coins he'd placed.

Qiang Zhi Yuan's plot was indeed successful. However, he hadn't anticipated that Xie Yin Xue wouldn't open his door, but instead would knock down the wall.

Nor did he expect, the following day at dawn, to not find his coin pouch outside room 209. Instead, he discovered a young man in snowy attire seated on a damaged sofa inside the room.

Gaping in disbelief, Qiang Zhi Yuan stuttered, "Why... why is it you?"

"Oh, I have a preference for this room's number, so I exchanged rooms with Wen Ren Yan and the others," Xie Yin Xue responded with a playful smirk, resting his hand against his forehead, looking both teasing and challenging. "Is there a problem?"

Author's note:

NPC: You took a room with the number "9" again; you must be doing it for me.

Xie Lao: ?