Watching the three of them return, Xi Yue couldn’t spare the time to admire Shen Yu’s good looks anymore, quickly stepping forward. “Whoa! That’s quite a haul!”
“It sure is! Hahaha, I didn’t expect it either! This whole day feels like a dream!” Fang Guohua deposited the two bags of crystals and burst out laughing as he looked at the balance on his watch.
Leading the three of them to sit on the sofa, she poured them water, turned on the TV, and found cartoons for the two children to watch.
Shen Yu had just finished his meal and was leaning back against the sofa. Watching Xi Yue’s excitement, he cast a glance at Fang Guohua and the kids, who appeared to be just very ordinary people in the apocalypse.
Xi Yue introduced Shen Yu to them. Fang Guohua held his cup, took a sip of water, and began recounting their recent experience.
Toward evening, carrying his younger grandson and holding Qian Lele by the hand, Fang Guohua had walked over to a pedestrian street right next to the hotel to scavenge for supplies. Spotting a toy store, he thought about finding some toys for his two grandsons, and the children were thrilled as well.
,The store wasn’t large; while the outside was somewhat chaotic, the inside was relatively clean, with no sign of wandering zombies having been inside. After taking the children inside to inspect the place and confirming it was clear of zombies, he let the children pick out toys. The toy cars and model toys on the shelves inside still had their outer packaging boxes intact, looking clean despite a layer of dust on the outside. Finding two packaged backpacks by the counter, he opened them and put them on the children’s backs. After tearing off the outer packaging of the toys, he stuffed the brand-new toys into the backpacks. He also grabbed two plush dolls that were wrapped in plastic bags.
Stepping out of the toy store, the setting sun cast a blinding glare across the row of shops. The light was far too dazzling, so Fang Guohua decided to take the kids to a different spot.
“Grandpa, let’s go over there!” Qian Lele tugged at Fang Guohua’s hem, wanting to check out the street diagonally opposite.
The three strolled in that direction. This street was lined with a few clothing stores, as well as some food, general goods, and convenience stores.
Fang Guohua thought it best to head a bit further inward to search from the inside out, making it easier to gather items.
As the three walked along, they came across another stretch of ground littered with dismembered remains and splatters of rotting flesh and blood.
Fang Guohua himself was stunned—how could they have such luck again! Following the previous method, the three of them began picking up crystals. Scanning and gathering all along the way, they collected two heavy, bulging bags. Aside from a few Level 2 crystals, there were even two Level 3 ones, which was a delightful surprise!
One looked shimmering blue, like a Water-type crystal, while the other was a glittering gold, a Metal-type crystal. Fang Guohua carefully tucked them into his pocket, just in case his two grandsons might need them in the future.
Glancing at his watch to see it was nearly six o’clock, Fang Guohua took his grandsons and headed back. Passing by a clothing store along the way, he gathered two pieces of clothing for himself. Tomorrow he would have to head out early specifically to look for clothes; as the weather turned colder, winter clothes for the children needed to be prepared.
“You three really were incredibly lucky today! Picking up several bags of crystals when you arrived, and now another few bags just going out for a walk. Whoever killed all those zombies without picking up the crystals must be a truly great benefactor!” Xi Yue exclaimed with deep emotion. The luckballs really were terrifyingly fortunate! It was just like winning the lottery jackpot during the day and winning it again at night. God was practically chasing them down to hand them money to spend—this was truly something one couldn’t envy even if they tried!
Shen Yu looked at Xi Yue, whose small face shifted from surprise to a frown, and then to a look of sudden realization, her expressions incredibly rich and lively. If she only knew that this “great benefactor” was sitting right next to her—and had even become her employee—he wondered what kind of expressions she would pull then.
“I need to go upstairs for something first. Keep an eye on the lobby, will you? If anyone arrives, help them check in. There’s a machine over by the front desk,” she said before rushing off in a hurry.
Returning to her room, Xi Yue opened her warehouse. A task gift bundle had appeared; tapping on the icon, Xi Yue hoped for some good items!
[Congratulations on obtaining one Self-Service Beverage Blind Box Machine; Congratulations on obtaining ten Self-Service Transaction Machines; Congratulations on obtaining one Self-Service Transaction Display Screen; Congratulations on obtaining one Never-Drying Mysterious Spring; Congratulations on obtaining one Never-Barren Fertile Soil Patch; Congratulations on obtaining ten Random Seeds; Congratulations on unlocking the Management Mall; Congratulations on obtaining the title “All Hotel Consumption Covered by the System.”]
*Heavens!* Now she could farm, and there would be fresh vegetables to eat. She wondered if they would mature and be ready for harvest in a single day like in novels. As for that final title, she wasn’t sure what purpose it served, since it seemed there was nowhere else in the hotel for her to spend money except the blind box machines anyway…
Xi Yue tapped open her info panel:
[Hotel Name: Cosmic Hotel (1 Star)
Manager: Xi Yue
Superpower: Absolute Domain (Invincible within the area you manage)
Assets: 91 crystals
Warehouse: Self-Service Beverage Blind Box Machine, Self-Service Transaction Display Screen, 10 Self-Service Transaction Machines, Never-Drying Mysterious Spring, Never-Barren Fertile Soil Patch, 10 Random Seeds, Title “All Hotel Consumption Covered by the System” (Equipped)
Hotel Star-Up Requirement: Host 12/50 guests
Task: Please host a cute little creature 0/1]
After reading through the information, Xi Yue went through a series of operations on the panel. She installed the spring onto the outdoor fountain, placed the fertile soil in the hotel’s back garden area, and scattered all the seeds onto it. She lined up the ten self-service transaction machines along the wall beside the hotel’s glass doors and hung the display screen directly above the machines. She placed the self-service beverage blind box machine next to the instant food machine, and finally equipped the title.
Xi Yue suddenly remembered that Shen Yu had room and board included—where was he supposed to stay? She hurriedly asked the system.
[Start employee dormitory renovation? (Yes/No) Issue employee identity watch? (Yes/No)]
Xi Yue pressed “Yes” twice, and a black watch identical to her own appeared on the table. Xi Yue picked it up and was about to head out when she accidentally pressed something. Looking down, she was stunned!
[Name: Shen Yu
Gender: Male
Age: 23
Superpower: Undetectable
Room Number: 5000
Balance: ∞]
*Just how powerful is this expert? Even the system can’t detect his superpower!* To think such an amazing person was actually her employee—Xi Yue was thrilled beyond belief.
“System, 5000 seems to be my room number, and what’s with this ∞ balance?”
[The employee dormitory is directly across from the host’s room, utilizing spatial folding to fully replicate the host’s room. The ∞ is because the host equipped “All Hotel Consumption Covered by the System,” so the host’s employee also does not need to pay.]
*Now this is something.* A boss and an employee holding down a whole luxurious hotel, yet neither of them had a single crystal on their person. Who would ever believe it if word got out? Xi Yue recalled a wealthy man from her original world saying, “I have no interest in money,” “I still have nothing,” and “I’ve never touched money.” When she used to see those quotes, she thought they were hilarious, but it turned out those words described exactly what Xi Yue was feeling right now—she had literally never touched a crystal. From her very first day here, the money she possessed was just a number on a watch; the guests’ crystals were all inserted directly by themselves to top up. She really had never touched a single crystal!
“I’m running a luxury hotel in this post-apocalyptic world, yet I’ve never actually touched a crystal.” Saying these words aloud, Xi Yue felt a tinge of subtle sorrow wash over her.