Chapter 149: Flash, Belobog Extraordinary Incident Record; SCP-343

Bai Bai Xuan looked at "Stelle," who continued to explore the corridor. Since scavenging nearly a thousand trash cans, she seemed to have awakened some incredible hobby; she even wanted to pull down the notices on the side of the road.

After March 7th's persuasion and his whipping, "Stelle" compromised and promised to return the trash cans to their places at night.

"Trash-can-sexuality."

Such a label, even in America, would be extremely explosive, belonging to the absolute minority.

The cancer of the Earth can run for Prime Minister of the small island nation; presumably, "Stelle" can also compete for the President of America, bringing some new variables.

Bai Bai Xuan raised his right hand and pressed it lightly on "Stelle's" shoulder.

"Do you want to keep listening?"

Since landing on Jarilo-VI, he had been monitoring the influence and erosion of the "Stellaron" power on the surrounding environment.

The entire Jarilo-VI, except for the Foundation base protected by reality anchors, and Belobog, which had the protection of "Preservation" power, had not yet been completely eroded by the "Stellaron" power.

The base had built a three-dimensional Maginot Line with reality anchors, which was naturally impregnable.

As for Belobog, the pitifully small amount of "Preservation" power, besides helping to keep warm, only slowed down the speed of "Stellaron" erosion.

Since the outbreak of the cold wave, nearly a thousand years had passed. Even the last fortress, Belobog, had parts of its urban area swallowed by the "Fragmentum," where monsters wandered, no longer suitable for human habitation and survival.

The moment Bai Bai Xuan entered here, he felt an restless power.

In the Goethe Hotel, the intensity of this power had even increased.

Every time "Stelle" listened, it was like throwing a stone into a pool, causing ripples to stir, overlap, and create standing waves.

Still no movement.

"Stelle" was very strange; in such a luxurious hotel, were there only four guests staying in one day?

And four aliens at that.

For the Goethe Hotel to operate like this without going bankrupt, one can only say the boss behind the scenes is wealthy.

If one thinks carefully, it feels even stranger. Belobog has a population of less than a million; who are the guests of this hotel?

It couldn't be those who finished the banquet and didn't want to go home for a while...

Could it be that they party all day...?

"Stelle" scratched her gray hair, her fingertips pointing at Bai Bai Xuan's waist:

"It's so strange, there don't seem to be any guests here."

"It's 027's, it's so strange."

"Xiao Bai is also a repeater~"

"Haha."

Bai Bai Xuan conjured a bottle of mineral water out of thin air and handed it to "Stelle," then took one out for himself, tilted his head back, and drank it down in one gulp.

The corridor was quiet, with only the sound of swallowing liquid.

"Stelle" looked at the squeezed plastic bottle in her hand, blinked, and put it into her personal space.

It must be said that in learning new skills, she was a bit more talented than March 7th.

March 7th had just learned to grab that photo album from the void.

As for how to intercept "space-time" and make it into a photo, both of them were at a loss.

"How about we go back?" "Stelle" asked tentatively, "Or wait for March to recover and explore the night view of Belobog together?"

Bai Bai Xuan thought about it and decided it was better to explore; once the "Stellaron" disappeared, many unique sights would never be seen again.

After so many rounds of his strengthening, March 7th should be about recovered.

"Okay," Bai Bai Xuan nodded, "Let's go get little March."

He took "Stelle's" hand and held her fingertips in his palm.

Just as they passed a closed door, faint rustling sounds came from behind the solid wood, suggesting that a guest must be living in this room.

"Stelle's" heartbeat quickened, her blood pumping.

She was certain there was no one in that room.

Even Bai Bai Xuan, with the help of his authority, was stunned for a moment the instant he saw the room was empty.

"You heard the sound inside too, right?"

"Stelle" asked.

Bai Bai Xuan nodded and used a little trick to help "Stelle" turn the handle.

The classical door slowly opened along the trajectory dictated by the hinges, revealing the secrets inside to the two alien visitors.

The floor was spotless, the quilt on the bed had no wrinkles, the trash can was empty; it didn't look like anyone lived here at all.

"Da da da..."

Bai Bai Xuan and "Stelle" stood in place, yet footsteps sounded.

"Stelle" was shocked and pulled her baseball bat from the void.

"Rules are meant to be... woooo—"

Before she could finish, the girl's soft lips were blocked by Bai Bai Xuan.

Inside the empty room, a strange man's voice sounded.

"I went to check."

