Chapter 44: Station 22: Pigments

Chapter 44: Station 22: Pigments

Roman clung tightly to her husband, Qi Yongxin, who in turn held her firmly against the door frame, supporting both their nearly-unsteady bodies.

Blood flowed like plump pomegranate seeds, pooling on the wooden hallway floor. Continuous droplets seeped from behind the picture frame, silently spilling over the wallpaper.

In that blood-stained portrait, a person writhing in agony was depicted—none other than Di Chen, who had been absent throughout the entire banquet!

His youthful face was completely pressed against the transparent surface, his palms desperately adhered to the canvas as if he were a man trapped, being contorted by an immense force from behind the glass.

Ada realized the situation and urgently cried out,

"Smash the portrait, he's still alive!"

Meng Liangchen, standing closer, summoned his courage and punched the image with a resounding thud!

The bulletproof glass remained steadfastly unbroken.

He then joined forces with Qi Yongxin to try removing the portrait from the wall, only to discover that it was firmly embedded and could not be dislodged.

"Move aside."

Ming Yiyang wielded a fire extinguisher hammer he'd seemingly picked up from somewhere, striking the frame with four crisp, diamond-shaped impacts.

Centered around these points, the glass cracked like a spiderweb. With a shoulder bump, the entire pane shattered like flowing water.

Behind the glass, the portrait remained a portrait, but the protruding oil canvas had now become a new obstacle.

The source of the blood was now clear – it seeped out from within the linen canvas used by Yu Lu Ma.

Ada drew a silver serpentine dagger from her sleeve and slashed the eerie painting without hesitation.

The blood was red, the dominant, surging hue.

In addition, there were splashes of black, white, green, yellow, blue, and more, all bursting out of the painting alongside Di Chen!

Ruman, who had been standing firm against the door with her husband, couldn't even scream. All she could do was press her mouth shut, burying herself in her husband's embrace like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand.

The portrait hung about 1.5 meters off the ground. Di Chen could be said to have fallen out of it.

His entire body was stained with that bizarre pigment, and when he fell, the moisture caused him to slide forward a short distance.

However, the Di Chen who had tumbled out was only... half there.

He was still twitching, still capable of expressing pain. From his despairing and numb gaze, one could discern that he might still possess a relatively lucid consciousness.

But his lower body had completely vanished.

The viscous, tangled colors dripped slowly from the frame, connecting tenuously with the wooden floor as they clung desperately to the part of him that had disappeared.

The pungent smell of acrylic paint rapidly filled the airless corridor, almost overpowering the scent of blood.

Di Chen struggled to extend his hand, an action that was unusually challenging for him at this moment.

He yearned to grasp something, but the Luman couple in front of him only pressed themselves closer to the door, as if ready to flee at any moment.

In the vacuum-like silence, Di Chen lowered his hand.

However, before anyone could approach to examine the scene, the paints suddenly came to life!

Ada gasped in shock.

"Not good!"

The pigment connected to Di Chen's lower body contorted and grew, swiftly climbing up his chest. The previously entangled liquid suddenly tightened like a string, dragging this half-man back into the frame!

The entire scene unfolded so swiftly that it left them stunned. After Ada's exclamation faded, all that remained before them was a severed black curtain sliced by the dagger, silently observing them.

Only the oil painting canvas, drenched in rain and blood, continued to seep with colors and crimson.

The seeping slowed down gradually.

-

Di Chen's demise had a considerable impact on everyone. However, for this group who had experienced at least three cycles of the Unbounded World, it wasn't an irreparable terror.

During the synchronization of information, even Ruman, who had the strongest reaction, gradually calmed down from his rapid breathing and began contemplating how to handle the situation ahead.

Ming Yiyang mentioned the excess bones in the sewage pool, the poorly designed underground garage, the inaccessible freezer and boiler room, the thirteen staff bedrooms, and finally emphasized the vanished manager:

"The crucial clue we have now is that the ski resort's access card was with the manager, but he had left the mountain before the banquet began. The manager's office door is locked, and we can't get in."

Qi Yongxin promptly continued, "If there might be a lead on the access card in the manager's office, we'll need to figure out how to open it tomorrow."

Ruman nestled against her husband's arm and whispered, "With the cable car service suspended, we'll certainly need the snowmobile to go up the mountain later. We should split into two groups tomorrow - one to open the manager's office and the other to clear the snow from the underground passage."

"We need to get the snowmobile out first so that it won't be trapped in the garage when we need it," Qi Yongxin pointed out.

He then asked, "But where do we keep it? If the fuel tank freezes, the snowmobile will be useless, and it would waste time."

Ruman dismissed his concern, "We can place it in the main hall. That way, we can ensure its fuel tank won't freeze."

Meng Liangchen was somewhat uncertain.

"What if the staff objects? They might not allow it."

Leaning on her husband's shoulder, Ruman said coldly, "I don't know what those staff members are like, but as long as they appear human, we can deal with them in human ways. I think, since we'll still be staying at this hotel, we should take the initiative."

Startled by the sudden aggression from this woman, Qi Yongxin hastily weighed the pros and cons.

"No way! Judging from the bedroom, there are thirteen of them, while we only have twelve, and not all of us are in our prime."

"If we really confront them, even as humans, they would be more familiar with the overall structure of the hotel. In that aspect, I don't think we stand a chance."

"I didn't say we had to confront them directly."

