"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
There was a knock at the door of Room 307.
"Hello!"
"Housekeeping service."
But the door remained shut.
The cleaning staff quickly retrieved a keycard from her chest pocket—a master keycard granting access to all guest rooms.
Lin Ye's expression shifted slightly. He had just searched through those pockets earlier but hadn't found the keycard.
The hotel's rules sure were strict.
"Room 307 requires housekeeping service," the cleaner announced.
"I'm using the keycard to open the door now."
The cleaning staff advanced slowly, keycard in hand.
"No… don't…"
Suddenly, a strong voice of rejection came from inside Room 307.
"Room 307 does not require any cleaning service. No, absolutely not. Please move on to another room!"
It was the voice of Taisuke Sawanaga.
He was alive—and seemingly well.
The cleaner paused, turning to glance at Kuroda Hikari. The girl with chestnut twin ponytails trembled, her hands and feet growing cold.
"Taisuke, Taisuke open the door! We… we need room service."
"No! Get out!"
The voice inside was as firm as ever.
The cleaner lowered their hand.
"Room 307 is occupied by a guest. No housekeeping service is required. Proceeding to the next room."
But just then—Time Stop
Lin Ye frowned, disappointed.
"I really thought Taisuke wouldn't respond!"
He had been curious about what would happen if someone was inside the room. What would the cleaners do upon entering? Would they treat the guest as… trash to be disposed of?
Initially, Lin Ye's attitude toward Taisuke was shaped by the negative impression he left in the original story. Even so, Lin Ye had no intention of harming him directly and would have lent a helping hand if needed.
But now?
After Taisuke shut them out to save himself—refusing to communicate or cooperate, even feigning deaf—Lin Ye no longer minded seeing this infamous yellow-haired character meet his end.
A dead yellow-haired man is a good yellow-haired man.
However, his thoughts would have to wait for action.
Lin Ye approached the cleaner, taking the master keycard from her left hand. He walked toward the door of Room 304, further from the staff.
Next step? Use the master keycard to open the door.
Time resumed
"Zzzzt…"
The keycard for Room 304 was invalid.
Hoshino Ai's expression faltered.
They couldn't get back into their room.
Hotel policy dictated that once cleaning was complete, the original keycard no longer worked.
What now?
Lin Ye calmly held up the cleaner's keycard.
Hoshino Ai watched, her face pale, but she couldn't help but admire Lin Ye again. He had already thought ahead and acquired the master card.
But the card produced the same "zzzzt" error.
The door remained locked.
Hoshino Ai's face turned whiter.
Lin Ye, however, seemed unfazed by the failure.
"Guest…"
The cleaner's hoarse voice broke the silence.
Lin Ye turned.
The once-normal cleaner had transformed. Their expression grew feral, liquid oozing from their hollow eyes as they began pulling tools from the cart—tools meant for cleaning and… an axe?
Why did cleaning staff carry axes?
Kuroda Hikari's gaze fixated on the sharp blade, which reflected the light and dripped with blood. It had to be the blood of Kimimura Mihui!
"Stealing a keycard," the cleaner rasped, "Guest's finances are… in danger. Report…"
The voice, halting and raspy, was eerily similar to the female receptionist's.
In the next moment, the cleaner moved, their humanoid form twisting into something monstrous. Brooms and axes spun, whirling like weapons.
Hoshino Ai and Kuroda Hikari froze, shutting their eyes instinctively.
But Hoshino Ai soon realized she was unharmed. She felt herself being pulled away.
Lin Ye must have used time stop.
When she blinked her eyes open again, she found herself standing at the elevator entrance.
Back at Room 304, the cleaner's attacks were futile, slashing only empty air.
The cleaner realized its targets were gone.
"Take the stairs," Lin Ye commanded.
As he moved toward the elevator button, Kuroda Hikari bolted for the emergency staircase.
"Ahhh…"
Behind them, the cleaner let out an unnatural roar.
But it stopped at the staircase entrance, unable to pursue.
"It… it didn't follow," Kuroda Hikari stammered. "It must be unable to leave the third floor!"
Hoshino Ai exhaled in relief.
"What do we do now, Lin Ye? We can't get back to our room, and the receptionist in the lobby is just as dangerous. We can't stay here forever!"
The dimly lit staircase, bathed in green light, didn't feel safe to her.
"To the lobby," Lin Ye stated.
"…"
"You're seriously planning to wait in the lobby until six?"
Hoshino Ai gritted her teeth. She could endure a few hours of not talking to the receptionist if that's what it took.
"No," Lin Ye replied.
"We will talk to the receptionist."
"Wha—!"
Hoshino Ai froze in shock.
Even Kuroda Hikari looked completely bewildered.
