Romantic Hotel

Before the chilling echo of the broadcast had completely faded, a figure appeared like a ghost in the shadows of the lobby reception area.

He wore a crisp black uniform, perfectly pressed without a single wrinkle, and wore a standard smile as precise as if measured with a protractor, but his eyes were empty and devoid of any warmth. His name tag read: Lobby Manager.

"Welcome to the Romantic Hotel, everyone." The manager's voice, like his smile, was standard and completely flat. "I am your direct supervisor for the next seven days. Now, please come forward one by one to collect your employee badges and dormitory keys."

A slight commotion stirred within the crowd. At Bai Xu's signal, the members of the seventh sequence stepped forward in an orderly fashion. Their name tags were made of cold metal, engraved with their names and employee numbers. The keys corresponded to double rooms.

"The dormitory is on the second floor. Find it yourself according to the key number," the manager continued in his flat voice. "Today is your first day on the job. The tasks are relatively simple: familiarize yourself with the public areas on the first to third floors of the hotel—except for the fourth floor. Also, provide basic room service for the 3 to 5 guest rooms assigned to you, such as replenishing toiletries and changing towels."

He paused, his standardized smile seeming to widen by a millimeter, becoming even more unsettling: "Please be sure to demonstrate the professionalism of our Romantic Hotel. Now, let's get to work."

The crowd dispersed; some were eager to find their dormitories to drop off their belongings, while others stood there blankly, unsure of where to begin.

Bai Xu quickly gathered the team members in a corner.

"Red Kite, Shadow, the three of us will form a group. The rest of you will form pairs and keep communication open."

"I've written down all the rules, but remember what I just said: half of them might be false. Any uncertain action, especially one involving the specific details described in the rules, must be confirmed with me first."

"Understood, boss," everyone replied in unison.

"This godforsaken place makes me feel uncomfortable just standing here," Shadow muttered, warily eyeing the distorted oil paintings on the walls.

"Stay alert, but don't be too tense. Rule number one requires us to keep smiling." Hong Yuan took a deep breath and tried to keep the corners of her mouth in a natural smile, but this was especially difficult in the oppressive environment.

The process of assigning dormitories went relatively smoothly.

Bai Xu and You Ying shared a room, while Hong Yuan and another female team member shared a room.

The dormitory was simply furnished with two single beds, a wardrobe, and a separate bathroom, looking no different from an ordinary hotel, except that the sweet, cloying smell mixed with rust still lingered in the air.

After putting down their simple luggage, the team members began to head to their respective assigned guest room areas according to the assigned list.

The hotel interior is even more intricate than it appears from the lobby. Long corridors are covered with thick, dark red carpets that absorb all footsteps, and on both sides are rows of tightly closed guest room doors.

Occasionally, "travelers" would emerge from the room. They were dressed in various ways, but their eyes all carried an indescribable strangeness—some were empty, some were overly intense, and some were full of scrutiny.

Of the three guest rooms Bai Xu was in charge of, one had a red door. He kept rule number five in mind and only checked the room number from a distance, without any intention of approaching.

The process of replenishing supplies for guests in standard guest rooms appears normal on the surface.

Some passengers accepted the items with blank expressions, while others gave them strange looks, but none of them made any unreasonable demands. It was just that the ubiquitous rule of "keeping a smile" made everyone's facial muscles start to ache.

"Damn it, I can't laugh anymore," one of the random participants muttered, rubbing his stiff cheeks.

"Shh, keep your voice down!" His companion glanced nervously at the empty corridor.

Outside of service hours (during the day), they would occasionally hear strange noises coming from some of the guest rooms, such as the sound of heavy objects being dragged or suppressed sobs. But remembering rule three, everyone chose to ignore them and quicken their pace to leave.

Everything seemed strange and oppressive, but it appeared that as long as the rules were strictly followed, a semblance of calm could be maintained.

However, the fangs of the A-level dungeon were quietly revealed at dusk.

A female traveler, dressed in a gorgeous gown and with exquisite makeup but a critical eye, stood in the corridor and made a sharp complaint to a male contestant who was checking his packing list.

"Hey! You!" The female passenger's voice was clearly displeased. "What kind of expression did you have on your face when you brought me that?"

