Jiang Qi naturally moved into the newly added standard single room. In fact, after seeing the room, she quite generously paid for a full month’s rent upfront.
With 900 points credited to her account, Su Su felt a surge of joy. She knew this group was wealthy. To show her goodwill, she personally bought a serving of tomato and egg over rice and gifted it to her.
“Thank you, Boss.”
Jiang Qi took the meal, gave her thanks, and went straight back to her room.
Once she closed the door, she let out a long, heavy breath. Above her, the fan spun silently, and the temperature in the room was more comfortable than anything she had ever experienced. If it weren’t for the bloody, sweaty stench emanating from her own body, she might have mistakenly thought she had returned to the time before the apocalypse.
Setting the rice on the table, Jiang Qi turned and went into the bathroom.
When she turned on the faucet, a steady stream of clear water flowed out. She cupped her hands to catch it; there wasn’t the slightest foul odor. If it weren’t for the notice on the tiles beside her stating that this water was non-potable, she would have even wanted to taste it for herself.
“I can’t take it anymore. I need a bath.”
The clearer and cleaner the water flowed, the more Jiang Qi felt her own body odor was pungent and unbearably filthy. Recalling the items she had bought from the vending machine earlier, she immediately pulled them out from her backpack. After a brief check and seeing that everything was there, she didn’t say another word and went straight into the shower.
By the time she emerged an hour later, several people were already waiting for her outside.
Not long after Jiang Qi had left, the others had also approached Su Su looking for accommodation. Upon hearing that only two double rooms were left, they booked them immediately. They even argued for a while because one of the double rooms didn’t have a bathroom. In the end, Su Su made a grand gesture, spending 600 points to instantly transform the room into a standard double room.
Then, under the shocked gazes of the guests, Su Su successfully collected another week’s worth of rent: 700 points.
The last two people were forced to move into the dormitory.
As of now, there were twenty-two guests staying in the hotel. Although Room 101 was currently empty, Qiao He had already paid for a month’s rent. All the rooms were sold out, leaving only eight beds available in the dormitory.
Because of this, Su Su made a specific note on the price list so she wouldn’t have to explain it repeatedly to every new guest.
Su Su found herself becoming increasingly lazy. To ensure she could continue being lazy, she needed to speed up the recruitment process.
As for Luo Shaoran and her group, they had each returned to their rooms while the others were cleaning up Xu Qiliang’s body. The crisis was over; for the time being, they no longer had to worry about their safety.
The first thing Luo Shaoran did upon returning to her room was inform Luo Shaoxing that Xu Qiliang was dead.
When Luo Shaoxing heard the news, the worry on her face had not yet faded before her body seemed to freeze. she stood there, stunned.
Luo Shaoran originally thought Luo Shaoxing was grieving over Xu Qiliang’s death. Regardless of how much had happened between them, they had been together for a long time; even if she was sad for him, it was understandable. But just as she was about to comfort her, Luo Shaoxing suddenly burst into a tearful smile.
“Good riddance. That scumbag is finally dead.”
“Sister, I’m finally free.”
With that, Luo Shaoxing threw herself into Luo Shaoran’s arms.
Luo Shaoran was taken aback for a moment, then reached out and gently patted her sister’s shoulder to comfort her.
When it came to Luo Shaoxing and Xu Qiliang, it truly was a twisted fate. The two were alumni of the same university, though they were two years apart and didn’t know each other then. Their first meeting was on the day the apocalypse arrived.
At that time, the entire campus was covered by a vast ocean. A group of them was forced to hide on the roof of the tallest building on campus. Later, a rescue ship picked them up, and it just so happened that Luo Shaoxing and Xu Qiliang were placed on the same vessel.
As a famous wealthy merchant family in the area, the Xu family had already prepared by ordering a giant cruise ship capable of carrying thousands of people when other regions were first submerged. Later, the Xu family sailed to pick up their people, and the entire group boarded the Xu family cruise ship, beginning a long, endless drift upon the apocalyptic sea.
During the first six months of life on the ship, Xu Qiliang was still relatively polite to Luo Shaoxing. He only occasionally showed a level of concern that exceeded that of an ordinary friend. Luo Shaoxing noticed this and deliberately avoided him a few times. Furthermore, Xu Qiliang was good-looking and held a high status on the ship, making him very popular; there was no reason for him to hang all his hopes on her.
But she understood Xu Qiliang far too little. Just when she thought the matter would pass, Xu Qiliang imprisoned her directly and without warning.
It was only then that she realized Xu Qiliang was a complete madman. As long as it was something he wanted, he didn’t care at all if the other party agreed. Moreover, Luo Shaoxing’s ability was vital to the cruise ship, so the Xu family turned a blind eye to Xu Qiliang’s behavior. They were even more proactive than Xu Qiliang in dragging her back during her several escape attempts.
It wasn’t until a year ago, when Xu Qiliang left his family to establish his own private offshore base and took her with him, that her desire to escape was reignited. With the help of her sister, Luo Shaoran, she finally managed to flee.
During the month since her escape, she had worried every day about being caught by Xu Qiliang. Fortunately, fortunately they encountered the lighthouse, encountered the hotel, and encountered the Boss.
Now that Xu Qiliang was dead, the sword that had been hanging over Luo Shaoxing’s head had finally vanished. The two sisters laughed and cried in their room, and this restless night passed peacefully on the quiet lighthouse.
The next day, another boat docked at the lighthouse. When the hotel doors opened, it was an old acquaintance.
Qiao He was a bit dazed when she walked in. She had only been away for two or three days; how could the hotel have changed so much? If she hadn’t seen that the Boss was still the same person, she would have worried she was in the wrong place.
“Boss, long time no see!”
Qiao He was a bit more tanned than before, but her mental state was much better. she had been smiling since she entered and seemed to be in a good mood.
“You’re back after finishing your business?”
“Yeah.”
Qiao He nodded. As she approached the checkout counter, she noticed the heated display case that used to be there was gone, replaced by a new, larger, and better warming cabinet. For the past two days on the ship, exposed to the wind and sun, she hadn’t dared to delay for a second in rushing back to the lighthouse. If she hadn’t had the steamed buns and water she bought from Su Su as supplies, she worried she wouldn’t have been able to make it back at all.
She stared at the newly available food and unconsciously swallowed her saliva. She was just about to swipe her card to buy something when she turned and saw the recruitment advertisement on the wall.
Her eyes lit up instantly.
“Boss! You’re hiring people for your shop?”
“Yeah, hiring.”
“How do you think I’d do?”
Su Su looked up at Qiao He and immediately pulled up her profile in her mind.
Name: Qiao He
Room Number: 101
Age: 25
Height: 1.70m
Remaining Points: 550
Ability: Spatial Ability
She was a spatial ability user.
“Make sure you look closely. I only pay a monthly salary of one thousand points. Furthermore, the hotel is currently too small, so each post will only be assigned one employee. It’s very likely you won’t have any days off.”
Su Su put the harsh truths out first. Through her observations and the information she had heard over the past few days, she realized the wealth gap in this world was massive.
People like her first guests, Li Yang and her daughter, and later Captain Li Han’s crew—regardless of their ships or their clothing and appearance—had a stark difference compared to Qiao He’s group. When Qiao He first entered the shop, although she looked dirty, it was clear she usually performed basic wiping and cleaning. But Li Yang’s group was completely different; they looked like they hadn’t bathed in years, their skin seemingly wearing an extra layer of tight clothing. It was clear they had absolutely no extra water for washing.
“Boss, I know. I’ve read every single word clearly.”