Chapter 7: Tenant Move-In Guidelines

"Why, why are you all looking at me?"

The schoolgirl who had emerged from Room 4 curled up in trepidation, unnerved by the five people staring intensely at her.

"You're in the way. Move."

The woman with short hair spoke first. She was blunt, waving her hand to order the girl aside. Only then did the schoolgirl realize that these strangers were not looking at her, but at the wall behind her. She took a few steps back and turned around; the sight of the large, dripping red characters made her stumble in fear.

Tenant Check-in Rules:
1. Your rental period is limited to five days. Please vacate the hotel immediately after five days; new tenants will be arriving.
2. After the sun sets, you must return to your room. Do not linger in the hallway.
3. The night outside the hotel is very beautiful, but it can only be viewed through the windows in the hallway.
4. Security in the vicinity of the hotel is poor; be sure to lock your doors at night.
5. If you encounter any problems, you may consult the landlord. The landlord’s words are absolutely true and reliable.
6. There are no paranormal legends in this hotel. Please do not spread rumors, as it affects the hotel's reputation!

The white walls were crumbling, and the blood-dragged text was so scrawled it was barely legible.

"When did this appear? It wasn't there just a moment ago!" Li Hua exclaimed.

"It must have appeared when everyone opened their doors to come out," Zhou Ke replied matter-of-factly. He had been observing the changes in the environment, so he knew these lines of blood-red text had manifested suddenly.

Their appearance at this moment naturally held special significance. Since the [Ghost Sheep Gate] was a trial cleared through intellect, every line, every word, and every character of this single clue had to be weighed with extreme caution.

"After the sun sets..."

As he pondered, Zhou Ke walked toward the hallway window. Seeing Zhou Ke act so swiftly, the bespectacled man, who had survived one or two similar "suppression" experiences, looked slightly surprised.

Normally, novices drawn into a [Gate] would be paralyzed by fear or confusion—the man in the tank top and the two women beside him were prime examples. Even he, despite his experience, felt a tremor of dread. In this specific [Gate], his own "Truth" was difficult to utilize. Could Zhou Ke be a genius who had awakened a rare, peerless "Truth"?

Outside the window, the sun rose brightly, dispelling the eerie, moldy atmosphere and bringing an irreplaceable sense of warmth to the soul. The brilliant light spilled directly onto Zhou Ke, bathing him in a saintly glow. The bespectacled man was momentarily stunned.

"Oh, no," Zhou Ke said suddenly, drawing everyone's attention.

The bespectacled man leaned in eagerly, quickly asking, "Did you discover something?"

"Well... I think I forgot to hang up my laundry," Zhou Ke mused.

"..."

The bespectacled man covered his face, speechless.

***

Fine. He had misjudged. The kid was just not quite right in the head.

"Let's go check out that room where the person died," the bespectacled man said, his emotions unexpectedly leveled out after Zhou Ke’s distraction.

Even though his teammates were useless, he didn't intend to sit around and wait for death. He had to find a way to survive, even if it meant... sacrificing the others.

"Agreed."

Zhou Ke took his hand off the window. He had confirmed that jumping out was impossible. Not only was the ground invisible from this height, but the window was covered by an unknown, intangible barrier—it felt like a magical shield from a fantasy world, impossible to open or destroy.

Zhou Ke followed silently at the back of the group as they entered Room 1. With his height, he caught a glimpse of the headless corpse slumped in the entryway. The flesh on the neck was jagged and uneven; just looking at it, one could visualize the bloody scene of the doorbell-ringing ghost gripping the head and tearing it off by force.

"How miserable..." Li Hua shook his head, unable to bear the sight. The victim wore the uniform of the First High School of Guangcheng—they were schoolmates. Yet, now, the corpse was so gruesomely mangled that the head was missing, making it impossible to identify.

"The death process was so fast there was no time to struggle. Once caught, death is almost certain," the bespectacled man said, his face darkening as he examined the body.

"That's exactly right."

At that moment, the short-haired woman, who had only glanced at the body before walking away, drew attention. She lightly covered the door handle with her slim fingers. "This door has no locking mechanism. Anyone can open it."

