Of course she had to confirm! Bao Taozi silently confirmed.
“Hello, Host. I’m Yuan Gungun, the Apocalypse Hotel Construction System. Pleased to meet you.”
Bao Taozi asked the system excitedly, “Can you tell me what kind of system you are?”
“Isn’t my name obvious enough?” Somewhere Bao Taozi couldn’t see, Yuan Gungun tilted its head, puzzled.
“Haha, sorry, I got too excited just now and didn’t process it.”
Bao Taozi laughed awkwardly.
“It’s fine. Just follow the missions and you’ll figure out what kind of system I am.”
Bao Taozi nodded eagerly. “So where’s my newbie gift pack?”
Yuan Gungun’s little paw, mid-bite on a bamboo stalk, froze. So she actually had a brain on her!
“Now dispensing the newbie gift pack: Congratulations, Host, you’ve obtained 1,000 points, Congratulations, Host, you’ve obtained one vending machine, Congratulations, Host, you’ve obtained one Points Refrigerator, Congratulations, Host, you’ve obtained one Luxury Hotel Tower Fragment.”
“Wait, what’s a Points Refrigerator? What’s a Luxury Hotel Tower Fragment?” Bao Taozi asked, confused.
“The Points Refrigerator is a fridge that keeps running on points, generally, 1 point powers it for a month. The Luxury Hotel Tower requires collecting all nine fragments to unlock. Unlike the hotel you can open up right away, it’s a high-tech R-star product, built as an upgrade on top of your existing hotel, of course. No buyer’s remorse guaranteed [1]mǎi bu liǎo chī kuī, mǎi bu liǎo shàng dàng – Slang, a stock vendor’s sales pitch meaning “you can’t lose buying this, and you can’t be cheated”, used here … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3147701_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3147701_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.”
Bao Taozi nodded, half-understanding, it was too abstract. Looked like she’d only know how luxurious it really was once she unlocked it.
“Now issuing Mission One:
Please collect 10 units of cement and 10 units of any building material within 24 hours.
Success reward: 2 Points Air Conditioners, permanent circulating water system.
Failure penalty: Loss of the Apocalypse Hotel Construction System.
Mission Two:
Confirm the hotel’s location.
Success reward: 3 months of hotel protective shield.
Failure penalty: Loss of the Apocalypse Hotel Construction System.”
“Accept, accept!” This was too easy!
“Host, you don’t have the right to decline. Reminder to the Host: this system cannot be disclosed to others, and once bound, you may not tell anyone about the apocalypse before it happens.”
“Oh.” So telling people before binding didn’t count, then.
Satisfied, she went to sleep. The next day, Bao Taozi stretched, another day of crazy stockpiling!
After heading out, Bao Taozi first drove the van to an auto customization shop, where a staff member came to greet her.
“Miss, how can I help you?”, her outfit clearly marked her as someone from a wealthy family.
Bao Taozi took off her sunglasses. “I’m planning to drive around the world, and I need this car customized. I need it done within two weeks, can that be arranged?”
“Of course. Miss, right this way please.”
Bao Taozi was shown into an office, where the receptionist poured her a cup of coffee.
Before long, a man in a suit came in with a technician in work clothes.
“Miss, allow me to introduce myself, my surname is Wang, and this is Li Gao, our best technician.”
“Hello.” Bao Taozi stood and shook hands with both of them.
The three sat down, and Bao Taozi began laying out her requirements.
“I need the glass replaced with the best bulletproof glass, you know I’m going traveling around the world, and not every place is as safe as our country, Xia. I need the interior fitted with all essential living equipment, since I’ll be living in the car while traveling. Also the tires, chassis, and so on, swap them for the most durable versions available. Can that be done?”
Technician Li scribbled and sketched for a while, thinking it over, then nodded to the two of them.
“That can be done, Miss. I’ve got a rough plan in mind already.”
In the end, they settled the details, ten days to completion, total cost 3.7 million.
“Host, once you level up this time, the mall will open. What you’re looking for, I have that for sale there too.”
Bao Taozi nodded. “Bought with points?”
“That’s right, Host.”
Well, no point thinking about that now, she only had a pitiful 1,000 points.
