PFC Chapter 2775 Phantom Chamber (1)
Chapter 2775 Phantom Chamber (1)
Chapter 2775 Phantom Chamber (I)
Dark, damp, and corrupt, the rain reflecting the cold street lights was like a dense net, gathering towards the light source to form a lifeless paleness. The windows next to the street lights were tightly sealed, and on the striped wooden fences, there were traces of slapping and scratching.
The mouse slipped over the window sill, stood on the edge, raised its head and shook its beard. A strange light flashed in its dark little eyes. Its wet body began to twitch, and suddenly it opened its mouth and spit out a few strands of black mucus.
A cigarette butt fell on the mucus, and the already weak flame disappeared in an instant. Two pale fingers pinched the tail of the cigarette butt and lifted it up. There was still a little bit of mucus on the ash, and it was brought to the eyes. A pair of dark brown eyes blinked.
The cigarette butt was thrown back to its original place. The poor rat was still twitching and vomiting. A dagger ended its suffering. The man wearing black gloves pulled out the dagger stained with the rat's blood, rinsed it in the water under the drain, and wrapped it up again.
He tilted his head, a wide grin spreading across his face beneath his hat, and he pressed a black leather-gloved finger to his lips, whispering something that echoed in the quiet alley.
"Looks like you're in some trouble."
Another corner of the city looks completely different. The lights in the building are bright. The parking doormen shuttle between the cars in an orderly manner. The polished leather shoes reflect the well-fitting suits. The enthusiastic front desk lady with red curly hair smiles and says goodbye to a guest who has just checked in. Then she rings the bell, and a tall black man comes out wearing a gold-rimmed badge. He is obviously the manager here.
He was tall and thin, with sunken cheeks and a pair of prominent yet bright brown eyes. He walked out of the door, and the receptionist looked back with her hands on her hips helplessly, saying, "I've long said that the electronic reservation system is unreliable. The rooms are overbooked again. There may be five or six guests who will not have standard rooms next time."
"Take the initiative to ask them if they are willing to upgrade their room." The manager seemed to deal with this kind of thing often. He said: "Be nice, smile, and most importantly, emphasize to them that the price difference is at least $500. Not only can they upgrade for free, but they can even earn points for the price difference."
“That’s all we can do.” The lady at the front desk turned back and stamped her foot. “Too many places are closed.”
The manager looked at her with some displeasure, but still turned back. When he reached the door, he seemed to remember something and turned back to ask, "Is room 1905 booked?"
The lady at the front desk looked through the reservation records and said, "Not yet. It seems that a maintenance person has marked that there is a problem with the room. Is it the bathtub leaking or the air conditioner not working?"
"It may be a toilet problem. The manager said, "Be careful when you upgrade the room type and don't book this room."
"Don't worry." The lady at the front desk turned around, smiled at him and said, "The toilet is a big problem. We need to call someone to fix it right away."
The manager nodded and walked into the room, closing the door without looking back. The lady at the front desk continued to stand upright to serve the next guest.
The brightly lit hotel lobby was filled with flickering lights and shadows. The gently pushed revolving door seemed to stir up a storm like the wings of a butterfly. A figure in a long windbreaker walked in. Without stopping for a moment, he folded his umbrella and placed it in the umbrella bucket next to him, took off his hat, and strode towards the front desk.
"It's raining hard, ma'am." The man exchanged a few pleasantries, held his hat to his chest and asked, "Can I book a room?"
The lady at the front desk looked the man up and down. People in their line of work all have a very sharp eye. She could tell at a glance that the fabric of the long trench coat the man was wearing was of good quality, and the sewing craftsmanship should be from Europe. He had a strong British accent, which might be an Oxford accent if you listened carefully.
He was holding a briefcase in his hand, which did not look heavy, probably containing books or something. His fingers were thin and slender, indicating that he had never done any rough work. However, there were some signs of wear on the middle finger of his left hand, indicating that he was a left-handed person who held a pen all year round.
The receptionist guessed that he was a scholar from Europe, so she smiled, nodded and said, "Of course, sir. The rain is really heavy, but you will definitely get the most comfortable rest at the Wayne Hotel. I will help you see which room is vacant. Do you need anything special?"
"In fact, I personally prefer to live on high floors. It would be great if there were rooms above the 15th floor. Of course, the highest cannot be higher than the 20th floor." The man said with a smile.
Visitors from the old world are indeed very picky, the receptionist thought helplessly. She glanced at the pair of clear brown eyes again, which seemed to contain infinite mysteries. The receptionist was attracted for a moment, and only reacted when the other party reminded her.
The lady felt a little embarrassed. She immediately flipped through the reservation form and said, "Sorry, sir, I may be a little tired. Let me take a look between the 15th and 20th floors..."
"Oh my god, all the rooms here are already booked. Why don't you consider the 21st floor? We can upgrade your room for free. If you choose to stay in a standard room, we can upgrade it to a deluxe room without paying the price difference. You can also earn points."
