Chapter 24

Chapter 24 Kicked an Iron Plate.

As soon as the front desk finished speaking, a large batch of NPCs suddenly poured out from the first-floor emergency passage.

Some were chefs, holding spatulas in their hands; some were helpers, carrying stacks of bowls and chopsticks on their shoulders; some were cleaners, holding dripping wet mops.

At a rough glance, there were more than thirty hotel staff members. Their expressions were hostile, and they stared viciously at Ning Rong and the other players. If nothing unexpected happened, this group of NPCs would become the greatest danger factor after the safe period ended.

Behind the NPCs, a few lust ghosts occasionally floated past. The lust ghosts included both men and women. After all, a place like a hotel naturally carried romantic and sensual undertones.

They stood in the first-floor lobby, occupying the four corners. They did not speak, nor move, like soulless puppets.

Ning Rong took forty game coins and walked to the front desk, saying calmly, “Renew for one more night.” While paying, she activated the skill [Money Can Make Ghosts Grind the Mill]. “Can you chat with me for a few minutes?”

The front desk’s attitude became flawless, her voice sweet. “Of course, my honored guest.”

[Heh, even NPCs are this realistic.]

[The front desk changed attitude completely after taking money, perfectly acting out “arrogant before, respectful after.”]

[It’s not about money. She didn’t act this fawning when Little Newcomer paid 3999 before.]

[Got it, she secretly activated a skill again.]

Ning Rong glanced at the NPCs standing not far from her and Zhou Yujing, then asked, “The employees seem full of resentment. Can you explain why?”

The smile on the front desk’s face widened even more. “The hotel is operating at a loss. Every month it can’t make ends meet. The boss is in a bad mood and takes it out on the employees. He doesn’t let us sleep at night. He pays one times wages, but wants two or three times the work.”

Ning Rong continued, “Then where is the boss?”

The front desk curled her lips. “The employees’ resentment is too strong. We wanted to fire the boss, so the boss hid in advance.”

“Why the sudden renovation?”

As soon as that question was asked, every trace of the smile on the front desk’s face vanished. It seemed the 3999 room fee could only buy two answers for now. Ning Rong did not force the matter, and instead sat down with Zhou Yujing on the sofa in the lobby.

Not far away, Shen Xuan and the others saw this scene and huddled together whispering.

“She seems to have asked out some key clues.”

“Should we go ask her?”

One player immediately rejected it. “Forget it. She doesn’t look like she’s from the National Team. In the game, aside from National Team members, no other players can be trusted. Though National Team players aren’t one hundred percent trustworthy either, if you’re lucky enough to meet a member of the National Headquarters, then don’t hesitate—just tie your head to their pant leg.”

Because those were people you could safely entrust your back to.

At present, Ning Rong still did not seem to carry that sense of righteousness, so their concerns were not unreasonable.

“How about we try asking the front desk too? See if we can get any information?”

Shen Xuan—the young man who had first invited Ning Rong to share a room—volunteered for the task. “My skill fits this. I’ll go.”

Shen Xuan’s skill was [Affinity].

It looked like a very ordinary skill, yet it let him move through the game like a fish in water.

[Affinity] allowed him to easily gain favorability from NPCs. Once favorability was high enough, everything became easier.

Shen Xuan confidently walked to the front desk and greeted her.

“May I ask what you were talking about just now?”

After activating his skill, Shen Xuan waited patiently.

3, 2, 1...

When the countdown ended, what he got in return was the front desk’s impatient sentence—

“What’s it to you?”

Shen Xuan froze.

That couldn’t be right.

This still can’t be asked?

Could it be that that player had asked the most crucial information?

His skill could last for three minutes. He did not waste time and immediately continued asking, “Good big sister, will tonight be very dangerous?”

The front desk played with her fingernails and answered without thinking, “Isn’t that obvious?”

Shen Xuan took a deep breath and coaxed patiently, “Can good big sister point out a clear path for me?”

The front desk lowered her hand and said in a meaningful tone, “Old Zhang the chef may be a cook, but he hates the smell of ginger and vinegar; the cleaning auntie cherishes those hands of hers the most; the helpers are all young and the easiest to bully.”

[This person’s skill is pretty good too.]

[Good good good, he asked out the NPCs’ weaknesses and preferences. His survival rate just rose greatly.]

[Got it. If Little Newcomer is the type who goes straight for the dragon’s lair and force-pushes game progress, then he should be the kind who follows the rules and looks for the easiest method to clear the stage.]

Every game instance had at least three methods of clearing it, each with different difficulty levels. Naturally, the easiest was to leave directly through the escape well. But that method was hard to replicate.

What players used most often was still the most ordinary method.

Among the five randomly matched players was a girl who looked barely grown. She suddenly grabbed her brother’s hand and said, “Brother, I saw it.”

Her brother was startled. “Saw it? You activated your skill?”

The girl named Warm Sophora nodded.

She had awakened [Future Eyes], allowing her to see a certain scene that would definitely happen within the next twelve hours.

