Being suspected of not being human by someone who might be a supernatural being, it has to be said, this feeling is a bit strange.
"Hmph, compared to us, I think you're the one who seems less human." The Burly Man showed no intention of letting go, even pressing down harder, "The dust in this hotel is thick enough to layer, you say you're Yang Wu, the resident of Room 202, but your room doesn't look like anyone's been living there."
The young man felt his arm was about to be broken, and couldn't help but cry out in pain, "Wait, wait, I've been living in this room the whole time since then, otherwise I wouldn't have known about the passage under the wardrobe. And didn't you notice this room is much cleaner than the others?"
"..." Xu Xi silently glanced at the wardrobe covered in dust.
It didn't seem that much cleaner.
"Then what do you eat and drink every day?" the Burly Man pressed aggressively.
Afraid he would twist his arm again, the young man hurriedly replied, "There are lots of wild vegetables and mushrooms in the mountains, sometimes I catch wild rabbits too, enough to fill my stomach. When I'm thirsty, I drink from the mountain spring. That's how I've managed to survive until now."
Seeing the four of them fall silent, and to get the Burly Man to release him, he proactively apologized, "I'm sorry, I only attacked you for my own safety. After all... I really couldn't guarantee you were living people."
The Burly Man wanted to ask more, but was stopped by a look from the Refined Man.
Some questions are better not delved into too deeply; it's enough for everyone to understand tacitly.
"So what exactly happened in this hotel?" the Refined Man asked.
"Let me go first. I'm unarmed and can't fight four of you anyway."
The Burly Man looked at the other three. Seeing everyone nod, he let go and took a few steps back.
Seeing this, Xu Xi couldn't help but think to himself, the Burly Man hadn't even noticed that the leadership of the team seemed to be gradually returning to the Refined Man.
After regaining his freedom, the young man, or rather Yang Wu, sighed.
"It's a long story, so I'll keep it short."
"After my sister disappeared, I found her last known location was at this hotel, so I came here to look for clues."
"I didn't find clues, but something strange happened at the hotel."
"An unknown creature appeared in the hotel. It can disguise itself as a human and mimic human behavior. We call that creature a 'pseudo-human,' but as long as you ignore them, nothing happens. So, for the residents' safety, the hotel owner posted a page of rules for everyone to follow."
"At first, it was quite peaceful. Maybe some residents were silently replaced, but we didn't want to attract those things' attention, so we all pretended not to know."
"However, this peace didn't last long before it was broken."
"The resident of Room 103 mutated on the second day after moving in. The end result was the mutated grandmother eating the mutated grandson. That thing you locked in Room 106 is her."
"The residents of Room 204 were a married couple. They went out once, and only the husband came back. The wife returned the next morning, and by the afternoon, both had disappeared."
"After that, the owner also disappeared. The hotel was left with just me... and that mutated resident from 103."
His account seemed to perfectly string together all the clues the four had found and answered some of their questions.
The Refined Man asked impassively, "So that white humanoid thing that attacked our companion was the mutated resident of 103. So, it's a pseudo-human?"
Yang Wu's expression turned complicated, "Maybe. I've never seen what a pseudo-human truly looks like either. They really like knocking on doors at night and pretending to be human. You never know if the person next to you is human or a pseudo-human."
Then he paused for a moment, his expression showing a hint of embarrassment.
"...By the way, could you share some of the food and water from your bags? Honestly, I'm almost sick of eating those wild vegetables."
"Of course." The Refined Man generously took out a pack of compressed biscuits, a pack of beef jerky, and a bottle of water, handing them over.
"Thank you!" Yang Wu happily accepted the food and water, tactfully sitting down at a table on the other side, maintaining some distance from the four.
The Refined Man also found a place to sit, "Let's all rest for a bit. We've been on edge for so long. We can discuss things later."
After the other three gathered and sat down, he quietly took out the phone found in Room 204, opened it, typed a note, and passed it to each of them one by one.
The group then communicated by typing on the phone.
Refined Man: What do you think?
Burly Man: No need to think. That guy definitely isn't human.
High-Ponytailed Woman: Judging by the dust in the hotel and the faded, barely legible paper, this hotel has been abandoned for at least half a year. Could he really survive alone for that long?
All three doubted the young man's identity.
The phone was passed to Xu Xi. He also typed a line.
Xu Xi: Do candles attract pseudo-humans? Why isn't that in the rules?
Xu Xi still remembered how powerfully the candle attracted that white humanoid thing; otherwise, he wouldn't have escaped Room 106 so smoothly.
Also, the flashlight seemed to have some stimulating effect on the white humanoid thing.
If that white humanoid thing really is a pseudo-human, why isn't this important information in the rules?
He wanted to discuss this issue with his three teammates.
However, in the eyes of the other three, this question became a hint.
The Refined Man's eyes sharpened, and he gave the young man sitting opposite a deep look.
Refined Man: We might have jumped to conclusions. Not all three rules refer to pseudo-humans. The second and third match the pseudo-humans' tendency to disguise themselves as humans. But the first rule... what it guards against might not be pseudo-humans.
Burly Man: That kid was lying after all.
High-Ponytailed Woman: He's misleading us, making us think the thing in 106 is a pseudo-human. In reality, the real pseudo-human...
They all understood who she was referring to.
After all, Xu Xi's reminder was quite obvious.
Pseudo-humans only like pretending to be human. Candles don't attract pseudo-humans.
Meanwhile, Xu Xi looked at them, utterly bewildered, as they suddenly concluded that Yang Wu was a pseudo-human.
He just wanted to ask why the rules weren't complete.
It seems everyone's train of thought is on a different track from his?
Refined Man: Let's continue pretending we don't know. The key to clearing this instance might be on it.
--
[Does anyone else feel something's off?]
[Huh? Is there?]
[Don't you think Master Xu Xi... seems more proactive?]
[...Holy shit, now that you mention it, yeah, he does]
[I noticed too. Ever since entering Room 101, he seems to be talking more]
[And he's specifically hinted to his teammates several times]
[Although each of his actions seems normal, it feels like he's guiding something]