Ruman sat up straight, her seemingly ordinary appearance masking an extraordinary assertiveness.

"We'll just park the snowmobiles in the lobby and won't do anything to them. As service staff, they should unconditionally accept any decision agreed upon by all guests," she declared.

She emphasized the key phrase "unanimous consent from all guests."

No one raised an objection this time. Qi Yongxin pondered for a moment and nodded.

"That's a good idea. If everyone agrees with this plan, we should retrieve the snowmobiles from the underground garage tomorrow, in case the snow accumulates too much and we can't use them when it really matters."

Simon made the sign of the cross over his chest and calmly surveyed the group.

"God bless us. Now that we've mentioned the hotel staff, shouldn't we verify the current number of employees and their respective roles to prepare for any potential confrontations in the future?"

Meng Liangchen's enthusiasm rose, and the burly middle-aged man readily responded:

"I've probably seen the most employees. I've spoken to everyone who was available."

"There's one head chef, three sous chefs, two front desk attendants, three waiters, and three cleaners in this hotel. Two of the front desk attendants and two of the waiters are twins. So far, I've accounted for twelve people, one short."

Rao Haocang found the number reasonable:

"If the manager's office is just an ordinary workspace without living quarters, the remaining spot might be for the manager's accommodation. By the way, I still find it suspicious that the manager went down the mountain."

Qi Yongxin nodded slightly.

"He personally wrote the invitation, which shows how much importance he attaches to this matter. Why would he leave the mountain just a few days before the celebration? I inquired about this earlier and asked for his departure time, but the receptionist simply said 'no comment'."

Meng Liangchen crossed his arms and sighed.

"The only clue we have is in the manager's office... We'll have to wait until tomorrow to break in."

Chi Zhehe spoke with a relaxed tone.

"Bashing it open might not be a good idea. Mr. Ming and the others also planned to force their way into the manager's office, but a cleaner was watching them from a distance. Although we don't know what would've happened if they tried, it's safe to assume it wouldn't have ended well."

Ruman pondered for a moment and suggested,

"I recall that the manager's office is on the far right, with good lighting. Tomorrow, we should look for an opportunity to break a window and enter quietly. If we're careful, we might not be detected."

Chi Zhehe replied leisurely,

"I had the same idea today. I circled around back and, oh, turns out the manager's office doesn't have any windows on that wall. There's no way to get in."

Ruman couldn't tolerate his passive-aggressive nature any longer:

"Can't you just spill everything you know in one breath?"

Chi Zihao shrugged his hands:

"That's it."

Everyone: "...."

Ming Yiyang ignored him and went straight to the point:

"I have a way to open the manager's office door without causing a commotion. Tomorrow, Qiling and I will still go together."

Qi Yongxin was eager to join:

"I'll come with you guys too."

Ming Yiyang glanced at him, speaking frankly:

"Perhaps you should focus on clearing the snow. After all, the manager's office can still be accessed with or without you. But if you're not there to help, we might have to shovel for an additional half hour. We'll come find you once we're done."

Qi Yongxin was left speechless. Si Shuhao, however, remained preoccupied with the potentially tainted wine:

"Um... If the hotel staff really intends to harm us, would they start poisoning our food from tomorrow?"

She expressed her concern earnestly:

"It's freezing and snowy here, and we have no other sources of food. Even if they don't poison us to death, I feel that continuing to eat their cooked meals carries significant risk."

"We can have the canned food from the pantry."

Patran answered her in a gentle tone.

"Mr. Simon and I managed to sneak into the storage room and discreetly took some canned goods. We'll bring them over tomorrow morning for everyone to have a reserve."

Si Shuhao gazed affectionately at the youth's exquisite countenance, sincerely expressing his gratitude to him.

The young man shook his head slightly, grasping the pure black Dalaris beside him, and whispered softly.

"I've heard tales of The Shining, where the protagonist gradually loses his sanity in an oppressive setting. I suppose these attendants might also succumb to madness over time, but for now, they seem more human than anything else."

The observant Ada chimed in,

"I'm more concerned about the unseen than the visible, like the 'frames.' We didn't discuss how they operate, did we?"

Her light brown eyes, veiled by the black veil, fixed directly on Yan Qiling, conveying an almost indifferent scrutiny.

As for how Mr. Di Chen entered the painting frame, we have yet to figure that out.

Meng Liangchen did respond, albeit with a ruthless tone, "To put it inhumanely, Di Chen didn't die at the right time."

"When he was pulled into the frame, we were all attending the banquet. When he came out, he was like that... No one saw how he entered, let alone could have prevented it. His death wasn't particularly meaningful; it just informed us that the frame can devour people."

Ada turned to Qi Yongxin and emphasized a crucial point, "Didn't he go to get dressed for the hotel's evening gown event before he died? Isn't that also valuable information?"

Qi Yongxin embraced Ji Congrong by his side, smiling somewhat helplessly.

"But both Rongrong and I were in our evening gowns, and nothing unusual happened, right? I think it might also be related to the fact that he didn't arrive at the banquet on time. Anyway, we still have too few clues."

Ada couldn't glean any useful information from their expressions; only a chaotic scent disturbed her breath.

She redirected her gaze, and beneath the black veil, her slightly lowered eyes returned to the shadows.

"Perhaps, but this isn't the only solution."

Outside the window, howling winds sounded like the shrill cries of an infant.

The snowstorm was intensifying.