CH 67

(Excessive Benevolence)

Edited by Silver Wind 

This chapter is brought to you by MMS129 & Hisoka-sama! Thank you for your Ko-Fis!

It felt like the speed the elevator was descending at had decreased significantly. When they finally heard the “ding” from the elevator, an unknown amount of time had passed and Puffy Skirt could feel her palms working up a sweat.

Despite the signal given, the elevator did not stop. Instead, it seemed to lose control, dropping sharply until it collided into something before it swayed violently and came to a halt.

The elevator doors opened slowly. 

This was the -14th floor.

Shen Dongqing stuck his head out to take a look. The furnishing and decorations for the 14th floor was a perfect replica of the large hall: green plants were situated next to the opening of the elevator, a tan wool rug was rolled across the floor, and roughly five to six metres away from their position was the front desk. Under the murky grey lighting, it could be seen that the guest and employees were standing rooted to the ground, unmoving.

Puffy Skirt feigned a fearful appearance and whispered, “Let’s take a look around first, maybe we can find the exit…..

It was only after Shen Dongqing exited the elevator that he saw the guests and employees’ appearance clearly. They were not living people by any means as they were small people made out of paper. Their facial features were drawn with pen and ink ingeniously, such that it bore a great resemblance to life; had it not been placed right in front of him to observe, he would not have noticed it.

Even though the ten paper men were standing in the large hall without making any movements, it did not detract the horror it caused.

Fortunately, Shen Dongqing was quite audacious and he even reached out to pinch the paper man closest to him. However, the paper man did not react and it seemed like a dead object.

Thus, he lost interest. After taking in his surroundings in full, a sudden noise of surprise came from behind him.

Puffy Skirt: “AH—” 

Shen Dongqing looked over subconsciously, only to see Zhou Wenyan dragging Puffy Skirt out of the closing elevator before he threw her to the ground without the slightest sympathy.

Puffy Skirt covered her face and wailed out loud: “I was just afraid……”

Zhou Wenyan rolled up his sleeves at a leisurely pace, “It’s fine, we’ll protect you.”

But his tone did not possess any intention to “protect”, rather, it was more accurate to say that he would end Puffy Skirt’s life whenever he felt like it. 

Despite crying for a long time, Puffy Skirt did not see the men in front of her reveal a shred of pity. Hence, she could only grit her teeth, wipe away her tears and started climbing to her feet.

Zhou Wenyan: “What did you discover the last time you came here?”

Puffy Skirt: “Inside…..” She exhibited some terror and shuddered, “Do you want me to bring you in?”

Lifting his chin, Zhou Wenyan stated: “Lead the way.” 

Puffy Skirt stabilised her footing before she limped into the depths of the large hall.

Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan followed behind her and brushed shoulders with the paper men as they walked past. While the paper men looked scary, they were just that, because they did not make a single movement in reality.

The construction of the 14th floor and the 1st floor’s large hall was exactly the same.

It was unknown what method Puffy Skirt had used but she had unexpectedly found a small door in a concealed place. Once the door opened, a gust of yin wind blew out. 

Puffy Skirt: “Do, do you want to go in?” She swallowed her saliva, “Nothing happened when I went in, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that it wasn’t a good place to be…..”

It was pitch-black and murky behind the door, and nothing could be discerned from looking into it from the outside.

Zhou Wenyan: “ Go in and check it out.”

Shen Dongqing had no opinions. 

In order to lessen the vigilance the pair had against her, she took the initiative to enter first but she chose to stand close to the door to make it convenient for her to run.

Zhou Wenyan shot her a glance with a smile that was not a smile but he did not expose her true intentions as he walked in directly.

Vtfc Gbcudlcu kjr j rafq yftlcv tlw. Dfobgf tf kfca lc, tbkfnfg, tf mjeuta j uilwqrf bo atf qjqfg wfc ogbw atf qfglqtfglfr bo tlr nlrlbc ktb tjv jii aegcfv ktlif tf kjr ecjkjgf bo la, jcv atflg qeqli-ifrr vfjv fsfr kfgf rajglcu ja atflg eclcnlafv uefrar.

Ueoos Vxlga vlv cbalmf atlr qblca yfmjerf rtf kjr lwwfgrfv lc atf uiff bo yflcu ja atf merq bo qertlcu akb wbgf qijsfgr ab vfjatr. 

When everyone entered, the door closed up automatically before cups of candles ignited one after another, causing cold white fire to light up, similar to that of will o’ wisps as it flickered in the distance.

The room behind the door was a little cramped. And perhaps owing to the poor ventilation, the space was congested with the terrible scent of candles like the smell had been accumulating for a thousand years without being aired out once.

Shen Dongqing examined his surroundings curiously, “Where is this place?”

Now that she had finally led the pair to their execution grounds, there was no longer a need for her to keep up her pretence. With a cold smile lining her lips, she said: “This is a hellish place where you can enter but never exit, coincidentally, it works well as your burial grounds.” 

