CH 68

(Not allowed to throw a fuss)

Hisoka-sama, thank you for your Ko-Fis! 

The attendant had never heard of such an absurd request before and he started sweating on the spot.

Shen Dongqing said: “It’s not allowed?”

The attendant attempted to squeeze out a smile with gritted teeth: “This… I have to ask the chefs for their opinions, please take a seat first, take a seat.”

On cue, the employees standing at the side brought over the chairs to offer them a seat. 

Just as Shen Dongqing sat down, another person served him some cut fruits and desserts. He picked up custard tart which had a crisp shell and a core that was filled with a milky taste that suited his palate extremely well and it made him all the more resolute to bring the chef back.

When Zhou Wenyan saw Shen Dongqing munching on his custard tart with puffed up cheeks and flecks of his dessert staining his mouth, he let out a soft laugh and stretched his hand over.

Shen Dongqing took two more bites of his custard tart as he looked at Zhou Wenyan in a perplexed manner.

Swiping away the custard flecks beside his mouth, Zhou Wenyan teased, “Why do you eat like a child.”

Shen Dongqing blinked his eyes, “Because it’s really tasty, you try it……” He held up a custard tart and offered it to him.

Zhou Wenyan, however, ignored that savoury custard tart and said: “Come here.”

Even though Shen Dongqing did not understand his intentions, he still leaned over obediently.

Mimicking his actions, Zhou Wenyan leaned forward and kissed his lips before he feigned a contemplative look, saying, “En, it’s quite tasty.” 

The rare feeling of embarrassment swelled within Shen Dongqing and he mumbled under his breath, “There’s so many people around……”

Zhou Wenyan lifted his eyelids to sweep a glance across his surroundings.

All the people present expressed that they were blind and they hadn’t seen anything, giving the pair free reign to do whatever they wanted.

Zhou Wenyan: “They’re not people.” 

Shen Dongqing came back to his senses. They were ghosts, not people, and if they were ghosts, it was not a problem. He tossed the slight shame he felt to the back of his head immediately, forking up a piece of fruit to eat.

After a brief wait, the attendant walked over briskly while bringing over a person with a stature characteristic to a chef, since he was sporting a potbelly and he looked rather affable.

Upon entering the large hall, the chef did not even come to a proper stop before he started sobbing, “I have aged parents and my young children to support and take care of and it hasn’t been easy for me to make a living, I really don’t want to leave the hotel…”

After hearing about the terror that the two guests were from the attendant’s mouth, the chef was so afraid his head was about to fall off, and he had to support his head as he half-ran and half-tottered into the large hall. 

“Furthermore, I don’t have access to any ingredients outside the dining hall ah……”

Shen Dongqing went blank.

That was true. This game usually assigned them a lot of bizarre scenarios and it was usually without things that could be eaten. Even if he could bring the chef out, what use would he have for him?

It was not possible for the chef to make delicious food out of nothing. 

Once he thought about that point, Shen Dongqing could only abandon that idea. “Never mind then.”

A smile immediately blossomed across the chef’s face and it was the splitting image of someone who had picked up an extra life, “If there is anything the two guests want during their stay here, please do not hesitate to mention it. As long as the hotel has it, I will prepare it for the both of you accordingly.”

Shen Dongqing was not polite either; he contemplated his options before he listed out a string of dishes.

The chef returned back to his station with high spirits and the attendant breathed out a sigh of relief as well. 

Throughout the entire process, it was probably only Besuited Man who was displeased.

They obviously had such a good opportunity that would allow them to leave the hotel, why did they have to bring up such an inexplicable request?!

When the hotel staff dispersed, the Besuited Man who had been choking back his anger strode over. However, before he even walked to the front of them, he met Zhou Wenyan’s gaze which made him shiver. He swapped away his imposing manner for a dry laugh, “Have you found a way to go out?”

Shen Dongqing: “Not yet oh.” 

Besuited Man: ……

The need to consider Zhou Wenyan’s existence made him swallow back the thunderous rage in his heart, and he tried his best to warm up his tone, “Why didn’t you ask the NPCs for the method to go out then?”

Shen Dongqing slanted his head in reply, “Didn’t think of it.”

From his perspective, the clearance of the copy was not as important as having food to eat. 

