Wang Zikai hung upside down from the window of Room 601, a rope tied around his waist. His chest had taken a solid hit from the bullet.
Qing Ling reacted swiftly. She immediately controlled her dagger to cut the rope, caught Wang Zikai as he fell, and dragged him into the window. She turned back and shouted at Gao Yang, "Don't just stand there! Help me!"
One minute ago.
In Room 601, after losing three ranked matches in a row, Wang Zikai felt something was wrong the more he thought about it!
When it came to picking up girls, Gao Yang was notoriously useless! He hadn't succeeded with his childhood sweetheart Li Weiwei after knowing her for years. Yet now, in the blink of an eye, he had hooked up with the school beauty Qing Ling and gone straight to a hotel! This wasn't scientific!
There was definitely something fishy going on between these two!
Could they have come to the hotel secretly to study?!
No, Qing Ling is a sports student; her academic grades don't really matter since she can get recommended for university anyway. Gao Yang's grades are okay, but he's super laid-back about everything; he doesn't look like someone who would secretly study hard.
Wang Zikai lay on the floor, pressing his ear against the carpet to listen for a long time. It was too quiet downstairs—it didn't sound like they were "driving" (having sex) at all! And even if they were, they couldn't be doing it all night. Gao Yang could have totally called him back after he was done.
So, there was only one truth!
—That brat Gao Yang definitely found a new partner to rank up with! He thinks my skills are trash and plans to abandon me! He must be passionately ranking up with Qing Ling right now!
Damn it!
Unforgivable!
If he questioned that kid to his face, he definitely wouldn't admit it. Wang Zikai hatched a plan. He found a rope meant for BDSM play in the room, tied himself up, and decided to rappel down from the sixth-floor window to catch them in the act!
He slid down slowly. Just as he was approaching the fifth-floor window, the curtains of Room 501 parted slightly on their own. Then, something that looked like a gun barrel poked out.
What the hell is that?
Wang Zikai didn't have time to think. His toe slipped on the air conditioning unit, and he plummeted. Then, he felt a sharp pain in his lungs, and his vision went black.
Wang Zikai lay on the carpet of the room, blood gushing from his chest. He had already passed out.
"Massive blood loss! Find something to apply pressure!" Qing Ling said.
Gao Yang rushed into the bathroom, grabbed a thick towel, and pressed it against his chest. The bottom of the towel was quickly dyed red.
For a normal person, taking a sniper round at such close range would have blown a hole in their chest. But Wang Zikai looked like he had merely suffered a regular gunshot wound.
He was undoubtedly a "Beast."
"What do we do?" Gao Yang asked.
"I don't know." Qing Ling hadn't expected this idiot to show up; the plan was completely ruined.
"We have to save him." Gao Yang quickly concluded.
"If you want to die, don't drag me into it." Qing Ling objected.
"What else? Leave the corpse here? We have check-in records; we can't escape suspicion. We'll be exposed sooner or later." Gao Yang adjusted his breathing to calm himself. "He... is most likely a Delusion Beast."
Delusion Beast. The Lost. Thinking they are human, possibly never knowing they are a Beast until they die.
Qing Ling's eyes flickered, seeming to waver for a moment. But soon, her gaze turned cold and sharp again, a dagger appearing in her hand. "No. We can't take the risk. If he isn't a Lost, we're both dead!"
Her cousin died back then precisely because he went soft on a Lost.
Gao Yang knew he couldn't convince her; he couldn't even convince himself. To be merciful to the enemy is to be cruel to oneself.
After three seconds of silence, he gritted his teeth and turned his face away. "Do it."
Knock, knock, knock— Someone was knocking at the door.
Gao Yang was startled. He immediately grabbed the quilt from the waterbed and covered the unconscious Wang Zikai.
Qing Ling stood up, walked quickly to the door, and opened it a crack. "Who is it?"
Standing outside was the fat receptionist.
The fat man looked agitated and lowered his voice. "Miss, let me in, quick!"
"What for?" Qing Ling looked wary.
The fat man looked left and right, then whispered mysteriously, "I know everything that happened in the room. I'm also an Awakened... Let's talk inside."
Qing Ling weighed the pros and cons for three seconds.
Between killing the fat man immediately and letting him in, she chose the latter.
The fat man pressed both hands on Wang Zikai's lungs.