Shen Dongqing basked for a moment before he corrected her, “That isn’t very accurate, the yin energy here is thick and it’s quite comfortable ah.”

Puffy Skirt: “Who was even discussing if it was comfortable or not with you…..” Realising that she was almost led astray, she tossed out the next line viciously, “You can just wait here and die.”

Saying that, she pulled out a paper man and tore it into half.

Smoke billowed out and enveloped Puffy Skirt in her entirety. 

By the time the smoke cleared, she had vanished into thin air from where she once stood.

When her body reappeared again, Puffy Skirt was back in the large hall of the -14th floor.

That was a valuable trump card that she had stored at the bottom of her chest which made a paper man her substitute to protect her own life and it only had a one-time use. While her heart ached from the loss, the notion that she could leave very soon since she had pitted those two players made her feel like it was not a complete waste. 

Puffy Skirt smoothed out the wrinkles on her skirt, humming a tune as she turned around to leave.

It was fine when she hadn’t turned her head around, but once she did, she bumped into a pale white paper face. Their faces were pasted to each other, and they were so close to the extent where Puffy Skirt could see the shoddy blush dusted on the small human face.

Contrary to popular expectations, Puffy Skirt did not show the slightest fear despite being put under such intense stimulation. Instead, she pushed the paper man away with one hand and rushed for the lift.

It wasn’t like this when I was here last time…… 

Puffy Skirt wanted to go back to the elevator but there were too many paper men— countless hands grabbed onto Puffy Skirt’s legs, more plastered themselves onto her back and they ensnared her to the point where she could not move.

Fuelled by her desire to survive, Puffy Skirt struggled against an unquantifiable amount of paper men as she took laborious steps towards the elevator.

Soon.

Almost there….. 

Drops of sweat flowed down Puffy Skirt’s forehead.

She stretched out her hand and came in contact with the elevator’s open and close button.

She was only short by an inch when the earth trembled in an abrupt and violent manner. Taken off guard, Puffy Skirt collapsed to the ground with the combined pressure of the paper men on her back.

It was apparent that they were made from cut paper – a mere feeble and light layer – but when they pressed down on Puffy Skirt’s body, their weight felt like a thousand jin and she could not throw them off no matter what. 

The earth quaked again.

An ominous premonition arouse in Puffy Skirt. She raised her head and saw the crystal chandelier suspended from the ceiling breaking from the middle before it crashed down mercilessly.

Under such circumstances, Puffy Shirt did not have the time to dodge at all and she could watch with wide eyes as the crystal chandelier dropped.

The last thought in her heart was, How did it end up like this? 

Peng—

Despite being separated by a wall, they could hear a dull noise coming from the large hall.

A bronze plaque danced around Zhou Wenyan’s moving fingers. He lowered his eyes to look at the room number carved on the surface before he casually tossed it aside, causing the bronze plaque to issue a crisp and sonorous sound when it clattered onto the ground. 

Shen Dongqing queried: “What was that?”

Zhou Wenyan: “Garbage.”

The candle flame leapt and flickered, shining on the number “2304” branded in the bronze plaque.

It was the room Puffy Skirt was staying in. 

It was merely giving a person a taste of their own medicine, nothing else.

Zhou Wenyan let out a snort, “Do I look like an idiot or something?”

She must be grossly overestimating the length of her life to use such a method to deal with him.

The oblivious Shen Dongqing flattered him in a hurry: “You’re quite smart ah, you’re a lot smarter than me.” 

Zhou Wenyan laughed out of amusement. When his laughter petered off, he said seriously: “We mutually make up for each other, I can’t be without you either.”

Shen Dongqing felt a little embarrassed and he said in a small voice: “I don’t think I’ve been helping much.”

Zhou Wenyan pulled him over with his hand, “You can reward me.”

Shen Dongqing: “How do I reward you?” 

Zhou Wenyan lowered his voice, “Kiss me.”

Without wasting any time, Shen Dongqing went up to him and gave him an audible peck before he said: “Since we can’t go out, let’s go in and take a look.”

He had attempted to open the door just now but it did not budge in the slightest, and it appeared as though it was being locked shut by a mysterious force.

Meanwhile, Zhou Wenyan still had the desire for more, thus, he pulled his partner’s waist and kissed him thoroughly and earnestly. 

While the pair were displaying their affections, someone could no longer stand it.

A figure emerged from the darkness, warping its body to pounce over at them. Its entire body was an inky black and it was shapeless and unlike man; it opened its mouth wide and revealed its densely packed teeth.

When its teeth gnashed together, it issued a sound that raised hairs and he bit in the pair’s direction.

Then…… 

The distorted ghost shadow was directly trampled into the ground.

Shen Dongqing hauled it up to scrutinise it carefully before he uttered in disdain, “How ugly.”

The ghost shadow cried.

Not only was it beaten up, it had to suffer from a personal attack, it was too miserable. 

