Kindness was not about endless tolerance, nor was it the self-deceptive belief that doing good deeds would necessarily be rewarded. True kindness carried strength — it was a virtue upheld from within throughout one's entire life.
Chen Ge was a kind person. It was just that his way of showing kindness was rather unique.
The others present saw Chen Ge's earnest expression and had been about to say something, but after turning his words over in their minds, they fell silent.
This was Liwan Town, shrouded in blood fog — a place where vengeful ghosts ran rampant and murderers lurked everywhere. One careless slip and you could lose your life. In a place like this, kindness was especially precious, but at the same time, kindness was the cheapest thing here.
"I'll follow your lead." The doctor was the first to change his tune. He was a good judge of people, and in his heart, he had already come to regard Chen Ge as his only hope of escape.
"Do as you say." Scissors also expressed his agreement. Of the three passengers, only the drunkard was somewhat reluctant.
"Minority defers to majority. It's decided then." Chen Ge handed out four keys to the four people. "When the time comes, try not to speak. Leave everything to me."
After roughly two or three minutes, the fat boss emerged from the back kitchen. "Have you all picked your rooms? Register here. Also, I have a few rules I need to tell you about."
The fat boss retrieved a yellowed notebook from beneath the counter. It was covered in thick dust, clearly unused for quite some time.
He flipped it open. Inside were rows of room numbers, each with a person's name written beneath it. Strangely, some names had been crossed out in red ink, while others were circled in red with an X marked over them.
Chen Ge didn't know what these symbols meant, but he had a feeling that every crossed-out name represented a life that had been lost.
"What I'm about to say next — you'd best burn it into your minds." The boss raised both hands above his head and made a peculiar gesture. "The main hall is where meals are served. When it's time to eat, I'll personally come to each room to call you. The rest of the time, I'd advise you not to wander around outside. The corridor to the left leads to the accommodation area. Until the first floor is full, the second floor is off-limits. I hope you won't let curiosity drive you upstairs. If anything happens, this establishment bears no responsibility."
"Can't go to the second floor? The place isn't big, and yet you've got quite a few rules." Scissors smacked his lips, the gruesome wound on his face rippling slightly.
The fat boss seemed to have long grown accustomed to the grotesque freaks and ghosts; his expression didn't change in the slightest. He patiently explained to Scissors: "I'm doing this for your own good. Because after night falls, there may be other customers staying in my inn. I can't guarantee that those people won't make a move against you."
"Reasonable enough. We'll be careful." Chen Ge had the best attitude of all the passengers — there wasn't a trace of intent to take over the establishment visible on his face.
"As long as you stay put in your rooms like good little guests, nothing will happen. Also, I hope you'll remember — once you've checked in, don't open the door for anyone. Not even your closest friend." The fat boss's small eyes were nearly buried in the rolls of flesh, but a subtle shift flickered across his expression. "I'm not trying to scare you. Sometimes a friend isn't really a friend — they could be something else entirely."
Chen Ge didn't take what the fat boss said to heart. The man was clearly trying to sow discord, planting seeds of suspicion in their minds.
"Alright, that's all for now. When it's time to eat, I'll come get you. For now, go take a look at your rooms. The first night is complimentary." The fat boss turned and left again, his steps light and brisk — a stark contrast to his corpulent body. "Four more people. I'll need to prepare extra food."
Chen Ge stared at the boss's retreating back, uncertain about the meaning behind those last words. Was he preparing extra food for the four of them? Or was he treating the four of them as food?
"Let's go check out the rooms. Relax — stop being so stiff." Chen Ge was the first to step into the corridor, using his key to unlock the corresponding room.
The interior layout was different from Little Bu's game — much larger than in the game.
"The old man, the high school girl, the woman, the police officer. I wonder if these passengers will appear." In the game, the police officer was the first to be killed by the boss. If game and reality corresponded, the boss should have a police-issue firearm on him — which was one of the reasons Chen Ge hadn't simply knocked him out right away.
"The rooms here are cleaner than I expected." The doctor, key in hand, was the first to enter his room, flipping over the mattress to check underneath and rummaging through the wardrobe.
"What are you looking for?" The drunkard was baffled.
"Bloodstains. Or severed body parts, that sort of thing."
"Come on, man. We finally found somewhere safe, and now you're making it so I don't even want to go in and look around." The drunkard trailed behind the doctor. "How about we share a room tonight?"
The drunkard was genuinely afraid — not just of others, but of the other passengers too. Scissors was clearly no normal person; everything he did practically screamed "murderer." The other guy with the hammer seemed decent enough, but the things he said and did were absolutely not what any ordinary person would come up with. By comparison, the doctor was the most normal of the bunch.
After checking out his own room, Chen Ge grabbed his backpack and began pacing outside the other rooms.
"The old man lives in Room 1. The tooth that can summon the Red-clothed one is in the old man's desk drawer. The restaurant's spare keys are also in that room." In Little Bu's game, after entering the old man's room, you were given several options and could pick one item to take. But the game was a game, and reality was reality. Chen Ge intended to stuff every usable item into his backpack, seizing complete control of the inn.
"Opened right in the center of Liwan Town — is there something special about this building?" When playing Little Bu's game, Chen Ge's only thought had been survival. Now that he was here in person, he was determined to uncover every secret.
Narrowing his eyes, Chen Ge inserted his key into the lock of Room 1 and jiggled it vigorously.
His key naturally couldn't open the door to Room 1. He was doing this to lure the old man out so he could proceed to the next step of his plan.
The only thing Chen Ge was wary of in the entire inn was the Red-clothed ghost in the refrigerator, and the tooth in the old man's drawer was the key to awakening it. He needed to get his hands on that tooth first — only then would he have no lingering concerns.
He rattled the lock for a good while, but no sound came from inside Room 1. It was as empty as an uninhabited house.
"What are you doing? Our rooms are over there — see the room numbers on the doors?" The drunkard ran over to remind him out of kindness. Chen Ge gave a faint smile, pocketed the key, and stared at Room 1 for a moment.
He gripped the hammer handle inside his backpack, considered it, then decided it was better not to act impulsively. If he broke through the door and couldn't find the tooth — if the old man had already moved it elsewhere — then the situation would spiral out of control.
"The longer this drags on, the more trouble it becomes. Once the boss realizes how dangerous we are, it'll be a lot harder to make a move." Chen Ge was a very decisive person. He was waiting for his opportunity — the moment any of the inn's staff revealed a weakness, he would act immediately.
"Bro, the danger we're in is all because of you! Please, just calm down a bit!" The drunkard knew Chen Ge wouldn't listen to him, so he ran to find the doctor, hoping to enlist his help in talking some sense into Chen Ge.
But the moment he turned around, the door to Room 1 creaked open a sliver.
"You've got the wrong room." An old man's voice came from inside. Chen Ge's pupils contracted. He activated his Yin Eye and peered into the room.
The room was unlit. A small, hunched old man stood in the doorway, his back bent.
"Sorry about that, we didn't mean to intrude." The drunkard hurried to apologize on Chen Ge's behalf, grabbing Chen Ge's arm. "Come on, let's go — stop causing trouble."
The drunkard genuinely wanted to pull Chen Ge away. Every gesture and expression of his was sincere.
Perhaps because of this, hearing the drunkard's words put the old man at ease. His grip on the door latch loosened, and the crack widened slightly, revealing his other hand hanging at his side.
That hand was covered in scars, and it held a piece of red cloth and several teeth that had been polished to a smooth gleam.