This skill was not weak, but its cooldown was very long. Warm Sophora could only see one scene, yet the cooldown was a full twenty-four hours. This was already after she had upgraded the skill. Its initial cooldown had been twenty-eight hours.

But generally speaking, the scene shown by a skill would definitely be important.

Her brother asked gently, “Why did you activate your skill so early today?”

Warm Sophora pressed her lips together. “I wanted to use it, so I used it.”

Warm Voice gave an acknowledging hum. “Then what did you see?”

Warm Sophora looked from afar in Ning Rong’s direction and softly said, “I saw her chatting and laughing merrily with the dungeon’s final boss, while her boyfriend was making tea beside her.”

[6.]

[Chatting and laughing with the final boss really is something Big Sister could do.]

[Only Big Sister would still have the mood for elegance inside a game.]

Warm Sophora said, “If we follow her, we’ll definitely make it to the end of the game.” At least there would absolutely be no problem before the final boss appeared.

Warm Voice nodded and also looked toward Ning Rong. “Alright.”

Although the sense of righteous bearing around this girl was still faint, her presence was full.

Since his younger sister said they could follow her, then following her would definitely be the option with the greatest hope of clearing the game. As for whether she agreed or not... they would only follow from a distance and would not affect the two of them.

While the siblings were talking, on Ning Rong’s side, she unexpectedly discovered that her skill list had updated again.

Under the main skill [Smash People with Money], another sub-skill had appeared—

[Everyone Wants to Be Friends with Me].

And below that skill was a more specific description:

[Since everyone is good friends now, then the good things you have must be shared with me.]

Behind this line was another line of small text:

[Friends also need a tiny bit of sincerity. When sharing treasures, you must inform the other party first and obtain their consent.

What? You ask what things can be shared?

Of course skills, the five senses, happiness, sadness, wealth...

Since the other party took the initiative to come make friends with you, by default only you can share their things. If your relationship becomes very, very good, then of course you can share each other’s treasures too. As for specifics, please explore on your own~]

Ning Rong: ...

Did the name of this skill mean someone wanted to be friends with her?

At that moment, she sharply sensed two friendly gazes.

She followed the direction the gazes came from and unexpectedly met the eyes of a brother and sister pair. The two looked very alike and seemed about her age. The girl looked petite and cute. When she saw Ning Rong look over, her eyes instantly lit up, revealing two small dimples.

The siblings nodded to her in a friendly manner, and she nodded back in response.

So, it was them who wanted to be friends with her?

But why?

Ning Rong did not think her appearance had charmed them.

In the game One Thousand and One Nightmares, looks ranked far below ability.

So, could it be related to their skills?

Considering they had unlocked a new skill for her, becoming limited-time friends within One Thirty was not impossible.

When she saw the part about sharing the five senses, Ning Rong for some reason suddenly thought of certain restricted scenes.

She quickly gathered her thoughts again.

Based on the five skills that had appeared so far, she could roughly determine some patterns.

Her main skills most likely only worked on NPCs; while her sub-skills most likely targeted players.

She still was not certain.

But it was probably something like that.

With another new skill added, Ning Rong became even more interested in her hidden identity.

Was she the only one with a hidden identity, or did others have them too?

Seeing the faint smile appear on Ning Rong’s face, Zhou Yujing smiled as well. He leaned his head closer and said, “Rong Rong, the key to escaping the game should be with this hotel boss.”

Ning Rong gave a soft hum of agreement.

It was just that the boss was currently hiding. If they wanted to find clues through him, the urgent task was first to drag him out from this eighteen-floor hotel.

Ning Rong wanted to discuss the topic of hidden identities with Zhou Yujing, but unfortunately it was inconvenient to talk about such things in the game, so she could only temporarily suppress it.

While Shen Xuan was trying to coax information from the front desk, that group led by Tired Tired also came downstairs.

The moment Chen Chu saw Ning Rong, his emotions became somewhat unstable. It looked like he badly wanted to go up and question Ning Rong about what she had done, but reason forced him to suppress the impulse.

Ever since becoming penniless, the lovestruck brain in his head had become slightly clearer.

Being broke in the game, and without any items, meant he would have trouble moving a single step. Fortunately, he still had teammates. At critical moments, they should help him out.

This newly appeared girlfriend of Zhou Yujing clearly was not simple.

What Gu Yu said was right.

He could not act impulsively again. Otherwise, he might not leave this game alive.

He was Chi Cheng’s subordinate.

But if something happened to him, Chi Cheng might not necessarily stand up for him.

That madman only cared about his own ranking, and paving the road for Tired Tired.

In the end, the reason he had been chosen to protect Tired Tired was only because Chi Cheng valued his infatuation. Among the few of them, he was the weakest in ability. He was actually the one who least should have provoked Zhou Yujing’s girlfriend.

[Holy crap, Little Newcomer used one long-range skill and completely subdued Chen Chu?]

[Looks like he learned his lesson.]

[Not just him. The others also seem a bit wary of Little Newcomer now. Their stuff disappeared, yet they didn’t even question her.]

[Tsk, kicked an iron plate, huh?]