Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 721 - 719 Fans

The expressions on the faces of the other players varied. The Black Holy Son's complexion turned gloomy, while Li Ang just smiled indifferently.

13MARK, speaking through Yuyi Xinzhong, voiced his suspicions about the Black Holy Son. Although this act was quite disgraceful, from 13MARK's perspective, it was completely normal.

Players on the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 9th floors had died successively. According to the pattern, it was very likely that the next to die would be the Black Holy Son on the 13th floor or 13MARK on the 8th floor.

Last night, 13MARK had a bye. He had only seen Li Ang and the Black Holy Son take the elevator to the ninth floor around three-thirty in the morning. They stayed there for a long time, entering Room 0908 to search for Bob. Then, they continued upward to the 14th floor to notify Bai Haozheng before descending to the 8th floor. There, they informed 13MARK that Bob was missing and possibly dead.

As a player based far away in Brazil, 13MARK was unfamiliar with the backgrounds of the Black Holy Son and Li Ang. Therefore, his suspicion that the two had colluded to murder Bob and then frame the aberration didn't seem entirely far-fetched.

"I don't trust you."

13MARK, staring at the Black Holy Son, said bluntly, "If I have a bye tonight, I will take the initiative to enter the left elevator. Whether you come or not is up to you."

Seeing that the Black Holy Son and Li Ang had returned safely, 13MARK confirmed that the elevator bay should be safe. It could not only defend against potential aberrations in the corridors but also withstand those six figures in bamboo hats whose backgrounds were unclear. Entering an elevator to secure a spot for himself was definitely much safer than allowing two random teammates of unknown origin to enter.

"Hmph."

The Black Holy Son, expressionless, scoffed and didn't argue further. The probability of a note appearing was completely random, so it wasn't very likely that 13MARK would get a bye.

"Let's all calm down for now. If I have a bye tonight, I will also do my best to get into the elevator bay," Bai Haozheng intervened, somewhat easing the tense atmosphere. "Anyway, let's first organize the information we've collected.

I found Martin Anderson's diary in the maze, and there's also the account from Carter Murphy—the Pen Spirit whom Mule encountered. Both of these shed light on some of the hotel's Traits.

Firstly, the hotel selects ordinary humans who have disappeared or died in the real world to become its residents. It's not yet clear whether these ordinary people are truly dead, alive but falsely claimed dead by hotel staff, or if they were resurrected by the hotel."

"Hmm?"

Wanli Fengdao thought for a moment. "Didn't the hotel staff tell Carter Murphy that all the hotel's inhabitants had died once, and their ability to stand, run, and breathe was due to the hotel's special effects? Do you suspect the hotel staff lied?"

"That's a possibility."

Bai Haozheng nodded. "Furthermore, the hotel's method of selecting ordinary people might be supernatural. For example, someone might accidentally wander into the woods, find a sudden flight of stairs, and climb up—this scene corresponds to what you saw on television earlier. This suggests that the video was indeed providing players with information about the hotel.

And the third, and most crucial point: the disturbances in the rooms are caused by former guests. They died in the hotel and were affected by certain Traits of the Dolphin Hotel, turning into Earthbounded Spirits, much like in Ju-On.

These Earthbounded Spirits remain latent during the day and become active at night. They act on instinct, or perhaps under the influence of the Dolphin Hotel, initiating contact with players. This contact might be to harm and torment or to provide benevolent warnings—it depends on the state of the Earthbounded Spirit."

"That does make sense."

Ω's voice was deep. "The endless knocking on room doors, the Stone Statues in the hallway, the old woman in red, the infinite corridors, the Pitch Black Space... But we players have received two, or even more than two, notes. Does this mean there could be two Earthbounded Spirits in the same room?"

"Perhaps not just two."

Bai Haozheng shook his head. "Do you remember what Carter Murphy said? As far as he knew, occupants at the Dolphin Hotel were frequently replaced; some disappeared, and some even died.

Those people should have been long-term residents of the hotel, knowledgeable enough to follow the rules. This is also why I suspect the hotel staff haven't fully disclosed the truth.

If a hotel room has been the site of multiple deaths, then it's entirely possible for multiple Earthbounded Spirits to exist within the same room."

Upon hearing Bai Haozheng's words, the expressions of the other players inevitably turned grim.

A major complaint players have about survival tasks is that as time progresses, they face increasingly violent attacks. The probability of death skyrockets until the survival period ends.

No one can guarantee what will happen on the final night. Players might face attacks from two, three, or even more abnormal phenomena... Could anyone really survive such intense attacks?

"And the fourth point," Bai Haozheng took a deep breath, "is that Earthbounded Spirits are not entirely incapable of communication. Their states of cognitive preservation vary. Some possess a high degree of self-awareness and even maintain goodwill towards players. Examples include the woman in the bathtub Liu Wu Dai encountered, the television program Wanli Fengdao watched, and the woman in a kimono Ghost of Hidden Eye saw on the Dream Stone Bridge.

Others, though also aggressive, can be calmed from their chaotic state and made receptive to communication through certain methods. For example, the Pen Spirit in Mule's room."

"That's not necessarily true," Li Ang waved his hand dismissively, casually mentioning the three oil paintings. "...I chugged seawater but still couldn't get any information from her. Thinking about it now, maybe I used the wrong method. If she responds to kindness rather than force, perhaps a few compliments would have calmed her down and helped her regain consciousness."

"Hmm?"

Liu Wu Dai glanced at Li Ang curiously. "Didn't you say that the lower half of that girl's face—the one who covers it with a fan—was swollen and rotting, and that looking at her would make you become just like her?"

"Yeah," Li Ang spread his hands and said seriously. "However, praising a lady's selfie or portrait is a gentleman's essential duty. Don't judge me by my current appearance; back in the day, I was almost the leader of a fan club for a beautiful idol in a talent show. Writing a few flattering articles to generate traffic and earn fees was a piece of cake.

Things like: 'I'm just an average Joe, not usually interested in talent shows, but after seeing your picture, I finally understood what "heart-skipping a beat" means.' Or, 'Tsk, I thought she was just a beauty, but she turned out to be a peerless stunner. Speechless.' Or, 'Miss, you're naturally beautiful without makeup; with makeup, you're a celestial maiden descended to Earth.' And, 'Give me back my heart, you heart-stealer!'"

The others couldn't help but stare at Li Ang with peculiar expressions. Seriously, what on earth does this guy do in the real world?