Romantic Hotel

A few days later, at the Seventh Sequence Monitoring Center.

Lin Chen stared intently at the wildly fluctuating energy readings on the screen, his voice urgent: "High-intensity rule fluctuations detected! Coordinates locked, instance name being analyzed... It's 'Romantic Hotel'! Level assessment—A!"

The atmosphere in the conference room instantly tensed. A-level dungeons meant a higher mortality rate, more bizarre rules, and richer... "gifts."

Shi Mo, who had been lounging lazily on the corner sofa, immediately opened his eyes upon hearing this, a hint of interest flashing in them. "Rank A? Sounds much more interesting than Rank F. I'll go to this dungeon."

He had barely finished speaking when a voice interrupted him.

"No." Bai Xu appeared at the doorway without anyone noticing and strode over. "You've only done two dungeons in such a short time, and both were low-level. Going straight into an A-level dungeon is too risky."

Shi Mo frowned slightly and looked at Bai Xu: "Do you think I'm not good enough?"

"This has nothing to do with whether it works or not."

Bai Xu walked up to him, his tone softening slightly but remaining firm. "It's a matter of experience and adaptability. The rules of A-level dungeons are more complex and twisted, and may even involve mental pollution. You need more time to accumulate experience in dealing with different rules. Rashly entering a high-difficulty dungeon can easily lead to misjudgment and..."

"And die?" Shi Mo finished his sentence for him, a cold smile curving his lips. "You think I'd die?"

Bai Xu looked into his heterochromatic eyes, which showed no fear of the A-level dungeon, only displeasure at being blocked and eagerness to try.

He felt helpless, knowing that discussing standard risk assessments with this guy was like casting pearls before swine. "The mortality rate is very high. I don't want any new members of the Seventh Sequence to have an accident on their first high-risk mission."

[Host! Host! Calm down! Bai Xu is right!]

The system screamed in Shi Mo's mind, "[A-level dungeons are really different! The rules are full of traps! Our strength hasn't recovered much yet, let's play it safe! Play it safe!]"

Shi Mo ignored the system's incessant chatter and simply stared at Bai Xu: "Do you think those rules can hold me back?"

"The terrifying thing about the strange rules is their unpredictability and logical distortion," Bai Xu tried to explain. "Many times, strength is not the only element to pass the level, and it may even become a death sentence. What you need to learn is how to 'understand' and 'utilize' the rules, rather than simply fighting against them."

"Troublesome," Shi Mo commented, but the insistence in his tone seemed to have softened a little.

He certainly didn't have much patience for the so-called "understanding and exploiting" rules, but he also admitted that, in the current state, facing the unknown A-level dungeon, he might encounter something that could truly threaten him. More importantly...

"You're going?" He looked at Bai Xu.

Bai Xu nodded: "I'll lead the team in this time. We need to gather more firsthand information about Rank A dungeons. You can stay in the monitoring room and observe how Rank A dungeons operate from our perspective, which will be helpful for your future entry into higher-level dungeons."

Shi Mo remained silent for a few seconds, seemingly weighing his options. Staying in the monitoring room to watch others play the "game" would undoubtedly be boring. But observing this so-called A-level instance, especially how Bai Xu used his "rules" skills, seemed... not entirely uninteresting.

"Okay." He finally relented, leaning back on the sofa and resuming his languid demeanor. "I'll keep an eye on it."

Bai Xu secretly breathed a sigh of relief; he was genuinely worried that this guy would insist on going in regardless. "Red Kite, Shadow, get ready. We'll enter the instance in five minutes. Lin Chen, activate the highest level of monitoring to ensure stable signal transmission."

"Yes!" The people whose names were called immediately sprang into action.

Five minutes later, within the designated teleportation area, Bai Xu, Hong Yuan, You Ying, and four other experienced members of the Seventh Sequence stood in place. Also recruited were twenty-three unfortunate random participants, making a total of thirty people.

Bai Xu glanced one last time at the monitor screen, nodded to Shi Mo, and was then swallowed by the gray mist.

Inside the monitoring room, a huge screen was divided into multiple views, mainly focusing on the seven members of Bai Xu's team. Shi Mo sat in front of the screen, showing a rare look of concentration.

……

As the gray mist dissipated, thirty people appeared in the lobby of an extremely luxurious hotel that exuded an eerie atmosphere.

Welcome to the romantic hotel!

