Su Su remained unmoved. Xu Qiliang’s face grew paler by the second, and just as he seemed to be on his last breath, Su Su suddenly spoke up, telling the others to pay the compensation before he passed away.
“Boss, you’re really…”
“If he doesn’t pay, then the rest of you will have to. I won’t let any of you leave until I receive my compensation.”
Hearing Su Su’s words, the group felt a surge of despair.
Finally, it was the woman who had already registered for a membership card who snapped everyone back to reality with a clap of her hands.
“Xu Qiliang is dying. If we go back, we’re dead anyway; his parents will never forgive us. We might as well divide his points among ourselves now and plan for our own futures.”
The woman’s words instantly jolted the crowd.
She was right! They had come out with Xu Qiliang, and now he was dying. Even if the incident had nothing to do with them, Xu Qiliang’s parents were notoriously protective and would absolutely not spare them. Rather than going back to face a death sentence, it was better to split Xu Qiliang’s points and heart cores now. It would at least give them more resources to survive as fugitives.
The group looked at one another, and no one spoke up to object.
“You… you all…”
Xu Qiliang was on the verge of death, but he wasn’t dead yet. He had to listen to this group of people—who usually didn’t dare to utter a word against him—discussing how to carve up his property. He violently coughed up another mouthful of blood.
“Base Leader, we’re sorry.”
Then, while Xu Qiliang was still breathing, those people immediately used the base’s point bracelets to transfer the points out of his account.
Once the transfer was complete, Xu Qiliang spat out one last breath of blood. His eyes were wide with resentment as he breathed his last.
Sadness flickered across the faces of the group, though it was unclear if they were mourning Xu Qiliang or their own fates. At the same time, they were relieved they had managed to transfer the points before he died. According to the bracelet settings, once a person died, their bracelet could no longer be operated; it could only be processed by returning to the base’s specialized department.
After Xu Qiliang died, the woman clearly became the leader of the group. she reached into Xu Qiliang’s clothes and pulled out his heart cores, selecting one about the size of a grape and handing it to Su Su.
“Boss, this is a C-rank heart core. It is worth exactly ten thousand points.”
Su Su took it, and after the system confirmed its value, she nodded.
“Once you’ve cleaned up the mess, you may leave.”
With the compensation in hand, Su Su didn’t care to deal with these people any further. The hotel hadn’t suffered much damage, and with this many points, she could simply redecorate if she had to.
Just as she was about to turn away, the woman suddenly called out to her.
“Boss, do you still have rooms available? I’d like to book one.”
“A room?” Su Su was surprised. Their Base Leader had just died; she thought they would go handle that first.
“Yes, Boss. We were disrespectful earlier, but we were only following orders. Now that Xu Qiliang is dead, we can’t go back to the base. We’d like to stay at the hotel for a few days.”
Hearing the woman’s words, the others behind her also realized something. The Boss of this shop didn’t even care about someone like Xu Qiliang and had dealt with him in a nearly crushing manner. If the Xu family came looking for trouble later, would this Boss be able to hold them off as well?
The group, who just a second ago were worried about their survival, now had hope ignited in their eyes. They all clamored to sign up for membership cards.
Su Su counted them. Excluding the deceased Xu Qiliang, there were seven people left in the lobby—three women and four men. The dormitory could still accommodate them.
While processing their cards, Su Su pointed toward the notice board and the price list.
“Everything you need to know is up there. Right now, there’s only one double room and the dormitory left. Let me know when you’ve decided.”
As people finished their cards, they squeezed toward the notice board. Before long, gasps of surprise echoed through the lobby.
They had originally thought that the hotel Boss was just a powerful ability user and that opening a shop was likely just a gimmick; they hadn’t actually expected to enjoy any real services. But looking at it now, it completely exceeded their expectations.
Not only did the hotel have rooms, but it even sold food and daily necessities. It was only then that they noticed the vending machines and the food warming cabinet standing on either side of the checkout counter.
“B-Boss, the things inside these can all be bought?” someone asked, pointing at the machines in disbelief.
“Yes, as long as you have points on your card.”
With Su Su’s confirmation, several people could no longer restrain themselves and rushed to operate the machines. Soon, when the first person swiped their card and retrieved an item, the rest of the group went wild. Those who hadn’t finished their cards hurriedly urged the person currently being processed to move faster.
Then, one after another, they all began to make purchases. It was only when they held the items in their hands that they truly believed it was all real. Their eyes immediately turned to the warming cabinet with burning intensity. If Xu Qiliang’s body weren’t still lying right there, they would have wanted to buy food and have a proper meal immediately.
After confirming that the vending machines actually worked, they continued reading the information on the notice board. As they read, they were shocked to discover that there was actually a bathhouse on this lighthouse!
The group was momentarily dazed. Even though they followed Xu Qiliang, they couldn’t just shower whenever they wanted. Seawater was toxic to humans and had to be purified before use. However, purified water in the base was limited; with so many people waiting for drinking water every day, there was never enough for them to bathe. Each shower was strictly limited in both water volume and time.
Furthermore, as the weather grew hotter, they would quickly be drenched in sweat again after washing. It was better to save those points.
But now was different. In order to block Xu Qiliang’s wound, most of them had more or less been stained with his blood. Coupled with the extreme heat, it wouldn’t be long before the blood began to spoil and stink. The combination of sweat, salty seawater, and rotting blood would be unimaginably foul. If they could have a thorough bath right now, it would be perfect.
“Boss, you can even shower here?”
Su Su was about to say yes, but the System suddenly popped up and stopped her.
[Host, the bathhouse lacks an employee and is currently in an un-operated state. It cannot receive guests yet.]
“Are you kidding me?” Su Su was instantly enraged.
The shower room, which had worked perfectly fine before the upgrade, couldn’t be used directly after she spent points to upgrade it! It actually required hiring an employee! No wonder she felt something was strange when she was in the bathhouse; there was a catch waiting for her.
[Host, please don’t be angry. These are the regulations, and I can’t do anything about it. An excellent Boss like you is bound to grow bigger and stronger sooner or later; how can you not have employees?]
[Besides, with so many people in your shop right now, if you just post a recruitment ad, many people will apply.]
Fearing they would provoke her, the System explained in a soft, gentle voice while “painting a big cake” for her future.
Angry as she was, Su Su knew the most direct and fastest solution was to hire someone specifically to manage the bathhouse. With a dark expression that frightened the questioning customer—who thought he had accidentally offended her—she waved her hand and suddenly pulled a poster out from behind the checkout counter.
With a smack, she slapped it onto the wall.