Besuited Man felt like he was getting a little light-headed.

After playing so many games, which instance had been devoid of fear and trepidation as he fought for clearance? He had never encountered an in-game scenario where the players actually treated it like a game.

However, he had no choice but to admit that these two individuals looked like the big bosses with actual strength.

Shen Dongqing was puzzled, “You really want to go out?” 

This was such a fun place and he earnestly wished that he could stay for two more days. He was not anxious about finding the method to leave at all.

As for the hotel, they were only worried that the two big bosses would refuse to leave.

The Besuited Man took a deep breath: “Yes.”

Shen Dongqing looked at Besuited Man like he was an idiot. 

The hotel provided good service, had a multitude of delicacies and fine scenery to match, only an idiot would want to leave.

If Besuited Man knew what Shen Dongqing was thinking, he would definitely have let out a ‘hehe’.

It was true that capable big bosses could treat this place as a vacation destination, but he belonged to the fodder category and the hotel had murderous intentions directed towards him with every step he took.

Out of the blue, Zhou Wenyan spoke: “Hold onto the ignited rice straw, and you can leave by following the smoke trail.” 

The Besuited Man was pleasantly surprised at first but he proceeded to shoot Zhou Wenyan a suspicious glance soon after. “Is that real?”

Zhou Wenyan was too lazy to explain, “It’s your choice whether you want to believe it or not.”

Truth to be told, the Besuited Man did not have the courage to believe him but he had no choice but to do so. In just a span of a day, he would frequently hear the honking of a car by his ear and the sound was drawing closer and closer. Additionally, he could even hear the voices of the players who had previously died.

He was afraid that if he were to stay in the hotel longer, a car would crash into him, resulting in his death. 

Besuited Man hesitated for a brief moment but he still requested for rice straws from the NPC in the end.

When the NPCs were in front of Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan, it was evident that they were obedient like grandchildren, but when they were confronted with Besuited Man, they became the big masters since he had to expend a great deal of effort to get a bundle of rice straw.

With the rice straws in hand, he reached the door in faltering steps. Finally, he stuck to his decision staunchly as he lit up the rice straw.

Vwbxf ugjvejiis oibjafv bea jcv la vgloafv abkjgvr atf fzla bo atf tbafi. 

Dfrelafv Zjc rajgfv ja atf rwbxf obg tjio j yfja yfobgf tf iloafv tlr obba jcv rajgafv kjixlcu abkjgvr la, oluegf vlrjqqfjglcu lcab atf rwbxf ilaaif ys ilaaif.

Coafg j ibcu ktlif, atf Dfrelafv Zjc vlv cba gfaegc ktlmt wfjca atja tf qgbyjyis mifjgfv atf mbqs.

Shen Dongqing bit on his fork as he asked, “Why rice straws?”

Zhou Wenyan said: “When we entered, the bellboy burned the rice straw but the other guests didn’t have to burn them when they entered.” 

The players were living people while the other guests were spirits.

Furthermore, the vacation hotel was a tomb.

Which led him to the thought: Could the rice straws be the medium that connected the worlds of life and death?

“Hence, I made the guess that it might be hinged on the rice straw.” 

Shen Dongqing: “And what if you guessed wrongly?”

Zhou Wenyan replied in an unburdened manner: “If I made the wrong guess, I made the wrong guess.”

Wanting to clear the copy always came with an element of danger that needed to be braved.

Furthermore, the person attempting the guess was not him. 

Zhou Wenyan did not like relying on deliberate cruelty or the killing of players for clearance but it did not mean that he was a sympathising Virgin Mary.

After all, when all was said and done, using other players to test for a living route was a common occurrence in the game.

After Besuited Man’s departure, the only two guests left in the vacation hotel were Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan. 

The hotel staff ingratiated themselves with the greatest caution and they did not dare to stir up any supernatural events which was equivalent to courting their deaths. The players who had died in the mini game became obedient after they were taught a lesson once and they hid in their rooms, not daring to come out.

Without any suspense, Shen Dongqing experienced a true vacation. After seven days, he felt like he had become fatter.

Zhou Wenyan circled around him to examine him closely, “Where have you gotten fatter?”

Shen Dongqing touched his stomach, “Here.” 

