Chapter 651: What’s in Room 23?
Though he couldn’t see Ding Dong’s current condition, Chen Ye could imagine how incredibly difficult it must have been for this woman to reach this point. She had likely exhausted all her trump cards.
Chen Ye’s guess was spot on. Ding Dong had already lost both her arms.
Because she was a Fist Master Sequence superhuman, her physical resilience far exceeded that of a normal human. So, for now, she could still stay conscious enough to express her wishes to Chen Ye. If she were an ordinary person, she would have already gone into shock from blood loss by now.
If we’re talking about physical fitness, within the entire convoy and at the same sequence rank, Iron Lion was definitely number one, with Sun Xixi and Ding Dong tied for second.
Back at the base, Chu Che had wanted to hire three external reinforcements. But Ding Dong had vehemently refused. As the convoy’s combat unit, if she couldn’t step up at a critical moment, wasting supplies to hire someone else for what was originally her responsibility was a disgrace to her. Xu Lina was too weak, and Gong Yong wasn’t a combat unit at all. It was understandable for those two to hire help. But as a Fist Master Sequence... hiring help was just inappropriate. For this stubborn woman, it was unacceptable.
And now...
Chen Ye decided to stop and figure out a solution back at the base. Though it would most likely waste more supplies, compared to losing a superhuman, these resources were something the convoy could still afford. As for Ding Dong’s feelings, he didn’t care. This choice wasn’t one Chen Ye hesitated over for long.
“Ding Dong, don’t talk anymore!”
“I’m the captain now. I have to consider the overall interests of the convoy, not you!”
“Whatever’s in that last room is definitely the hardest to deal with!”
“If you open that last room in your current state, you’ll definitely die here!”
“Whether you live or die doesn’t matter, but losing a superhuman in the convoy is a loss we don’t need!”
Chen Ye’s words didn’t consider Ding Dong’s feelings at all. He was simply making a rational choice. Of course, if Chen Ye had known that Ding Dong had even lost her left hand, he might have made a different decision.
But just then...
A door-opening sound came through the earbuds!
The sound was sharp and piercing. Everyone who heard it shuddered in unison. Chen Ye was startled. “Who? Who opened the door?”
According to the Haosheng Hotel’s rules, as long as someone opened the door to the next room number, almost no one could leave. Not unless they completely eliminated whatever was inside that room.
“Ah... Yezi, it was me who opened the door. What’s wrong?”
Iron Lion’s simple voice came through the earbuds.
Earlier, while fighting that thing, Iron Lion had taken off his Bluetooth earbuds. After the battle ended, the guy forgot to put them back on. So when Iron Lion thought it was natural to push open the door to Room 23, he only then remembered to put on the earbuds. Thus, Iron Lion had no idea about Chen Ye’s earlier decision.
“You...”
Chen Ye also thought about Iron Lion’s likely situation.
Damn Gong Yong. These Bluetooth earbuds only had a group chat function. It seemed he’d have to make that kid speed up developing other functions.
For a moment, everyone fell silent. Everyone knew there had to be something big in Room 23.
“Iron Lion, you... what did you see?”
It was Dantai Bie’s voice. He sounded unusually tense.
No one spoke. They all waited for Iron Lion’s reply.
After about ten seconds of waiting, a rare, dry voice came from Iron Lion through the earbuds.
“Uh... Yezi, Xixi... you guys... you better come in and see for yourselves!”
What did that mean?
Was there something that could even make Iron Lion nervous?
Hearing that, Chen Ye also grew tense. Iron Lion had nerves of steel. There was very little that could make him nervous. Even when facing the most terrifying Anomalies, the guy was only excited to fight. Something that could make him nervous...
“Iron Lion, what exactly did you see?”
Chen Ye’s voice carried more seriousness now.
“I don’t know... I... I can’t describe what I saw! Yezi... I don’t know how to say it!”
Iron Lion’s simple voice came through, even a bit nervous!
“I don’t know how to say it!”
“I... I can’t describe it!”
“Yezi...”
Iron Lion’s voice was strained!
Chen Ye’s face darkened. He could imagine that Iron Lion, with his clumsy tongue, really couldn’t describe it. That meant it was beyond what he could put into words.
“Yezi, what do we do now?”
Sun Xixi’s voice.
As the captain now, Chen Ye’s decision was crucial at a time like this. This was the first time Chen Ye truly felt the weight of a captain’s responsibility. After thinking for a moment, he pressed his Bluetooth earbud. “Wu Zehui, you go first!”
Wu Zehui, who was on the first floor, shuddered.
Damn it. I knew this guy would use me like a donkey. No chance earlier, but now that there’s danger, he pushes me to the front. What, does he think I’m cannon fodder just because there’s obvious danger? The sunshine-filled cheerful big boy had a good temper, but he wasn’t stupid. And from what Big Fool said, whatever was in Room 23 was definitely terrifying!
“I’m not going!”
Wu Zehui refused without hesitation.
Chen Ye seemed to have anticipated Wu Zehui’s response and chuckled. “You’re the external reinforcement we hired. Who else but you?”