"There's nothing in room 237. He must just be too bored and wanted to get our attention, so he deliberately made himself look like that."

There seemed to be a woman in the room—she sighed melancholically, her voice trembling:

"No, honey. Let's go, there must be something in this hotel..."

Yes, there must be something in this hotel...

The two people talking were the dirty things...

"Stelle" secretly slandered.

Then there was an unsettling silence.

But soon, the furious man completely tore through the dead silence:

"I will never leave here! No one can make me leave here!"

The voice stopped abruptly, and the anomaly disappeared.

Then "Stelle" turned her head to look at Bai Bai Xuan, her golden eyes showing both curiosity and worry, not knowing whether to stop or continue exploring.

"Still continuing?"

"Continue, even if it's a ghost, can it be more dangerous than a Doomsday Beast?"

"Stelle" nodded, exited the room, locked the door, and continued to press her ear against the adjacent door panel, carefully identifying the sounds inside.

"Bang!"

"Bang! Bang!"

Muffled sounds came from the room from time to time.

That was the unique sound of some kind of gelatinous hard object—very likely some kind of ball—hitting a hollow brick wall.

"Thud!"

Then, the object fell onto the wooden floor and "rolled, rolled, rolled" toward the depths of the room.

Someone seemed to pick up the sphere and throw it again: another "bang," "thud," and then "roll, roll, roll."

Pick up, throw, "bang," "thud," "roll, roll, roll"... this cycle repeated, with no sign of stopping.

Bai Bai Xuan reached out his right hand and pressed it on the doorknob, his four fingers curled and hooked onto the metal part.

With just a light force, a twist downward, he would face the strange room again.

"Do you want to confirm?"

"Mm."

"Stelle" nodded up and down, like a beckoning cat.

This was a chance to be alone with Bai Bai Xuan; if she really met a ghost, she wouldn't feel scared, but would thank the other party for giving her a suitable reason to act spoiled.

The corners of her mouth curved into a slight hook.

"Click—creak—"

The door was opened again.

Without any surprise, no one was staying in the room.

[893964460 Transit Group]

So, the two continued toward another room.

The room was filled with a woman's sobbing; she seemed to be begging someone for something.

The voice was too broken; besides feeling her anxiety and terror, it was impossible to distinguish what she was saying.

At this moment, a hoarse and harsh strange voice sounded chillingly:

"Danny isn't here, Mrs. Torrance."

The woman seemed startled—her incessant crying stopped abruptly.

Bai Bai Xuan and "Stelle" walked toward another room.

In the room, a man and a woman seemed to be arguing loudly about something, but the words were extremely fragmented, and it was impossible to distinguish without listening carefully.

"Honey, it was just a nightmare..."

The woman's voice was slightly soft, but the man was somewhat hysterical.

"You have no idea how terrifying the things I dreamed of were! I was holding an axe, and then..."

"Wake up, it was just a dream!" The woman seemed to be crying, "Look at you, you've scared the child so much!"

Subsequently, the couple's argument was completely drowned out by the child's sharp crying.

Suddenly, a chilling coldness came from the back of their necks, as if someone had pressed a sharp blade against their skin.

"Who's there?!"

"Stelle" suddenly turned around, looking behind her vigilantly, swinging her baseball bat, ready to attack.

She wasn't as panicked as one might imagine; the adrenaline secreted instantly made her breathing faster, her heartbeat and blood flow accelerated, her pupils dilated, and her thinking became agile.

The power of "Destruction" hidden within her gave her the possibility of destroying all enemies.

"Calm down." Bai Bai Xuan spread his hands, "It's me, there's no one else."

"Stelle" breathed a sigh of relief, but Bai Bai Xuan's second half of the sentence was only then spoken—

"What we encountered is likely not people from the present..."

"According to folklorists and occult enthusiasts, these are ghosts, but in reality, these should be afterimages left behind under the influence of the 'Stellaron' power."

Hearing this, "Stelle" knew her chance had come.

She took the opportunity to lean forward, hiding under Bai Bai Xuan's black robe, and then vigilantly scanned the surroundings.

Nothing.

"Stelle" let out a breath, her tense mood relaxing.

Bai Bai Xuan was stunned for a few seconds before he came to his senses; "Stelle" was really getting better and better at pulling stunts.

Just when "Stelle" thought it was over, she saw Bai Bai Xuan beside her lift his pure black eyes, his gaze falling on the end of the hotel corridor.

Yes, there was indeed something here.