Seeing Chu Yi showing not a shred of fear, Liu Dao uttered the word “good” three times in succession.
“I thought I was dealing with a timid pansy, but you’ve got some spine after all! Get him! Grab him!”
Following orders, Liu Er and the scoundrel lunged forward, skirting around behind the front desk in an attempt to seize Chu Yi.
The next second, before either of their hands could even reach out, both of their eyes widened in unison!
“Ugh…”
The first to drop to his knees was the scoundrel, who collapsed onto the floor convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
Following him was Liu Er, who looked as though he had laid eyes on something utterly terrifying; he tumbled backward onto the ground, screaming as he scrambled away before his eyes rolled back and he passed out cold on the floor.
Shocked by the sudden turn of events, Liu Dao drew his blade and pointed it at Chu Yi. “You! What did you do to them?!”
Not a trace of panic flickered across Chu Yi’s face. Much like how he ignored the system, he paid the burly ruffian in front of him no mind whatsoever.
He merely raised his head and glanced at the notification pop-up generated by the system settings.
[Enemy Zhang Ma launched an attack within the hotel perimeter. Executing random attack: Electric Shock.]
[Enemy Liu Er launched an attack within the hotel perimeter. Executing random attack: Fear Hallucination.]
[Both targets have been successfully processed.]
The two men stared with wide-eyed terror as their heartbeats flatlined.
Realizing things had gone terribly wrong, Liu Dao rushed to his younger brother Liu Er’s side, frantically administering CPR.
“Wake up! Old Er!” He repeatedly tested Liu Er’s breathing, but the result was singular.
That is… cessation.
“Ahhhhhhh!!!!”
Tears welling in his eyes, he scrambled up from the floor and glared at Chu Yi, his pupils bloodshot.
“What on earth did you do to them?! Give me my brother back!”
At that moment, blind fury consumed Liu Dao. He raised his massive blade, charged forward, lifted his arm, and slashed downward!
[Enemy Liu Dao launched an attack within the hotel perimeter. Executing random attack: Cremation.]
“Ugh!”
Liu Dao’s entire body jerked violently.
Golden-red flames ignited out of thin air across his body, wrapping tightly around him, denying him even the slightest chance of escape.
He let out a shrieking wail as his blade went clatter to the floor, rolling around in agony.
Sighing, Chu Yi massaged his temples and said weakly, “How utterly unsightly. As a sick man, I really shouldn’t have to look at such things.”
With that, he asked, “How should we handle the corpses?”
[The host can choose to have the system recycle and process them, or handle them independently.]
Chu Yi fell into deep thought.
Up front, no matter how Liu Dao thrashed about or tried to tear off his burning clothes, the flames clung to him like a second skin, completely impossible to extinguish.
His skin was scorched, his internal organs pierced and burned by the heat.
Finally, after a final series of spasms, he fell completely still.
The flames vanished right along with him.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for acquiring all the assets of Liu Dao, Liu Er, and Zhang Ma, totaling 76 Tier-1 crystal cores.]
[Converted into 760 points. According to the agreement, 532 points belong to you. Would you like to deposit them into the system mall or convert them into personal experience?]
Reviewing the system broadcast, Chu Yi pondered for a few seconds before speaking softly: “Constantly being at the mercy of others isn’t a good option. Help me channel 300 into personal experience, and put the remaining 232 into the system mall.”
[Received, executed.]
[Name: Chu Yi Hotel Level: LV.0 (10/100) Personal Level: LV.2 (140/200) Ability: None Personal Item: 《Hotel Management Assistant Manual》 Mall Currency: 232]
Leveling up during the early stages was indeed rapid. Pumping in 300 points immediately bumped Chu Yi’s personal level to Level 2.
At that instant, the discomfort in his throat was suppressed down to a mere trace, practically rendering it non-existent in terms of affecting his daily life.
Moving his limbs about, the feeling of weakness had also diminished significantly; at the very least, he no longer walked with a light, floating gait.
Chu Yi could feel that not only had his physical body grown stronger, but his fluttering soul had steadied as well.
His complexion looked much healthier.
Stepping down from his chair and bypassing the three corpses on the floor, he walked out the main entrance.
Parked outside was a pickup truck, with two figures bound tightly in the truck bed.
They were none other than Xue Xiaobai and his mother.
“What did I tell you?” Chu Yi curved the corners of his lips. “He’d be back.”
Xue Xiaobai had been beside himself with panic.
The mere thought that he had brought trouble down upon such a wonderful store manager made him wish he could be chopped into a thousand pieces.
Yet listening to the sounds from inside earlier…
Why did it feel like… the ones screaming in agony were Liu Dao and his crew?
A few moments later, Chu Yi had emerged completely unharmed!
Clutching a blade—likely Liu Dao’s—he had simply sliced through the ropes binding their hands and set them free.
Xue Xiaobai found it almost impossible to believe.
“Y-You’re alright?!”
Chu Yi raised an eyebrow. “Do I look like something’s wrong with me?”
“Ah… No, I’m sorry, Store Manager. I brought this trouble upon you…” Xue Xiaobai lowered his head in guilt.
“Oh? You told them my location?”
“No, I didn’t.” He shook his head. “That scoundrel overheard the conversation between me and my mom.”
“There you go then. Since you didn’t expose my location, you can’t be blamed for bringing trouble,” Chu Yi said flatly. “They brought this upon themselves; let them reap what they sow.”