The man frowned slightly and said, "I don't like the number 21. Can you help me take a closer look? Are the 18th and 19th floors gone?"
The receptionist looked through the list again, shook his head and said, "I'm really sorry, sir, we've indeed booked everything."
The other party sighed and said, "Well, it seems I have to find another place. I hope there are still hotels open now."
After saying this, he seemed a little worried and glanced at the heavy rain outside the door. The receptionist shook her head gently and said, "Are you from out of town?"
"Yes, I got off the plane in Metropolis and took the train to Gotham. I didn't expect it to rain as soon as I arrived in Gotham. It was really unfortunate."
"You may not know that for some reason, most of the hotels in the city have closed down. Only this place is still open. I don't think you can adapt to those dark little hotels."
The front desk's original intention was to keep this guest. After all, he did not look like those hurried business people and might stay a few more days, thus bringing good profits to the hotel.
“I see.” The man said, “But you don’t look very busy.”
The receptionist smiled helplessly and said, "Not many people will go out in this weather. Many people are still stuck at the airport and train station."
"Unfortunately, all the rooms are fully booked." The man shook his head, "I can only go out and try my luck."
"Are you sure you don't want to consider a room on a lower or higher floor?" the receptionist asked.
Seeing the man shook his head, the receptionist hesitated. She bit her lip, gathered her hair, and said, "Please wait a moment. I have something to discuss with the manager. Maybe I can find an empty room for you."
The receptionist went in for a while, and soon the tall, thin black manager came out. He looked at Schiller inconspicuously, and then said, "We do have one room left, sir. The number is 1905, but the trouble is that there is a problem with this room."
"what is the problem?"
"The toilet drainage system may be broken." The manager said, "When flushing, water will occasionally spray out, which may dirty the floor. We haven't found a repairman yet, so it may be..."
"When is the earliest you can find a repairman?"
"I'll call early tomorrow morning," the manager said. "Maybe before ten o'clock if the traffic isn't too bad."
The man hesitated for a moment, but nodded and said, "This is the one I'll use carefully."
"I'm really sorry, sir, but for safety reasons..."
"I understand that I am not a child who likes to play in the water or an old person who is prone to falling. Knowing that there may be water on the ground, I will be extra careful and will not cause trouble to the hotel if anything goes wrong. I can guarantee it."
The manager took another close look at the man's appearance, seemed to believe his assurance, and said, "Well, sir, the rain is really too heavy. Please check this gentleman in."
The lady at the front desk immediately nodded to the man, and the man took out his driver's license and a business card. After the receptionist took the business card, she found a name written in cursive English on it - "Neog Sosip".
There is also a line of small words below: "Historian and Folklorist, Honorary Research Fellow of All Souls College, University of Oxford, UK".
The receptionist raised her eyelids slightly, wrote on the notebook, and handed the business card to the manager. The manager raised his eyebrows in surprise. After he put the business card away, he smiled and said to the man, "I am a little rude, Doctor. I hope you don't mind."
Sohip shook his head and said, "I have been traveling all day and just want to rest quickly."
"Here is your room card." The front desk clerk handed the card to Soship, and the manager personally led him to the elevator.
With a ding, the elevator door opened. Just as the two were about to step inside, they discovered that someone was about to come out. He panicked and almost tripped over the carpet at the door. Soship helped him up and when he looked down, he saw that his left pupil was flashing.
"I want to check out, I want to check out!" The man in a suit ran to the front desk in a panic and said, "I am 1903, I want to check out now!"
The manager ignored them and the two entered the elevator. As the elevator was rising, the manager finally said, "There seems to be some problem with the circuit on the 19th floor, but it's raining so hard that we can't repair it. This may have a bad impact on the guests. I hope we can still make amends in time."
Sohip looked at his reflection in the elevator mirror. He gently stretched out his hand, made the sign of the cross over his chest and said, "May God bless them."
"Excuse me, are you a Christian?" the manager turned around and asked.
"Yes, a Catholic, and for a time Bishop of Canterbury."
The manager's eyes widened in surprise. He said, "The Diocese of Canterbury? That's a place comparable to the Diocese of Westminster. Have you ever been a bishop there?"
"Yes, I am, but only for a short time."
The manager was about to say something, but the elevator made a ding sound, the door opened, and a sign for the 19th floor appeared in front of the two of them. This time, it was Sosip who took the lead and walked out, and the manager pointed him in a direction.
They turned right and walked straight to the end. The door of the room at the end had 1905 written on it, and on the right was 1903, and so on, with smaller numbers getting closer to the elevator.
I took out the key card and opened the door, and a normal hotel suite appeared in front of me. There was a living room with floor-to-ceiling windows at the entrance, and the bedroom was at the door on the right. It was luxuriously and gorgeously decorated, with dim lights, and looked very comfortable.
Sohip walked into the door, stood inside the door and said to the manager: "Thank you very much. If the repairman comes, please call me."
"I will, sir, sweet dreams."
(End of this chapter)