Knowing that the hotel offered protection, Chen Xi finally slept the most peaceful sleep since arriving in this world. Sleeping inside the hotel gave her a sense of security.
“Xiao Ba, check-in!”
The next morning, Chen Xi woke up full of energy and called 008 to check in.
【Check-in complete!
Today’s check-in reward: Nutrient Solution *10
Total check-in days: 31】
“Nutrient solution? The kind in interstellar worlds that can keep you full for a whole day with just one?”
【Yes indeed.】
Chen Xi perked up. She had learned about interstellar worlds during training and had always wanted to try nutrient solutions. Since she hadn’t had breakfast yet, this was the perfect time.
She opened one and took a sip, her face twisting in disgust. “Ugh… so bad.”
【Host, I forgot to mention earlier. Most items in the prize pool are discarded products from interstellar worlds. To avoid waste, the main system recycles them for use in lotteries in other dimensions…】
Chen Xi: ???
【So the nutrient solution you just drank is unsellable. No wonder it tastes awful.】 008 muttered.
Chen Xi: “…” Ridiculous.
“What about the laser knife, bicycle, and tracksuit I drew before? Those seem fine.”
【The laser knife was an early model, now replaced by higher-level versions. The bicycle is ancient; everyone in interstellar worlds now uses spaceships. The tracksuit only protects against melee weapons and scratches—far too weak for interstellar standards.】
Chen Xi: …Well, okay. Dimensional downgrade strikes again, I guess.
“And the food and milk I drew? Interstellar people must eat those, right?”
【Actually… they’re all near expiration…】
Chen Xi: …
“The perfume at least isn’t bad. There aren’t zombies in interstellar worlds, right?”
【Correct. Anything meant for zombie defense is specifically prepared for the apocalypse dimension.】
“That’s better.”
With that, Chen Xi lost interest in the rest, stashing the nutrient solutions in her space to sell later.
Meanwhile, Jiang Chengyu and his companions had slept wonderfully the previous night. Their powers had recovered, and the hot showers were incredible. After a month into the apocalypse, most water sources were contaminated, and water was precious—even for drinking. Few would dare to bathe, usually just wiping off with a damp towel.
Seeing the hot water flowing from the shower heads left them dumbfounded. This place was amazing! They could finally bathe properly!
Not only did they shower, but they also washed the clothes they had worn for days in the washing machines. Now that it was summer, drying them on the balcony meant they’d be ready by morning.
After freshening up, they sat down to eat food together. It smelled wonderful. If it weren’t for the zombies outside the window, they would have felt like life had returned to pre-apocalypse normalcy.
Having slept well, Yang Fan and Jiang Chengyu even killed a few zombies on the way back.
While eating breakfast, Yang Fan whispered, “Yu-ge, have you noticed? Zombies nearby don’t come close to the hotel. It’s like they can’t detect it at all.”
“Hmm.” Jiang Chengyu nodded. “There’s probably a very powerful special ability user behind this, but I have no idea how they’re keeping the zombies away.”
“I don’t think it’s just one person.” Yang Fan peered out the window and whispered, “There has to be a lightning-type user, otherwise, where’s this electricity coming from?”
“And a water-type user, maybe a fire-type to heat water,” He Qing added.
“And someone with space abilities, otherwise, where’s all the food coming from, and why can they sell it so lavishly?”
“Exactly! They’re so strong. Maybe there’s even…”
The two speculated endlessly about the powers behind the hotel.
Jiang Chengyu rubbed his forehead. “Alright, whoever’s behind this, we can’t deal with them. The good news is they’re just running a business; otherwise, we’d never get away.”
“Yeah, I used to think leveling up to second or third rank after a month in the apocalypse was impressive. Compared to them, we’re weak.”
He Qing nodded in agreement.
“Yu-ge, we collected some Crystal Cores from killing zombies earlier. Adding what we had saved, we can just buy our food here.” He Qing suggested.
“I’ll get what I want first. I’ve been craving self-heating hotpot,” Yang Fan said, licking his lips.
Chen Xi had just sat at the front desk when the three descended the stairs.
After checking out, Jiang Chengyu politely asked, “We want to buy a few things to take with us. Is that okay?”
Chen Xi pointed at the shelves. “Sure, take whatever you want.”
She wondered why their attitude had shifted so respectfully overnight.
008 had already restocked the shelves with items from her space in the morning. The group eagerly emptied the shelves of food and drinks, totaling 519 Crystal Cores. Chen Xi generously rounded down the total.
The group thanked her and left. Chen Xi had worried their vehicle couldn’t hold so much, but the neat-looking He Qing merely touched the food, and it instantly vanished.
Chen Xi raised an eyebrow. Oh? A space-type user.
Using powers so openly in front of her—was that really wise?
Unbeknownst to Chen Xi, they had also filled several large water containers with tap water in He Qing’s space before leaving. Seeing no one stopping them, they were increasingly impressed with the hotel owner’s power.
There was no point in hiding their powers—they couldn’t fight back anyway.
Shortly after the group left, Chen Xi opened the control panel:
【Name: Dawnlight Hotel
Owner: Chen Xi
Dimension: Apocalypse Dimension
Level: Lv.1 Inn (573/100) — Eligible for Upgrade
Shop Revenue: 573
Shop Balance: 513
Facilities: Front Desk *1, Single Room *6, Double Room *2
Description: Host has absolute control within hotel bounds, immune to all harm
Upgrade to Lv.2 requires 100 Lv.1 Crystal Cores】
Seeing the shop balance, she realized the system had already deducted utilities and such for the day.
【Detected hotel meets upgrade requirements. Upgrade now?】
“Yes.”
Immediately, Chen Xi felt a slight shake. Soon, the system notified her the upgrade was complete.
Opening the control panel, she saw the level had changed: Lv.2 Small Hotel (573/1000).
The shop balance became 413, likely 100 cores spent on the upgrade.
Facilities had changed significantly: Front Desk *1, Vending Machine *1, Single Room *10, Double Room *6, Suite *2.
Wow! The vending machine she’d been dreaming of had finally arrived—saving 500 cores!
The system was amazing!
The building itself had expanded from two to three floors.
The control panel still didn’t show the floor plan, so Chen Xi decided to explore the changes while no one was around.