Chapter 8: Hotel Rules

### Chapter 8: Hotel Rules

Qianyuehui Mall, First Floor.

Although the mall had closed for the day, showing their credentials allowed Elder Yuan, Captain Cheng, and the team members to enter the area where the battle had taken place earlier.

Though the Yuanxiu Association was a secret organization dealing with supernatural phenomena, its authority surpassed that of regular law enforcement. Especially when investigating supernatural incidents, they often carried credentials from various law enforcement agencies to handle uninformed civilians.

The aftermath team had already cleaned up the supernatural traces from the scene, and the memories of the witnesses had been erased using special methods, making them delete any photos or videos they had taken while under hypnosis. Even if some evidence slipped through, the Yuanxiu Association's intervention ensured that such information involving supernatural forces wouldn't spread online.

Fortunately, this incident had no casualties other than Luo Jun and the child. The child had been examined by the Yuanxiu Association and found unharmed before being sent home. However, why the polluter kidnapped the child remained a mystery, and the organization would continue to monitor the child and his family.

"Here it is."

Hao Yong pointed to the discount booth. "The polluter was standing here when he activated the World Tree leaf."

Elder Yuan nodded and stepped forward to observe the scene closely.

"Teacher, the aftermath team took samples here and stored them for research," Captain Cheng said, catching up. "The site has naturally dissipated, and the pollution concentration is much lower than in the lab..."

"It's not that I don't trust the research team's conclusions," Elder Yuan shook his head. "If the boy had ended up in an ordinary world, even one with a 'door' in a foreign country, I could find him. But Chaos..."

At the mention of this term, the group looked somber.

"A world without a 'door' is indeed hard to trace," Captain Cheng agreed, trying to console him. "But Chaos worlds have their conveniences; as long as he completes a task, he can return."

"That's not something an ordinary person can handle!" Elder Yuan sighed. "The pollution in Chaos worlds is so severe that without the constraints of a task, they can't even remain stable. How can someone without Vital Energy training receive task prompts? Even if a regular person is strong and lucky, without a goal, how could they survive?"

"But we have no other options..." Hao Yong lamented.

"There is one more way!" Elder Yuan reached into his pocket and took out a small, finely crafted compass, with a patina indicating its age.

"This is..." Captain Cheng's eyes widened. "A Tracking Compass?"

Seeing the others' confusion, he explained, "This is a legendary artifact, a consumable. As long as you know the corresponding mark, you can enter a world at any time... without using a door!"

"Entering another world without a door?" The younger members were shocked. Ling Xin's eyes lit up, thinking of something. "Elder Yuan, does that mean it works for Chaos tasks too?"

Elder Yuan smiled and nodded. "If we can find the entry point for a Chaos task, we can trace it, but we can only stay for a hundred minutes before being forced back."

Captain Cheng's eyes brightened. "That's an incredible feature! No wonder you wanted the recent Chaos task data!"

"But..." Captain Cheng frowned slightly. "Using such a precious artifact just to save an ordinary person, isn't that a bit..."

"Do you realize what you're saying?" Elder Yuan's eyes glared. "Our association exists to protect the world and its people. Besides, this young man got into danger because of us; we can't just let him die!"

Captain Cheng shrank back, muttering, "I was just worried about how you'd justify the expense..."

"Let me go!" Ling Xin volunteered, looking at the compass. "I couldn't save him; it's my responsibility!"

"No!" Captain Cheng immediately refused. "Letting you join the main world security team was already the limit. Chaos tasks are too dangerous. If something happens to you, how can I face your brother? Elder Yuan, give me the compass."

"I reached the Mind-Concentration Stage at thirteen," Ling Xin stared at Captain Cheng, unwavering. "I might have more experience with Chaos tasks than you."

"This isn't about experience!" Captain Cheng insisted. "This is my area, and it's my responsibility!"

