Lu Xiao’s group of subordinates bolted like they’d been granted amnesty, scrambling and crawling away, not daring to even glance at their boss one more time.
The hotel lobby was left with just Jiang Lingyue, Gu Han, and the newly recruited “second employee,” Lu Xiao.
The atmosphere grew a bit awkward.
Especially between Gu Han and Lu Xiao the tension was so palpable that Jiang Lingyue felt like she was standing between two high-voltage power lines, completely on edge.
“Uh… cough cough.”
She cleared her throat, trying to break the strange silence.
“So… Lu Xiao, right?” She looked at him, putting on her boss persona. “Since you’ve signed the contract, you’re one of us now. Your room is 302 on the third floor, right next to him.”
She gestured toward Gu Han.
Lu Xiao followed her finger to glance at Gu Han, snorted coldly, and said nothing.
Gu Han merely cast a detached glance back before withdrawing his gaze.
Great, these two were officially at odds.
Jiang Lingyue rubbed her temple, a little annoyed.
She didn’t have time to mediate employee conflicts right now.
“You’re badly injured, so today you’ll rest and familiarize yourself with the hotel,” Jiang Lingyue continued. “Tomorrow at eight a.m., you and Gu Han will leave together for work on time.”
Having said that, she didn’t wait to see Lu Xiao’s reaction and turned to head upstairs.
“Wait.”
Lu Xiao suddenly called out.
“What?” Jiang Lingyue looked back.
Lu Xiao looked at her, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. “Do you… provide meals here?”
Since yesterday, he hadn’t had a drop to drink, and after all that electricity, he was starving his stomach practically glued to his back.
And just now, the smell of roasted meat on his own body had made his hunger unbearable.
Jiang Lingyue laughed.
She’d thought he was about to complain or demand something else but he was just hungry.
Easy fix. There’s no problem a good meal can’t solve.
“Of course we provide meals,” she said, snapping her fingers. “The only condition is you need to have the means to pay for it.”
She walked over to Gu Han, patted his backpack, and asked, “How was today’s harvest? Any crystal cores?”
Gu Han nodded and took out three crystal cores: two D-grade, one C-grade.
“Not bad, not bad. Today’s KPI is exceeded,” Jiang Lingyue said, taking the cores. She activated the system mall, visible only to her, right in front of Lu Xiao.
Lu Xiao’s pupils constricted slightly, staring at her as she worked seemingly from thin air.
Here we go again another incomprehensible display of mysterious power.
He watched her intently, eager to see what would happen.
With a few taps in mid-air, a huge food container materialized in her hands.
She opened it, and the rich aroma of food instantly filled the lobby.
Inside was a luxurious set meal: two meat dishes, one vegetable, and a soup.
Glazed braised pork ribs, golden Kung Pao chicken, crisp garlic broccoli, and a steaming bowl of tomato and egg soup.
Two bowls of perfectly cooked white rice accompanied the dishes.
The presentation and smell.
Lu Xiao’s eyes went wide, his Adam’s apple bobbed uncontrollably, and his stomach growled loudly.
He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d seen such… normal food.
In the apocalypse, food was either dry compressed biscuits or weird-tasting mutant meat. A hot, flavorful, well-presented home-cooked meal was basically a legend from another era.
He watched Gu Han calmly take a meal from Jiang Lingyue, walk to the table, and eat as if it were ordinary.
The casualness of it stung Lu Xiao’s eyes.
Why should this ice-cold guy get to eat so well?
Just because he got here first?
“Uh… what about me?” Lu Xiao asked Jiang Lingyue, his tone full of grievance.
Jiang Lingyue leisurely carried her own meal to the table, picked up a rib, and took a bite, closing her eyes in satisfaction.
“Mmm… yours? Did you hand in any crystal cores today? Did you create any value for the hotel?” she murmured indistinctly.
“I…” Lu Xiao was too choked up to respond.
“In our hotel, distribution is based on labor more work, more reward,” Jiang Lingyue said, sipping her soup. “Gu Han submitted three cores today, so he eats. You not only did you create no value, you damaged the hotel. So… you get nothing.”
Lu Xiao’s face flushed crimson.
What kind of ridiculous rule was this?
This was employee abuse!
He wanted to blow up, but recalling the excruciating shocks earlier forced him to swallow his anger.
All he could do was watch Jiang Lingyue and Gu Han eat bite by bite, while he could only smell it, swallowing desperately.
This was worse than death.
“Grrr… grrr…”
His stomach growled louder and louder, clear in the quiet lobby.
Jiang Lingyue pretended not to hear, continuing to enjoy her dinner.
Gu Han, from start to finish, didn’t glance at Lu Xiao, simply eating silently.
But Jiang Lingyue noticed he was eating slightly faster than usual.
The meal ended under Lu Xiao’s tormented gaze.
Jiang Lingyue patted her stomach in satisfaction, glancing at Lu Xiao whose eyes were nearly red, and secretly laughed.
Can’t cure you, huh?
Let you act arrogant, let you swagger.
Here, you follow my rules.
Seeing she had sufficiently “taught him a lesson,” she slowly pulled a pack of compressed biscuits from her pocket and tossed them to Lu Xiao.
“Here, on your first day, this is for you just to fill your stomach for now.”
“Perform well tomorrow. If you bring back more crystal cores, forget meals you could eat meat every day.”
Making big promises that’s every boss’s essential skill.
Lu Xiao looked at the compressed biscuits in his hand, then at the clean plates of Jiang Lingyue and Gu Han, feeling a jumble of emotions.
He, a dignified S-class lightning ability user, had been reduced to surviving on handouts of biscuits.
Utter humiliation!
Still, he silently tore open the package and devoured them.
No choice he was too hungry.
After finishing, Lu Xiao went upstairs without a word.
He needed time to process everything that had happened today and calm his battered pride.
Watching his dejected figure, Jiang Lingyue felt a profound sense of satisfaction.
Subduing a rebellious powerhouse what an incredible achievement.
However, her joy was short-lived as the system voice echoed in her mind.
Alert: Hotel stockpiles are nearly depleted. Current food reserves are only sufficient to sustain the hotel’s three residents for seven days.
What?
Jiang Lingyue’s smile froze.
“Already running out?” she couldn’t believe it.
She hadn’t exchanged that much recently.
Host, recent high-energy food exchanges have consumed significant stock.
Jiang Lingyue thought about it it made sense.
Between roast chickens and set meals, it had indeed been extravagant.
“So what do we do? The amount they bring back each day isn’t enough to trade for more!” Jiang Lingyue panicked slightly.
After finally enjoying a few good days, would she have to go back to eating compressed biscuits?
No! She refused!
Hotel development bottleneck detected. System released hotel upgrade mission.
Mission Name: Fields of Hope.
Mission Objective: Activate the “Eco-Farm” on the hotel rooftop using the special plant seed, “Seed of Life.”
Mission Location: Ruins of the “GreenSource” Plant Research Institute, Eastern City
Mission Reward: Hotel farm function activated, system mall unlocks Seed Section, and host receives a “Farm Starter Pack.”