Shiller glanced at the room number plate 1913 he had placed on the table next to him. The number plate was still in his hand, how could it appear opposite to room 1900?
Shiller stepped out again to take a look at the layout of the corridor. There should be six rooms on each side, logically three on one side wall, with even-numbered rooms by the elevator and odd-numbered rooms across from it, arranged this way on both sides.
On the left side of the corridor, the room opposite the original room 1913 was room 1910, but since room 1913 had been replaced with room 1900 by him, now room 1910 was opposite room 1900.
Then why, in Peter's timeline, was room 1900's opposite transformed into room 1913?
Shiller looked down at the number plate in his hand and realized that he might have switched them.
But why would he do such a thing?
He had always had a premonition that room 1913 was extremely dangerous. The banging sound inside when dismantling the number plate also corroborated this. Shiller felt there was no need to open up this room right now, adding an unnecessary danger to the otherwise calm corridor.
Since there were hardly any clues on his end, Shiller decided to remotely direct Peter to investigate on his side. He had Peter open video communication, and using his perspective, Shiller observed the corridor on that end while directing Peter to follow his instructions.
Shiller first asked Peter to go back to his room, but as he passed the elevator, it happened to reach the 19th floor, chimed once, which made Shiller's heart skip a beat reflexively. However, it turned out that someone had called the elevator earlier, which is why it had stopped, and nothing came out of it.
But it was that sound that suddenly made Shiller realize he had overlooked an important clue.
Shiller had Peter pick up an alarm clock in the room—of course, it wasn't his but one he had taken from room 1913. Peter had a better understanding of mechanics and had brought a miniature toolbox with him. He was confident that he could dismantle the alarm clock and restore it.
However, Shiller only had him open the battery compartment; there were still no batteries inside, nor did Peter find any hair.
Meaning the two strands of hair Shiller found in room 1905 were unique, which might be related to the specialty of room 1905.
The investigation quickly came to a standstill. Everything on Peter's end seemed normal. He wasn't the type to come up with a brilliant move out of sudden inspiration and stir up the situation, nor could he be considered a clever detective, even though Shiller could make use of his point of view. Controlling Peter's body was ultimately still up to Peter himself, and he seemed completely baffled by everything that was happening.
In the meantime, Peter had knocked on Jerome's door, room 1904, but there was no response. Peeking through the peephole, he saw nothing.
Shiller had no choice but to send him wandering around each of the hotel's public facilities. He strongly suspected that even if he left the 19th floor, he would not be able to leave the hotel smoothly and still had to find an exit. Getting familiar with the layout now was certainly the right move.
Peter visited the restaurant, swimming pool, gym, bar, and baggage storage. Along the way, he passed by two conference rooms and a business center, which required reservations, so Peter couldn't enter.
The Wayne Hotel was quite luxurious. It was an eye-opener for Peter, who usually couldn't afford such high-end hotels, so he took a quick look around. Shiller felt that his sanity was somewhat restored.
When he saw the swimming pool, Peter wanted to swim, but Shiller immediately dismissed this idea—in the Cthulhu Mythos, diving headfirst into the water is practically asking for death.
Peter also did something else—he went to the vending machines in the lobby and bought some water and food. Shiller couldn't be entirely sure the water and food hadn't been contaminated, but it was still better than tap water. In case the situation turned into a protracted battle, it was wise to prepare survival supplies first.
After comparing notes, Shiller discovered that the timeline of the two hotels didn't match perfectly; the time at the hotel where Peter was lagged about 30 seconds behind the time at the one where Shiller was.
That is to say, if it was 2:00:00 for Shiller, it was about 1:59:30 for Peter. Because this discrepancy was so small, often both showed the same time on the minute hand, which is why they hadn't noticed it before when they checked the time.
Shiller wasn't sure where this gap came from or its purpose, but he kept the change in mind, aware it had to be connected to the existence of the two hotels and perhaps also to time-related items like the alarm clock.
A whole day passed quickly, and Shiller's plans to resolve the issue during the day were scuttled since the hotel was eerily quiet during daylight, even at the unstable timeframe he was in. Not the slightest anomaly happened.
It seemed likely that the key breakthrough lay with the night-prowling monsters and the sound of bells.
However, this also meant that Shiller would have to spend another night in the room because, as soon as it got dark, illusions would begin to appear.
It wasn't feasible to leave the room for the hall as soon as night fell and return at midnight. What if the room changed its mind and refused to open with the key card? Of course, he couldn't overestimate their moral standards.
