Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 61 61: Checkout Ceremony

"We did it?"

At this mont, Ana, who had already unlocked the elevator with the key, carefully peeked her head out. When she saw the Conductor dissolving away, relief finally appeared on her little face.

Because she trusted Charon completely, she had shut her eyes and sprinted forward earlier without hesitation. She definitely felt the heat spreading through the shoes around her feet. Although it only lasted three seconds, that ti had been more than enough for her to reach the elevator.

"Yeah. Thanks to you, Ana." Charon also looked like soone who had barely survived disaster. Without wasting any ti, he imdiately crouched beside the loot box.

Fly rubbing hands excitedly.jpg

Honestly, his original plan during that fight had only been to knock the enemy down, use the Conductor's brief stagger window, and escape imdiately.

But he never expected the thing's health bar to be so fragile.

Headshot damage plus only three lee hits needed to kill it?

At that point, Charon had no reason to hold back.

Normally, boss-class enemies were only a little tougher than ordinary monsters, but their damage output was terrifying. Usually, by the ti you landed the second lee hit, the boss would already begin counterattacking. Even fully geared players could only survive one or two seconds against that.

As for knife-runners?

One hit ant death.

This victory was entirely thanks to Ana's crystal shoes. Without those three seconds of invincible shielding creating an unexpected stagger opportunity, Charon would not have stood a chance.

That instinctive reaction in a critical mont had saved his life.

If he had missed the pocket watch…

If his movent had been slightly off…

If his attack rhythm had failed…

Any one of countless possibilities would've instantly sent him back to his hideout.

Luck and combat instinct were both indispensable.

"Mr. Charon… aren't we leaving yet?" Ana's eyes kept nervously darting behind him. The Conductor was dead, sure, but those angels might not be. She still hadn't recovered from the shock and only wanted to escape this place as quickly as possible.

"Coming, coming."

By this point, Charon had already finished looting the box.

Jackpot. Absolute jackpot.

As expected from a boss.

...

[Na: Gold Pocket Watch of the Gluttony Manager]

[Type: Accessory]

[Quality: Gold]

[Recycle Price: 3,500,000 Zero Coins]

[Usage Count: Permanent (1/1)]

[Effect 1: While equipped, the duration of all tid buffs on the wearer increases by 50%.]

[Effect 2: Crush the pocket watch to rewind the wearer's life state to the values from five seconds earlier. After use, the item is permanently destroyed.]

[Remark: He tried to make the banquet perfect, rewinding the hands again and again until the ticking sound completely drowned out thought itself.]

...

Worth it.

Whether he sold it or wore it himself, this was an absurdly practical item.

And the price was extrely satisfying too.

This run had been a huge success.

After entering the elevator, Charon accurately found the button labeled 1F · Lobby among the countless options and pressed it without hesitation.

As for the other floors–

"Pleasure,"

"Dreams,"

"Future,"

"Heaven,"

"Love,"

–they all seed to tempt him into choosing them instead.

But Charon never wavered even slightly.

He had already spent too much ti in this place.

He was tired.

anwhile, Ana tightly held onto Charon's large hand. Her small body pressed closely against his leg. In such an enclosed space, she felt absolutely no sense of safety.

Only Charon's warmth managed to calm her heart.

Ding–

As the elevator reached its destination, the doors slowly opened, and a wave of warmth greeted them.

Charon didn't leave imdiately. He first carefully observed the environnt outside.

This place resembled the lobby of a five-star hotel.

Bright lights illuminated everything, leaving almost no dark corners. Massive crystal chandeliers cast warm, soft light capable of driving away all gloom.

The air carried no strange odor. Instead, there was the sweet scent of baked bread mixed with so unknown incense.

Several mannequin-like human figures in elegant suits sat motionless on luxurious leather sofas along both sides of the lobby, holding newspapers.

The enormous front doors stood directly ahead.

But they remained tightly shut.

Clearly, one final step remained before they could leave.

"Let's go. There's one last thing we need to do."

Charon gently held Ana's hand and slowly stepped out of the elevator. The warmth instantly dispelled much of the cold fear lingering in Ana's body and mind, and her expression relaxed considerably.

Honestly, she was exhausted.

Children naturally had lots of energy, sure–but after everything that had happened, ntal exhaustion had beco her greatest burden.

She desperately needed rest.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she obediently followed Charon toward the front desk.

The counter was made of redwood and decorated with flowers. Behind it stood a male receptionist who looked almost completely human.

His smile was dazzlingly polite–

Too polite.

Looking carefully, his skin had a faint porcelain-like texture.

As the two approached, the receptionist set down his feather pen, leaned slightly forward, and spoke in a perfectly broadcast-like tone:

"Good evening, honored guests! Welco to the Mobius Grand Hotel!"

"You both appear quite exhausted. It's raining outside and the weather is cold. Would you care for so hot cocoa? Our freshly baked cookies are absolutely delicious. Please, help yourselves."

As he spoke, he sohow produced a tray carrying two steaming cups of hot chocolate and a plate of fragrant cookies.

Charon rely stared at him silently.

Until the receptionist's smile gradually beca stiff.

"Oh dear… was there perhaps sothing unsatisfactory about our service? Please provide your room number and we will resolve the issue imdiately. As compensation for the inconvenience, we are willing to offer both guests seven days of complintary room vouchers–"

"Enough."

Charon interrupted him directly.

In a tone that allowed absolutely no argunt, he said word by word:

"Process our checkout. Imdiately."

The receptionist finally fell silent.

He stared at Charon for several seconds before speaking again.

"Since you insist on leaving… then, as the esteed guests of Room 404, were you satisfied with your stay? Please provide a rating between one and five stars."

He pushed forward a luxurious feedback book and a golden fountain pen.

Charon extended his hand–

Then completely ignored both the pen and the book.

Instead, he reached toward the golden service bell on the counter.

Under the receptionist's stiff smile, he pressed it without hesitation.

At that instant, the receptionist's smile vanished.

The warm lights throughout the lobby flickered violently.

Every mannequin in the hall simultaneously turned their heads and stared directly toward them.

Even cracks began spreading across the receptionist's face.

Ana tightly hugged Charon's leg.

But in the very next second–

Everything returned to normal.

"What a sha."

The receptionist's smile returned as though nothing had happened.

"Your checkout has been processed successfully. We hope to welco you again in the future."

Behind them, the massive doors slowly opened.

Beyond them existed nothing but pure white light.

"Let's go." Charon smiled as he held Ana's hand.

"Mm!"