Chapter 655 - The True Strength of the Shadow [2 in 1] (1/2)

Translator: Lonelytree  Editor: Millman97

The scent of blood permeated the air. It was not raining outside, but the red raincoat that the woman was wearing was dripping wet. Her black hair stuck to her face, and the water droplet slid down her collar. The woman entered the hotel with her head lowered—she did not look up at anyone as she wandered to an empty seat and sat down.

“We should stay away from her.” Jia Ming opened his lips to whisper as he stood up and nudged to the other side of the table. He did not discuss this with Lee Zheng beforehand, so when he stood up and moved away from Lee Zheng, other people could see clearly that Lee Zheng was holding a gun in his hand.

“Sit right here honestly and stop moving!” Lee Zheng pressed Jia Ming back to his original seat. He used the corner of his eyes to silently scan the woman in the red raincoat and then lowered his voice to ask Jia Ming, “Do you know this woman?”

“She’s a madwoman. Everyone who wears red clothing in this place is a mad person. If you want to live, stay away as far away from them as you can. Do not try to interact with them.” Jia Ming’s body was shivering lightly. “This is what the shadow told me. If you want to die, then go ahead, but don’t drag me down with you!”

“The color red represents some kind of special meaning here?” Lee Zheng had more questions that he wanted to ask. Ever since he entered the small town, he had noticed many strange things, but since he possessed too little information, it was hard for him to tell whether Jia Ming was lying to him or not.

“Red represents extreme danger. Just stay away from them. That is the rule that you need to follow inside the door.” Jia Ming’s voice became smaller and smaller. “The shadow has left my body, but he used this body to conduct many things, so I still know some of his secrets.”

“Inside the door?” Lee Zheng jotted down every single sentence that came out of Jia Ming’s lips. “Are there any other rules that I need to pay attention to in this place?”

Probably realizing that he was unable to escape, or perhaps deciding to change his plan because he had encountered Chen Ge, Jia Ming became more honest and cooperative. “Do not enter any buildings with their doors closed, and do not walk past any buildings with their doors opened. Gray represents relative safety, and red represents danger. However, if you see the color black, don’t even waste time trying to run; it’ll be better to use the final moments that you’ll have to come up with your last words.”

When Jia Ming and Lee Zheng were conversing, the sound of footsteps once again came from the hotel entrance. Everyone turned to look in unison.

“This place sure is crowded tonight.” A man wearing a black coat and dragging a large case entered the room. Five bloody red female skulls were tattooed on his arm, and there was a bone whistle dangling on his lips. No one in the hotel answered his greeting, but that did not dampen his mood. He greeted the people inside the hotel one by one, but when he noticed the woman in the red raincoat, his body froze before walking swiftly past her to reach the counter. “Boss, I wish to stay the night.”

His voice lowered conspicuously as if worried that he might disturb the woman in the red raincoat.

“There’s another customer?” Chen Ge walked out from the kitchen pushing the cart. They had ransacked the kitchen, but other than some unknown meat that was already cut and prepared, the only food item that remained was some cake. Naturally, the boss did not prepare the cake for the customers. From the menu inside the kitchen, it was clear that all the items on the menu were those favored by the female boss. In other words, the menu at this restaurant was made just for one customer, the female boss. The cake still needed post editing before it could be completed. For example, there was ketchup or raspberry sauce in the kitchen, but parts of the cake were red in color.

“A Red Specter that likes dessert? That is quite an interesting feature.” Chen Ge pushed the cart out. He had decided to transform this hotel into a scary scenario related to food after the mission was completed. He had been inside the kitchen for several minutes at most, but when he came out, he realized that the number of visitors in the lobby had grown. Of all of them, the appearance of the woman in the red raincoat surprised him the most.

Speaking of which, after the door in Li Wan City had gone out of control, it had transformed the small town into a unique location where living humans were able to be seated at the same table as a Red Specter.

“Perhaps such is the reality behind the door. There are ghosts formed from a persistent will and humans who stumbled into the nightmare.” Chen Ge served the cake that was not dyed on the dining table. “Please enjoy the meal. I am not going to collect any fees; I just need you all to answer a few questions for me later.”

“Are you sure? You’re not going to open this to take a look? Perhaps you might see something that you might be interested in?” The woman was tightly wrapped inside her clothes. She dragged her box and walked toward Chen Ge. After straightening up, she removed her fingers from the box and placed it right under the seam of her clothes. The ‘this’ that could be opened probably referred to two different things.

“There’s no need. If it was necessary, I would have done it myself.” Chen Ge held the heavy backpack on a single arm. The hammer had just tasted the glutton monster’s tongues and blood veins, so the heavy scent of blood on it had not dispersed.

“Fine, suit yourself.” The woman dragged the box and retreated several steps. The coquettishness on her face had already disappeared, and she shifted her expression as fast as one would flip through the pages of a book.

“Hey, where is the boss? I need to talk to him. About the thing that he told me to investigate last time, I’ve already gotten some leads.” The man who was tattooed with women’s skulls walked to Chen Ge, also dragging his case.

“He has left the hotel and left this place to my care temporarily, so now I am the shot-caller. How may I help you?” Chen Ge had a smile on his face. In terms of service provided, he was definitely much better than the previous owner.

“The boss is not in?” The tattooed man was very clever, so he instantly caught up to the problem. He smiled in embarrassment at Chen Ge. “Then I suppose I’ll return another day. Sorry for the disturbance. See you again.”

Then, he was turning to leave without even taking his case.

“Wait a minute, perhaps you did not understand what I mean earlier.” Chen Ge had Scissors stop the tattooed man. “I am technically the owner of this place now. Since the boss gave you some task earlier, you can just report the result to me, and I’ll relay the information to him.”

The tattooed man stood where he was, and his eyes kept darting involuntarily to the kitchen. The more he looked, the more agitated he became. “Are you sure that is a good idea?”

“Why would you think that is not a good idea?” Chen Ge leaned slightly to the side to allow the tattooed man to glance into the crumbled wall inside the kitchen.

“Since you are the boss’ friend, then naturally, you are my friend. Since we are all friends, of course, this cannot be a better idea.” The tattooed man instantly changed his stance. The honesty and sincerity on his face formed a great contrast to the five evil-looking female skulls tattooed on his arm. “There are too many outsiders here. Do you mind if we go to somewhere quieter?”

He turned to head up the second floor. It looked like he was very familiar with this hotel; he appeared to be a regular here.

“Scissors, come with me.” Chen Ge had Scissors follow him—he did not treat the man as an outsider at all.