Hoshino Ai clearly remembered that after Taisuke had communicated with the female receptionist, the receptionist mutated into a grotesque and bizarre form.
And now, Lin Ye wanted to go to the lobby to communicate with that same female receptionist. Why?
Faced with the women's doubts, Lin Ye gave no explanation. He simply continued walking down the stairs and pushed open the emergency exit door on the first floor.
The emergency door, which earlier had resisted all attempts to open it from the outside, now gave way with just a light push.
Bright light from the lobby flooded the stairwell, dispelling its oppressive gloom.
The three of them stepped into the lobby once again.
At the front desk, a woman in a black suit sat quietly.
When Lin Ye and the others entered the hall, she stood and approached them step by step, her graceful, curvy figure on full display.
"Sir, what service do you need?" she asked. Her tone was as polite and measured as before.
Hoshino Ai clamped her mouth shut, refusing to make a sound, no matter what was said.
"It's an emergency," Lin Ye replied.
"After the cleaning staff finished cleaning our rooms, they locked the doors, and now the door cards for rooms 304 and 306 doesn't work."
He pulled out the keycards for the two rooms and handed them to the receptionist.
"Could you please reset them for us?"
"I understand. The negligence of our staff has caused you trouble. Please forgive us."
Taking the two cards, the receptionist returned to her desk and began a series of operations.
Hoshino Ai and Kuroda Hikari stood stunned.
So, that's how it works.
So, in case of emergency, you could ask for help at the front desk. Was that what Lin Ye had meant?
In ordinary circumstances, if your hotel keycard stopped working, you would indeed turn to the front desk for assistance.
This meant they could return to their rooms.
But…
What about the poison problem?
Hoshino Ai glanced at Lin Ye, then at Kuroda Hikari. The pollution affecting them hadn't diminished in the slightest—they were still dangerously close to becoming like the strange cleaning staff they had encountered earlier.
Two minutes later, the receptionist returned to Lin Ye with the reset keycards.
"Guests, the issue has been resolved," she said, handing them back.
"Thanks," Lin Ye replied.
"Not at all," she answered with a smile. "It's my duty as hotel staff. I hope you enjoy a pleasant stay at our inn tonight."
The three of them rode the elevator back to the third floor.
The cleaning staff were nowhere to be seen.
Ding…
The door to Room 304 unlocked.
The three entered.
The room was now immaculate—clean, tidy, and completely free of dust or bloodstains. It looked as though it had just been prepared for new guests.
"Everything's been reset—nothing remains," Lin Ye remarked, observing the changes with a smile.
His analysis had been correct.
Nothing problematic would happen until six o'clock.
"Alright, go to sleep! You have three hours to rest," Lin Ye declared.
Hoshino Ai blinked, completely bewildered.
"Wait… Could it be that Lin Ye figured out the cause of our worsening infection and actually fixed it?" she asked tentatively.
"Seems like it!" Kuroda Hikari chimed in.
The two girls exchanged glances before rushing to Lin Ye's side, shaking him slightly and demanding answers.
"Tell us what's going on in this hotel! Why did our infection worsen, and why has it suddenly stopped? What's the secret?"
Having survived for hours in the hotel, Hoshino Ai was desperate to uncover its mysteries, as was Kuroda.
The two girls stared at him with wide, eager eyes.
"I'm tired," Lin Ye said flatly.
"Lin Ye!"
"Senior Lin Ye!"
The two girls clung to him, their pink fists gently patting his back in an attempt to coax him.
"Come on, satisfy our curiosity! Lin Ye, if we get out of this and return to the real world, I'll wear white stockings for you… and even dance for you!" Hoshino Ai offered, her tone playful yet determined.
Lin Ye paused, clearly intrigued.
"And I… I…"
Kuroda Hikari hesitated under the sudden pressure.
"I'll wear a school swimsuit for you, Senior Lin Ye…" she stammered, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"Alright, it's not that hard to explain," Lin Ye relented, organizing his thoughts.
"Did either of you notice this?"
He pointed at the digital clock on the wall.
"The clock," he said. "Do you see the numbers below the time?"
"It's zero. What does that mean?"
"Do you remember what the number was when we left Room 306 at 1:15?" he asked.
Both women shook their heads.
"It was 70."
"Wait… what?"
"But now it's zero," Lin Ye continued.
"Why?" Hoshino Ai asked.
"Because of cleaning," Lin Ye explained. "After the room is cleaned, everything resets to zero."
"Reset?"
Hoshino Ai thought about it. The idea of cleaning resetting everything sounded logical on the surface—cleaning did leave the room spotless, after all.
But the numbers…
What did they signify?
She felt as though she was close to grasping the truth, but something vital still eluded her.
The numbers, she realized, were the key.