Shen Dongqing threw the ghost shadow to the side. Since it did not dare to stage a comeback, it shrank back into the shadows, aggrieved.

They were the guards of the tomb. And by virtue of the fact that they had to guard the tomb, they were the strongest in combative power and they had never expected that they would be defeated in less than three seconds after a head on confrontation.

Feeling like his hands had been dirtied after he beat up the ghost shadow, Shen Dongqing dusted off his hands. “It’s fine now, let’s go in.”

Rows of candles were placed on the sides of the room, leading all the way to the end where the paper replica of the exquisite hotel was placed. The fourteen floors, flower garden and inner swimming pool were all present in the down-sized edition of the hotel. 

When they got closer to it, they realised that it was not a paper model but an oblation that was supposed to be burnt and offered to dead people.

Shen Dongqing came to an epiphany, “This is the tomb in itself.”

Zhou Wenyan: “We can leave once we burn it.”

As long as they burnt the main body of the tomb, this entire hotel would cease to exist. 

Shen Dongqing showed some hesitation, “Maybe we should forget it……” He thought about it briefly before he said, “The people here are quite nice and their kitchen skills are pretty decent too, destroying it would be too much of a shame.”

Furthermore, he still wanted to come here a second time!

If the game could hear what he said, tears might have started flowing out of its eyes from being touched.

Ancestor, there is finally a day where you exhibited your excessive benevolence and spared a game copy! 

Shen Dongqing added another line: “Not to mention, this is someone else’s home, it isn’t very kind to ruin their house and make them homeless.”

Yes, it was undeniable that destroying the tomb itself was the most simple and crude method of clearance, but now that Shen Dongqing had spoken, he had to try to satisfy his small request.

Shen Dongqing: “Let’s leave then.” The smell of the wax here was terrible, and if they hurried out now, they could make it to their dinner!

Without further ado, Zhou Wenyan casted the idea aside and pushed at the door. 

Previously, the door was sealed shut and they could not open it no matter how they tried. However, their display of excessive benevolence in sparing the game copy had emotionally affected the game, thereby touching the tomb’s consciousness as well, which made the door open up wide and it almost bowed down to them to express its gratitude.

As Shen Dongqing stepped out and breathed in a mouthful of fresh air, he noticed that the paper men were lined up outside the door and they were giving them uniformed looks.

But the paper men did not line up with the purpose of scaring them; with servile expression, each and every one of them bent their waists and stood to the side, opening a huge path for them.

If Puffy Skirt was alive, she would definitely question out of grief and indignation: On what grounds do we receive different treatments? 

But thankfully, she had already died and she could not die again, so she could not experience the feeling of unfairness.

Meanwhile, there were even paper men holding brooms and dustpans to clean up the bloodstains on the ground swiftly to ensure that the two individuals would not be stained by a single dirty thing.

Thus, under the paper men’s clustering, Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan were escorted to the front of the elevator, and they even pressed the button for them and watched them enter the elevator.

The elevator returned back to the first floor unimpeded. 

And when the door re-opened, Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan received the hotel’s enthusiastic reception.

An employee followed behind them as he spat out a litany of well-meaning words: “Guests, do you need anything? Guests, do you want to eat anything? We can satisfy anything that the guest wants!”

Even the Besuited Man went silly from watching. 

The attitude that the hotel staff gave the players was like how an old grandfather would treat their grandchildren; they would only concern themselves with them when they wanted to and their eyes would always look above their head, and it would already be considered a blessing if they answered with half a line after ten questions. Which begged the question: why was the hotel staff serving these two players like a grandson fawning over their grandfather?

Was there something that happened which he was unaware of? Why did the world suddenly change?

Shen Dongqing asked: “You can satisfy any request?”

The attendant trembled with fear, deathly afraid that he would raise some odd request. He uttered, “Apart from staying here longer, the rest should be doable……” 

Two days into their stay, this entire vacation hotel was about to be played through by these players. The attendant was already loathing the fact that he could check them out early; if they were to extend their period of stay, he was afraid that he could not even keep his own small life.

The guests and employees in the hotels were all ghosts. It was alright if they were humans because they could become ghosts after they died, but if ghosts were to die, that signified an absolute end.

The attendant still treasures his life.

Meanwhile, the Besuited Man was thinking in his heart: even if he did not know what kind of stroke the NPCs were having, this was still a good opportunity presenting itself and they had to request for them to leave the copy in advance! 

When Shen Dongqing’s hesitation landed in his eyes, he almost rushed up and started shouting. Fortunately, he managed to restrain himself in the end and he only used an urgent gaze to explicitly hint his thoughts.

However, Shen Dongqing did not internalise the Besuited Man’s explicit hint at all. He thought about it seriously before he stated, “Pack away the hotel’s chefs and give them to me.”

The attendant was dumbstruck.

In the kitchen, the hotel’s chefs sneezed violently.