Chapter 2: "Room 404, turn left on the fourth floor."

“There’s still room for improvement.”

Inside the office building.

Chen Kun sat in his chair, staring at the 52% fear level displayed on his watch. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself as much as possible. After signing his name on the “Newcomer Danger Notice” in front of him, he left the company.

Standing on the bustling street, he looked around.

The scent of pork rice filled the air.

Car horns blared.

The city buzzed with noise.

It all seemed so normal that he found himself doubting the strangeness he had just witnessed. The scene before him was utterly harmonious; he even saw a group of middle-aged women dancing in the square.

He glanced down at his watch again.

—

“Fear level: 32%.”

—

It had dropped considerably. From the attitude shifts of the young woman earlier, he had gleaned some understanding.

He looked at the 100 points remaining in his balance.

All he could think about was whether those 100 points could buy some charcoal. He would rather die on the guillotine than live in such a bizarre world.

According to the “Newcomer Danger Notice,” if one did not have a residence after midnight, there would be no place to be buried.

It was worth noting—

This residence was not just any thrown-together shelter. Only buildings constructed before the strange occurrences decades ago could serve as safe houses; any newly built structures were ineffective.

From one perspective, this conveniently deflated the real estate bubble and perfectly absorbed the surplus housing stock, eliminating the need for government takeovers or conversions into public housing. Even unfinished buildings from before were now in use.

Almost perfect.

As for what would happen when these buildings reached the end of their lifespan, that was not his concern.

First, he needed to find a hotel.

Hotels also counted as “safe houses.” With only 100 points, he couldn’t rent or buy property—just afford a hotel room.

“Better to survive one day and see how things go…”

Chen Kun stood by the roadside, lost in thought for a long while, then muttered, “Maybe it’s not so terrible after all… after all, I’m already here…”

He quickly gave up on the idea of buying charcoal, opened the digital “Newcomer Danger Notice” on his watch, and set a navigation route to the cheapest hotel marked inside.

According to public reviews, this hotel offered the best value for its price range.

It hadn’t had a death in over two months; the other hotels had just recently seen fatalities.

—

Soon, a translucent virtual panel popped up before him, displaying an overhead map of the city. The blue line marked his route.

Quite futuristic.

Below the map were recommended transportation options:

“Taxi: Estimated arrival in 37 minutes, cost 40 points.”

“Subway: Estimated arrival in 27 minutes, cost 4 points.”

“Bus: Estimated arrival in 42 minutes, cost 4 points.”

“Shared bike: Estimated arrival in 1 hour 56 minutes, cost 4 points.”

“...”

Chen Kun fell silent for a moment before heading to the nearest subway station, preparing to take the subway to the evidently suburban hotel.

He decided to wait and see.

If it really turned out to be terrifying tonight, he’d just hang himself in the hotel and delete this damned world from his life.

Damn it!

He’d never even dared to watch horror movies since childhood, and now he was forced to live in a strange world like this—it was a death sentence.

He was usually patient and rarely angry.

He vaguely remembered the last time he lost his temper: a colleague had somehow learned about his fear of ghosts and sent him a seemingly normal but scary short video, claiming it was work-related.

As the video neared its end and he watched intently, a ghostly face suddenly appeared. He remembered his heart nearly stopped, his body temperature spiked, and the rest was a blur.

His mind would briefly lapse during extreme fear to protect itself.

He faintly recalled that he—

First smashed his phone.

Then found that colleague and smashed his head.

Third, sat in the police station negotiating a settlement.

...

The subway was packed.

Chen Kun stood gripping the overhead handrail, eyes scanning the carriage with a complicated expression. Everything seemed normal, but perhaps due to psychological suggestion, he felt something might happen at any moment.

It was easy to imagine.

A subway station was the perfect place for something to occur.

When he finally emerged from the subway station, he found himself in a noticeably desolate suburban area. After following navigation for over ten minutes, he finally arrived at the hotel.

A small hotel near a university.

Its name was “Garden Hotel.”

—

The cheapest single room was 30 points per night, no deposit required.

“Phew…”

Watching the young men and women passing by on the street, Chen Kun sighed in relief. Although the location was a bit remote, at least there was a university nearby. It was well known that university students were full of yang energy, and having so many of them around lent a sense of safety.

He just wondered what use a university was in a world that had come to this.

You couldn’t expect them to teach you how to deal with ghosts, could you?

...

“Check out before 2 p.m. If late, an additional 10 points will be charged per hour.”

“Room 404, fourth floor, turn left.”

The hotel clerk was a middle-aged woman, bare-chested and smoking a cigarette. After speaking, she carelessly tossed a set of keys to him.

Yes, bare-chested.

“...”

Chen Kun stared at her for a moment, then hoarsely asked, “Can I change rooms? Do you have 606 or 808?”

“No.”

The woman at the front desk looked at him disdainfully. “Relax. Don’t be so superstitious. Our hotel is only a level 1 safe house, but it hasn’t had a death in over two months. Among hotels under a hundred points on public review platforms, it ranks very high. As long as you don’t wander around at night, you won’t die.”

It was clear that the people in this world were not in good psychological shape either.

Chen Kun said no more, quietly took the keys, bypassed the counter, and went up the stairs to the fourth floor. He found room 404, inserted the key, and surveyed his room.

Not bad.

A single bed, a bathroom, a television, and a desk.

Small but complete.

It was still broad daylight; the room felt bright. Chen Kun immediately covered all the mirrors carefully with pillowcases and duvet covers. He actually wanted to smash them, but that would cost money. He only had 66 points left.

Although the “Newcomer Danger Notice” said staying in a safe house would basically guarantee safety.

But better safe than sorry.

So...

He didn’t even go eat. He just sat on the bed, flipping through the “Newcomer Danger Notice” repeatedly, and logged onto a “social platform” via his watch to learn more about this world.

Until...

Night fell, and the clock on the wall slowly struck “00:00.”