Volume One, Chapter Three: The Calamity Inn — Words Unbelieved
Lin Xi’s eyes darted around but he remained silent.
Those behind him grew restless, whispering eagerly among themselves.
Lin Xi did not hurry to join their hushed discussion; instead, he quietly began to survey the surroundings.
Though his actions seemed casual, his mind was already silently piecing together the cryptic phrase he had heard in his dream.
“Sun does not move, night does not rest, words are untrue, speech is unheard.”
“Is this phrase a clue about a way out?” Lin Xi pondered, while discreetly eavesdropping on the whispers behind him.
From fragments of their conversation, he quickly learned that among everyone present, only he had received that strange hint.
But whether the clue was genuine or a deception, Lin Xi had no way to verify.
“Little brother.”
“Little brother.”
...
Seeing Lin Xi’s lack of response, the weathered man with glasses reached out and tapped his back.
Lin Xi’s body shuddered slightly, then he slowly turned around.
In truth, Lin Xi had heard the first call, but to avoid suspicion that he was eavesdropping, he had pretended to be deep in thought.
“What is it?” Lin Xi asked, feigning confusion.
“Do you have money?” the man with glasses inquired.
“No. Since waking up, my phone has disappeared, and I don’t usually carry cash,” Lin Xi said helplessly, spreading his hands.
“What are we going to do then? We have no money—how can we stay in a hotel?” The petite girl’s pale face was tinged with helplessness.
Lin Xi thought for a moment. “I think maybe money isn’t necessary. If the manual is true, and there’s more than one path to survival, then even without money, we should be able to stay.”
The man with glasses adjusted his spectacles and considered this for a moment. “That makes sense.”
“But if the monster can lie, why would it give us the manual at all?” the blond-haired youth wiped the sweat from his brow, panting heavily.
Lin Xi answered, “There are rules. All things in Purgatory strictly obey the guidelines set by this manual.”
The man with glasses took up Lin Xi’s words. “So it’s not that he wants to give us the manual—it’s that he must.”
The blond considered this. “If we want to stay without money, there are two ways: one, sneak in and pick the lock, but we don’t know which rooms are vacant; two, steal a key.”
Lin Xi said, “Picking locks isn’t too hard. We can just ask which rooms are empty, but that hairless fat man might lie to us. As for stealing a key, I don’t think any of us can beat him.”
Everyone followed Lin Xi’s gaze to the counter, where the hairless fat man still wore a sinister smile.
A chill ran through the group.
Lin Xi paused, eyes flicking subtly as he motioned for everyone to lean in closer.
“We can trick him into showing us the keys. Once he reveals them, that room is empty. Then we decide whether to steal or pick the lock.”
The others considered the plan and agreed it was feasible, but none dared to approach the hairless fat man.
For a moment, they exchanged uneasy glances.
Lin Xi sighed silently at their cowardice, then hesitated briefly before saying, “I’ll do it. But I want to choose the room first.”
Hearing Lin Xi volunteer, the group visibly relaxed, as if relieved not to face the fat man themselves.
They accepted his proposal without hesitation; after all, without Lin Xi’s lead, they would have no choice but to confront the hairless fat man on their own.
But if they had the courage, they would have acted already.
Once he turned away, the hesitation vanished from Lin Xi’s face. He had almost confirmed that the hairless fat man’s only threat was deception.
Now it was time to test that theory. Lin Xi wanted to go himself anyway—he didn’t trust others’ room numbers, and this way, he could gain their goodwill by choosing the room first. He felt he was making a good deal.
At the counter...
Lin Xi asked the simplest question to test the hairless fat man’s honesty.
“Am I male or female?”
The fat man’s smile deepened into something even more unsettling and eerie.
After a long silence, he forced out two words through clenched teeth.
“Female.”
Lin Xi asked again, “Explain the rules here.”
The fat man’s two eyeballs rolled onto the counter’s surface, staring intently as he enunciated each word.
“Stay in the hotel, traveler?”
Lin Xi asked several more questions, but every answer was the same phrase: “Stay in the hotel, traveler?”
Realizing he would get no useful information, Lin Xi said, “Fine. How many rooms are there?”
This time, the fat man paused before replying, “There are only four twin rooms left, but each room allows only one occupant.”
Lin Xi asked, “Which four rooms exactly?”
The fat man produced four keys from his pocket: 204 on the second floor, 304 on the third, 404 on the fourth, and 444.
Lin Xi ignored the keys on the counter and returned to the group, recounting his test and the fat man’s responses.
They reasoned together, and their conclusion mirrored Lin Xi’s suspicions perfectly.
The hotel had many empty rooms beyond those four, and each room could not be occupied by only one person.
With this clarified, everyone instantly felt energized and eager.
The petite girl timidly asked, “But without keys, how do we get in?”
The blond replied confidently, “Don’t worry, leave that to me—I’m good at picking locks.”
Hearing this, the group’s earlier confusion quickly turned to reassurance.
Lin Xi also breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Having understood the rules, they began discussing which floor to choose.
Originally, they all wanted first-floor rooms, but considering the hairless fat man standing in the lobby, they prudently decided to pick the fifth floor, where the fat man hadn’t mentioned any rooms.
They slowly approached the elevator doors and pressed the button.
The elevator display showed it descending from the fourth floor.
When the number 3 flashed on the screen, alarm bells rang loudly in Lin Xi’s mind. He instinctively stepped back more than ten paces, away from the crowd, retreating to the lobby.
Lin Xi noticed the two eyeballs lying on the counter behind the fat man also fixated sharply on the slowly descending elevator.