Zhou Wenyan extended his hand over very naturally to caress his waist gently. En….. it was very slender and soft, it would definitely be as white as tofu after he peeled off his clothes, revealing his smooth curves.

Hastily, he stopped his fantasies.

Shen Dongqing smacked his hands away: “Itchy.”

Although Zhou Wenyan’s hands dropped his sides, he was still tempted to continue caressing his waist. 

“You’re not fat.” After recalling the sensation underneath his fingers, he said, “It’s fine even if you become a little fatter.”

Maybe because this body had died once previously, it could not grow fatter no matter how much Shen Dongqing ate. From his back profile, he looked incredibly thin and frail and there was only some plumpness on his face.

And Zhou Wenyan fervently wished that he could become a little plumper; with more meat, he could hug him well and knead it.

Shen Dongqing remarked, “Your gaze is kind of weird.” 

Zhou Wenyan shifted his gaze away hurriedly to conceal his conspicuous desires. “Is it?”

Although Shen Dongqing noticed it, he was not absolutely certain, “It should be…”

Coughing lightly, Zhou Wenyan changed the topic: “Time’s up, we should be leaving.”

Upon hearing that, the attendant was so moved that hot tears started welling in his eyes. 

Compared to the attitude he showed the Besuited Man, the attendant showed them the way in a respectful manner; he held onto a cluster of the rice straw, ignited it and placed it on the steps by the door, deathly afraid that the pair would refuse to leave.

Zhou Wenyan pulled Shen Dongqing to him by the shoulders, “Let’s go.”

【 You have successfully left [Hades’ Vacation Hotel] 】 

【 Congratulations, you have successfully escaped, Closing in Progress— 】

【 This copy is an assault copy, no points are awarded outside of the system’s scheduled games, a special item has dropped [Vacation Hotel’s Back Kitchen * 1] 】

Shen Dongqing was not very concerned with the points rewards; after all, the only thing he did with the points thus far was buy snacks. Compared to the points, he was much more interested in the special item drops.

He opened his hand. A new and small card had appeared in his palm. The edges of the card was translucent and a pencil drawing of a simple door that had the crooked words “Back Kitchen” written on it occupied the centre space of the card. 

【 Name: Vacation Hotel’s Back Kitchen 】

【 Ability: As long as the rice straw is ignited, you can connect to the kitchen of the Vacation Hotel directly, and the five star chef there will serve up a lavish meal for you 】

【 Introduction: There are only things you cannot think of, for there is nothing the kitchen cannot make! 】

Shen Dongqing: “Wah!” 

This card was basically too useful! It was better than the ice cream cart!

Before he had the time to share the card with Zhou Wenyan, his vision blurred and he was transported into a middle-sized bus that was currently in motion from his room.

The middle-sized bus rocked and swayed as it travelled down the secluded path. 

Thankfully, Zhou Wenyan was still seated by his side: “The copy that the game arranged has arrived.”

The system would choose players to go through a copy after a fixed period of time. The difficulty of those arranged copies would gradually increase but conversely, the time interval between said copies would become longer, until it reached the point where they would not be sent into a new copy for three to five years straight.

However, the players that waited for the game to open copies for them would never be able to leave their player identities, because that was only possible if they took the initiative to attack copies.

Previously, all the copies that Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan played were assault copies that were outside the game’s arrangement. And perhaps because the game thought that they were too relaxed, it hurriedly arranged a game that was at a higher difficulty. 

Shen Dongqing did not care about what kind of copy it was at all. Instead, he raised the card in his hand: “No matter which game copy we enter, we get to eat good food!”

Zhou Wenyan took a look, “It is quite decent.”

Pleased as punch, Shen Dongqing kept his kitchen card before he took out his ice cream cart again to redeem two ice cream cones.

It was blueberry flavoured this time around and he handed one to Zhou Wenyan. 

They were not the sole passengers on the bus, for there were a few more players seated behind them in a scattered formation.

The players that were in the same instance as them found the state of matters difficult to swallow, and one intrepid uncle even stood up to make an uproar: “What is wrong with this broken game, it hasn’t even made an announcement for half a day, what the hell are we even playing!”

Seated in front of the uncle was a gentle and soft lady draped in a long skirt, and she spoke in a delicate and soft voice: “Since that is the case, why don’t we do some self-introductions first?” 