Wu Zehui shot back without holding back. “There are so many people. Why does it have to be me?”
Chen Ye countered just as bluntly. “Why? Because you’re the external reinforcement!”
“So external reinforcements are second-class? I’m not going! Send one of your own people!”
“Nonsense. What if there’s big danger in there? What if one of my people dies?”
“Wait, you’re worried about your people facing danger, but not worried about me?”
“You’re an external reinforcement. If you die... ahem...”
Chen Ye had been about to say, “You’re an external reinforcement. If you die, you die. It’s not one of our people, so what do we care?” But he stopped halfway, realizing he’d said too much.
Wu Zehui’s face turned black. He naturally understood what Chen Ye hadn’t finished saying.
“I! AM! NOT! GOING!”
Wu Zehui stood firm.
Chen Ye gave a cold laugh. “You... don’t want the final payment anymore?”
Hearing that, Wu Zehui shuddered. His face instantly turned the color of pig liver.
Damn it... How could this guy be so shameless? No wonder Chu Che had insisted on using sixty percent of the supplies as the final payment. No wonder...
Chen Ye didn’t hear Wu Zehui’s response, but he wasn’t worried at all. If he had tried to tempt Wu Zehui with a hundred jin of supplies to take the risk, Wu Zehui would have likely refused. But threatening with the final payment had a different effect. Because, to the contractor, the final payment was something that already belonged to them by right. The meaning was completely different. That was the calculation Chu Che, that old fox, and Chen Ye had made earlier.
“You...”
Wu Zehui gritted his teeth, his voice coming through the earbuds.
“You’re truly shameless!”
Chen Ye just chuckled and didn’t respond.
Wu Zehui stood up, his voice somewhat venomous. “Fine. You’re the captain. Whatever you say goes!”
Chen Ye completely ignored Wu Zehui’s complaints. In his view, Wu Zehui wasn’t his team member anyway. If there was danger, let him go test the waters first. If he died, he died for nothing. That was better than losing one of his own. Of course, that wasn’t because Chen Ye had anything against Wu Zehui. No matter who came as an external reinforcement, Chen Ye would push them to the front when danger struck. Sacrificing others was always better than sacrificing your own. It was a simple principle!
The fight in Room 22 had taken a lot out of Wu Zehui. Now, having just finished a battle, he sat on the dusty floor. His mask was pushed up onto his head, making him look completely drained.
Receiving Chen Ye’s order, though unwilling, he had no choice. The remaining final payment was still in Chu Che’s hands. If he didn’t listen to Chen Ye, what if that guy refused to pay? That money was rightfully his! That bald-headed Chu Che could definitely pull off such a shameless move.
Under the pressure of the final payment...
Wu Zehui patted the dust off himself. He stood up and walked to the door of Room 23. When he was actually standing there, even Wu Zehui felt nervous. The previous fight had almost cost him his life. What was in this room was bound to be even more vicious than what was in Room 22. Wu Zehui was starting to regret taking this job.
No choice. Chu Che, that old fox, knew his convoy was low on supplies, so he came to him.
Final payment... final payment...
Wu Zehui gritted his teeth and pulled his mask down over his face. The mask quickly changed, becoming a dignified facepaint with a vertical third eye on the forehead. The Nine-Pronged Rake in his hand also transformed into a Three-Pointed Double-Edged Halberd. The robe he was wearing also changed, becoming divine general armor.
Erlang Shen was the god Wu Zehui was least skilled at playing. But in this situation, he had to force himself.
“Creaaak...”
The sound was long and ancient, like pushing open a heavy wooden door that had been sealed for a thousand years.
Wu Zehui lifted the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Halberd, gritted his teeth, and strode inside.
When Wu Zehui saw everything in the room, his pupils constricted violently, his body trembled slightly, and the weapon in his hand tightened again and again.
Chen Ye’s urgent voice came through the earbuds.
“Wu Zehui, you... what do you see?”
Wu Zehui ignored Chen Ye’s noise. His eyes just kept sweeping over everything he saw... all of it...
He never dreamed it would be like this here!
“Wu Zehui...”
Chen Ye urged again.
“Wu Zehui, do you still want your final payment or not?”
This time, Wu Zehui was unmoved. Through the Bluetooth earbuds, you could even hear him swallowing nervously.
“Chen Ye, you... you better come and see for yourself...”
“You...”
One person said it, and now another was saying the same thing...
What exactly was in Room 23?
What exactly?
Chen Ye pressed further. But Wu Zehui didn’t answer. It was as if he had been stunned by something.
Chen Ye’s face darkened. Threatening with the final payment was useless now.
“Number One!”
Sure enough, when Chen Ye called on the punk girl, she had expected him to do this. Before she could say any nonsense, Chen Ye said directly, “Final payment!”
Just two words.
The girl’s cold voice came through the earbuds. “I got it. Shut up!”
On the second floor, the girl stood up without any hesitation.
A few seconds later, the sound of a door opening echoed through the Bluetooth earbuds again.
The tense heartbeats of everyone even transmitted through the earbuds.
Then came the girl’s somewhat strange voice.
“Chen Ye, you guys... better come and see for yourselves!”