Chapter 23

Emergency situations can be helped by the front desk, is that what this refers to?

However, when checking into a hotel normally and encountering a failed door card, one can indeed ask the front desk for help.

They could return to their rooms.

But,

What about the problem of contamination?

Ai Hoshino looked at Lin Ye, then at Hikari Kuroda; the contamination on both of their bodies hadn't decreased at all, and they were only two or three degrees away from becoming like the previously mutated cleaner.

Two minutes later,

The female receptionist came to Lin Ye and handed the two door cards to him,

"Guest, it has been processed,"

"Thank you,"

"This is as it should be,"

She smiled.

"I am truly thanking you, thank you for the help you provided us."

"This is the duty of a hotel staff member, I hope you have a wonderful night at our hotel."

The three of them took the elevator back to the third floor.

The cleaner was no longer there.

'Beep...'

The door to Room 304 opened.

The three of them walked inside.

At this time, the room was clean and tidy, without any dust or bloodstains, as if it were brand new.

"Cleaned up thoroughly, nothing left."

Lin Ye noticed the change in a certain item and revealed a smile,

His analysis had no problems.

There were no problems until six o'clock.

"Alright, sleep peacefully! There is a three-hour rest period,"

Ai Hoshino blinked, completely not understanding the reason.

"That... could it be that Lin Ye-kun has already found the reason for our deepening infection and has already successfully solved it?"

"You could say that!"

Ai Hoshino and Hikari Kuroda looked at each other, immediately came to Lin Ye’s side, shaking him and asking,

"Tell us about it, what is going on with this hotel? Why did our contamination deepen, and how is it suddenly fine now."

Ai Hoshino, who had personally survived in the hotel for several hours, was very curious and wanted to know all these puzzles and rules; Hikari Kuroda was the same.

The two women opened their big eyes, full of anticipation.

"I'm tired,"

"Lin Ye-kun,"

"Lin Ye-senpai,"

The two women sandwiched Lin Ye from left and right, and even proactively raised their little fists to knead his shoulders and tap his back.

"Satisfy our curiosity! Lin Ye-kun, I, I... after leaving the hotel and returning to reality, I can wear white silk stockings for you to see... I can even dance a dance specifically for you."

This... is not bad.

"I, I..."

The pressure came to Hikari Kuroda’s side.

"I will wear a school swimsuit for Lin Ye-senpai to see."

Hikari Kuroda said, forcing herself to endure the shyness.

"Alright! It’s not really difficult to say, but once ignored, you really wouldn't think of it."

Lin Ye organized his language,

"Did you notice that?"

He pointed to the electronic clock hanging on the wall.

"The clock,"

"Aren't there numbers below the time digits."

"It's zero, what does this mean?"

"What was the number when we left Room 306 at 1:15 AM? Did either of you notice?"

The two women shook their heads.

"It was 70."

"This..."

"But it should be zero now."

"Why."

"Cleaning,"

Lin Ye said,

"After cleaning, everything in the room returns to zero."

Return to zero?

Isn't it just that the room is cleaned and tidied up?

Vaguely, Ai Hoshino grasped something, but it was as if there was still a layer of window paper that hadn't been completely poked through.

What meaning did this number represent?

She felt this was the key.

It was just that close,

But Ai Hoshino racked her brains and just couldn't grasp that flash of inspiration; she still couldn't think of what the number represented.

"Eh!"

Ai Hoshino suddenly tilted her head, stuck out her cute tongue, and tapped her head lightly with her right fist, revealing a cute and awkward smile,

"Sorry, Lin Ye-kun, I... can't think of it, you... tell us."

This was a girl doing a very cute action, but it was based on the premise of Ai Hoshino’s original cute appearance; with the black-gray patches distributed on Ai Hoshino’s cheeks now, Lin Ye felt the girl doing this action appeared even more eerie.

"Hoshino, watch your behavior."

"Is it not good?"

She opened her big eyes, her face lifted slightly by fifteen degrees, and her slender right index finger pointed at her cheek.

This was another small action that could highlight a girl's cuteness.

"Why don't you look in the mirror and see your current situation."

Suddenly, Ai Hoshino understood; she imagined in her mind herself with a face full of black spots doing cute actions, this was simply terrifying!

She couldn't accept it herself, and a strong sense of nausea rose in her heart.

"I'm sorry, I left a bad impression and feeling for Lin Ye-kun."

She immediately apologized properly, without a hint of hesitation.

"No need to be so serious, I was just joking,"

The indifferent tone made Ai Hoshino say "um," and she lifted her eyes again to look at Lin Ye.

"Lin Ye-kun, just say it directly! My brain is actually... not very good at working."

Lin Ye’s gaze fell on Hikari Kuroda, and this chestnut-haired twin-tailed girl shook her head vigorously to indicate that she hadn't figured it out either.