This hotel is committed to providing every distinguished guest with an exceptionally romantic experience. As hotel staff, your responsibility is to ensure guest satisfaction.

Please strictly adhere to the following employee guidelines, as they will affect your performance evaluation and even your personal safety:

Rule 1: Hotel staff must always maintain a smile, demonstrating professionalism and enthusiasm.

Rule Two: Passengers' requests must be prioritized. Remember, the passenger's romantic experience is paramount.

Rule 3: Room service is only available from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM the following day. Outside of service hours, please do not disturb any guests, regardless of what you hear.

Rule 4: There is no fourth floor in the hotel. If you see a staircase or elevator button leading to the fourth floor, immediately close your eyes and count to ten silently.

[Rule 5: Rooms with red doors indicate that guests require absolute privacy; do not knock or enter for any reason.]

[Rule Six: If you hear a baby crying, please go to the nursery on the west side of the third floor and make sure the dolls inside are smiling.]

[Rule Seven: The hotel kitchen will provide staff meals daily. However, please note that if any food contains red meat, do not eat it and immediately report it to the manager in the black uniform.]

Rule 8: The mirrors in the hotel are safe, and you can use them to groom yourself. However, if your reflection does not match your movements, please break the mirror immediately.

[Rule Nine: At midnight, the hotel will play a romantic concerto. All staff must return to their dormitories and, regardless of what they hear, must not open their doors or windows.]

Rule Ten: Trust your colleagues. In a romantic hotel, teamwork is the foundation of survival.

[Mission Objective: Survive in the romantic hotel for 7 days and ensure that the satisfaction rate of the guests you are responsible for is no less than 80%.]

Wishing you a pleasant work experience and a romantic memory!

The ten rules, along with the cold and malicious mission objectives, were clearly imprinted in everyone's consciousness.

Those who can appear here are all veterans who have struggled to survive numerous strange and bizarre rules.

After the initial dizziness subsided, the thirty people almost simultaneously suppressed their outward emotions, replacing them with a highly vigilant silence and sharp eyes that quickly scanned their surroundings. There were no screams, no outbursts of questioning, only suppressed breathing and the faint rustling of clothes.

The panic was suppressed, and in its place, analysis and assessment were quickly initiated.

"Ten rules, the standard 'privileges' for an A-rank dungeon." A man with old scars on his face muttered under his breath, his eyes sweeping over the luxurious decorations like knives.

"Passenger satisfaction... Hmph, one of the most troublesome types of tasks."

"Red door, fourth floor, mirror, baby crying... there are quite a few trigger points."

The brief whispered conversation quickly ceased as everyone mentally memorized and analyzed the rules, while remaining vigilant about their "colleagues" and the seemingly glamorous yet fraught with danger lobby.

Bai Xu stood inconspicuously in the crowd, but his green, rule-bound eyes subtly gleamed with an almost imperceptible eerie light. Hong Yuan and You Ying beside him were also on edge, forming a stable yet mutually wary triangle.

"Initial feedback from the Eye of Rules," Bai Xu's voice was extremely low, barely audible to Hong Yuan and You Ying, "of the ten rules, at least five have serious problems. They are either completely wrong, contain fatal traps, or are incompletely stated."

Hong Yuan's eyes sharpened, and her fingers instinctively reached for the weapon hidden at her waist. You Ying seemed to blend into the dimly lit corner, her presence even more concealed.

Half of the rules should not be trusted! Even for experienced individuals, such a high percentage of potentially flawed rules weighs heavily on their minds. This means that every step could lead to a misstep, and every judgment could result in utter ruin.

In the monitoring room, Shi Mo leaned back in his comfortable chair, watching with great interest the thirty faces on the screen that were trying to remain calm but couldn't hide their seriousness, as well as Bai Xu's slightly flickering, special eyes in the crowd.

"Oh? You can tell half of them are problematic right away?" Shi Mo's lips curled into an almost playful smile, his heterochromatic eyes gleaming with interest. "An A-level dungeon, right from the start it's a psychological game of balancing true and false rules with survival pressure... that's what makes it interesting."

He gently swirled the wine glass that had somehow reappeared in his hand, causing the dark red liquid inside to ripple.

"So, Bai Xu... and these veterans struggling to survive, how will you find your way out in this 'romance' intertwined with sweetness and bloodshed?" he muttered to himself, his gaze fixed on the green-eyed youth on the screen. "Don't disappoint me too much."