The beautiful greeter flashed a welcoming smile. "This way, ma’am!"
’To still be so professional at a time like this... Impressive!’
She was so enthusiastic that Chen Xing couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
There were quite a few people in the conference room—thirteen in total, including Xuan Yabing and the greeter. That menace from before was surprisingly still alive. When she saw Chen Xing walk in, she glared at her with open hostility.
Chen Xing didn’t understand where her hostility came from.
’Why can’t we just leave each other alone?’
Xuan Yabing, ever thorough, was worried about having people with unknown backgrounds in their group. "I don’t think there’s anyone else in the building," he said. "Myself and these eight guests are all registered at this hotel. This woman is a greeter, and this man is a security guard. As for the three of you... how did you end up here?"
Afraid of being ostracized, the menace Xu Mengyao quickly explained, "My name is Xu Mengyao. My boyfriend is the lobby manager here. We planned to meet tonight, but then this terrible thing happened. I ran here to find him during the chaos, but I don’t know if he got into an accident... I can’t find him... *sob*..." As she spoke, tears genuinely started to fall.
She was truly sad.
But she was also lying.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t contact him. Rather, after she ran into the hotel, she had met her boyfriend in the lobby when he came down to get her.
Zombies chased the two of them all the way to the third floor. Seeing the danger, she hid in a bathroom by herself, shutting him out.
His horrific cries for help went on for a long time... When she finally emerged after the sounds outside had stopped, her boyfriend was gone.
"The lobby manager said a little while ago that he was worried about his girlfriend. He went down to check on her and never came back. He probably..." The security guard trailed off.
Xu Mengyao cried even harder, as if she were only just now hearing this tragic news.
The next person to speak was a middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses and delicate features. His every move exuded a scholarly grace. "My name is Xu Anguo. I was supposed to meet a friend at the coffee shop on the third floor. I fainted as soon as I entered the hotel. When I woke up, I saw people biting each other and was forced to hide. I came here after hearing the broadcast." He glanced at Chen Xing as he finished.
"I ran over from the mall next door."
"Of all places, why run here?" Xu Mengyao was clearly irritated with Chen Xing and was looking to pin something on her.
"I’ve never stayed in a place like this. Figured I’d try it once during the chaos!" Chen Xing was completely unabashed.
Xu Mengyao was speechless. ’Isn’t that the kind of thing you’re supposed to keep to yourself?’
’She had also run over here precisely because she knew how high-end it was. Otherwise, on her salary, she probably would’ve never had the chance to stay in a place like this in her entire life.’
Xuan Yabing gave a gentlemanly nod, not pressing Chen Xing any further. "Now that we all understand the situation, let’s discuss what we should do next."
"Lock this place down. If those monsters get in again, more people will die," one of the hotel guests voiced.
"There are three entrances: one in the lobby and two in the underground parking garage. The glass doors in the lobby can be locked, but I don’t know if they’ll hold. The ones underground are solid, but who knows if it’s safe down there?" The security guard was fairly familiar with the layout, but he didn’t want to take any risks. ’Isn’t it better to just lay low?’
"We can split into two teams. One for the lobby, one for the garage." Xuan Yabing didn’t want to leave the entrances unsecured.
’It’s no different from a ticking time bomb; zombies could get in at any moment.’
"I’m not going to the garage!" the security guard immediately stated.
’The hotel’s underground garage was not only gloomy but also huge. With two entrances wide open, who knew how many zombies were down there?’
"I’ll handle the garage, then." Xuan Yabing took the initiative. "You take a team and secure the lobby entrance."
"You’re not a guest here. If you want to stay, you have to contribute!" Xu Mengyao had finally found her chance to give Chen Xing a hard time. "I think you’re the perfect person to help the guard secure the lobby doors."
’If she manages to seal the doors, great. If not, she can go die.’
"I’ll go to the garage!" Chen Xing replied without the slightest hesitation, shocking everyone present.
The garage was an eerie place even under normal circumstances, let alone now.
Xuan Yabing was hesitant and urged her to reconsider.
Seeing Chen Xing volunteer for the garage, Xu Anguo could only say, "Then I’ll go help in the lobby."
"The two of us ’outsiders’ are contributing. You’re an outsider too, so you can’t just watch, right?" Chen Xing knew how to pull others into the fray. She looked at Xu Mengyao’s smug face.
’Weren’t you trying to set a trap for me?’
Xu Mengyao was speechless. She felt like dying.
She was the one who said people should contribute, so she couldn’t refuse.
Reluctantly, she had no choice but to agree.
’I just barely escaped the lobby with my life, and now I have to go back? But the underground garage... I wouldn’t be caught dead there.’
So in the end, she chose to go to the lobby with the security guard.
Chen Xing and Xuan Yabing, following the security guard’s directions, entered the underground parking garage.
It was just as gloomy as described. The dim lights flickered as if on cue, and even the yellow lines on the floor seemed to give off a bone-chilling cold.
’This place isn’t so bad,’ Chen Xing thought. ’As long as we don’t attract the zombies outside, it should be fine.’ "Let’s split up," she said. "I’ll take the east exit."
Xuan Yabing was speechless. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
’Her agreeing to come was already a surprise, especially since none of the other men had been willing to.’
’And now she wanted to split up?’
"Will you be alright on your own?"
"I’m fine!" Chen Xing replied simply, then turned and walked east without a backward glance.
Xuan Yabing stared after her for a good while.
’To think those slender shoulders under her baggy clothes could carry such a powerful presence.’
’He had volunteered, but it would be a lie to say he wasn’t scared at all.’
’Those were monsters that ate people without blinking. One careless mistake and he would become one of them.’
When Chen Xing was a good distance away, he snapped out of his daze and ran in the opposite direction. No matter what, safety came first.
Chen Xing had volunteered to come here for a reason, of course.
’Even though she’d be staying in Hualai City for a while, a good car was essential.’
’The cars here were all high-end models. If she could get one or two into her space, she wouldn’t have to worry about transportation in the future.’
’Car keys?’
’Even without keys, she had ways of starting a car.’
’But she had spotted several rows of keys hanging on the wall when she passed the basement management office. As long as she sealed the exit first, she could take her pick.’
She scanned the parked cars as she walked.
’This really was a rich person’s world. Before the apocalypse, these cars were all priced in the seven figures or more. Any one of them would be a sweet ride.’
’A car needs gas... She remembered that in the apocalypse, gasoline became impossible to find after about two months, as if it had all been siphoned away.’
’I’d better stock up now while I can. In that case, I’ll need to clear out those two depressions.’
Chen Xing mulled over her plan.
This garage was massive; it took several minutes just to walk from one end to the other.
Finally, a ramp appeared up ahead. With her knife already in hand, she crept upward.
The guard had said the control button for the exit was on the wall at the top of the ramp.
The ramp was spiral. Her footsteps were feather-light as she peeked around the curve.
Just then, she saw a silhouette swaying under the light at the exit—the typical, aimless movement of a zombie without prey.