Chapter 4: The Survivors

"Friend in the room, please open the door."

"I am in the same situation as you. It is daylight now, those monsters are gone, and it is safe outside."

The knocking was clean and crisp, delivered by knuckles. The voice sounded sincere and steady, and considering it was now daytime...

Wu Xian judged that there was a ninety percent chance this person was alive, but he still maintained the necessary vigilance.

With a toothbrush still in his mouth, he held up his middle finger, ready to trigger the True Fire Spell at any moment, and slowly pulled the door open.

The man outside had a crew cut, a sturdy forehead and neck, and a broad, muscular build. He wore a dark green short-sleeved shirt stretched tight by his muscles and cargo pants with multiple pockets. Upon seeing Wu Xian, who looked as if he had been drained of all vitality, the man paused for a split second, a flash of disappointment and annoyance crossing his face.

Wu Xian realized that holding up his middle finger was perhaps too rude.

He quickly used that same finger to pick his nose, masking the gesture.

"Hurry up and get ready, come out with me. Daylight is a precious, safe time. We need to discuss with all the survivors how to survive in this Blessed Land."

The man snorted coldly and turned to head toward the other rooms.

"Alright, I'll come out once I'm done brushing my teeth."

The man’s body stiffened for a moment.

***

When Wu Xian stepped out, the sturdy man was busy knocking on other doors, so he took the opportunity to observe his surroundings.

They were on the fourth floor of the inn, which contained eight rooms in total. All had identical, old-fashioned mahogany doors with signs nailed to the wall beside them. The hallway was spacious, paved with yellow tiles, and lit by three dim, yellowing lamps hanging from the ceiling. To the left of the stairs were rooms 401 through 404, with 405 through 408 on the return side.

Wu Xian was staying in room 406. The door to room 405 next door had been violently smashed in; it seemed the person who died last night was from that room. No wonder the pained whimpering had sounded so clear.

Wu Xian also noted that the floor and walls of the hallway were covered in traces of mud and water. Most of it had dried completely, with only a small portion recently solidified, yet the vast majority of the doors remained clean, free of any mud splatters.

Taking advantage of the sturdy man's distraction, he touched some of the wet mud.

"It's cement..."

"Cement takes at least forty minutes to reach its initial set. This means that the female ghost, Yu Yinghua, had already left at least half an hour before dawn."

The sturdy man did not notice Wu Xian’s small movements.

He led Wu Xian to knock on the remaining doors. The people hiding inside emerged one by one, until nine people—six men and three women—stood in the hallway. They were all the survivors of the Peace Inn.

The sturdy man adopted the air of a leader and said loudly:

"I am Qi Zhiyong, staying in room 402. I won't waste words. After last night, you should all know the situation we are in. I will tell you everything I know and do my best to lead you to survival."

"But my information is not free. If you accept my help, you must follow my commands. If anyone doesn't want to listen, please return to your room."

The group looked at each other, their expressions and attitudes varied.

Some looked disdainful, some whispered among themselves, and some kept their heads down, gripping the sleeves of those beside them. A man in a suit with a square face tried to turn away, only to be held back by an elderly man beside him.

In the end, everyone, including Wu Xian, stayed.

Qi Zhiyong nodded in satisfaction and began to share the intelligence he had gathered.

"A Blessed Land is a regional anomaly that can appear in any corner of the world. The area covered by the Blessed Land becomes an isolated space; we cannot leave until the Blessed Land event concludes."

"Although it is called a 'Blessed Land,' it is actually a living hell. All conventional common sense from the outside world is meaningless here. Ghosts roam, demons are everywhere, monsters run rampant, and there even exist unspeakable, terrifying entities."

"We collectively refer to these things as 'Evil Apparitions'!"

"The common Evil Apparitions are generally divided into two levels: the lower level, known as 'Wandering Apparitions,' and the higher level, known as 'Great Apparitions.'"

"Regardless of their type, they all have the ability to kill. Even the relatively weak Wandering Apparitions are dangerous, and as for the Great Apparitions... when you encounter one, just pray that your luck is good..."

***

Wu Xian listened attentively.

Much of the information Qi Zhiyong provided was useful—for instance, that Blessed Lands have day and night cycles, with daytime being relatively safe while night is when the apparitions run rampant; or that fear is useless against them, as it only enhances their killing power; and that some apparitions have the ability to disguise themselves as humans...

But until he finished, he didn't reveal a single word about the idol.

It seemed he was not as honest as he claimed.

"Alright, that’s all the information."

Qi Zhiyong scanned the group: "In the coming days, we must unite if we want to survive. To build trust and understanding, please introduce yourselves."

"I'll go first. My name is Wen Chao, staying in room 401. I work at the Fuyuan Institute of Technology's School of Physics."

The first to step forward was an elderly man with glasses, wearing a blue shirt and a wool vest.

The old man pointed to the man in the square-faced suit: "This is my student, Fang Zhi, staying in 407. We were catching the 2:00 AM train, so we were staying here temporarily, and then we ran into this."

Fang Zhi wanted to say something, but was silenced by a look from Wen Chao.

Wu Xian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

So these two were staying at the Peace Inn to begin with?

It seems that the missing persons in the Blessed Land cases are indeed divided into two categories.

One category consists of specific, unrelated individuals who received mysterious text messages before disappearing, while the other involves regional, collective disappearances.

Wu Xian belonged to the former, while Wen Chao and Fang Zhi belonged to the latter.

The second person to introduce himself was a slightly chubby young man.

"My name is Shi Ji, I’m in 403. I also work at Fuyuan Institute of Technology."

The young man was dressed in a blue tracksuit, had thick eyebrows and large eyes, and looked quite honest and simple-minded, with no hidden agenda.

Fang Zhi looked at him in surprise: "You work at Fuyuan Tech too? Why haven't I seen you before?"

Shi Ji fidgeted: "I’m the janitor."

Fang Zhi didn't look down on him; instead, he pulled Shi Ji to his side. Since they both worked at the same school, they should help each other in a place like this.

Next, the fourth person stepped out—a curly-haired man wearing a floral shirt and a gold chain.

"I’m He Qiong, room 404. These two are with me."

He Qiong’s attitude was relaxed, his tone even a bit arrogant. Behind him stood two pretty, look-alike girls who hid timidly behind him, clutching his arms.

The girl with the ponytail was the older sister, Su Huilan.

The one with twin tails was the younger sister, Su Huijin.

This trio drew everyone's attention. Qi Zhiyong looked guarded, while Shi Ji and Fang Zhi looked on with envy; having two sisters all to oneself was the kind of dream scenario for a man that usually only appeared in novels and anime.

Wen Chao sighed softly, lamenting the decline of modern morals.

As for Wu Xian, he noticed something interesting.

The next person to introduce herself was a good-looking woman who had been cowering at the very back, trembling while clutching an amulet.

"I... my name is Yue Mei. I'm a nurse. Can we really survive this? I have elderly parents at home, I’ve never even been in a relationship, I..."

She spoke in a panicked, incoherent stream, looking at everyone with hope, but no one could offer her any guarantee of safety.

Now, the only one left who hadn't introduced himself was Wu Xian.