Ah'Ming scoured along the hallways, along the ugly reds and oranges. It wasn't as though the resort was run by bees, so what was the need for all of these hexagons? Unless.... It really was run by bees. The conspiracy of the decade, folks.
The problem that Ah'Ming was currently facing was the lack of an exit.
He... couldn't remember which painting held the passageway. Which was a problem, especially since he didn't trust the elevators at all.
You see, elevators were evil little metal boxes of death and destruction.
Death
and
Destruction
.
Not only did they betray him back in the real world, in the infinite flow too? For the queen's sake, they brought him to a library.
Horrible.
Abominations.
So, in order to not use the elevators, Ah'Ming set out trying to remember whatever he could about the location of the stairwell.
He checked out more of the tables, more of the flowers.
The thing is, Ah'Ming couldn't find any skeletons near the tables either, which was one of the only markers he'd bothered to memorise.
Fine.
Elevators it was.
If he was on the fourth floor... That meant he should go down, right? But what if the food places were on a higher floor? That sometimes happens in some hotels.
Think, Ah'Ming, think! Had he seen any signs for a cafeteria or a buffet when he was near the reception?
Had he?
Oh well, he could always just either use the forum, or ask the receptionist.
He pulled up the forum...
Only to notice that it didn't work.
Maybe it only worked in "safe" spaces. Since Ah'Ming was far too lazy to go all the way back to his room to find a place to eat, he would merely go back to the receptionist.
Who knows, maybe asking her could boost favorability?
He went to the elevator, and waited awkwardly for it to arrive.
1... 2... 3...
This was clearly a slow elevator.
11... 12... 13....
Not again?
21... 22... 23...
Ding!
Finally!
Ah'Ming walked in, only to notice a full group of people. They were all clearly a group, with matching wristguards. They looked at him, looked up at the sign that said level four, and then looked back at him.
One person awkwardly coughed.
"Boss... Is he an NPC?"
The tallest person in the group smacked him on the back of his head, before smiling at Ah'Ming.
Ah'Ming blinked. Why'd they think he was an NPC? He may look kind of scary, but not that scary. The only other option... was it the floor? He smiled at the group.
"What floor do you guys live on?" Ah'Ming asked, then immediately winced. Dude, that question made him sound like a murderer?! Where do you live, because I'm gonna go find you at midnight.
Oh dear.
For some reason, one of the people in the group replied: "the seventh floor.". They also had a streak of purple hair, which was very cool looking.
Ah'Ming tilted his head, pondering upon the person's answer.
The seventh floor? Did all players live on the seventh floor? It certainly explained the lack of players on his own, but then what was on the fifth and sixth? The elevator inside didn't have a list stating what was on each floor, so he could only guess. Maybe he'd go check the other floors out later.
The elevator was full of awkward silence, the only respite from the little Dings! The elevator made it when it went down a level. Someone coughed. There was an unfortunate amount of shuffling. The elevator was both too slow, not getting there fast enough, and too fast, leaving everybody not bothering to speak since they would get off soon.
It was so much worse than when you got caught in the elevator by a teacher or a professor when you know that you technically, as a student, aren't allowed to use the elevator. Or lift, for some strange demographic of the world.
The elevator started slowing down, before it stopped at the first floor. Ah'Ming got out first, since he could not wait to leave the stifling environment behind. One thing he noticed was that the resort's elevators only went to the first floor, without any basements.
However, based on both of the sub-stories he'd played so far, and recounts from other players, he could guess that the main story was also an inside-outside world story. The cafe had the main cafe, and the paper-people cafe. The library had daytime and nighttime. He'd read about the others, and they were all split between two types of worlds.
Really obvious, if you paused and thought about it for a second.
If all of the substories were split into two worlds, it was highly likely the main story was as well.
Ah'Ming couldn't begrudge them though, because some were time shifts, others location ones, and some were just color or people. Didn't make 'em any less stupid.
The alternate world might be the resort from the past, or a different resort all together. Who knows, it might not even be a hotel at all! Maybe the hotel was all a cover, and the real instance was a factory trying to contaminate the players slowly, to sell as food to the higher level beings.
...
Nah, that was far too farfetched.
He loved conspiracy theories, but even this was a little bit much.
A strange blond woman was near the players, prowling and smiling. She was wearing leapord print as well, inviting people to join her nail salon. An older player shielded some newbies behind him, telling them about how by the third and fourth days, NPCs could come out of their shops and regions to "Attract customers".
Ah'Ming shuddered, and walked on the other side of the hallway.
Ah'Ming walked down the little red carpet, feeling like a star at the Oscars. He walked up to the receptionist with a blank face. Time to put on the social face, baby.
She smiled a sweet and kind, showing a few too many teeth.
"Good morning, GUEST, what may I help with today?"