"Huh?"
As the white light faded, the bewildered figure froze for a moment, then burst into hysterical screams.
Ji Li felt a headache coming on but made no move to help.
Fang Shenyan only watched silently.
It was Tongguan who frowned, stepped forward, and pulled the newcomer off Yu Guo.
Perhaps because the man hadn't yet formally become a staff member, stepping on Yu Guo hadn't counted as real harm.
Otherwise, the hotel's curse would already have burned him alive.
"What's going on? Who are you? Where am I?!"
The newcomer looked plain, barely past twenty, and fired off a string of questions the moment he saw Tongguan.
"This is Tianhai Hotel… Unfortunately, you've been chosen—"
Before Tongguan could finish, Ji Li grabbed one of the prepared *newcomer manuals* from the table and tossed it at the confused man.
One glance told Ji Li this newcomer was nothing special—just overly curious.
Since he was ordinary, there was no need to waste time.
But the casual dismissal left Tongguan and Chang Nian a little displeased.
Ji Li turned to Yu Guo, noting the fresh shoe print stamped across his face. He smirked.
"Damn it, that hurts like hell! Ji Li, look, did he ruin my face?"
Yu Guo clutched his cheek, babbling as always.
"What's your name?"
"L–Li Xing.
What the hell is going on? I was just about to use the toilet—pants already down—and suddenly I'm here?" The young man's face flushed, not from embarrassment but from holding it in.
The only woman present, Chang Nian, twitched at the corner of her eye and snapped sharply, "The toilet's over there. Get lost."
Fang Shenyan glanced at her, lips pressed thin.
He was increasingly certain this woman wasn't normal either—her temper was far fiercer than her husband's.
Tongguan seemed the most ordinary of them all.
"Don't panic. Let me explain.
Check your pocket—you should find a phone.
Normally, when new recruits arrive, the latest task is announced immediately. Why hasn't there been anything this time?"
After a short exchange, they all sat back down.
Tongguan held a cigarette between his fingers, speaking calmly.
Ji Li had only experienced one round of new arrivals, but back then, the task had come at once.
Tongguan, with far more experience, should know what he was talking about.
Yet two hours had passed since their arrival, and still nothing.
In that time, Ji Li had gotten a sense of the couple.
Tongguan clearly possessed both intellect and courage. He spoke of past missions and the process of finding a path to survival, his sharp logic radiating a pressure that Ji Li couldn't ignore.
A man like this was good to have as an ally—but his very nature posed a problem.
Tongguan had been on the verge of becoming a full manager. His natural air of leadership was unmistakable.
Unlike Ji Li and Fang Shenyan, whose methods leaned toward the ruthless, Tongguan carried an aura of chivalry.
While everyone else had ignored Li Xing—even Chang Nian had looked at him with disdain—Tongguan alone had taken the trouble to explain.
Tongguan felt more like the real manager than Ji Li himself.
It wasn't an issue now, but when the hotel advanced and the number of staff grew, factions would inevitably form.
Would Branch Seven's manager still be Ji Li then? That was uncertain.
He didn't care about the hollow title of *manager*.
But from the hotel's past announcements, it was clear that the true manager held certain privileges.
Tongguan's presence raised the branch's overall strength—but for Ji Li personally, it was a latent threat.
And with his drastically different way of handling things, Tongguan might well become an obstacle in future tasks.
That was why Fang Shenyan had barely spoken until now.
He had already chosen to stand beside Ji Li, whose style matched his own.
"You think all those portraits up there are past managers? So many died?"
While the others sat quietly at the table, eyes fixed on their phones waiting for the task to arrive, Li Xing had already circled the hotel more than five times.
Each lap brought new questions—he was the very image of a restless, curious youth.
Apart from Tongguan and Yu Guo, no one bothered to answer him.
"Brother, don't you have anything better to do? The task's about to start. If you don't save your strength, you'll just be walking in to die."
Even Yu Guo, usually the most easygoing, was irritated by his endless chatter. That alone showed how much of a nuisance Li Xing had become.
Clicking his tongue, Li Xing returned reluctantly to the solid wood table. Seeing the others so grim-faced, he chose the far end, next to Chang Nian.
Just as he was about to sit, her sharp eyes snapped toward him. "Move!"
Startled, Li Xing didn't dare provoke this woman who looked pleasant enough on the surface but radiated menace underneath. He shuffled over to Yu Guo's side instead.
"Our phones are the same, right?"
Deeming Yu Guo the friendliest of the bunch, he casually picked up his hotel-issued phone and compared it with his own.
Yu Guo paid him no mind, absorbed in his personal device, still appealing for his livestream ban to be lifted.
Ji Li grew restless, cigarette dangling from his lips. He reached with his left hand, grabbed the hotel phone before him, and flipped through it again. Still no mission email.
"You're left-handed?" Fang Shenyan asked, curious.
Ji Li froze, suddenly aware of what he was doing. The phone rested naturally in his left hand, fingers moving deftly across the screen as if by habit.
He frowned. "My left hand's been severed multiple times. It's not sensitive—I almost never use it."
Yet the motion had felt natural, seamless, as though it had always been that way.
Just then, a heavy crash thundered from the second floor, followed by the sound of shattering glass!
The windows upstairs had already been sealed with iron plates. The noise was as if something outside had smashed against them—enough to break the glass—but the plating held.
Ji Li dropped his phone. He and the others rushed for the stairs.
Left alone in the lobby, Li Xing trailed behind.
His expression shifted from ordinary to dark, movements stiff like a puppet.
His vacant eyes dropped to the five hotel phones lying on the table…
You can read Eerie Overseer ahead by 30+ chapters ad-free and for free at htt ps://ravenarchives. com/book/eerie-overseer]. Bulk uploads are a bit tricky, so updates here might be irregular, but they'll keep coming.