"Enough, stop arguing!" Elder Yuan intervened. "What can you accomplish there? Can you bring him back? Complete the task for him? Captain Cheng, you checked the recent task data. None match the timeframe. If he's alive, it's likely a new, independent task. Going in unprepared for over an hour, what can you do?"

"And due to the instability of Chaos worlds, entering might expose you to temporal turbulence. How confident are you in surviving that with your Vital Energy training?"

Captain Cheng's face twitched. "Teacher, you wouldn't be planning to go yourself?"

"No one else can do it." Elder Yuan stretched his body, raising his hand to stop any further objections from Captain Cheng and Ling Xin. "This is decided. Don't worry, I have a plan. Just be here to assist me when I return!"

With that, he lifted the Tracking Compass and slowly infused it with Vital Energy.

...

Back in the hotel room, Luo Jun, about to open the door, saw a note stuck to it.

"What does it say?" Luo Jun reached out but found the note seemed embedded in the door and couldn't be removed. He leaned closer and read the black text:

**Welcome to Midnight Hotel. For your safety and a better stay, please follow these rules:**

1. **The hotel is closed from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM. No guests will be accepted during this time. Guests already checked in must stay in their rooms and not leave.**

2. **During closure, hotel staff will not disturb your rest. Ignore any phone calls or knocks on the door.**

3. **If you accidentally answer the phone during closure, remain silent regardless of what the other party says. Once the call ends, immediately call the front desk and repeat everything you heard, word for word.**

4. **If you accidentally open the door during closure, smile at anyone standing there. Nod to whatever they say but do not respond. Close the door after they leave.**

5. **You may allow other humans into your room, but they can stay for no more than an hour. Ensure they leave within an hour and do not let anyone else in for another hour.**

6. **Do not allow any non-human entities into your room.**

7. **Humans have one head, two eyes, one mouth, and walk upright on two legs!**

8. **Humans are safe. Anything not human is dangerous.**

**Follow these rules, and you will have a peaceful night.**

...

"What kind of nonsense is this?"

Luo Jun was puzzled. The first two rules seemed reasonable, but starting from the third, things got weird. The later rules were downright eerie.

Why the repeated emphasis on humans? Were there non-humans in the hotel? And the seventh rule, did he really need to be told what humans looked like?

Previously, Luo Jun might have thought this was a hotel prank. But now, having experienced supernatural events, he was more attuned to the strange possibilities of the world.

Looking at the hotel clock, it was 10:40 PM, during the so-called closure period.

Should he follow the rules?

Who knew what kind of place this hotel was? If the rules were genuine, he could have a peaceful night by simply staying in bed until morning.

But if the rules were a trap, staying put might be dangerous, possibly designed to keep him confined.

How to verify this? Luo Jun thought of the Destiny Dice.

He activated the system and set the event as "Follow the rules on the door and survive the night."

After using the dice, he was informed that the event's complexity was too high to be judged.

"Complexity? What does that mean?" Questioning slightly, Luo Jun received new information in his mind.

The Destiny Dice could only judge simple, clear, immediate events. It couldn't handle overly complex events. If an event required many conditions, had complex steps, unclear goals, or a long duration, the dice wouldn't work.

Clearly, surviving the night involved many steps, and he didn't have enough dice uses for each one!

No loopholes... Luo Jun frowned. Could he issue a mission to survive the night, gaining more dice uses?

However, the mission mechanism wasn't under his control. If the system didn't issue a mission, there was nothing he could do.

This is tricky...

Luo Jun stared at the rules, deep in thought, when suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Thud, thud, thud."

The heavy, slow knocks shook the door slightly.

"It's here!" Luo Jun's heart jumped to his throat.

Should he respond? The rules advised against it, but he didn't know if they were trustworthy!

"Thud, thud, thud."

Another three knocks.

Luo Jun squinted, noticing the peephole.

Don't open the door, just check through the peephole...

Grabbing a sturdy wooden hanger from the closet, Luo Jun cautiously approached the door and looked through the peephole.

Seeing what was outside made him break into a cold sweat...