Room 306.
The clock finally struck six.
The pollution value displayed below remained at 60, never reaching the predicted extreme condition of 100.
"It's finally six o'clock," Lin Ye said calmly.
"Thank goodness," Hoshino Ai sighed in relief. "We made it through the night. We survived..."
Both girls couldn't hold back their emotions any longer and began crying tears of joy.
The past eight or nine hours had been the most terrifying experience of their lives. If given a choice, they would never want to endure something like that again.
"Lin Ye, let's go down quickly," Hoshino Ai urged. "I want to leave this place as soon as possible."
But then her gaze shifted to Lin Ye, and her voice trembled as she pointed at him in shock.
"It's gone… the infection… it's gone!"
Hoshino Ai noticed that the dark, gray patches on Lin Ye's face were fading rapidly, returning to normal right before her eyes. She turned to Kuroda Hikari and saw the same thing—the infection was disappearing.
"Th-thud, thud…"
Without hesitation, Hoshino Ai ran to the bathroom to check her own reflection in the mirror.
Her delicate features and fair skin greeted her, with only faint dark circles under her eyes hinting at the sleepless night.
"Wonderful... I'm back to normal!" she exclaimed. "We did it! We actually did it!"
Her joy was contagious, and even Kuroda Hikaru glanced at the clock to confirm the pollution level had dropped to zero.
"It's finally over," Kuroda murmured softly.
"Let's get going!" Lin Ye said, signaling for them to leave.
"Wait! Just give us a little time, okay?" Hoshino Ai asked suddenly, feeling relieved enough to worry about her appearance. She wanted to clean herself up, fix her messy hair, and wash away the exhaustion of the night.
She turned on the faucet. The water ran clear and clean, free of any ominous signs.
"Fine, I'll give you ten minutes," Lin Ye relented.
"I-I want to freshen up too…" Kuroda Hikari said hesitantly, raising her hand.
"Make it quick."
The two girls rushed to the bathroom.
The sound of running water mixed with their laughter and chatter floated out.
Lin Ye glanced over curiously, but then froze.
The frosted glass wall of the bathroom had somehow turned transparent.
Inside, the two girls—who had only intended to wash their faces—had started taking full showers.
"Was the switch accidentally triggered?" Lin Ye muttered to himself.
Maybe.
But since it wasn't his doing, he decided there was no harm in admiring the view.
Amidst the rising steam, their snow-white skin and graceful silhouettes became visible, radiating the vitality and beauty of youth.
'Not bad. Really not bad', Lin Ye thought approvingly.
Fifteen minutes later, the girls stepped out of the bathroom.
Their cheeks were slightly flushed, and their eyes darted shyly toward Lin Ye.
"Let's pack up and head downstairs!" Lin Ye said briskly.
"Yes," they both replied in unison.
"Oh, by the way," Lin Ye added with a sly smile, "I'm very satisfied with your 'thank-you gift.' It was worth the help I provided."
Both girls froze.
Their faces turned an even deeper shade of red, and their ears burned with embarrassment.
Their intentions had been seen through and pointed out so directly that they couldn't bring themselves to meet Lin Ye's gaze.
At 6:25 a.m., the three left Room 306 and took the elevator down to the first floor.
For Kuroda Hikari and Hoshino Ai, it felt like everything was finally over.
The moment they exited the elevator and entered the lobby, however, both froze in shock.
"Kuroda…" Hoshino Ai stammered, "is that… Taisuke?"
Standing in the hall was none other than Taisuke. His bright yellow hair made him impossible to miss.
"Yo!" he greeted with a wide grin. "Good morning!"
"You took your sweet time coming down. I've been waiting forever!"
Taisuke's gaze shifted to Kuroda Hikari, then to Lin Ye, his expression playful.
"Did you treat Brother Lin well last night, Kuroda? He took you in, after all. Without him, you'd definitely be dead right now…"
"Taisuke! Senior Lin Ye isn't like that!" Kuroda stammered, her face pale.
"Oh? And what kind of person is he?" Taisuke's grin widened, the meaning behind it impossible to decipher.
Kuroda bit her lip and stayed silent.
Lin Ye stepped forward, his voice calm but firm. "Let's stop the act here, shall we? For now, I'll call you 'Taisuke,' but we both know that isn't entirely true, is it?"
Taisuke's smile faltered slightly but didn't disappear. "I am Sawanaga Taisuke—or at least, I was. Even if I tell you that, wise Brother Lin wouldn't believe me, right?"
He shrugged. "But for now, this body and consciousness are still mine. My identity, however, has changed. I'm no longer a guest of this hotel—I'm a staff now."
His gaze flickered to the woman at the front desk.
"In the end, I accepted the invitation and became part of the hotel's workstaff. For future 'games,' I won't appear as 'Sawanaga Taisuke.' My name and appearance will change. But at least I'm alive. And as long as I'm alive... there's hope."
Taisuke turned to the three of them, his eyes gleaming.
"For example, you three... you're my hope."
He smiled again, his lips curling into an unrestrained grin.
He can still vividly remember last night what happened.
Taisuke was alone in Room 307, and he experienced the most terrifying ordeal of his life.
It was around three o'clock when the atmosphere in the room, once occupied by just him, suddenly shifted.
He couldn't see or touch it, but he could feel its presence clearly.
Occasionally, there would be laughter, sometimes high-pitched, sometimes low. Other times, there were sobs—strong, then weak. Every time he roared in frustration, everything would disappear, only to return again once he calmed down.
