Ian, standing at the counter, glanced at Abbott beside him. That drunken fool had poked another hole through the paper.

“Sigh, good thing you’re here. Hurry up and get it done; I can’t handle it anymore. ” Abbott gave up writing altogether and let out a yawn.

“You idiot! Can’t you survive without drinking?! “

“Come on now, I… hmm, just hit that Yang guy one more time. “

Drunk and sloppy, Abbott fumbled out anAbility Sphere, “Heh, this guy couldn’t have guessed, even if he used a fake name… because someone’s spoken his real name recently, right? “

｛I have activated “Distorted Recognition, ” target: Yang Buchen.｝

Abbott pictured Yang Zicang’s image.

｛I have consumed 1N.｝

｛I heard someone chant Yang Buchen’s true name, and I have unified all his appellations into one.｝

｛Duration: 10, 9, 8…｝

Following that, Abbott pulled out a small straw doll stuck with several needles.

｛I, the Mysterious Triangle, begin the ritual of the straw effigy replacement… grafting successful. Yang Buchen.｝

He flicks out another Ability Sphere.

｛I begin to cast “The Joke of Misfortune. “｝

｛I consume 10N.｝

｛I long to witness Yang Buchen’s perpetual blunders…｝

Abbott feels a wave of suffocation wash over him.

“I’ve finished writing! ” Ian exulted as he tossed aside his pen, but a strange, potent aura instantly began spreading toward him.

A psychic attack!

“Shit, that bastard is headed this way! “

With a shudder, he thrusts the hotel bill covered in writing toward the threat, and a black hole the size of a teacup suddenly materializes in the air before him. It instantly inhaled the paper, which ended up twisting into a crumpled mess at the cave’s mouth with a sharpbang bang.

Vroom!

A heavy spear, wreathed in orange flames with yellow patterns, shot out from the black hole, lunging straight for Ian’s forehead.

But at that moment, the two papers that hadn’t yet been fully devoured caused the black hole to tremor violently. The spear, set on its course for Ian’s face, jerked wildly in response, stuttering like a madman afflicted with a sudden epileptic seizure.

Exploiting this fleeting opportunity, Ian yanked Abbott, who was frozen in place, out of danger. A strand of light from his chest-diagram reflected the key, zipping into his wrist.

Yang Zicang’s figure rapidly descended the stairs behind them. The White Shadow Thought-Dragon writhed on his back as though terrified of something, forever failing to break free of its host.

“This hotel forbids ghosts. ” The lobby manager, Sherry (Snow Pear), smiled politely. “Welcome our new guest from the fourth floor to Fee Travel Hotel. “

Yang Zicang watched the two figures vanish into the warped energy. Before leaving, that bastard had even snatched up a few fee forms.

—｛Distributor February. Di’an witnesses the birth of a new glory of light passed down through an unbroken lineage.｝

—｛Distributor February. Di’an raises the acquisition price of this Radiance by 100%.｝

Even at a price of a thousand percent, these Radiances are not for sale.

As Yang Zicang sprinted towards the counter, the folded line on his chest had long since shot out, but it failed to link with anyone on the other side of the wall. Apart from inside his own room, all other areas here prohibit communication links of the mental model—even just a wall apart was impossible.

“Hello, front desk manager… “

“Guests may call me Sherry. Would you like to continue renting a room? “

“Yes. “

Yang Zicang glanced at his wrist. Within the agate gem of the guard band, a silvery white dot no bigger than a pinhead spun and surfaced—there was only one grain left. But he had just acquired two more Radiances, which had yet to be extracted by the guard band.

Currently, he had rented Room 407 on the fourth floor, as well as 202 and 205 on the second floor. There were still four empty rooms available for direct rental.

He temporarily revoked the guard band’s sharing permissions with the distributor, dashed to the counter, took the papers Sherry handed him, and began to write the story: “Radiances, The Tale of the Deceived Distributor. “

“Sir, do you truly intend to use this incredible experience as your lodging fee? “

Seeing Yang Zicang lift his pen and cut straight to the chase without any foreshadowing, he wrote:

“—The distributor thought I knew everything about the Moon Realm merchants, so he became candid. In truth, I, who just arrived, didn’t know a thing. It was all his imagination. Here’s how it went…“

“What does that mean? Other than selling them to the Weiting Travelers’ Guild or the distributors, can these Radiances be used for anything else?” Yang Zicang looked up sharply, asking with acute sensitivity.

“Hmm, for a Fogfolk like you, that’s just about all the avenues available to spend them. But if you one day grow into a truly remarkable being, tales imbued with such magical experiences might have special uses, you see.“

The Clockwork Lobby Manager casually—playfully even—curved then straightened her long, slender, beautiful fingers, giving them a little shake.

