Chapter 394 The First Player Meeting

Chapter 394: The First Player Meeting

"So, will you attend the player meeting in the lobby later?" Tan Ying ventured cautiously, her voice tinged with a hint of probing.

Her gaze shifted between Su Bai and Wu Hang. A gut feeling told her there was a subtle tension between the two, yet she still inquired carefully, "We went to the kitchen earlier to get some food and found all those creepy things had already returned to their rooms. Even the ghost baby Chi Yan was holding had fallen asleep. So, we think that during this nightmare game, the night should be our free time as players. It's a perfect opportunity for us to sit down together, share intel and plan our next move."

"You're coming, right?" Tan Ying asked again, her eyes fixed on Wu Hang's hand gripping Su Bai's, afraid she might have interrupted something important at a bad time.

"We can talk later," Wu Hang said in a hoarse voice before finally releasing Su Bai's hand.

After Wu Hang let go, Su Bai could still feel the lingering chill of the other man's fingertips on his wrist.

"Of course," Su Bai replied, pressing the spot where Wu Hang had held him with his other hand before turning to Tan Ying with his usual smile. "I hope there will be some important matters discussed at the meeting later."

However, when he mentioned "important matters," he put clear emphasis on the words, clearly still a bit annoyed at Tan Ying's sudden arrival. He hoped the player meeting she mentioned would prove more significant than what he was currently engaged in.

"The time when players can freely gather together is pretty important, right?" Tan Ying didn't dare to ask further and simply led Su Bai and Wu Hang back to the lobby. Meanwhile, Xiao An, tagging along like a sidekick, and the little ghost girl with Wu Hang remained in the rooms on the second floor, as if they too followed a set of rules unknown to the players.

In the lobby, all the players were seated around the dining table. Even Chi Yan had already settled the ghost baby, so no ghosts were in sight in the lobby. Even the clearly non-human waiters were absent, so this really was the players' free time.

The old television hanging on the wall still flickered with static, occasionally showing blurry scenes. The dim yellow lighting gave the whole lobby an eerie feel, and the shadows on the floor appeared distorted and deformed.

Yet, the human players let out a sigh of relief in this ghost-free environment.

Liu Yongzhi, as before, used his power to create a soundproof bubble. However, since his ability couldn't cover the entire lobby, he could only do his best to cover the area around the tables.

Su Bai and Wu Hang, the last to arrive in the lobby, also returned to their seats at the table where they had dined earlier. They sat at a polite distance.

Wu Hang slightly turned his body so he wasn't facing Su Bai, while Su Bai acted more naturally. Although he kept looking around, observing the other players and the environment, he occasionally glanced at Wu Hang, his eyes with a hint of curiosity and a confident smile.

"We can't go on like this," Li Feiwen spoke first, frowning. His voice sounded particularly low in the quiet surroundings. "You saw what went down at dinner today. There are at least six more days of game time. Even if we survive the various strange game activities, these ghosts are just gonna want more and more. On the first day, they wanted raw meat. By the seventh day, they'll probably want to eat humans, won't they?"

Ai Qing and Liu Yongzhi nodded repeatedly in agreement, their faces filled with worry.

"We could take out those 'family members' first," Chi Yan said coldly, a ruthless glint in his eye.

"But the game rules don't allow us to harm 'family members,'" Tan Ying also looked troubled, her voice tinged with helplessness.

"Breaking the rules means punishment," Zhi Yuan, who wore glasses, opened his eyes at this moment and spoke up unusually. "If we break the rules and harm 'family members,' what's the punishment? And who will carry it out? Those zombie waiters? If we take out both the waiters and the 'family,' can we avoid punishment?"

"We're not sure what the punishment is, nor do we know how it will manifest..." Su Bai pondered for a moment before saying, "So, before everyone considers eliminating all the ghosts in this hotel, there's one thing we must do."

"Something we must do?" Some players showed confused expressions.

"We must try to challenge the rules," Zhi Yuan looked in Su Bai's direction and continued his line of thought. "We can test how the punishment manifests by causing minor harm to a 'family member'—for example, accidentally making a small cut. This would also help us figure out how far we can push the rules."

"That's too dangerous!" Liu Yongzhi's face was filled with refusal, his voice almost trembling. "What if the punishment is the injured 'family member' came at us to kill us? Do we then kill the 'family member' first? And then wait for an even more terrifying punishment to come? This nightmare game simply doesn't have any shortcuts!"

"Then should we obediently continue participating in the activities?" Tan Ying retorted to the players around her. Judging by her expression, she still seemed unwilling to be bound by the rules.

Su Bai actually had some understanding of the rules' thresholds. After all, from the start of the game until now, although he hadn't physically harmed Xiao An, he had tormented her mentally enough. According to the rules announced by the administrator, players must please their "family members" and not do things they dislike. Su Bai clearly hadn't followed this, yet no punishment had befallen him.

Did this mean that as long as their "family members" didn't resist, whatever entity or entities in this Happy Hotel that monitored the rules and enforced punishments couldn't detect Su Bai's violations? Could players truly test the boundaries of the rules as Zhi Yuan suggested?

However, Su Bai ultimately didn't bring this up during the first day's player meeting because the "education" he had subjected Xiao An to might be something other players couldn't replicate.

The other players in the lobby also fell silent after Tan Ying's retort, and quietness filled the space. The air was thick with the musty smell of decay. Every player's face appeared pale and silent in the faint light, and a stifling tension filled the lobby.

"Mr. Zhi Yuan, since it was your idea, why don't you be the first to try?" Li Feiwen suddenly broke the silence, his gaze fixed directly on Zhi Yuan.

Zhi Yuan, however, immediately shook his head and closed his eyes, saying, "I can't."

His refusal came quickly, almost too quickly to seem normal.

Was this bespectacled man who always kept his eyes closed actually a coward?

Although many players had their own thoughts, unfortunately, during the first day's player meeting, they failed to come up with any plan that everyone could agree on. They would have to wait for the next day's activities to continue.