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墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Kui's Diary
Round-Faced Girl As soon as those words were spoken, the three of us were stunned. What a mess! You are Jin Luoer, so who was the person that helped me check into the hotel earlier?
Seeing that we were silent, the girl shouted even louder, "Who are you? I'm calling the police!"
Edge picked up the phone and was about to dial.
I quickly rushed forward, pressed down on the phone, and smiled, "Beautiful lady, please don't jump to calling the police. There aren't that many bad people in this world."
Round-Faced Girl took a step back, her eyes showing a hint of panic. "What do you want? Don't do anything reckless!"
Damn it, do you really think just because your face is round like an apple Guo'er, I would harass you? Dream on!
I smiled lightly. "How many front desks does your hotel have?"
"Three!"
"What are their names?"
I asked this calmly to see if there were any other names that might be similar. Perhaps I misheard earlier; it’s possible there’s another name like Jin Luoer or something similar.
"Why should I tell you?" Round-Faced Girl said with a wary expression. "What exactly are you doing?"
"Look, our room card is right here. How could I possibly deceive you?" I held up the magnetic card in my hand, feeling both amused and exasperated.
"Then I'll check the computer!" Round-Faced Girl took the room card and stepped forward. Noticing I was too close to the front desk, she looked down at her shirt and immediately covered her chest with her shirt collar, shouting at me, "Step back a little!"
I angrily retreated a meter away from the front desk. Damn it, with your appearance, if you chased me down three streets naked, just turning back to look at you would make me a rogue.
"This is really strange!" Brother Five chuckled beside me, noticing my awkwardness.
Qingcheng softly added, "Do you think that girl earlier was joking with you? Maybe her name isn't Jin Luoer, and she just told you her colleague's name on purpose."
Hmm, that's quite possible. With Qingcheng's suggestion, I nodded immediately, "Yeah, it makes a lot of sense!"
The Round-Faced Girl typed a few things on the computer and frowned as she asked, "Huh, it really seems like she just moved in. How odd."
I laughed and said, "Well, naturally! Who was on duty here just now? We can just ask her to find out!"
Upon hearing this, the Round-Faced Girl suddenly shouted, "Just now? What do you mean just now? I've been on duty alone since eight in the morning! How could there be anyone else?"
Her statement immediately overturned Qingcheng's speculation. This is ridiculous. The three of us exchanged glances, our expressions darkening. I couldn't help but retort, "Seriously? Are you saying I'm bored and just messing with you? Don't you have any surveillance? Just check the footage and you'll know!"
"Our surveillance has been broken for a long time," the Round-Faced Girl said, her voice dropping as she sensed my anger.
"So this really can't be explained?" I laughed in frustration. "Call the police and see who's causing trouble!"
The Round-Faced Girl grabbed the phone and was about to dial when she paused and hung up. She walked out through the door next to the counter. "I'll go outside to call!"
She took her phone and headed outside. After a while, we heard her voice: "Hello, 110? This is Shoushan Hotel..." Then her tone shifted to the local dialect as she walked further away, her voice gradually fading until it was completely inaudible.
The three of us exchanged glances, a hint of bitter smiles appearing on our faces. It was clear that the Round-Faced Girl was trying to speak some hometown dialect to create a favorable impression with 110. In our country, the concept of being from the same hometown carries significant weight; no matter how fair the police are, there's always an unconscious bias towards locals.
I also took out my phone to call Lou Wei. But then I thought, why should I call for help when I haven't done anything wrong? I put my phone away and glanced around.
I wondered why that Round-Faced Girl was taking so long to make a simple report. Was she planning to narrate a lengthy story in two parts to 110? My fingers instinctively tapped on the counter as I idly remarked, "This counter seems to be made of good wood; it sounds quite solid when knocked on. The grain is clear and smooth; it looks a bit like beech."
"Try knocking again," Brother Five suddenly frowned and said.
Knock again? Please, I was just trying to make conversation; you don't need to take it so seriously, right? I glanced at Brother Five and saw his serious expression, so I knocked twice more.
Hearing the sound, Brother Five furrowed his brows and walked over, putting down the suitcase in his hand. He began to tap and knock on the counter.
"Could this be an Artifact?" I asked in surprise. "Is it possible that this counter was used by Jiang Ziya before?"
"What nonsense! This counter sounds different from before," Brother Five said, frowning.
"The sound before? What do you mean?"
"When we first came in, didn't you knock on the counter a few times? At that time, the sound from the counter wasn't this dull," Brother Five squatted down, pressed his ear against the side of the counter, and knocked a few more times.
"Uh, what does that mean?" I was completely confused.
"This counter is stuffed with something inside!" Brother Five stood up and confidently told me, "This thing should have a certain volume."
