The Horror Hotel

第2話 "I, a righteous gentleman, would never be easily tempted by a loli or a succubus!"

"Shit, what the hell is all this stuff?"

Lin Ze stared blankly at the air screen before him, completely bewildered. He hadn't been at the hotel for so long, yet someone had been freeloading all this time?

"Unbelievable!" Lin Ze muttered, indignant. "This can't go on. I have to collect the rent today."

But why were the mission rewards so strange? Beast-eared loli, succubus maid—what the heck were those?

"I, a righteous gentleman, would never be easily tempted by a loli or a succubus!"

As his voice fell, Lin Ze's eyes flickered as he walked straight towards the stairs.

Not for anything else, but to slay demons and eradicate evil!

However, just as he stepped on the stairs, Lin Ze suddenly stopped.

In a world where monsters roamed, humans were the weakest race. Going to collect rent unarmed would be no different from courting death.

Thinking of this, Lin Ze steadied his mind and began to search the lobby for a suitable weapon. His parents had run this hotel for a long time; maybe they left something useful behind.

Soon, Lin Ze found a dusty box in the hotel lobby's reception desk drawer.

"Could there be any treasures inside?"

Holding onto a shred of hope, Lin Ze turned to the corner, picked up a nearby fire axe, and chopped heavily at the box.

With a dull thud, the wooden box split in two. A musty smell wafted out, revealing a mess of random items inside—crumpled clothes, worn-out shoes, and even a human skeleton.

The skeleton had a rough pelvis, uneven bones, and long limbs, clearly belonging to an adult male.

"What is all this stuff?"

Frowning, Lin Ze continued searching. His fingers brushed against something and suddenly found a yellowed envelope.

The envelope had scarlet writing, crooked and messy, as if smeared with blood that hadn't dried—

"Be careful of your sister!"

Lin Ze's face turned pale instantly. He gripped the letter tightly, a vague unease rising in his heart. Who wrote this letter? Why the warning? What danger did his sister pose?

After hesitating, Lin Ze put the cryptic letter back in his pocket. Without understanding its origin, he decided not to inform his sister just yet but to stay vigilant.

With one last hope, Lin Ze continued to dig deeper into the box. His eyes lit up as he spotted a black object at the bottom—a blood-stained pistol.

Lin Ze carefully retrieved the gun, feeling its cold, piercing touch, and a prompt appeared before him:

[Item: Dark Gun (A handgun that feeds on enemies' fear, used to reason with unruly guests)]

"Dark Gun?"

Lin Ze blinked, incredulous. The gun was pitch black, adorned with demon wing patterns, and the trigger and bullet chamber were also black. The muzzle bore dark red bloodstains.

The black muzzle emitted a chilling dread, a deathly aura from countless lives taken...

"This seems to be the real treasure."

Lin Ze was delighted but found no bullets when he checked the magazine—there wasn't even a magazine!

"Are you kidding me?"

He turned his gaze back to the air screen. According to the prompt, he had to load this gun with the enemy's fear. A gun without bullets was no better than a brick; it was like preparing for a show only to find it was "Teletubbies."

Feeling frustrated, Lin Ze's expression turned bitter. Just then, the cold system voice suddenly rang in his ears.

[Note: Failure to complete the mission will result in being erased by the Ghostly Hotel!]

"Fortune favors the bold..."

Taking a deep breath, Lin Ze pocketed the gun and walked towards the stairs, realizing he had no choice but to clear the second-floor guests.

The air was thick with mold, and a creeping chill filled the atmosphere. Lin Ze cautiously ascended the creaky wooden stairs, reaching the second floor. In the dim corridor, Room 201 came into view, its door closed and a dark red stain at the threshold.

"Delivery! Your order has arrived!"

Lin Ze knocked lightly on the door, but there was no response. "Could he be out?" he wondered, noticing fresh blood on the doorknob.

"The blood's still fresh; he must be inside."

"Open up! Community warmth delivery!"

A strange sound of sharpening knives filled the silence, and heavy footsteps approached the door. The door creaked open slightly, revealing a twisted face and a blood-red eye.

"Human, leave if you don't want to die."

The ferocious gaze and murderous words could bury a person. Simultaneously, Lin Ze's prompt appeared.

[Name: Pig-Headed Monster]

[Species: Mutant]

[Description: A pig-headed humanoid with a cleaver, brutish and murderous.]

[Level: Nightmare]

[Weakness: Mutants have tough skin and muscles. Attacking their weakest point might be the only option...]

Seeing the prompt, Lin Ze's heart skipped a beat, his palms cold with sweat, but he forced himself to remain calm.

"I'm the owner of Ghostly Hotel. You've been staying here for two years. If you want to continue, pay up."

Confronting a bloodthirsty monster, any human would struggle to stay calm. But as the hotel's owner, he had to collect the rent.

The Pig-Headed Monster pushed the door open, revealing his gruesome form—a nearly two-meter-tall figure, bulging with muscles, wearing a black apron, and a terrifying pig head with yellow tusks protruding from his mouth.

"Oh, the new owner of Ghostly Hotel is a human?"

The monster looked down at Lin Ze, a sneer playing on his lips, his blood-red eyes flashing with disdain. To him, humans were no different from food. Yet, a human dared to collect rent, intriguing him.

Lin Ze didn't answer, maintaining a smile as he calmly said, "Will you pay in ghost coins or leave?"

The monster snorted, not hiding his malice. "I've never seen you before. How can you prove you're the owner?"

Lin Ze held up a silver key, "I took over from the previous owner. Today, you must settle the bill."

He deliberately phrased it this way to avoid appearing weak. If he mentioned inheriting from his parents, the monster would surely think him easy prey.

Seeing Lin Ze's calm demeanor, the monster hesitated, his eyes narrowing. "I don't have enough money now. I'll pay when I leave. Don't bother me when I'm hungry."

Lin Ze smiled, unyielding. "Sorry, today is the deadline."

"Are you threatening me?" The monster's voice turned icy, raising his bloody cleaver. Killing a human was as easy as squashing a bug.

"Do you know how fast my blade is?" The monster grinned, showing yellow tusks, the cleaver poised above Lin Ze's head.

Whoosh!

But just as the monster was about to strike, he froze, his expression stunned, maintaining his raised cleaver stance. A cold, dark handgun pressed firmly against his groin.