Chapter 26
Romantic Hotel
Inside the office, the air was as thick and sticky as congealed blood.
The "manager," composed of creeping rules and regulations, turned the ever-changing light and shadow face toward Bai Xu.
"Now," its voice, a mixture of bizarre synthesized sounds and whispers, "let's talk about you, Bai Xu. Your performance these past seven days has been very...extraordinary."
Its "arms"—composed of flickering, unintelligible streams of text—tap lightly on the dark desktop. "You've seen through too many misconceptions, avoided too much 'fun.' You've even tampered with the rules' feedback mechanism itself."
It paused, and an exaggeratedly malicious expression of distress appeared on the face in the light and shadow. "This makes my evaluation work tedious, very...unstandard. Your actions have ruined the 'romance' and 'surprise' of the process."
Bai Xu looked at it calmly without responding.
Hong Yuan, standing nearby, couldn't help but scoff, her voice ringing out clearly in the deathly silent room: "What, can't you handle this? We survived by following the rules, and you're still not happy? You're such a low-class boss."
The light and shadow face instantly distorted, the rules and regulations violently shifted, and emitted a teeth-grinding friction sound.
"Insolence!" The mixed voice rose, laced with harsh static. "I define the rules! I decide whether you're satisfied or not! You're just 'employees,' and I'm the 'manager' here! If I say it's not good enough, it's not good enough!"
It suddenly "stood up"—though it was only the upper body, composed of flowing darkness and stripes, that rose high.
"Your composure, your judgment, your exploitation of loopholes in the rules... it's all too 'correct,' so correct it's nauseating! This doesn't fit the 'Romantic Hotel's' motto! True 'romance' requires surprises, fear, and... a loss of control!"
It extended a "tentacle" entirely composed of densely packed, tiny warning text, pointing at Bai Xu: "You have not provided sufficient 'emotional value.' Your 'performance review' is unsatisfactory."
Shadow cursed, and Hawkeye and the doctor immediately went on high alert. The only surviving random participant, Stone, turned pale.
"So?" Bai Xu finally spoke, his voice still flat. "What is your 'ruling'?"
The manager's shadowy face stretched into a huge, unsteady smile, as if pieced together from countless fragments. "Since the conventional 'rating' system cannot fairly evaluate an 'outstanding employee' like you, then I've decided to initiate... a special evaluation procedure."
The office walls began to ripple, the rules and regulations that shaped the manager's body spreading outwards like a tide, merging into the walls, ceiling, and floor. The sense of space in the entire room began to distort and stretch, and the light became even dimmer and more unpredictable.
"I will personally try to persuade you all to stay."
The manager's voice came from all directions, laced with undisguised malice and an almost childish arrogance: "All of you will become permanent 'employees' of the hotel! New rules will be added here, specifically designed for you, until you provide enough 'fun,' or... become a permanent part of this place!"
Hong Yuan's eyes widened in disbelief: "You...you're cheating! What kind of BOSS personally changes the rules to force someone to stay? How can we play like this?"
"Play?" The manager's voice was mocking. "Who told you this is 'play'? This is 'management'! In my hotel, I am the rule! Now, I feel that the previous rules have made things too easy for you, and we need to add a little... 'challenge'."
Darkness surged from every corner of the room like a tangible tide, interspersed with more shimmering, newly formed rules, exuding an ominous aura. A heavy, soul-chilling sense of constraint began to descend, attempting to pin the six people to the spot.
The manager, one of the core embodiments of this strange rule, felt "bored" and "annoyed" because his "plan" was almost perfectly cracked by Bai Xu. At this moment, he completely tore off the layer of procedural disguise and wanted to use the most tyrannical and unreasonable method to permanently leave behind this group of uncontrollable "variables".
Faced with this almost shameless "cheating" behavior, Red Kite was so angry that she couldn't speak for a moment, Shadow gripped the dagger but felt there was no leverage, and Eagle Eye and the Doctor's expressions were extremely solemn. Stone closed his eyes in despair.
Bai Xu stood still, looking at the darkness surging around him and the newly formed chains of rules. His face remained expressionless, but something seemed to be slowly gathering deep within his eyes.