"What do you mean by a certain volume?"
"About the size of a person," Brother Five said. Upon hearing this, I suddenly understood and pointed at the counter. "You mean there's a person hidden inside?"
Brother Five nodded without saying a word. He placed both hands on the counter and jumped directly inside. When he opened the cabinet door, he gasped and bent down to pull out a person. Wasn't this the receptionist, Jin Luoer, who helped us book a room earlier?
What on earth is going on?
Brother Five laid Jin Luoer flat on the counter and pinched her acupoint, but there was no response at all. He could only look towards Qingcheng.
Seeing this, Qingcheng stepped forward. She brought her right hand's index and middle fingers together while curling the other three fingers into her palm. This gesture, if held with another hand wielding a sword to fight someone, is called 'Sword Technique,' commonly seen in martial arts movies or dramas; if it's used to duel against demons or fight zombies, then it's called 'Spell,' often found in fantasy films.
Clearly, Xiao Qingcheng was performing a Spell. Her lips moved as she murmured an incantation, drawing a strange symbol above Jin Luoer's face with her fingers. It vaguely resembled two horizontal lines and two vertical lines forming a square shape; at the end of one vertical line, she drew two circles as if adding an '@' symbol behind the square.
"Quick!" Qingcheng pointed at Jin Luoer's forehead, and I could see a gray mist rising from her, spreading in the air like dust being brushed away.
Jin Luoer slowly opened her eyes and saw the three of us staring at her. A look of confusion crossed her face, followed by a startled scream. She sat up abruptly, realizing she was sitting behind the counter, and screamed again.
"What are you doing? What's going on?" Jin Luoer clutched her collar, looking at us in panic.
We had plenty of questions for her too. I put my index finger to my lips and shushed her, then briefly explained what had just happened. Finally, I asked her, "What happened? How did you end up in the counter?"
"Damn!" Jin Luoer cursed and turned to Brother Five. "Get out of the way!"
Brother Five stepped aside, and Jin Luoer flipped over and jumped into the counter. She pulled open a drawer and immediately cursed again, "Damn it, the money's been stolen!"
With that exclamation from Jin Luoer, even if we were clueless, we understood what had happened. That round-faced girl had stolen from her using some kind of drug to knock Jin Luoer out before taking cash from the counter. When she saw us come down, she managed to turn the tables on us and accused us of stealing, ultimately leaving under the pretense of calling the police.
What a talented person!
Looking at Jin Luoer, she was staring at us with a mournful expression.
I cleared my throat. "We can only call the police!"
Upon hearing this, Jin Luoer's expression changed, and she shook her head. "Forget it; it's just a few hundred dollars. The police wouldn't even bother coming! Besides, if it's a theft case or something like that, they'll ask you for gas money. This amount probably wouldn't even fill their tank."
I coughed awkwardly, cursing inwardly. The police here really do take from the people to serve the people.
Wait a minute, how could it only be a few hundred dollars? Just my deposit for your room was over two thousand!
Seeing our astonished expressions, Jin Luoer forced a smile. "When I received your payment for the room, I conveniently put all the money into the safe. There were only a few hundred coins in the drawer outside."
The three of us exchanged glances and read two words in each other's eyes: luck. It seemed like the girl was somewhat lucky. However, on second thought, is getting knocked out by someone really considered good luck?
Brother Five walked out from the counter, carrying a suitcase. Just as the three of us were about to leave, Jin Luoer unexpectedly called out to me, "Zhong... Boss, could I trouble you with something?"
I was a bit confused. "What is it?"
Jin Luoer glanced at Brother Five and Qingcheng, hesitating to speak.
Both Brother Five and Qingcheng raised their eyebrows in understanding. They realized that there were some things Jin Luoer didn't want them to hear. The two exchanged a knowing smile, and Qingcheng said, "We'll wait for you outside!"
With that, they walked out the door.
"What is it? You can tell me now," I said with a smile.
"My monthly salary is just over a thousand. Last month, I borrowed money from my colleagues for my brother's school fees. This month, when I get paid, I'll return some of it. I want... I want..." Jin Luoer lowered her head, her voice barely audible.
Huh? What does repaying money have to do with me? Wait, could it be that she has a side job? Various rumors suddenly flashed through my mind. It was said that in certain hotels, the services provided by waitstaff were comprehensive: for ten or so dollars, they could wake you up in the morning with a sweet voice; for a hundred or so dollars, they could call you to bed at night in the same manner. It was all about how much money you had. I never expected to encounter such a situation myself.
"And then?" I looked her over again. Well, her figure was indeed quite good. Should I suggest some service for a hundred or so dollars?
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