In the world of anime with the power to stop time.

Chapter 004: Looking at Fools

Lin Ye, who had seen numerous eerie and supernatural tales, was familiar with the idea of hidden horrors or scenarios where everyone turned out to be part of the supernatural phenomenon. He could guess how such plots and narratives might unfold.

Apart from himself, he couldn't trust anyone not even Hoshino Ai completely.

For all he knew, someone might have already been replaced or possessed by something sinister without anyone noticing.

Of course, compared to Hoshino Ai, who had stayed by his side and remained within his line of sight the whole time, the four newcomers who only appeared human were far more suspicious.

"What eerie game?"

"I don't believe it. This must be another prank show. Japanese TV stations are always pulling these pranks on unsuspecting people."

The middle-aged man, after a brief moment of panic, quickly displayed intense skepticism. Grabbing the wrist of the woman with shoulder-length black hair, he pulled her toward the exit.

"Miho, let's go."

But the woman with shoulder-length black hair remained rooted in place, showing no intention of following him.

"You… don't tell me you believe this?"

She slowly averted her gaze. Compared to the middle-aged man's prank theory, she clearly found the "Eerie Game" explanation more convincing.

"You… you people… Fine. Very well. I'm not staying here to play along!"

The middle-aged man spat out his words angrily and strode toward the exit. His peripheral vision remained on Lin Ye and the others, observing their reactions. Seeing that none of them made any effort to stop him, an ominous feeling began to rise within him. But at this point, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and press on.

Lin Ye, meanwhile, was interested in seeing the consequences of someone leaving the hotel directly. It saved him the trouble of finding someone to test it out.

Tap… tap…

The man took another step, and with one stride, he vanished entirely from the entrance.

Everyone fell silent, their eyes fixed on the hotel's entrance, waiting.

Seconds passed, then minutes.

The middle-aged man seemed to have completely disappeared, with no further trace or sound.

"Is there no one left, or what?"

No one could answer that question.

Finally,

Someone couldn't take it anymore.

The blond-haired Taisuke stomped heavily.

"I don't think there's anything wrong out there. I'll go too..."

As he took a step toward the exit, the automatic doors suddenly opened, and a figure burst inside.

"Huff… huff…"

The heavy sound of labored breathing echoed it was the middle-aged man who had gone out earlier.

Now, his face was pale, his expression twisted in fear, clutching his arms tightly. His heavy, rapid breaths suggested he had endured some intense trauma.

Taisuke froze mid-step, his expression stiffening. The woman with shoulder-length black hair and Hikari Kuroda instinctively backed away from the entrance.

Meanwhile, Hoshino Ai edged closer to Lin Ye.

Lin Ye, however, grew increasingly vigilant. Was the man who returned truly the same middle-aged man who had left?

The man frantically and nervously glanced toward the entrance, as if being chased by something terrifying.

"It… it didn't follow me… T-thank goodness… Out there… there's something… something trying to kill me. Lucky I… ran fast enough."

The middle-aged man stammered out his account of what he had seen outside.

In the mist, dark silhouettes roamed, accompanied by raspy, grating sounds. Then, a bloodthirsty attack ensued.

"Outside isn't safe. I suspect that anyone who leaves the hotel directly after entering will face relentless pursuit by the eerie entities. To safely leave the hotel and escape the Eerie Game, the correct method is to check out at 6 a.m. and leave then."

At Lin Ye's pointed glance, Hoshino Ai retrieved the Guest Guidelines.

"Rule 5 hints at this."

Everyone crowded around, even the gasping, panic-stricken middle-aged man struggling to his feet to read the Guest Guidelines.

"You must check in by 10 p.m. It's currently 9:26 p.m. We still have half an hour," Hoshino Ai noted suddenly, realizing that if she had continued searching for a way out of the mist, she might have missed the check-in deadline.

While she had been panicking and focused only on escaping, Lin Ye had already considered the significance of the "check-in time" restriction. He was remarkably sharp.

As for what happens if the rules are broken?

Hoshino Ai shuddered. Whatever the consequences, she could not afford to break the rules.

Her idol career was just beginning to take off. She hadn't fallen in love yet, hadn't tasted more delicious food there was no way she wanted to die here.

"But this… doesn't make sense,"

The cute brunette with twin tails, Hikari Kuroda, furrowed her brows slightly and pointed to Rules 3 and 4.

"Rule 3 says there are no staff, but Rule 4 says to seek help at the front desk. Isn't that contradictory?"

"It's simple,"

Lin Ye's voice drew everyone's attention.

"First, one of the rules is wrong. This is a common trope in rule-based horror tales. I used to be a fan of novels and read plenty of similar stories. In many scripts, several rules are intentionally misleading or incorrect."

"For example, the part in Rule 3 about there being 'no staff' might be wrong."

At that moment, the woman with shoulder-length black hair suddenly spoke.

"How are we supposed to determine what's true or false?"

If it's unclear, wouldn't it be easy to accidentally break the rules?

"There's no definite way. It requires analysis, judgment… and luck."

"Isn't this just gambling?"

"Secondly, the front desk doesn't count as part of the 'staff' category. So, assuming both rules are correct, there's no conflict."

Everyone understood this explanation, but the idea that the "front desk" wasn't part of the hotel's "staff" defied common sense.

However, they were already in an eerie game what place was there for common sense?

After lying down for a few minutes, the middle-aged man finally regained his composure.

He was much quieter now, no longer as overbearing as before.

"Let's introduce ourselves, just to have a basic understanding of each other."

They all took turns introducing themselves.

The middle-aged man's name was Ichiro Tanaka, an employee at a company. The woman with shoulder-length black hair was Miho Kamimura, a sales assistant at a shopping mall.

The nature of their relationship wasn't mentioned.

However, based on Lin Ye's guess, it was likely a relationship involving money and physical favors. Whether it was a long-term arrangement or just a one-night thing, he couldn't tell.

After the introductions,

The blond-haired Taisuke suddenly raised his hand and proposed,

"I-I think we should all stay in one room overnight. Rule 1 says there must be at least two people per room. If all six of us share one room, it would comply with the rule, and if anything dangerous happens, we can look out for each other."

More importantly, being in a group made him feel braver!

In such a dangerous and eerie place, being with just one other person terrified Taisuke.

Lin Ye's gaze toward Taisuke at that moment was the same as if he were looking at an idiot.

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