"I'll give a few more hints!"

Lin Ye thought for a moment and organized his language,

"When Hoshino and I entered Room 306, the number below the clock time was 0, and at eleven-something it became 20, and after midnight it was 40."

Along with time, the number was constantly increasing.

"Contamination,"

Ai Hoshino and Hikari Kuroda said in unison.

The two women couldn't help but look at each other, knowingly revealing a smile.

"Yes, contamination value, this doesn't refer to our contamination, but the contamination value of this room."

"According to my judgment, starting from 22:00, the contamination value gradually increases,"

"Wait, there's a problem,"

Ai Hoshino suddenly thought of something; she looked at the number below the clock, that number was zero now, but if she remembered correctly, Lin Ye just said that when they left Room 306, the number for Room 306 was 70.

"From zero to 20, 40, shouldn't the next be 60, and not 70?"

Lin Ye’s gaze fell on Hikari Kuroda, and he pointed with his finger,

"Me?"

Hikari Kuroda was confused,

But immediately, the two of them reacted again.

"Because there are three people in one room, so the contamination value increases by 30 every hour."

According to this rule, the more people there are, the greater the value increase per hour.

Hikari Kuroda suddenly thought of the "six people in one room" that Taisuke Sawanaga had proposed when the six of them were in the first-floor lobby.

If it really were six people in one room, then... the room contamination value could reach 100 in two hours.

All of them would be completely contaminated and become total strange entities.

Hikari Kuroda’s heart trembled, and cold sweat broke out on her back, especially since the few of them had initially prepared to have four people in one room; if that had really happened, she would have already become a strange entity and would never be able to leave this love hotel alive.

Suddenly,

Hikari Kuroda cast a grateful look at Lin Ye.

Ai Hoshino also realized this point,

"Lin Ye-kun, did you see through this early on?"

Her eyes sparkled with starlight; that was admiration for Lin Ye’s wisdom. Firmly trusting and supporting Lin Ye-kun from the beginning was the most correct choice!

"Experience."

This was the experience he gained from reading numerous strange tales, horror novels, and other works in his past life.

People gathering in large numbers is often courting death.

The rules didn't limit the upper limit, only the lower limit of people, but that is often also an obscure hint. Therefore, choosing two people is the most appropriate.

But these words made the two of them start to imagine.

The two women subconsciously felt that Lin Ye had participated in strange games before and had rich experience in dealing with them; otherwise, why was Lin Ye so calm from beginning to end, not worried or afraid at all.

Ai Hoshino was even more certain of this thought, because only by passing "strange games" could one obtain magical powers; Lin Ye’s "time stop superpower" must be a reward he obtained through "strange games."

If she passed this "strange game," could she also obtain magical superpowers?

Suddenly, Ai Hoshino had a bit of anticipation for the moment after passing.

"Lin Ye-senpai, the contamination value is related to the number of people and time, so if it were just one person in one room, from 22:00 to 6:00 the next morning, it would only increase by 80 contamination value, and one could completely successfully live until the moment of checking out the next day."

"This is a love hotel, people who come here to stay are assumed not to be alone."

Just this one sentence made Hikari Kuroda understand what she had ignored; even without the explicit hint of Rule 1, they shouldn't have been one person in one room.

"I boldly guess... if a participant checks into a room alone, the hotel would probably arrange a 'companion' to stay with them."

Both of them immediately felt their scalps go numb.

What kind of scene would that be?

The two of them couldn't imagine.

"Then... Sawanaga-kun..."

What is the situation in Room 307 now?

Hikari Kuroda thought subconsciously.

"I hope he is fine."

One sentence made Hikari Kuroda understand that Lin Ye didn't hold much hope for Taisuke Sawanaga.

But she didn't blame Lin Ye, and she had no qualifications to blame him.

Because she knew Lin Ye had already done his best for Sawanaga-kun; "cleaning Room 307" was something Lin Ye proactively proposed to the cleaner, the purpose being that he didn't want Taisuke Sawanaga to die simply from being contaminated.

Otherwise, Lin Ye, who had already seen through the rules of this hotel, would have had no need to do something extra if he really wanted Taisuke Sawanaga to die.

It was just that in the end, Sawanaga-kun failed to live up to this kindness.

Hikari Kuroda sighed in her heart,

Two rooms with zero contamination, one person increases 10 contamination per hour, and there are more than four hours left until six o'clock, calculated as five hours,

Then actually four people using it is just right.

But...

——"Get lost..."

She remembered Taisuke Sawanaga’s final rejecting shout, fearing that they would affect his life safety.

The obscure reminder Taisuke Sawanaga gave her when first checking into Room 307—that one can sacrifice for survival—made her heart ache, constantly stinging her inner self.

Hikari Kuroda slowly withdrew her thoughts,

Her gaze fell on Lin Ye’s face.

A certain thought emerged.