He had been angry, he had roared, and he had even begged for mercy in grief and fear, but it was all in vain.
He even tried to escape the room, but found the door wouldn't open. He was completely trapped in Room 307.
Finally, at his breaking point, he went to the bathroom. There, through the mirror, he saw the terrifying creature clinging to his back—its face pale with black eyes.
He fainted. When he woke up, he found that the reflection in the mirror had transformed into an ugly, grotesque figure. What was even worse was that he no longer had control over his body. He could only watch helplessly as his body wandered aimlessly around the room and the corridor, like a walking corpse.
In that moment, Taisuke was desperate.
He was angry—angry about why he was chosen to enter this twisted game. Why had he died and become something so unnatural? Why was Lin Ye alive and well, with his idol, Hoshino Ai, by his side, while he had nothing?
That's when he heard the voice.
By becoming part of the hotel staff, he would have a chance to live again, but at the cost of his freedom. However, if he completed the hotel's tasks, he might regain his freedom.
Even without that hope, he had no other choice but to agree.
And now, he had to work for his "hope."
As Taisuke watched the figures of the three, his eyes gleamed with anticipation.
At this moment, he felt fearless. No matter how powerful Lin Ye was, could he truly be more powerful than a staff member like him? In this place, Taisuke was invincible.
Recalling Lin Ye's cold and contemptuous look earlier, his dissatisfaction grew stronger.
But... hold on.
He held himself back. This was only the beginning, and he needed to savor it carefully.
A malice, unmasked and overwhelming, surged toward him.
Kuroda felt a chill in her heart. The person in front of them was no longer Taisuke. He had become a monster, his body taken over by something sinister.
She kept reminding herself of this in her mind.
"Brother Lin, please, do me a favor," Taisuke said, smiling.
"Stay in this hotel. It's great here—unlimited time, eternal life, and guests who check in every once in a while. We'll face them as staff, not as guests who had to worry like we did last night..."
"We are the gods here. We... will do whatever we want and enjoy the embarrassment, fear, and terror of the tenants."
He slowly extended his hands, as though inviting them.
Lin Ye didn't believe a word of it, but he had a few guesses about Taisuke's current situation.
"You've already failed the game and become a monster. Your current task is to keep us here, in the hotel!"
That one sentence stunned Taisuke.
"Besides, persuasion is one of the few methods you can use right now," Lin Ye added.
Taisuke fell silent.
"So, please move aside and don't interfere with our check-out."
Lin Ye waved his hand dismissively, signaling Taisuke to move quickly.
The persuasive words of Taisuke earlier had been subtly tempting, making it hard to resist the idea. But Lin Ye knew that this was simply the power of bewitchment, not hypnosis. Such tricks couldn't completely cloud one's self-awareness. Even if hypnosis were at play, it wouldn't work on someone with a strong mind.
Taisuke's smile grew brighter.
"You really are Brother Lin," he said. "My little tricks aren't enough. Alright! Brother Lin helped me before, so I'm not the type to repay kindness with enmity."
He took half a step forward, signaling that he wouldn't be hostile to Lin Ye.
"Brother Lin, you can leave now."
But just as he finished speaking, Taisuke threw in another line.
"But Kuroda can't leave."
Suddenly, Kuroda Hikari's eyes widened in alarm.
"Taisuke..."
"Don't you want to stay?" Taisuke pressed on.
"I... I…" Kuroda stammered.
"Don't you like me, Kuroda-san? Please stay with me! We can live together forever, right here."
Step by step, he advanced, while Kuroda backed away, shaking her head in panic.
"Taisuke..."
"One person must stay! Brother Lin, how about you stay in place of Kuroda? Or... Ai-chan can stay too! As a fan of Ai-chan, I would love it if she stayed here."
At this, even Hoshino Ai hid behind Lin Ye.
"Pervert! Totally perverted!"
Lin Ye immediately realized that Taisuke was provoking him, trying to anger him into breaking the rules.
There must be some hidden rules in the hotel.
Seeing Lin Ye's silence, Taisuke threw his head back and laughed even louder.
"I thought Brother Lin was the kind of person who'd sacrifice himself for others! It seems he's just an ordinary person who values his own life above all else. Looks like Kuroda made the wrong choice trusting you. Is she regretting it now?"
Kuroda immediately spoke up in defense.
"No! Senior Lin Ye is not that kind of person! Compared to you, Senior Lin Ye is many times better."
After shouting, she quickly shrank back again.
"Ah, I see. Brother Lin didn't see through my plan. Looks like I'm stronger than you this time," Taisuke said with a shrug.
"I just wanted to help Kuroda-san test whether Brother Lin could be trusted. If Brother Lin was willing to sacrifice himself, then Kuroda-san would have found someone to entrust her life to. But I won't actually keep Brother Lin."
Taisuke shrugged nonchalantly.
Kuroda was stunned. Could it be...?
With a sharp pop, Kuroda snapped out of her daze, having been slapped by Lin Ye.
At that moment, even Hoshino Ai almost believed Taisuke's words.
"Since Brother Lin doesn't want to make a choice, then... I'll make it for you."
As Taisuke finished speaking, a room card appeared in his hand.
"This is the room card for Room 307," he said.
"It seems you understand."
"If Kuroda-san wants to leave the hotel, she must use this room card to check out."
"If it's destroyed... then Kuroda will never have a chance to leave and will have to stay with me."
He watched eagerly, curious to see the trio's reactions.
What interesting scenes would unfold next?
Taisuke couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with excitement.