“Oh, and you can also invest them in Crossing People. With them, you might glimpse just a little further into the future.“

“So… so Crossing People can make use of Radiances too.“

However, earlier, when filling out a report under Captain Longh Quilaanghat, that captain—an awakener of the Triple-Cycle Bloodline—had earnestly advised him that it was best not to have too much contact with Crossing People, as prying into the future through them was risky.

First, Crossing People don’t see every possibility; second, the visions only relate to the foreseeer themselves; and third—and most crucially—events guided by a Crossing Person’s advice are virtually impossible to yield either Brilliant Radiances or Heroic Flash.

But organizations like the Weiting Travel Merchant Association, in dealing with rivals’ pursuits, would of course prioritize protecting their own divine shards. Why would they care about something like Radiances?

In fact, the reality matched Yang Zicang’s suspicions—the Travelers’ Guild often suffered losses that could have gained them Radiances, as in this instance.

Four rooms remained, and besides this story, he had two more stories he could yet write.

After briefly weighing between “Traveling Merchant Association ” and “three experiences, ” Yang Zicang decisively accepted the lobby manager Xue Li’s suggestion for the time being. She was right—though it was just a “radiance, ” the chance to experience such an encounter of “successfully deceiving the distributor and attaining glory ” again was truly a rare opportunity, as hard to come by as encountering a divine being.

He grabbed two sheets of paper and continued writing.

Upstairs, inside one of the rooms.

Ian and Abbott, reeking of alcohol, emerged from the swirling vortex within the room.

“So close, Abbott. “

“Yeah, so close you… “

“That bastard! I was just one step away from renting a room! ” Ian fumed in exasperation.

As long as you had the key, you could return to your rented room anywhere within the hotel premises by investing. If it weren’t for that privilege, he might have been done for.

“And he actually had that kind of weapon. Out of nowhere, that guy popped up, and we got flipped over in our own little puddle—just like last year when we ran into that woman named ‘Yang’ in Yali Port. “

Abbott reassured him uneasily.

“Damn it. If all the story fee vouchers we’d collected for this trip weren’t with Wapi, we wouldn’t have to waste our time writing this crap ourselves. “

“Let’s not talk about that now. ” Ian rushed to the side, grabbed the kettle, and drank directly from it. He poured water over his face, wiped it off with his hand, and slammed the porcelain teapot back onto the table.

“That guy is quickly learning everything about this inn. They’re just submitting the rent now, but they’ll definitely start looking into the ‘bidding’ stuff next. “

Ian snorted heavily as he approached Abbott.

“Tell the President to prepare a response right away. We can’t give them too much time to prepare. We have to make sure we secure all the remaining rooms ourselves. “

“All of them… “

“At least the four rooms on the second floor must be ours! “

Ian glared at Abbott, then began investing in his key.

The bedroom wall of this guest room—which was currently overlapping with some external room—soon distorted and stretched, transforming into a ship’s cabin.

……

“All your Radiance just from the last few days? That’s amazing, Guest. “

The lobby manager, Sherry, praised Yang Zicang in an excited tone.

“It was nothing. “

Yang Zicang quickly finished writing the remaining story and looked at the room number on the wall. Room 203 had already turned green. He was confident it was covered by the lodging fees paid by the members of his Travel Association.

To open the door that leads to the outside world, he would need the unanimous agreement of everyone staying in all the rooms on the second floor.

So, he still had to bid on the remaining four rooms.

Yang Zicang let out a light breath, doing his best to calm himself, and tapped his fingers on the two fee travel receipts.

“Excuse me, do you also need a ｛Radiance｝ to bid for the occupancy rights of the other side?“

“Indeed, upon a successful bid, you’ll need to submit an experience capable of bursting forth with a ‘brilliant light’ to cover the room fee.“

Xue Li chuckled, sidestepping a couple of paces to reveal all the room lights on the wall behind her.

From within those palm-sized little room signs, a faint glow flickered to life, as if cheap LED light strands were illuminating the characters hidden within.

“At the Fee Travel Hotel, lodging is free—on the condition that you have a unique story of your own.“

The lobby manager raised her hand, gently gesturing before these room signs:

“You see, the ten rooms on the third floor symbolize the last ten days of the month, and they also represent the final third of life’s journey.“

“Symbolize?“

“For most people, the first ten days of a new month are always the most relaxed. It’s like life—from infancy to youth is the most vibrant stage, but it also comes with its share of troubles.“

The manager’s hand swept across the room numbers on the second floor. “And this is the second floor.“

As her words faded, the lights on the second-floor room signs grew a little brighter, illuminating some lusterless characters carved above.