The male student seated in the corner said coldly, “Let’s forget that, I don’t want to get stabbed in the game.”

Once those words left his mouth, everyone went silent.

Shen Dongqing licked his ice cream and observed that no one on the bus had anything to say.

But even if he chose not to speak, it did not mean that someone would not take the chance to provoke trouble. 

The Uncle sneered, “I never thought that there would be two more middle school students on the bus, are you here to eat ice cream and attend a spring outing?”

Just as he was done speaking, the middle-sized bus driver suddenly slammed on the brakes, causing the people in the vehicle to lean forward involuntarily. The other people who stayed seated were fine, but the standing uncle almost fell flat on his face. And while the worst did not happen, he was still placed in an embarrassing situation.

His appearance made the other players laugh out loud.

The Uncle glared, “Who’s laughing?” 

At this moment, a hoarse voice sounded from both sides of the middle-sized bus.

【 You have entered an A-level copy 】

【 Haiduo Kindergarten is currently employing, all the players are asked to try their best to attain and accept the offer of employment for a post in the kindergarten 】

【 Please note: Haiduo Kindergarten is currently look for chefs, kindergarten teachers, security personnel and cleaners, the wage and benefits given are rich and generous with many opportunities for promotion and its provided insurance covers all five aspects. If you are interested, please seek an interview at Haiduo Kindergarten oh. 】 

After the game’s voice disappeared, a “di” noise was issued by the bus and the bus doors proceeded to open slowly.

All the players present on the bus were not new players and they would not stay in the bus stupidly. Hence, everyone got off the bus.

When they got off the bus, they realised that the middle-sized bus had stopped in front of the entrance to a kindergarten.

The large gates to the kindergarten were shut tightly and a plaque ran horizontal of it, with the words “Haiduo Kindergarten emblazoned on the surface. Through the railing gaps of the gates, the kindergarten’s layout could be seen: it had two multi-storey buildings whose style was inspired by children’s stories and they were painted in the particularly vivacious colours of red and yellow. 

This was an A-level copy and its difficulty was significantly higher. Thus, there were more players than usual, and a total of nine players stood at the entrance of the kindergarten.

Apart from Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan, the people in the copy was the Intrepid Uncle, Male Student, Long-skirted Lady, a pair of sweethearts, a blonde lady and a familiar person.

Fang Qi looked like he had found his relative, no, he had essentially found his father because he was so emotional his eyes were brimming with hot tears as he blurted out: “Daddy!”

At the start, Shen Dongqing could not recall who he was, but once he heard that familiar “Daddy” of an address, his memory returned back to him. He bit into the crispy ice-cream cone and gave him a greeting, “Hi—” 

Zhou Wenyan’s greeting was much simpler and crude. He shot Fang Qi a look, “Still alive?”

Fang Qi sighed with emotion, “It hasn’t been easy!”

Perhaps owing to the fact that idiots had their good luck, he managed to get through two games with the help of the two big bosses and gained a period of resting time. Then, relying on the points he had accumulated, he had exchanged it for some life saving props and he forcibly endured through another game.

Initially, he thought that he would die without question in the next game, but he did not expect that he would bump into the two big bosses again. Truly, his luck was filled to the bursting point. 

“Can I hug your thighs?” Fang Qi asked.

Zhou Wenyan rejected him coldly, “No.”

Were their thighs something he could hug whenever he wanted?

Fang Qi said cautiously, “Can you bring me to victory while I’m lying down then?” 

Shen Dongqing smiled with crinkled eyes, “That’s a non-issue.”

Zhou Wenyan was slightly displeased. In his opinion, it was best if Shen Dongqing was not acquainted with a single outsider and stuck with him only. However, under the circumstances where Shen Dongqing had already agreed, he did not say anything about Fang Qi’s insistence to join them.

While Fang Qi’s combat skills were nothing to speak of, his mind was quick to react; when he caught a whiff of danger with his keen senses, he immediately changed the way he addressed Zhou Wenyan: “Big daddy!”

In response, Zhou Wenyan’s attitude towards him became more amicable by several degrees. 

The entrance to the kindergarten was not huge, and as a natural consequence, their conversing voices landed in the ears of others.

