A hidden task had been triggered. But only two groups of people could see it:
Only the viewers watching the live broadcast... and Lucas himself.
> [32,084 new viewers are watching player Lucas's live broadcast. 20,063 new followers. 12,804 rewards sent. Total reward points: 12,804.]
"Another hidden mission…" Lucas muttered, eyes narrowing.
"It's already hard enough just surviving this twisted dungeon. I still haven't figured out who's human and who's a ghost. Tackling a hidden mission now? That's suicidal."
The chat in the live stream exploded with disbelief.
> "I didn't expect it! A hidden mission wasn't triggered by a veteran player… but by Lucas, a complete newcomer?!"
The hallway descended into a strange silence. A suffocating hush fell over the group, each person lost in their own tension and fear.
Jasmine gripped the handle of her long whip tightly before finally tucking it away, muttering under her breath, "Lunatic…"
Wearing high-heeled boots that clicked ominously with each step, she strutted toward the door of Room 221—directly opposite Room 201.
"I want to survive no matter what. Do whatever the hell you want—just don't drag me into it!"
Behind her, Trevor frowned in visible disgust at her retreating back. His jaw tightened, and he took a step closer to the wall, trying to shake off the crawling fear lingering in his bones.
"This cruise is far too strange… I think I'd better wait until morning to look for Mark and Daniel," he whispered to himself.
Without waiting for a response, Jason nodded in agreement, clearly shaken. "I'm heading back to 202…"
The tension thickened.
Blood was beginning to soak into the luxurious red carpet. The body of the waiter, still sprawled grotesquely across the corridor, had been completely ignored. No one dared to get close. It was like even the corpse had become part of the haunted atmosphere.
Clatter...
Clatter...
Clatter...
Suddenly, slow, rhythmic footsteps echoed from the far end of the corridor.
Everyone froze. Their breath caught in their throats. One by one, their heads turned—every gaze fixed toward the corridor's end.
At this point in time... who else could it be?
Was it Mark and Daniel returning?
Or... something worse?
A tall silhouette gradually emerged from the darkness. The figure was elegant, poised—and impossibly familiar.
He wore a pristine tuxedo, his white shirt spotless, and a refined smile plastered across his pale face.
And his appearance—
Was identical to the waiter whose corpse still lay in the hallway!
The very same face. The very same man. Yet… his body was already dead.
The duplicate waiter calmly walked up to the group. His voice was chillingly polite.
"Dear guests, please return to your rooms as soon as possible."
Jasmine's eyes widened in raw terror. All her arrogance evaporated instantly. Her confident mask shattered.
"You… y-you... you...!!!" she stammered.
The corpse hadn't moved. It was still there, bleeding on the floor.
So… who was this doppelgänger standing before them, dressed and speaking like the dead man?
The waiter offered a gentlemanly Western-style bow. His voice, polite but cold, echoed through the corridor:
"Dear guests, violence is discouraged. Please do not change rooms at will."
> [Player Jasmine has been frightened. Mental value -10… Mental value -8… Mental value -5…]
Her mental value dropped rapidly and finally stabilized at 50. But even then, it showed signs of further decline.
Her legs gave way. She nearly collapsed to the floor from shock.
> : "Damn, I was almost scared to death just watching that!"
: "At first, I thought the ship had several identical NPCs, but no… It's literally the same one coming back?!"
: "If Jasmine's mental value drops any further, she'll turn into a clone creature herself!"
: "This waiter… he's not right. Not at all. If I were Jasmine, I'd be mentally broken already."
No one dared change rooms anymore. The true horror of the cruise had finally begun to reveal itself.
Change rooms… and what happens next?
Nobody wanted to know.
Stiffly, trembling, Jasmine returned to Room 204, never looking back.
Even Trevor, who clearly disliked her, didn't mock her this time. His eyes, narrowed with caution, were locked on the waiter. After a moment, he turned and quietly closed his door.
The waiter turned his chilling smile toward Jason next.
Jason was shaking, unable to speak. He nodded furiously and scrambled into Room 203, slamming the door and locking it with an audible click.
For a moment, the hallway fell into silence once more.
Now, only three people remained in the corridor.
Three people…
And one corpse.
The scent of blood grew stronger with every passing second.
"Dear guest, for your safety, please return to your room quickly," the waiter said again, this time addressing Lucas directly.
Lucas's gaze sharpened. There was no hostility in the waiter's voice, but something about it was off—wrong. Like the calm before a storm.
"Did my behavior just now earn this waiter's favor?" he thought.
Standing beside him, Marco understood what was happening. He leaned over and whispered, "Let's go back too."
But Lucas slowly shook his head.
"No."
In Lucas's vision, an evaluation box flickered to life:
> [Waiter of the Royal Blue State: Danger Level – Low]
Marco hadn't even reacted yet when the next moment happened.
Lucas exploded into action.
Without warning, he dashed forward and raised the kitchen knife he'd acquired earlier.
With one precise motion, he slashed across the waiter's head.
The blade sank deep. Blood—red and white—splashed across the walls.
He didn't stop there.
"You don't give your enemy a second chance," Lucas whispered coldly.
He twisted the blade violently inside the waiter's skull. Red and white liquids oozed out, pooling on the floor.
Only when the twitching stopped did Lucas yank the knife out and step back.
Boom—
Two waiter corpses now lay side by side.
One from before.
And the new one—the revived one.
> [One of the nearby players is frightened. Mental value -1.]
Marco gasped in horror.
"Why did you kill him?!"
Lucas calmly squatted down and wiped the blood from his knife using the waiter's own clothes.
"There was no reason to kill him before…"
Clatter…
Clatter…
Clatter…
The dreaded footsteps echoed again.
Everyone turned their heads once more—toward the end of the corridor.
A third waiter was approaching.
Pristine tuxedo.
Identical smile.
Same face.
Lucas slowly stood up, eyes locked onto the approaching figure.
**"But now," he said, voice low and steady, "now I have a reason."
> [One of the best players is frightened by the waiter. Mental value -1.]
[One of the best players is frightened by player Lucas. Mental value -1… -1… -1…]
The corridor had become a twisted stage.
Each appearance of the waiter defied all logic, all rules of reality.
And Lucas—once just another player—was no longer playing by the same rules as everyone else.
He had declared war.
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