The elevator descended smoothly. Reflected on the metal walls was Jiang Lingyue’s pale, tense face.
She stared fixedly at the changing floor numbers, her heart nearly jumping out of her throat.
What was in the lobby?
Was it that “runner” zombie? Or a whole group of them?
What if the moment the door opened, a swarm of monsters rushed in? Was the system’s so-called “absolute defense barrier” really reliable?
Countless terrifying thoughts ran wildly through her mind. She gripped the steel pipe so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
“Ding”
The elevator reached the first floor, and the doors slowly slid open to both sides.
A thick smell of blood mixed with dust instantly rushed into her nose.
Jiang Lingyue stiffened, instinctively holding her breath. She shrank into the corner of the elevator, only sticking half her head out as she looked toward the hotel lobby in terror.
The lobby was a complete mess. Half of the expensive crystal chandelier had fallen to the ground. Broken glass and collapsed decorations were scattered everywhere.
Through the huge, dust-covered floor-to-ceiling windows, she could see the gloomy sky outside and several wandering zombie figures in the street.
But to her surprise, the “runner” zombie that had chased her for a whole day was now lying lifeless not far from the hotel entrance, its head smashed into a pile of pulp.
Beside its corpse was a man covered in blood, barely leaning against the revolving door, his life or death unknown.
Jiang Lingyue froze.
A person?
A living person?
She cautiously stepped out of the elevator, gripping the steel pipe, approaching little by little.
The man looked young, probably in his early twenties.
He wore a black combat suit that had already been torn to shreds. His body was covered in wounds so deep that bone could almost be seen, and blood was still pouring out, staining the floor beneath him a dark red.
His face was handsome, the kind with sharp, defined features and a hint of coldness. But now his lips were pale from blood loss, his brows tightly furrowed as if enduring immense pain.
What caught the eye most was his right hand, still tightly gripping a long blade formed from condensed ice crystals. Black zombie blood dripped from the tip. The ground and walls around him were covered in a thin layer of frost, emitting a chilling cold.
An ice-type ability user?
And one who could kill a “runner” so easily his strength was definitely not low!
Jiang Lingyue’s heart began beating faster again, but this time it wasn’t just fear. There was another strange emotion mixed in.
At that moment, the system’s voice sounded again in her mind.
S-class ice-type ability user detected. Meets the “premium tenant” standard.
Side mission triggered: Saving the dying.
Mission objective: Rescue the S-class ability user Gu Han outside the door and successfully recruit him as the hotel’s first tenant.
Mission reward: Unlock the hotel’s first-floor medical room and receive a host-exclusive reward one “luxury edition” braised beef instant noodle (includes one braised egg and one sausage).
Mission failure: All beginner gift supplies will be deducted.
An S-class ability user!
Jiang Lingyue sucked in a sharp breath.
S-class! That was legendary! Top-tier powerhouses who could walk sideways through any survivor base! Someone like her, an ordinary person, normally wouldn’t even have the qualification to see one.
And now, a heavily injured, dying S-class big shot had collapsed right outside her door?
And the system’s mission was actually telling her to save him?
Jiang Lingyue’s first reaction was: No way!
Was this a joke? Save an S-class ability user? With what? She didn’t even have the most basic medicine! And what if such a powerhouse woke up and turned hostile? With her tiny body, she wouldn’t even survive a single finger flick from him.
The risk was way too big.
But the system’s next words made her instantly waver.
“Luxury edition” braised beef instant noodles… with a braised egg and a sausage…
“Grrr…”
Her stomach growled shamelessly.
The hunger she had barely suppressed suddenly ignited like wildfire, spreading through her entire body.
She couldn’t even remember the last time she had eaten meat. Sausage… braised egg… Just imagining the taste made her mouth water.
Even worse, the punishment for failing the mission was losing all her supplies.
That was her whole box of noodles and bucket of water! Her entire hope of surviving the coming days!
No! She absolutely couldn’t lose that!
Jiang Lingyue looked at the man lying in a pool of blood, then imagined that steaming bowl of instant noodles topped with sausage and braised egg. Her mind was torn.
Save him she might die.
Don’t save him she’d keep starving now and lose all her food immediately.
Did she even need to choose?
Screw it!
Fortune favors the bold! Even a bowl of noodles could cost someone their life!
“System, I’ll save him! I’ll save him, okay?!” Jiang Lingyue shouted in her mind through gritted teeth. “But you have to tell me how! He’s hurt so badly I don’t know how to treat him!”
Mission accepted. The hotel’s main door will open in ten seconds. Please drag the target inside the hotel as soon as possible. The medical room has been unlocked and contains basic emergency equipment and medicine.
As the system finished speaking, the massive revolving door that Jiang Lingyue had tightly barricaded with sofas and cabinets began to move on its own under an invisible force.
The heavy furniture seemed to lose its weight and was easily pushed aside.
Creak.
The heavy glass door slowly rotated open, leaving a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.
Cold wind and the stench of zombies instantly rushed in, making Jiang Lingyue shiver.
She didn’t dare hesitate any longer. Throwing away the steel pipe, she rushed out, grabbed the man’s relatively intact arm, and used all her strength to drag him toward the hotel.
“Damn… why is he so heavy!”
The man looked lean, but he weighed a lot more than she expected. Jiang Lingyue, a weak woman who hadn’t eaten for three days, dragging a man over six feet tall it was practically killing her.
Her face turned red with effort, her legs trembling as she slowly pulled him inch by inch toward the door.
Finally she managed to drag his upper body inside, but his legs were still stuck outside.
Warning! Zombies approaching. Distance: 50 meters… 30 meters… 10 meters…
The system’s warning sounded like a death sentence.
Jiang Lingyue looked back and saw two ordinary zombies turning the corner of the street, swaying toward them, attracted by the smell of blood.
“AHHHHH!”
Terrified out of her mind, she somehow found a burst of strength. With a scream and a fierce yank, she finally dragged the man’s long legs inside.
At the exact moment she collapsed onto the ground, the revolving door slammed shut with a bang.
The two zombies that had just reached the entrance slammed headfirst into the glass door with dull thuds but could not move forward another step.
Safe.
Jiang Lingyue gasped for breath, her heart racing wildly, her body drenched in cold sweat. Lying on the cold floor, she stared at the zombies clawing outside the glass door, feeling the exhausted relief of someone who had narrowly escaped death.
That was freaking intense.
After resting for a while, she finally struggled to her feet and looked at the man beside her the one who had almost cost her life.
Now, it was time to figure out what to do with this hot potato.