The Uncle issued a cold snort, muttering, “They make it sound like it’s actually true, aren’t they taking their pretentious act too far?”

The other people did not express anything on the surface, but it could be assumed that they were on the same train of thought.

After all, they had never encountered anyone who could mow down the game— who could possibly be exempt from begging for their lives bitterly under the game’s torturous machinations? 

Without having to wait long, the metal gates at the entrance tremble and move with a screeching noise.

And that made the players who were closest to the gate jump from fright. All of them looked over warily and discovered that the gate had a small opening which was only enough for one person to pass through, and there was a lady standing there.

A badge was clipped on her chest and it denoted her identity— She was the Dean of Haiduo Kindergarten. 

“Are all of you here to accept the offer of employment?”

The Dean’s voice was somewhat strange because it sounded like something was lodged in her throat, making it incredibly unpleasant to the ear.

However, the players did not pay attention to such a small detail as they nodded in reply.

The Dean stated, “Come in then.” 

The players entered the premise through that small opening one by one.

When the last player stepped into the kindergarten, the gates behind them clashed together audibly without any wind or external interference, thoroughly cutting off their route of escape.

As they ambled into the kindergarten from the gates, the path they took was surrounded by a lawn and a variety of trees, and there was also a playground that had slides, swings, sandpits, essentially everything the children could need.

After walking a short distance, they reached the classroom building very quickly. 

The classroom building was dead silent which made people suspect if there were even any students inside.

The Dean did not bring the players into the classroom building. Instead, she stood at its door as she said: “The kindergarten needs chefs, kindergarten teachers, security personnel and cleaners, which position are you applying for?”

The players exchanged gazes with one another and they did not know what to say.

Meanwhile, the Dean did not urge them and only stared at the group of players with deep and dark eyes. 

As the more audacious person, Uncle was the first to speak: “This old man wants to be a security personnel.”

The Dean replied, “The security personnel work in shifts, two is required.”

The Uncle understood the meaning in her words. The security personnel had to work through the night, and it was most dangerous at night.

He scolded, “That’s really fucking unlucky!” He swept a glance across the rest of the players, trying to pick out the player that was easiest to bully before he hauled out the yellow-haired boy in the pair of sweethearts. “He’ll do it together with me.” 

Yellow-haired Boy shoved away his hand, “Who wants to be together with you! I don’t want to be a part of security.”

Dean: “You can depart from this place then.”

The Yellow-haired Boy shivered.

In this copy, leaving Haiduo Kindergarten was equivalent to committing suicide, thus he could only laugh wryly as he said: “I’m willing, I’m willing.” 

The Dean nodded her head and looked at the rest.

Long-skirted Lady uttered in a soft and gentle manner, “I want to apply as a kindergarten teacher.”

The girl with bangs from the pair of sweethearts echoed her in a hurry: “I want to become a kindergarten teacher too.”

Blonde Lady: “I am the same.” 

The three ladies chose to be kindergarten teachers.

Dean: “Four kindergarten teachers are required.”

There were four men remaining.

Male Student lowered his head, Fang Qi glanced left and right; it was evident that neither of them wanted to be kindergarten teachers. 

The Dean gazed at them deeply.

The Male Student asserted, “I’ll be the chef.”

Since Fang Qi subscribed to the principle of following in the big bosses’ footsteps, he did not say a word as he waited for Shen Dongqing to make his choice.

The Dean gave them a cold reminder: “We only need one chef, and we need two more cleaners.” 

Which meant that the three of them had to be separated.

Being exceedingly quick-witted, Fang Qi knew that he could not allow the big bosses to be split apart. Thus, he took the initiative to say: “I’ll be a kindergarten teacher.”

Hence, Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan had to become cleaners.

When the distribution of jobs was done, the Dean said one last line: “You have your positions.” 

She made it sound like they could be without a position.

Then, the Dean droned out a long passage.

The security personnel had to be at their post on a 24-hour basis and they had to go on a patrol once every four hours; kindergarten teachers had to follow the timetable to give the little children classes and they had to prevent the children kicking up a fuss; the chef had to prepare three meals everyday and ensure that every child received something to eat; cleaners had to maintain the cleanliness of each room and the kindergarten had to be in a clean and pristine state at all times.

