As Mei Laoshi urged, everyone quickly chose different places to start searching.
A location that was initially thought to be promising yielded nothing.
After searching every spot on the first floor, Mei Nan frowned and said, "It seems there's nothing on the first floor. We should go upstairs."
The second floor was primarily the Chinese restaurant, and once they went up, the room's amenities were visible at a glance.
Further up were the guest rooms.
"Could this thing be hidden in one of the guest rooms?" Song Zhi murmured.
"There are hundreds of guest rooms here. Finding it could take ages," Tang Tang sighed.
"Perhaps the item is hidden in a guest room. Don't forget, guest rooms are also safe houses," Yuan Yuan offered her thoughts for a change.
Regardless, the rooms had to be searched.
Starting from the third floor, each floor had eighty-eight guest rooms, a number suggesting the hotel owner was superstitious.
Each person chose a room, meaning each person had to search an average of eleven rooms.
The workload was immense, so without further ado, they began!
Since they were all on the same floor and had teammates on both sides, everyone felt safe with one room assigned.
If they encountered an evil spirit, a simple shout would suffice.
Anything found was placed in the hallway. Song Zhi specifically pulled a corner sofa over to make it convenient for them to put things down.
Each guest room had an alarm clock, which was useful for guests checking the time and now for Ning Wei and the others.
Mei Nan held an alarm clock and told everyone, "I've set the time. It will go off in twenty minutes. When the time is up, whether you've found the item or not, you must come out to confirm your safety."
Hearing Mei Nan's words, everyone couldn't help but admire the teacher's meticulousness.
The long treasure hunt began. Mei Nan would reset the twenty-minute alarm for each round of eight rooms, emphasizing the importance of time.
This was also for everyone's safety, as being alone in a room could lead to unforeseen accidents, perhaps even leaving no chance to call for help.
These were initially plans, but something unexpected did happen.
Another round ended, and Ning Wei and Li Ye were already waiting in the hallway for everyone.
However, even when the alarm rang and its noisy music echoed through the corridor, Zhu Yulian still hadn't emerged from her room.
A sense of dread washed over everyone as they rushed into the room.
There were signs of a search within; drawers were pulled out and not yet pushed back, and pillows and blankets were disheveled.
But strangely, there were no signs of a struggle or fight.
Everything in the room indicated that Zhu Yulian had made the mess herself while searching.
"Where did she go?"
"Did you really not hear anything?"
Tang Tang and Yuan Yuan were in rooms adjacent to Zhu Yulian's, but according to their memories.
After being assigned their rooms, they went in directly. The rooms had good soundproofing, so apart from the noises they themselves made, nothing else could be heard.
Ning Wei and Li Ye searched the room thoroughly but found no hidden chambers or secret passages.
"So Zhu Yulian vanished into thin air?" Song Zhi asked, surprised.
"Not thin air. Don't forget, there are many evil spirits lurking in the shadows here, always ready to drag us to hell to be with them forever, our flesh and blood merged, trapped in this hotel eternally."
Ning Wei's words sent shivers down everyone's spines.
"What do we do now?" Yuan Yuan's voice trembled with fear. Ever since the incident with the Zhou family's young master, she had been terrified of these ghosts.
If someone was with her, it was different. Like when they were trapped in the ballroom, she was with Ning Wei, Li Ye, and Tang Tang.
Even with the gruesome and violent scenes behind them, and countless sharp claws of evil spirits reaching for them, she felt no fear.
What she feared was being pulled into the world of ghosts alone, like before, feeling like a headless fly, unable to break free, only able to watch herself sink into despair.
Ning Wei understood everyone's concerns and quickly reorganized the team. There were now seven people, forming pairs, with the last group having three.
Yuan Yuan was more afraid of being alone than anyone else, so she was placed with Tang Tang and Wang Jing.
"If anything happens, no matter what the next second brings, shout quickly to leave us more information so I can find you!" Ning Wei said before they split up.
"If you get dragged away like Zhu Yulian, will you come looking for us?" Wang Jing asked tentatively, glancing at Ning Wei.
Ning Wei smiled slightly, "Trust me! Since we are in this together, I will not abandon any of you! The premise is that you leave clues for me to find you!"
Ning Wei's words came from the heart. She had prepared for someone to disappear when she called everyone out for this risky endeavor.
After all, it was an adventure, and safety was never guaranteed.
When she made the calls, she had also mentioned the possible dangers, but everyone still chose to come out with her. This meant they had all considered the risks.
She only hoped Zhu Yulian would not be a lost cause. Her disappearance was too sudden, without a word or any trace. Ning Wei's only hope now was that Zhu Yulian could protect herself and that she would be able to find her!
The twenty-minute time limit remained. Ning Wei and Li Ye worked quickly. Because they possessed special abilities and didn't need to rummage through things like everyone else, they could search three rooms at a time.
This helped speed up progress, which was good for everyone.
Because they were assigned more rooms, they emerged precisely at the deadline.
Mei Nan and the others waited by the sofa. As soon as the alarm rang and Ning Wei and Li Ye appeared, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The third floor was finally searched. They hadn't found the item, but they had lost a teammate. Everyone's spirits were low.
Teacher Mei stepped forward to encourage everyone. Ning Wei's abilities were evident. Since she had promised not to abandon anyone, they shouldn't dwell too much on the disappearance.
In fact, disappearing wasn't necessarily a bad thing for everyone. Under constant protection, one could never grow. They should treat it as a learning experience.
Teacher Mei not only thought this way but also conveyed it to everyone.
"No matter what difficulties you face, don't place all your hope on others. We must rely on our own abilities!"
Song Zhi applauded at Mei Laoshi's words, "Teacher Mei said it so well!"