In the world of anime with the power to stop time.

Chapter 023: Lin Ye-kun, You're Amazing

The sound of high heels echoed through the hallway.

Lin Ye looked ahead and saw the female receptionist. Her black suit was disheveled, and her stockings were torn, exposing patches of skin. She walked steadily in her high heels, her left arm dangling something behind her. As she approached, the dim light revealed what she was dragging.

"Ugh…"

Hoshino Ai and Hikari Kuroda covered their mouths, fearing that making any noise might once again breach the hotel's rules.

Even with Lin Ye present, neither dared to face what they saw head-on.

It was a corpse or rather, the body of Ichiro Tanaka. Strictly speaking, it wasn't entirely lifeless. Tanaka's eyes remained open, but his once portly frame had grotesquely swollen to the point of bursting through his clothes. Patches of unidentifiable flesh oozed with fluids, filling the hallway with a faint, nauseating stench.

"Woman…"

"Kill…"

The faint sound of his voice carried through the otherwise silent corridor.

The receptionist delivered a sharp kick, prompting a pig-like squeal of agony from Ichiro Tanaka.

She then stopped and lifted her dull gray eyes to meet Lin Ye's gaze.

Their eyes locked, exchanging a silent understanding.

Lin Ye felt about 80% certain that the receptionist possessed some degree of self-awareness. She wasn't merely a puppet within the hotel, though whether this self-awareness was her own or bestowed by the hotel was unclear.

Only one way to find out.

He raised his index finger to his lips in a quieting gesture.

Three seconds passed.

The receptionist shifted her gaze away and resumed dragging Ichiro Tanaka, step by step, down the hallway. Lin Ye watched calmly, making no move.

Behind him, Hoshino Ai and Hikari Kuroda cowered in fear, trembling. They worried that the receptionist might suddenly lash out. If it were possible, they'd have bolted into the room and shut the door behind them.

But since Lin Ye neither moved nor closed the door, they had no choice but to endure, anxiously hoping the receptionist would pass quickly.

Click… click…

She came closer closer still.

Yet the receptionist made no attack and displayed no hostility.

Finally,

She walked past them.

In that fleeting moment,

"Cleanup…"

"There will be…"

Her hoarse voice carried no malice.

Dragging Ichiro Tanaka, she entered the elevator and disappeared.

"L-Lin Ye-senpai… we're… safe now, right?"

Hikari Kuroda asked cautiously.

The receptionist had left, so surely they were safe now.

"For now, yes."

"Thank goodness. Thank goodness…"

Hikari exhaled deeply, relief washing over her.

"That's… a keycard, Lin Ye-kun," Hoshino Ai said, suddenly noticing a card on the floor outside the door, stained with a blackish-red liquid. Tugging on Lin Ye's sleeve, she quickly stepped outside and picked up the card.

Rustle…

Hoshino Ai wiped the card clean with a tissue before handing it to Lin Ye.

"It's the keycard for Room 304. Could it have fallen from that man as he was being dragged away?"

"Probably. It's unlikely that terrifying receptionist left it intentionally."

Hikari Kuroda still trembled with residual fear, haunted by how close they had been to terror and death.

If not for Lin Ye, she would likely have been dead.

In comparison, her classmate, Taisuke, was utterly useless. She had already heard from Hoshino Ai that when the receptionist appeared earlier, Taisuke had shut the door without giving them any chance to enter.

Lin Ye took the Room 304 keycard in hand.

Based on the female receptionist's brief words earlier, Lin Ye actually felt it was likely she had left the card intentionally.

Was this... help?

That... couldn't be, could it?

The hotel's receptionist actively offering assistance?

Still pondering this strange possibility, Lin Ye turned and closed the door to Room 306.

The moment the click of the lock sounded, Hoshino Ai and Hikari Kuroda both let out a deep sigh of relief, feeling much more at ease.

"Being in the room really does feel safer,"

Hoshino Ai remarked, throwing all concern for her image aside as she leaped onto the large bed. The bed creaked under the impact.

Hikari Kuroda followed suit, equally unconcerned about appearances.

Lin Ye glanced over, catching a brief but stunning view of their carelessness.

"By the way, Lin Ye-kun, why didn't the receptionist attack us again in the end?"

Immediately, both women's eyes turned toward Lin Ye, awaiting an explanation.

"First, we had already entered the room, which means we were within its protected boundaries," Lin Ye began.

"Second, we stayed quiet and didn't make any more noise or disturbances."

"Third, I'd guess that since she had just dealt with one guest who broke the rules, she couldn't target others until she'd fully resolved that violation."

Lin Ye's explanation made the two women suddenly realize the truth.

"Oh… so that's how it is! Lin Ye-kun, you're so smart! I couldn't have thought of that at all."

"Senior Lin Ye figured this out ahead of time; that's why he dared to stand at the door and face that terrifying female receptionist directly!"

"Amazing!"

Both of them looked at him with admiration in their eyes.

Lin Ye didn't explain further. Time Stop was his secret and his ace in the hole. He absolutely couldn't let anyone else know about it.

Time Stop was a powerful ability, but it wasn't invincible. If others learned about it, they could find ways to counter it.

An unguarded mind against a calculating opponent if it happened enough times, he'd be the one to die in the end.

Thus,

this was a secret he wouldn't share with anyone.

When it came to his survival, Lin Ye understood the importance of caution.

He just didn't know if this world had any individuals with abilities to "detect others' superpowers." If such a person existed and he encountered them, they would have to be dealt with as a priority.

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