Of course, Shiller could sit back on the sofa, but he didn't plan to do so. A day's time had already been wasted, and he must take advantage of the supernatural phenomena appearing to investigate thoroughly. If nothing unexpected occurred, the night's conditions would be even more dangerous.
Before dark, Shiller ate something and took a short nap to ensure he was in the best condition. He didn't think the room could conjure up any more illusions to scare him; the room probably thought the same, which was why the night was more likely to be physically demanding.
True to expectation, as the last rays of twilight faded, Shiller heard the rustling sound of water coming from the bathroom. It didn't sound like the noise modern fixtures would make but more like the entire bathroom was submerged in the ocean, with the sounds of the waves all around.
Water flowed from beneath the bathroom door.
Logically, such a thin gap under the door shouldn't have allowed water to flow so fast, but within seconds, a thin layer of water had accumulated on the bedroom floor. Shiller hadn't closed the bedroom door, so the water quickly spread to the living room.
Shiller sniffed the air and didn't catch the scent of the sea, meaning that the water gushing from the bathroom wasn't seawater, but it was hard to tell if it was contaminated.
Ordinary people would think to stop the flow by turning off the faucet in the bathroom as soon as the water started spilling out, but Shiller knew that the water wasn't the point. If the room wanted, it could even make a desk lamp start leaking water; there was no point in reasoning with it.
From the speed of the water, it seemed the room was trying to drown him because just a few seconds of contemplation brought the water up to his knees.
The first thing Shiller did was rush into the bedroom to pick up his briefcase. The contents were safe from water, but it would be troublesome if they were washed away.
When the water rose to the windowsill, Shiller knew his guess was right; despite the window being wide open with a couch propping it, not a single drop of water flowed out. It was as if the window had been covered with a film.
In a matter of seconds, the water had risen to Shiller's neck. He chose to stand on the part of the couch inside the room, but this only delayed the inevitable a moment longer.
The flow of water quickened, and now five-sixths of the room was submerged. Shiller could barely breathe, but he did not choose to swim; he just stood beside the window.
He believed this room couldn't kill him.
This was nothing more than another form of intimidation, forcing people to look for an escape route. Drowning is a very painful experience after all, with the lack of oxygen and water rushing into the lungs, struggling against suffocation and dying in despair are not something that most people can endure.
In such a situation, if there were an exit, be it a door or a window, those pushed to their limits would definitely rush out, just to breathe again.
But Shiller was not a normal person.
When the water finally submerged the room completely, Shiller felt the suffocation. He was sure that it was real water, not an illusion, but he held his breath and stood still, as if challenging the room.
Sophop's body was human, and he needed to breathe. Without pre-oxygenation, his breath-holding capacity was limited, and it quickly reached its end.
Shiller opened his mouth and nose, letting the water pour in, filling his nostrils and lungs. Agonizing pain surged from his respiratory tract, his stomach churned continuously, and his chest hurt as if a piece had been hollowed out. His consciousness also began to blur.
Yet Shiller made no move. Even though he could just stick his head out of the window or even just tilt it to the side to escape the painful ordeal, he did nothing.
Instead, he relaxed his body, allowing himself to drown in this illusory sea. The room seemed to deliberately prolong the agony, or rather, it simply maintained Shiller in this state for half an hour before the water receded.
It seemed the room's ability to wreak havoc was limited, probably restricted to the time from dusk until around midnight. So, continuing the standoff with Shiller was pointless.
The room chose another method: fire.
If there is any death more agonizing than drowning, it must be burning to death. More precisely, most fire-related deaths are due to smoke; they are suffocated by the fog. Although this form of death is also painful, it is negligible compared to being burned alive.
There wasn't slightest hint of fog in the room, but the flames grew larger and larger.
Shiller simply got down from the couch, for he had already confirmed his suspicion: the room couldn't kill him. With its use of water and now fire, it all boiled down to the belief that he would succumb to suicide under the unbearable conditions.
The human will to survive is strong. In critical moments, if there's even the slightest chance, people will do whatever it takes to seize it, climbing if they're near a window, escaping if they're by a door. But unfortunately, in this eerie place, neither doors nor windows lead to the escape envisioned, only to more despairing dead ends.
This time, however, Shiller didn't intend to let the room succeed. Though he feared neither pain nor death, simply giving in and letting himself be slaughtered wasn't his style. On the contrary, seeing his adversary enraged yet unable to touch him was precisely what Shiller enjoyed the most.
Shiller took a brisk step into the bathroom, standing on the toilet lid.