The male candidate looked up when he heard the sound.

He appeared to be around thirty years old, with a calm expression and even a trained, rather polite professional smile. He bowed slightly and said in a steady tone, "Dear guest, is there anything you find objectionable to the service?"

"Dissatisfied? Of course I'm not satisfied!" The female traveler looked him up and down, her eyes sharp. "Your smile is utterly fake! There's not a shred of sincerity! There's no warmth in your eyes at all! Is this how your hotel tries to appease its guests with its so-called 'romance' and 'enthusiasm'? I paid money to enjoy myself, not to see your hypocritical face!"

The man's smile remained, but a hint of seriousness flickered in his eyes. He maintained a steady tone: "I'm very sorry you had a bad experience; I'll try to adjust."

"Adjustments? Now you know about adjustments?" The female passenger's voice rose, jarring in the quiet corridor. "Too late! Your lifeless demeanor ruined my mood! I'm filing a complaint! Where's the manager?! Call your manager here!"

Almost the instant she finished speaking, the lobby manager, dressed in a black uniform and sporting a standard smile, appeared silently at the end of the corridor as if he had never left, and then walked over with precise steps.

"Dear passenger, how can I help you?" The manager bowed slightly, his smile unchanged.

"This employee!" the female guest pointed at the candidate, her tone aggressive. "His smile was insincere and perfunctory, seriously affecting my stay! I'm going to complain about him violating rule one—he wasn't enthusiastic or professional enough!"

The manager turned to the candidate, his gaze lingering on his face. The candidate's smile was impeccable, even more perfect than many others, but his overly calm eyes did indeed lack a certain "passionate" emotion.

"Employee number 223," the manager's voice was flat and emotionless, "a passenger complained that your service failed to convey sufficient enthusiasm, violating the spirit of rule number one. Do you have any explanation for this?"

"I strictly followed the rules, maintained a smile, and completed the service." The man's voice remained calm and composed, neither humble nor arrogant. "I believe my service met the standards."

"But the guest's experience is the ultimate standard." The manager's tone was completely flat. "Your 'smile' failed to make this distinguished guest feel the warmth that a 'romantic hotel' should provide. According to regulations, you need to undergo 'retraining'."

The man's expression finally changed slightly. He seemed to want to say something more, but the manager had already reached out his hand. The hand was pale, long, and the nails were neatly trimmed. He gently placed it on the man's shoulder.

The man's body tensed abruptly, as if bound by an invisible force. The standard smile on his face froze instantly, becoming stiff and rigid. He didn't scream, but only let out a short, forceful groan, as if he were being choked.

The manager put his arm around his shoulder, leading him around like a VIP, and headed deeper into the darker part of the corridor. The man's steps were stiff, like a puppet on strings, unable to offer any effective resistance.

Their figures disappeared around the corner of the corridor, and the last trace of human life was swallowed up by the shadow.

The corridor was deathly silent, even colder than before.

All the candidates who witnessed this scene felt their hearts being gripped by an invisible hand. Rule one, "Keep smiling"... It turns out it's not just an action, but a state that must be approved by the "travelers." No matter how perfect your smile is, if the guests are dissatisfied and think you're "not enthusiastic enough," it's enough to be fatal! How frustrating!

The members of Bai Xu's team watched from afar, their expressions grave.

"The first day..." Hong Yuan's voice was low and cold, "The right to interpret the rules is not in our hands at all."

"It seems that just being able to 'laugh' isn't enough; you have to laugh in a way that satisfies those 'things'." Shadow's eyes were sharp as knives as they swept across the closed doors on both sides of the corridor, as if he could see through the doors to the picky "travelers" behind them.

Bai Xu remained silent, his gaze fixed on the empty corner. He reaffirmed the absolute danger of Rule One, and assessed the unpredictability of the "passengers" and the absolute decision-making power of the "manager" to the highest level. This was not a game where simply following the rules would guarantee success.

In the monitoring room, Shi Mo stared at the last frame on the screen—the empty, dimly lit corner of the corridor. His heterochromatic pupils narrowed slightly, and his fingertips unconsciously tapped lightly on the edge of the control panel.