Chapter 421 “The House Deceived Us.”

Chapter 421: “The House Deceived Us.”

Su Bai and Zhi Yuan exchanged a glance, each instantly recognizing the same astonishment reflected in the other’s eyes.

Though startled, they were not bewildered.

After all, these photographs clarified many things. For instance: Why had they sensed no inherent power of the rules emanating from the Happy Hotel building itself upon entering—only from the “family members” and “servers” portrayed by Eerie Entities? Why had the servers been so cavalier about altering the game rules? And why did those “family members” seem to know every rule by heart—even without consulting the cards?

Because this was not a nightmare game primarily orchestrated by the “Happy Hotel” itself, but rather an absurd game of “playing house,” staged by a group of Eerie Entities residing within the hotel!

Su Bai and the others were not the first human players to enter the Happy Hotel. Each time humans entered, the Eerie Entities living inside divided themselves: one faction assumed the roles of the players’ “family members,” while the other took on the duties of “servers.”

The familiar zombie waiter and ghost waitress might, in previous nightmare games, have repeatedly played “family members” for other players. Conversely, the “family members” currently harassing Su Bai’s group had once served as “servers,” guiding earlier players through the rules again and again—hence their perfect memorization of every regulation.

Initially, Su Bai had assumed the “Happy Hotel” existed much like the “Mirror Apartment” they’d encountered before: though Eerie Entities were active, the structure itself had undergone a transformation, its very essence fused with the rule of neighborly harmony. Even a special ghost like Chi Liu, lurking unseen, held little interest in the rules—the apartment itself, now inseparable from those rules, was truly in control.

But in the current Happy Hotel, it was the Eerie Entities—obsessed with role-playing—who held dominion. The hotel building itself, aside from exhibiting minor anomalies while repairing stairs and walls, possessed almost no autonomous presence.

Even the act of repairing the building appeared to be something the Eerie Entities compelled the “Happy Hotel” to perform—merely to sustain the game.

Su Bai looked away from the photographs and, in the dim light, noticed several familiar-looking cards scattered across the dark-red carpet. Yet these cards seemed only half-written, as if scribbled hastily or corrected mid-process.

On the opposite wall hung a few crumpled server uniforms. The entire area lay in disarray—utterly unlike the rest of the hotel, which, though shabby, remained orderly.

“The house deceived us.”

In the deathly silence, a voice—familiar, yet strained—suddenly broke the stillness. It belonged to the ghost waitress.

“If you’re going to repeat that line every day, then leave this place—since you clearly despise this dwelling,” came an immediate retort: a raspy, unfamiliar voice, likely another Eerie Entity concealed somewhere in the hotel.

Su Bai glanced back at the photos on the wall. Among the unfamiliar Eerie Entities depicted, one stood out—an old man whose head was nearly as large as his entire body, rendering his form grotesquely distorted.

Yet among the nearly hundred photographs, this elderly-looking Eerie Entity appeared only once or twice—and those images had yellowed completely. It seemed he had assumed the role of someone’s “family member” only a very long time ago—and only on rare occasions.

“The house deceived us!!” The female ghost’s voice erupted again—unrelenting, seething with fury. “The house found us, promising to help us locate our true family! But we can’t find them. Those outsiders could never truly see us as family! The house lied to us!”

“We, family.” The zombie waiter’s familiar voice followed.

“Yes—we simply cannot find a family that truly loves us. It’s all the house’s lie.” The female ghost’s tone grew increasingly agitated.

“We, family.” The zombie waiter insisted, undeterred.

“It’s asking—can we be considered your family?” the raspy voice interpreted the zombie waiter’s words.

“Hah?” The female ghost scoffed, as if hearing utter nonsense. “How could we possibly be family? We’re just a pack of lonely spirits trapped in this house. How could we ever be family? The house deceived us.”

“Sigh.” A weary sigh escaped the raspy voice.

“We, family.” The zombie waiter repeated once more.

“Forget it—don’t waste your breath trying to persuade her. It’s useless…” The raspy voice had barely finished speaking when it seemed to catch something else. “What did you say? There’s something else outside?”

Though uncertain what had transpired, it appeared Su Bai and the others’ arrival had just been detected.

“Who!” The next instant, the hysterical female ghost burst from the slightly ajar door!

As the ghost waitress—still clad in her server uniform—charged into the corridor, thick clusters of ghostly shadows bloomed along both walls. Even the dark-red carpet beneath Su Bai and the others’ feet revealed ghostly silhouettes formed by bloodstains so deep they verged on black.

In that single instant, Su Bai and the others were encircled—surrounded on all sides by ghostly shadows.

The dim light cast twisted, elongated silhouettes of various Eerie Entities down the corridor. Cracks webbed across the walls; the air hung thick with decay—as if the structure might collapse at any moment.

The ghost waitress who attacked in the blink of an eye bore no resemblance to the detached, rule-announcing figure she’d been moments before. Her eyes now flickered with raw resentment; her contorted expression radiated pure malice. Under the weak light, her form grew even more ferocious—like a demon clawing its way up from hell’s depths. Countless ghostly shadows surged in unison with her, converging upon Su Bai and the others’ position.

The ghostly shapes on the walls rapidly solidified. One by one, spectral entities emerged from the darkness—each uniquely monstrous. Some bore only a single, massive, bleeding eye; others possessed limbs crafted from brittle white paper; still others loomed tall and muscular, gripping heavy weapons… Even the bloodstain silhouettes on the carpet coalesced into tangible forms. Sharp, grasping claws erupted from the dark-red fibers—like malevolent spirits crawling forth from hell’s abyss—carrying the unmistakable stench of fresh blood.

Strangely, although this hidden space within the hotel was narrower than other areas, the number of concealed ghostly entities here was astonishingly high—difficult to fathom how many rootless, wandering spirits this hotel had absorbed over time.

Moreover, facing these intruders—Su Bai and the others—every manifested entity brimmed with boundless resentment and murderous intent, as if determined to tear the interlopers limb from limb.