Additionally, everyone else besides the security personnel had to stay on the second floor. 

Once she was done with her speech, the Dean said: “I have to leave the kindergarten for seven days, I will return after seven days.”

When the Dean’s figure faded from their sight, it was like they had triggered a switch; after the school bell rang out, the kindergarten reverberated with the sound of children chasing and playing with each other boisterously and it was accompanied by their merry laughter.

The four newly minted kindergarten teachers exchanged looks, planning to take care of these children first.

Fortunately, the kindergarten did not have a lot of children, numbering at ten, give or take a few. Had there been more, the number of children alone would have been unbearable for the players and it would have finished them off. 

The little children seemed aware that there were new teachers entering as they squeezed together to look outside the window. All of them appeared to be four or five in age and they were quite cute.

In fact, there was even a little girl who dashed out before throwing herself into the arms of the Fringed Girl. Then, she raised her head and used her large eyes to stare at her teacher.

The Fringed Girl felt like her heart was going to melt from the cuteness. When she knelt down on one knee, she noticed that a name was threaded into the little girl’s bright yellow school uniform. She put on a smile as she softened her voice, “Guo Guo, you have to stay inside the classroom obedient, oh.”

Guo Guo shook her head, causing her high pigtails to sway along, “Don’t wanna, I wanna play with teacher.” 

The Fringed Girl had no choice but to hold Guo Guo’s small hand and bring her back into the classroom. However, before she managed to take a step in, the happy music in the kindergarten suddenly changed, interrupted by the rustling noise of static.  The game’s voice sounded once more and its tone was brimming with schadenfreude.

【 Please solve a small riddle regarding the kindergarten— 】

【 Whence did the children die? 】

Her movements stiffened and she stopped in her tracks. 

Guo Guo looked at her strangely, “Teacher, why aren’t you going in anymore?”

The Fringed Girl withdrew her hand rigidly and took two steps back. With much difficulty, she squeezed out, “Teacher is feeling a little under the weather, Guo Guo, go in on your own first……”

Without any prior warning, Guo Guo started throwing a tantrum as she stared at Fringed Girl.

“I want to play with Teacher, I want to play with Teacher!” 

The Fringed Girl’s heart jolted as she recalled the Dean’s warning. Hurriedly, she said: “Don’t cry, don’t cry!” Drenched by fear, her voice went up by several octaves, and it was to the point where it became shrill, directly covering Guo Guo’s voice.

Sure enough, Guo Guo quietened down.

However, before the Fringed Girl had a chance to breathe out a sigh of relief, she suddenly caught sight of the small faces that were looking over from above the window sill. It was apparent that their faces were casted out of innocence and naivety, but they wore sombre expressions that came with age.

In a concordant voice, they stated, “Teacher, come over here, we want to play with Teacher.” 

Guo Guo’s lips pursed and she was preparing to cry again.

Feeling like her head was about to explode, the Fringed Girl gave the other three kindergarten teachers pleading looks, “Come here and help me please!”

The other players might be wise, but they did not even possess the capital of taking care of their own hide; how were they supposed to help the Fringed Girl?

In a short moment’s work, Guo Guo’s tears were already dripping down. She opened her mouth and the first wail was about to bubble out from her throat. 

However, it was also in the moment where Shn Dongqing took out an ice cream and stuffed it into Guo Guo’s mouth, sharp-eyed and deft of hand, directly gagging her cries.

“Mm Mm……”

Since the leading singer had her mouth stuffed shut, the other children were forced to a stop as well.

Other players: ??? What kind of operation was this? 

Shen Dongqing’s thought processes were extremely simple: he might not have other items but he had ice cream in abundance; if one child cried, stuffed them with one ice cream, he would still have two in his hands to eat if he wanted a treat.

It was but a small problem.

Post-edit Translator’s Note: ‘Whence did the children die’ was deliberately phrased that way, for reasons you will understand later in the arc~

In the raws, it was ‘孩子们都死在哪里了?’ which can also translate to ‘Where/Wherever did the children die’ but ‘哪里’ is more nuanced in the sense that it can be rhetorical to express negation or ‘somewhere’. Choosing to use ‘whence’ was a hard compromise because it felt more fitting in the context and mystery of this arc.