Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 47: Wishing You a Pleasant Meal

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Wishing You a Pleasant Meal

"You’ve got it all wrong, we’re just paranormal enthusiasts who are very interested in the ghost stories about Congyun Hotel."

Tang Qianqian explained.

"Pretending won’t do you any good in front of the lady, she knows everything you’ve done from the moment you entered the hotel."

The brooding waiter locked the door, approached the two of them, and placed the serving tray on the table, "I’m referring to the secrets on your cell phones, so leave quickly after you’ve finished lunch."

"Is that true? Does the lady really know everything?"

The waiter’s firm attitude shook Tang Qianqian slightly. Based on the term "the lady," she deduced that the true owner of the hotel was the wife of Mr. Qian Congyun, who had never appeared in the scary tales. If she were still alive, she would be nearly two hundred years old.

The waiter sighed, "The lady is different from what you usually deal with. She knows everything that happens in the hotel; the only reason you are still alive is that she simply doesn’t care about you."

"You’re misunderstanding me, I mean, why doesn’t the lady run away since she knows we’re here?"

Your house has an ogre in it! This could be straight out of a horror movie. If it were Tang Qianqian, she would have run away without a trace.

The first thing after escaping would be to call the police; everything else could wait until the police arrived.

Upon hearing this, the waiter first paused, then couldn’t help but laugh, "Escape? As long as she is in Congyun Hotel, the lady is invincible. Your only chance is to leave here before nightfall."

Another invincible enemy.

Although Tang Qianqian missed out on the expansion "The Clockmaker’s Amazing Adventures," she learned from Yang Ping about the perilous battle, where his chest was pierced several times. If it hadn’t been for the small sachet Jiuyue sent to him, he would probably have been whittled down to "wood ten" by now.

The first battle she encountered was the terrifying time-based Ability and faced the nearly unsolvable First Encounter Kill.

Yet such an invincible attacker was instantly slain by a senior.

According to Yang Ping’s words, after the clockmaker retreated into the woods, no sound was heard again, meaning their confrontation didn’t even qualify as a fight.

So now the situation is clear.

The waitress thinks the lady is invincible, and they believe that Senior Mingyuan is also second to none. Usually, when faced with this type of situation, either both parties would exchange sarcastic remarks escalating to personal attacks, or they would sit down and compare achievements and damage statistics on a spreadsheet.

But given the current situation, Tang Qianqian really couldn’t do such a thing, as it would turn her into an avant-garde abstract artist.

Once a person becomes abstract, it’s difficult to return to normal.

She skipped the topic about strength and asked, "If the lady knows everything, wouldn’t your coming here to tip us off put yourself in danger?"

"I’ve already said, if the lady had the thought of killing you, you would be dead already."

The waiter paused then said, "But if you continue to foolishly stay here and ruin the lady’s mood, then you are definitely doomed."

"The lady’s mood? Are you referring to the haunted house adventure activity after ten?"

In Congyun Hotel, ten at night marks the division between the yin and yang: the day belongs to humans, while the night belongs to malevolent spirits. According to the "rules" in the scary tales, as long as you lie obediently in bed, don’t go anywhere, cover your head with the blanket, and sleep—even if you hear strange noises in the room or feel that someone has stood in front of your bed, don’t pay any attention. If you can manage to do the above, you’ll survive the dangerous night.

But clearly, paranormal enthusiasts would not follow the rules like this. Just like those timeless scenes in horror films, most horror stories begin with a few skeptics who want to risk their lives dubiously ... little fools.

Tang Qianqian had only walked a few circles in the hallway when she heard several groups making plans to rest up during the day and, as soon as it struck ten, venture out with flashlights to court death.

There were even those live-streaming, seemingly hoping every ghost story about Congyun Hotel was real.

Seeing the server remain silent, Tang Qianqian took the opportunity to ask further, "Besides that young couple and our colleagues, how many people are there?"

"I advised them, especially your colleague."

The server bit her lip, her gaze darkening a bit more, "It was they who insisted on courting death."

Her response was irrelevant and subtly aggressive.

Tang Qianqian understood what was implied; aside from that couple, quite a few people had quietly disappeared into the depths of the Congyun Hotel.

The situation here seemed worse than they had imagined; from the server’s words, it was not hard to infer that the lady particularly cherished the haunted house adventure after ten o’clock, and would not allow anyone to spoil her fun.

Perhaps, this adventure hid unknown secrets.

"You should leave quickly. Follow the path all the way down without looking back until you see the hotel’s sign. Once you reach there, you’ll be safe."

The server stressed her words, looking out the window before emphasizing again, "Remember, do not look back before you reach the sign."

After leaving these words, she returned to her disinterested demeanor, her voice sinking, "I hope you enjoy your meal."

...

"Take the burgers, we’ll talk as we walk."

After the server left, Tang Qianqian and Yang Ping exchanged glances, both guessing what the other was thinking.

This was a hint.

She sighed, "It seems that with our abilities, we truly can’t outwit the lady."

Yang Ping echoed her sentiment, "We have no choice but to retreat for now."

The two walked in silence until they left behind the hotel’s dilapidated garden, walked down the slope towards the entrance, and stopped under the sign mentioned by the server. Beyond this point, as the server hinted, they were out of the lady’s "line of sight," and their conversation would no longer be under surveillance.

"Yang Ping, my friend,"

Tang Qianqian couldn’t hold it in any longer; she patted Yang Ping’s shoulder, deciding to focus on encouragement, "Everyone has their weaknesses, you’ve done your best."

Yang Ping was quick-witted and immediately understood her intent to "retreat," even actively cooperating with her.

The only downside was his expression management.

This chap, with a "I’ll surely drive you out tonight" expression, said the words "We have no choice but to retreat for now." She had never seen anyone retreat with such resolve in her life.

It seemed she could no longer give Yang Ping the challenging task of improvisation in the future.

She bent down and fumbled in the loose soil for a while, and sure enough, found a delicately crafted small box.

Inside the box was a crumpled piece of paper. The moment she opened the box, she saw the graceful handwriting on it.

——"The lady is most vulnerable at the end of the sacrifice ceremony."

——"That is your only chance."