"The fourth rule on the wall outside—'Security in the vicinity of the hotel is poor; be sure to lock your doors at night'—must reflect this rule. If we don't lock our doors at night, the evil spirit that rings the doorbell will find us."

The short-haired woman’s explanation was simple, logical, and well-founded, quickly winning the group's approval.

"That makes sense!"

"No wonder last night, when I saw the female ghost pull the handle, the door just swung open. I thought it was some kind of supernatural ability, but it was just because the door wasn't locked!" Li Hua slapped his palm in realization. He wanted to laugh, but fearing it would be in poor taste, he twisted his face into a grimace. "This guy was so unlucky to be assigned to a room that was a death trap."

The walls separating the rooms were lined with stainless steel. Through the reflections, everyone had witnessed the horrific scene the previous night, though the angles and clarity had varied. Li Hua’s words brought back unpleasant memories; in retrospect, the events of the night really did seem to align with the short-haired woman's theory. Everyone was quietly convinced, secretly resolving to reinforce their own room doors later.

Only Zhou Ke didn't share this thought. He rubbed his chin in contemplation.

"It can't be just because the door wasn't locked."

Truth be told, the moment he saw the rule about locking doors, he had arrived at the same conclusion as the short-haired woman. But after uncovering that Room 1 had no lock, he rejected the hypothesis.

In a [Ghost Sheep Gate] that required intellect to clear, being assigned to a room without a lock and dying instantly would be nothing more than a game of luck—a direct contradiction to the requirement for intelligence. After all, the person in Room 1 didn't even get a chance to display their wit. As a counterexample, the victim must have violated a different rule to die.

So, the question remained: what rule was it?

Zhou Ke rubbed his chin and looked up at the wall of Room 1, where the check-in rules were written, identical to those in the hallway.

"How interesting. These would make great inspirations for writing fairy tales!" The more he pondered, the more he felt the hidden secrets within. A strange, crooked smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He covered his mouth, his laughter little more than a soft cough. Most people were busy examining the scene, and except for the schoolgirl standing in the back out of fear, no one noticed. The schoolgirl didn't dare say anything, either; she retreated two steps, her eyes seeming to say, "Pervert, stay away from me!"

In her retreat, she didn't watch where she was going, accidentally stepping on the corpse's arm and falling with a scream. She landed hard on her backside, and the others didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Huh? What's this?"

Li Hua, always the helpful one, reached out to pull the girl up, but suddenly caught sight of something sliding out from the corpse's hand. He reflexively let go to grab it, causing the girl to fall back down again.

"Come look, everyone! It’s a piece of paper, there’s writing on it!"

They crowded around to see the short sentence on the paper:
【4. What is the first thing you must do every time you wake up?】

Unlike the concise check-in rules, this was a vague, ambiguous question. The information was unclear, and it was highly likely to contain a puzzle.

"The first thing you do when you wake up... brush your teeth and wash your face?"
"Turn off the alarm?"
"Finish homework?"

Everyone offered different answers, but none seemed relevant to their current situation. After a while, unable to find any other clues, they left the iron-scented Room 1. When they returned to the hallway, the sky outside was already turning a dusky yellow... wait, dusky yellow?

Zhou Ke immediately sensed something was wrong. Then, the short-haired woman realized it too. Her eyes widened, and she shouted in disbelief:

"No! This sun is not right!"

The bespectacled man hurried to the window. "We haven't been in Room 1 for more than two hours. How could it go from early morning to sunset in such a short time?!"

"It's not that the sun is wrong; it's that the flow of time is wrong," Zhou Ke sighed.

Mr. Zhou was a "conservationist" who preferred not to speak if he didn't have to, and not to work if he could avoid it—in other words, what people commonly called a "lazy person." However, the current situation didn't allow him to slack off anymore. If he didn't provide some decent help, his teammates would all die. If he ended up as the last one standing, this "Death is Knocking" game would be no fun at all.

"By the way, when we came out, I noticed that everyone’s room doors had already been closed. And based on my estimate of the sun’s westward travel speed, in less than twenty minutes, we will be welcoming the 'Beautiful Night'."