[“Ding!” How can a high-end hotel not have its own business card? Limited-time quest: Host, please design a business card for your hotel!]
Xiyue opened the panel and began to explore it. There were many template elements to choose from, and after studying them for a while, Xiyue finally generated the business card for the Universe Hotel.
The card had a solid black background, shimmering with tiny specks of light—looking remarkably like stars scattered across the vast, endless universe. The front displayed the name of the Universe Hotel, the General Manager Xiyue, and the hotel’s address. The back depicted a rough map location of the hotel along with its introduction, highlighting free water and electricity. The card was relatively firm and felt cool to the touch, seemingly made from some unknown metal. Xiyue looked at it, feeling quite satisfied.
She really did have a bit of an artistic cell in her body!
[Congratulations to the host for completing the creation! Reward: A one-time random distribution of hotel business cards! The host can select the distribution radius to send out 20 business cards with one click, which will land anywhere within that range! For three days, the business cards have the function of repelling zombie attacks within a tiny range, and they will dissipate after three days.]
Xiyue’s heart stirred with excitement—this was truly a fantastic item! Thinking that the first distribution ought to be in a nearby place with many people, she recalled her conversation with the Jiang family yesterday. The nearest base, Base B, was in the suburbs, roughly 30 kilometers away. In that case, choosing a 40-kilometer radius should do the trick! Hopefully, the people who picked them up would actually come over!
After leaving the hotel with his son, Jiang Weiping cautiously searched the nearby area. In this world, most superpowered individuals had reached Level 3, while the top experts had reached Level 4. Father and son had a family to look after, so they couldn’t take on risky tasks. The crystal cores they gathered had to be spent on food and drink, so the two of them had barely managed to reach Level 2.
Before the apocalypse, this area was extremely bustling, packed with shopping centers and food places. Thanks to the hotel, the number of zombies nearby had decreased significantly. The father and son found a clothing shop and went inside to search for wearable clothes. On the way, they encountered a dozen or so zombies, but luckily, they were all low-level, Level 1 zombies. After a period of hard work, they prepared to head back for a rest.
“Watch out!” Jiang Yu shoved his father aside as a zombie suddenly lunged out from a corner. Falling to the ground, Jiang Weiping touched his neck, breaking into a cold sweat while the foul, rancid stench of the zombie rushed straight into his brain. He didn’t hesitate, quickly scrambling to his feet and tightening his grip on the axe in his hand. Jiang Yu threw two fireballs at the zombie, but it dodged them; it looked like a speed-type superpowered zombie of a low level.
Jiang Yu used his powers to conjure two fire snakes, trying to trap the speed zombie. After dodging them, the zombie slowed down slightly, only to be struck down by a swing of Jiang Weiping’s axe. Jiang Yu swiftly followed up with a fireball to finish it off.
Out of breath from exhaustion, the father and son rested for a while before setting off on their way back. Fortuitously, they encountered only two or three Level 1 zombies on the trip back.
When they left in the morning, they had looked decent enough. But when Xiyue saw them return, they looked as if they were fleeing a disaster—their clothes tattered, and their faces covered in dark red streaks of sweat and grime. They greeted Xiyue before heading back to their room to rest.
Inside Base B.
The old doctor, Fang Guohua, was gnawing on a potato, his messy hair covering most of his face.
“Grandpa, have some water.” His grandson, Fang Xiaojun, held up a plastic bottle with less than a third of water left inside.
“Grandpa isn’t thirsty, Xiaojun drink it yourself.” He patted Fang Xiaojun’s head, his thoughts turning to the Jiang family who had left the base yesterday. He wondered how they were doing now. Sighing, he thought to himself what a cruel, human-devouring apocalypse this was.
Before the apocalypse, Fang Guohua ran a small clinic, and his family of six lived a peaceful and happy life. After the zombie outbreak, out of the large family, only he and his five-year-old grandson, Fang Xiaojun, were left. With no resources, no superpowers, and a weak constitution, they couldn’t even afford to live in a house with a proper roof.
In this base, they found a small patch of ground and pitched a small tent, which served as home for the two of them.
Thinking of his late wife, son, daughter-in-law, and daughter, Fang Guohua was determined to raise Xiaojun no matter what. But how could two potatoes a day provided by the base ever be enough…
He watched as Xiaojun transformed from a fair, chubby toddler into a child who now looked like he was only two or three years old. With sunken cheeks and hollow eye sockets, the small child looked like a big-headed doll.
Adults could endure it, but how could a child endure such hardship? He went out looking for work every day and searched for supplies, but resources were hard to find—most had already been scavenged by superpowered individuals. Whatever remained came down to pure luck, and after working himself to the bone, it was still hard to get enough food and drink.
More and more people were coming to seek refuge at the base. It was said that a small base on the edge of City S had stopped providing food to ordinary people altogether. As a result, more and more people rushed to Base B, and no one knew how much longer Base B could hold out; they could only take it one day at a time.
“Grandpa, what is this? It’s so pretty,” Fang Xiaojun said, crawling out of the tent with his bottom sticking up in the air, running to Fang Guohua’s ear to whisper.
Holding his grandson, Fang Guohua walked over to the edge of the tent, using his back to block any inquisitive eyes scanning around.
It was a black business card, sparkling with fine specks of light, looking like liquid diamonds flowing across its surface. On it, the words “Universe Hotel” were written in big characters, and the address on the back pointed toward the center of the city.
What shocked Fang Guohua the most was the note on the back: [Now featuring single-king rooms, twin rooms, and suites for your selection. Water and electricity are completely free, with rooms starting as low as 2 crystal cores. Note: The business card can repel zombie attacks within three days, with a safety zone within a one-meter radius. Universe Hotel welcomes your visit.]
Looking at his grandson’s innocent and curious gaze, Fang Guohua thought to himself that since the apocalypse began, even the higher-ups at the base didn’t dare say they had electricity, let alone free water and power at a price as low as just two crystal cores!
Fang Guohua knew he shouldn’t believe such a thing, but looking at his frail grandson, he wished so desperately that it was real. If it were, he could raise his grandson properly and do right by his deceased family members…
Holding his grandson, he went inside the tent and lay down, closing his eyes. Could such a place really exist? He had never believed the apocalypse would come either, yet here it was! Fang Guohua thought to himself that he would go out tomorrow to test it and find out if it really could repel zombies. As long as it could keep zombies away… Countless hopes filled his mind, and he clenched his fists in excitement.
At the very same time, people from various directions set out toward the center of this zombie paradise.