Before this, the bullet in his lung had already been "extracted" by Qing Ling. The fat man's hands were enveloped in a green energy, with green particles continuously pouring into Wang Zikai's chest cavity. The bleeding gradually stopped, and the wound torn open by the bullet was healing slowly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Five minutes later, the rescue was over.
The fat man wailed and sat down heavily on the carpet, soaked in sweat as if he had just taken a shower. He panted heavily, feeling like half his life had been drained. "Good thing this kid is a Beast. If he were human, I really couldn't have saved him."
During the process of saving him, the fat man had already introduced himself.
His name was Han Yingjun, but everyone called him Fatty Jun. He became an Awakened four years ago. Talent: [Healing], Serial Number: 45.
Fatty Jun's parents died early, and he grew up with his aunt. After his aunt passed away, having achieved nothing after high school, he inherited her inn and boldly transformed it into a love hotel.
Qing Ling squatted down to check Wang Zikai's heartbeat, then ordered Gao Yang, "Clean up the scene. I have questions for this damn fatty."
"Hehe, no need to be so intimate. Just call me Jun-Fatty."
Qing Ling looked at Fatty Jun. "How did you know what happened in the room?"
Fatty Jun froze for a moment, then hurriedly put on an apologetic smile. "Hehe, actually... I installed cameras and bugs in the rooms..."
Before he could finish, a Tang Dao was pressed against Fatty Jun's thick triple chin with a shhhink.
Fatty Jun yelled, "Mercy, Miss! Let me explain first!"
"I'll give you ten seconds."
"First of all, I definitely didn't install cameras in the bathroom! I have a bottom line!" Fatty Jun wiped the sweat from his fat face. "Also, I didn't install cameras to satisfy my own selfish desires. I am a man who has transcended vulgar tastes..."
"Get to the point."
"Aren't you guys curious?" The fat man tremblingly pushed the blade on his neck away a tiny bit. "What are these Beasts like in private?"
Shhhink. The Tang Dao vanished from Qing Ling's hand. "You are observing the Beasts?"
"Yes! Ever since I awakened, my worldview was completely shattered! Shocked my poor mother!" Fatty Jun glanced at Wang Zikai at his feet. "After accepting reality, I kept wondering: Do these Beasts really act like humans twenty-four hours a day?"
"I can accept the Lost; they're stupid enough to trick even themselves. But what about the other Beasts? Do they also play house with us every day? Why do they do this?" Fatty Jun looked at Gao Yang. "Aren't you curious?"
"I've only been awakened for three days. Haven't thought that far ahead," Gao Yang replied while mopping the floor.
"I installed cameras partly to see what these Beasts are really like in private..." Fatty Jun looked disappointed as he said this. "Unexpectedly, these guys are actually dedicated actors even in private. They do all the crappy things humans do."
Gao Yang and Qing Ling fell into deep thought.
"On the other hand, I also wanted to find humans." Fatty Jun sighed. "The brother who guided my awakening died. I've been alone for years. Now I've finally waited for you guys! I'm so excited, so happy..."
Fatty Jun opened his arms, wanting to hug Qing Ling.
Facing Qing Ling's death stare, he turned and hugged Gao Yang instead. "I'm really so happy, sob sob sob. My heart has been so bitter... Every day I open my eyes, I have to act. Three years, and then another three years... when will it ever end..."
Gao Yang wasn't good at comforting people. He stiffly patted Fatty Jun's meaty shoulder. "Alright, alright. It's okay now."
Knock, knock, knock— The sound of knocking came from the door again.
Instantly, everyone went quiet.
Gao Yang and Qing Ling looked at Fatty Jun. Fatty Jun shook his head in confusion.
Qing Ling exchanged a glance with Gao Yang and silently drew her Tang Dao.
Gao Yang nodded, quickly stood up, walked to the door, and shouted, "Who is it?"
"Housekeeping," an auntie's voice came from outside.
"Housekeeping?"
"Didn't Room 501 show as checked out?"
"No. You made a mistake, right?"
"Mistake? Let me check."
Fatty Jun also came to the door. He patted Gao Yang's shoulder and whispered, "It's fine. It's Auntie He, the cleaner I hired. She's not very bright."
"Oh oh... sorry, it's 401. My mistake, hehe." Auntie He's apology indeed came from outside.
"It's fine."
After Gao Yang spoke, a sudden chill ran down his spine.
He spun around violently and lunged at Fatty Jun. "Dodge!"