“So what do I need to level up?”
“100,000 points.” Yuan Gungun said, gnawing on its bamboo, little feet dangling.
Ahem, ahem. Distant. Very distant.
The road has to be walked one step at a time! Bao Taozi cheered herself on.
Next up was heading to the building materials market to complete the mission. She left the car behind for customization and called a rideshare.
At the building materials market, Bao Taozi headed straight for one of the storefronts.
“Boss, pack me up ten bags of cement,” Bao Taozi said.
The owner rubbed his hands together and came over. “No problem, gorgeous! Coming right up.”
Looking around, she pondered what else counted as a building material, and honestly, Bao Taozi felt like this “any ten building materials” requirement was a trap.
Since she had plenty of money on hand anyway, she thought it over and called the owner back.
“Also give me ten each of whatever wood panels, tiles, and wall paint you have here, my family’s opening a hotel and we want to test out materials.”
Oh-ho! A big spender! If the hotel bought its materials from his shop, he’d be rolling in it!
“Sure, sure! I’ll pack it all up for you right away, gorgeous! If you like anything, be sure to come back and order from us! Our materials are the best around!”
Bao Taozi smiled and nodded, though she suspected she’d have to disappoint this owner.
About an hour later, once everything was packed, the owner asked Bao Taozi, “Boss, how are you planning to transport all this? We can help with delivery.”
Oh right, she’d almost forgotten. She left the Biyuan villa’s address, telling him to just leave it in the yard when the time came, paid 50,000, and left.
“System, I’ve completed the mission, right?”
“…”
“Yuan Gungun?”
“=_=.”
“Yuan Gungun, what’s wrong?” Bao Taozi asked, concerned.
“I’m fine. This system is just having a moment of despair [2]zì bì le, 自閉了 – Slang, literally “gone autistic/shut-in,” internet slang for sulking or shutting down from frustration or embarrassment jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3147701_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3147701_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. Once you get home and put the materials into the system, the mission will complete.” Ever since the Host had told the owner to bring ten of each material, yes, that had been the trap. If she’d picked just one, the whole hotel would be built from that single material, and the system could’ve charged her points for decor upgrades. But she’d picked all of them! All of them! Meaning the Host could now freely decorate the hotel however she liked! The system wasn’t going to earn any points off interior decoration! Waaah! So unfair!
“Oh, okay, well, you go ahead and despair then! I won’t bother you!” Bao Taozi nodded understandingly, everyone has those days where they’re not feeling great, she completely got it.
System: …
Next up was buying animals!
She called another rideshare, calculating along the way what to buy. Her space had limitations too, it was still too small and couldn’t hold many animals right now, but the good news was they could breed, and the space would keep growing bigger over time.
By the time she’d more or less finished calculating, she’d arrived at the farmers’ market.
Bao Taozi headed straight for the poultry section, browsing shop after shop, and finally settled on an old man’s stall.
The old man was very gentle with the animals, occasionally petting the chicks’ heads. Someone like that probably fed them well too.
“Grandpa, I’d like to buy ten hens and one rooster, and the same for ducks, ten females and one male.”
The old man looked up, a little surprised to see such a pretty young lady asking.
“Sure, my little ones here are all top quality. Hens are 20 each, roosters 15. Ducks are a bit pricier, female ducks are 50 each, males 40. Want me to box them up for you?”
“Mm-hm, I’ll need cages too.”
That came to another 800 yuan. Good thing they were all chicks and ducklings, light enough for Bao Taozi to carry.
She also bought a large amount of feed, enough for at least two years, and had it delivered to her home address too, spending 10,000 on that.
As for other kinds of animals, for one thing, she didn’t know how to raise them, and for another, she wouldn’t know how to process them either. To be honest, she was quite lazy. She’d already stockpiled plenty of pork, beef, fish, and lamb, that was enough. Raising chickens and ducks was mainly so she could enjoy fresh eggs, it wasn’t much trouble to keep them.
By the time she’d finished all this, it was already afternoon. There was still time, and Bao Taozi hadn’t planned to get everything done in one day anyway, she felt confident and unhurried.
She called a delivery truck to take her and the chickens and ducks home together.
References[+]