Chen Xi was smiling as she watched people chatting in the backyard, unaware that someone was also watching her.
When she turned her head, she saw the male lead, Huo Yan, looking at her from not far away. Their eyes accidentally met. Embarrassed, Chen Xi waved awkwardly to greet him. To her surprise, Huo Yan responded—and his face bore a rare… gentleness.
Was it an illusion? Chen Xi rubbed her eyes and saw Huo Yan walking straight toward her.
I didn’t wave to call you over!
But he was already walking closer, and Chen Xi couldn’t exactly turn and run.
She braced herself, pulled a tomato from her bag, and asked, “Do you want one?”
“Sure, thanks.” Huo Yan took the tomato without hesitation and started eating it.
Chen Xi: …I was just being polite.
Seeing Chen Xi’s dumbstruck expression, Huo Yan couldn’t help but smile. With such a huge “golden finger,” how could she still be so timid?
“Not bad,” he said, wiping his hands after finishing.
“The vendor over there is selling them if you want more,” Chen Xi suggested. Go on, go on.
“No need. This one is enough,” Huo Yan teased, noticing how eager she seemed to avoid him. “Or… do you want to come with me to buy some?”
Chen Xi: Is the male lead really this forward?
“Alright, I’m done teasing. I came because I have something to tell you,” Huo Yan said, clearing his throat and speaking seriously.
“What is it?” Chen Xi asked. Finally, he’s acting normal—why was he smiling at me before?
“These next few days, we need to go out more often. In a few days, there might be heavy rain, and it won’t be safe to go out. Do you want to come with us?”
“Heavy rain in a few days!” Chen Xi exclaimed in shock.
“Yes. Uncle An said so. He used to be a meteorologist,” Huo Yan explained. “It’ll be heavy rain and may trigger flooding.”
Of course, that wasn’t all. In the previous world, this rain lasted for half a month, causing floods across the country and killing many people.
After the floods came plagues, one after another, wiping out large numbers of humans.
By the end, the population could have dropped to less than ten million—from 1.4 billion. One can imagine how many people died.
Chen Xi had clearly considered this, too. She quickly said goodbye to Huo Yan and returned to her room to call the system.
“小 Eight, what’s going on? There will be heavy rain in a few days?”
“Eh? This part isn’t in the original novel,” 008 said, puzzled.
“Host! It’s true that in the original text it doesn’t exist, but in the broken world—our previous world—there really was a more-than-half-month-long downpour, followed by plagues that killed many people.”
“What should we do, Host? I just checked, and heavy rain is coming!”
“Can you predict the exact day?”
“Let me see… roughly a month from now.”
“First, display a storm warning on the hotel’s notice board. I’ll see what tools we can use to deal with it.”
“Got it!”
Chen Xi checked the mall and saw that the protective shield could be upgraded daily with 100 crystal cores to make it rainproof. Without hesitation, she upgraded it immediately.
As for transportation, the mall currently only offered bicycles, and five- and seven-seater cars—far from enough.
To rescue people, something like a bus would be ideal.
“小 Eight, will upgrading unlock buses or ships?”
“Yes, Host.”
Chen Xi nodded. Another upgrade was necessary, though it required crystal cores—consumption was unavoidable.
With that in mind, she asked the system to post an announcement:
“To thank our new and old customers, Dawnlight Hotel is launching a promotional event effective immediately:
Spend 100 crystal cores: Receive one training hall experience voucher
Spend 300 crystal cores: Receive a scented perfume, 5% off hotel stay
Spend 500 crystal cores: Receive a laser blade, 10% off hotel stay
Spend 1,000 crystal cores: Receive one free medical treatment, 15% off hotel stay
Spend 10,000 crystal cores or more: Receive a storage ring, 20% off hotel stay!”**
Once the announcement went up, there was an uproar—especially about the storage ring. Many people were curious.
Could it be like the storage spaces in Xianxia novels?