Surviving a Horror Game by Romancing the Boss - Chapter 1

There were four of us on this post-graduation trip: three men and one woman, two of whom were a couple.

By the time evening fell, we were exhausted from hiking, so we booked rooms at a hotel halfway up the mountain.

When we arrived, the lights were on, but there wasn’t a soul inside.

Someone had answered the phone when we made the reservation just a short while ago. Yet now there was no receptionist, and not a single guest in sight.

It was deeply unsettling.

Apparently, though, I was the only one who realized how strange it was.

Everyone else was delighted. I alone was on edge.

That was because this was the world of a horror otome game—and I was the unlucky bastard who had transmigrated into it.

All I knew was that the game was extremely popular and took place in a hotel. I knew nothing else about it.

As it turned out, I had guessed wrong.

This wasn’t an otome game.

It was a horror game. And it was being livestreamed.

Beyond my sight, the chat was already flooding the screen.

[This new player looks so weak. I doubt he’ll last long.]

[This instance looks easy, but it has the highest death rate. I bet he won’t survive his first night.]

[He looks so obedient. I want to kiss him.]

[What is wrong with you? Did you come to a horror channel just to thirst over the players?]

Wang Yue pulled a keycard from a drawer behind the front desk and grinned. “This is awesome. We don’t even have to pay for the rooms.”

Li Baiyu eagerly agreed. “The receptionist must be slacking off somewhere. Come on, Yueyue. Let’s go see our room.”

His girlfriend, Zhou Shuyue, gave him a shy smile and followed him upstairs.

Wang Yue clicked his tongue at their retreating backs, then turned to me. “Hungry? There’s a kitchen here.”

I shook my head. “No. I’m a little tired.”

He didn’t press the issue and headed straight toward the kitchen.

Once he left, I was alone in the lobby.

The warm yellow lights should have made the place feel bright and welcoming. Instead, they seemed to weave a hollow illusion around the empty room. The effect made my skin crawl.

I could only regret not learning more about the otome game. Other than its setting, I knew absolutely nothing.

Keycards lay neatly arranged by room number inside the front desk drawer.

But three slots were empty.

Aside from the two cards Wang Yue and Li Baiyu had taken, only the card to Room 305 was missing.

We were the hotel’s only guests. No one else could have taken it.

Unless it had never been in the drawer to begin with.

Going by the basic logic of games like this, there was definitely something wrong with that room.

[He’s pretty smart. He’s on the right track—he knows there’s something off about 305.]

[Now all he has to do is stay as far away from 305 as possible.]

[Wifey is so smart!]

[You again? Seriously, are you sick?]

At heart, a horror otome game was still an otome game. Romance a target, unlock an ending, and I would clear it.

The door to Room 305 stood slightly ajar, as though someone was already staying inside.

I gave it a gentle push and walked in.

[Holy crap, he’s actually going into 305? Forget tomorrow. He’s going to die right now.]

[How can someone be smart and stupid at the same time? He knows 305 is dangerous, and he still barges in.]

[Nooo, wifey, don’t do it!]

[…]

The room was clean and tidy. Nothing about it seemed unusual.

The missing keycard was sitting in the power slot by the door.

Pretending to be calm, I set down my backpack and went into the bathroom to wash up.

The moment I turned on the faucet, though, what poured out wasn’t water.

It was bright red blood.

A shudder ran through me. I closed my eyes for a second, forced myself to stay composed, and turned off the tap.

[That was way too calm. He doesn’t seem like a newbie.]

[305, is this really the best you can do to scare him? You weren’t this tame last time.]

[The last player: 305, you never played such childish tricks on me.]

When I looked up again, the mirror showed a dark figure standing behind me.

Its silhouette vaguely traced the shape of a person.

I could feel it staring fixedly at me.

I closed my eyes again.

Why was the ghost already here?

Still, I pretended not to see it and began undressing for my shower.

This body looked exactly like mine in the real world—slender and pale.

[Whoa. Are we allowed to see this?]

[He’s so pale. And so pink…]

[Wifey is too generous. Don’t let them see you—show me and me alone!]

[Will you get the hell out of here? Stop spamming the chat! I can’t see anything!]

I could feel that gaze following me the whole time.

At least the shower sprayed ordinary water.

I squeezed body wash into my palm and spread it over myself, suds sliding down pale skin.

The air grew colder. The chill drew closer and closer until I wanted to press myself into the wall.

Yet I kept a straight face throughout the shower, the very picture of calm.

In reality, my soul had left my body several minutes ago.

[Wait, he’s fine? Why hasn’t 305 killed him?]

[Be honest, 305. Are you tempted?]

[This is the first time I’ve seen anyone survive 305 for this long. Wifey is amazing.]

[Damn this screen! 305, you’d better treat my wifey well!]

[Why are you calling him wifey now too?]

[What, only you’re allowed to?]

Just as I finished showering and was about to leave, Zhou Shuyue screamed.

Not once, but over and over, her cries ragged with panic.

“Help! Somebody help me!”

I jumped, hastily pulled on my clothes, and rushed out.