With that, he glanced at the sky.
After all this commotion, the heatless sun on the horizon was moments away from dipping entirely below it.
Nighttime in the wasteland was a terrifying ordeal.
“Step inside first.”
Seeing that Chu Yi felt not an ounce of blame toward him, Xue Xiaobai felt an indescribable surge of gratitude.
He hurriedly supported his mother, helping her step into the spacious, brightly lit hotel.
The moment they entered, they spotted the three bodies lying on the floor.
Liu Dao’s corpse, in particular, was the most horrifying sight, charred beyond human recognition.
Though he previously lacked a concrete grasp of what their fate would look like, seeing this made Xue Xiaobai’s body tremble as the wave of shock washed over him.
The store manager… actually possessed strength of this caliber!
You couldn’t tell at all just by looking at him!
“Here.” Chu Yi gestured toward the three bodies on the ground. “Help me toss them outside. Since this matter is somewhat tied to you, doing a small chore is fine, right? Just throw them right at the doorway as a reminder for any other blind fools.”
While Xue Xiaobai stood there in a daze, Mother Xue gave him a prompt nudge, whispering, “The Store Manager is asking for your help, why aren’t you moving? This is our lifesaver!”
“Ah? Oh! Right!”
Snapping out of it, Xue Xiaobai immediately set to work moving the corpses.
Scanning Mother Xue, Chu Yi quickly reviewed her personal profile.
[Name: Xue Aidi (Early-Stage Waste-Dust Disease · Slowly recovering while staying inside the hotel) Age: 36 Ability: None Family: Xue Xiaobai (Son) Possessions: Panlong Base Card X1 (Contains 15 points), Miscellaneous Basic Supplies (Collapsed/Stored)]
Chu Yi had already learned about what waste-dust disease was from the system’s provided materials before coming to the wasteland.
With poor air quality and waste-dust storms filled with radiation and particulate matter, it was naturally easy for people to contract specialized radiation illnesses.
In reality, during the early stages of the disease, intervention via medication and healing espers could achieve full recovery.
But they belonged to the lowest stratum of society—where would they get that kind of money?
Coupled with long-term exposure to severely polluted air, their fate was predetermined.
The illness would continuously worsen until death claimed them.
At this thought, Chu Yi sighed.
Charging them a mere 10 points per person per day for the fresh air breathing fee was still too kind of him.
[…] The system always felt something was off, but couldn’t quite put its finger on it.
“Elderly madam,” Chu Yi spoke up. “Go sit on the sofa for a moment.”
Mother Xue froze.
The place was impeccably clean, and the grime on the soles of her shoes had already left dirt stains on the pristine tiles.
Hesitating to sit down on the plush sofa in the small lounge was only natural.
Seeing right through her thoughts, Chu Yi said, “Don’t overthink it. Since you’ve come to the hotel, your son is paying the bill anyway. When you’ve paid, you’re supposed to enjoy yourself. Isn’t that right?”
Meanwhile, Xue Xiaobai dragged the three bodies outside, panting as he wiped away the sweat.
Liu Dao’s charred corpse emitted a faint, unsettling aroma of cooked meat.
“Grrr…“
A low growl made the hairs on Xue Xiaobai’s arms stand on end.
Turning around, he saw two or three Tier-1 mutants crouching nearby, eyeing them with predatory gazes.
Not good!
Startled, he stepped backward, accidentally tripped over a corpse, and crashed onto the ground!
Dealing with just one was manageable, but three…
“What’s going on?” Hearing the commotion outside, Chu Yi crossed the threshold in a few strides.
Seeing the drooling humanoid creatures outside, he didn’t look particularly surprised.
“Relax, within three meters of the hotel, these things can’t get in.” With that, he motioned for Xue Xiaobai to look forward. “See? They’re blocked.”
Sure enough, those mutants clawed at the air, attempting to lunge forward.
Thud!
They collided straight against an invisible barrier.
Howling angrily, they paced around the perimeter, simply refusing to leave.
Such methods… The store manager was indeed a tremendously powerful esper!
As for why he looked so sickly, Xue Xiaobai figured he must have participated in some massive battle and sustained internal injuries, forcing him here to recuperate.
Yet even so, to be able to create a hotel equipped with clean air, drinkable water, and a protective barrier against mutants…
He must have been at least a Level 9 or perhaps even a Level 10 esper in the past!
“Well then,”
Chu Yi’s voice rang out once more. “Are you still staying?”
Jolting awake, Xue Xiaobai scrambled up from the ground and stammered hastily, “Yes! Yes!”
He dug a handful of crystal cores out of his pocket—all earned today at the risk of his life.
“I’d like to open a room for my mother. I know another crystal core is required for the breathing fee; can I go out and hunt more right now?”
Knowing the store manager liked things clean, Xue Xiaobai had meticulously scraped away all the rotting flesh when harvesting the cores, polishing them until they gleamed.
Sure enough, this time Chu Yi didn’t flash a look of disgust.
Accepting the cores, he said, “A room can accommodate two people. The rate remains 100 points per night, but the breathing fee is calculated per person. Is that alright?”
God!
The store manager allowed two people to stay in one room?!
Xue Xiaobai was at a loss for words.
He rambled excitedly, “Yes! Yes! That’s only right! Store Manager, if I hunt mutants around here, do you mind?”
After all, he’d be utilizing the hotel’s protective shield.
[Host! Host! I know this one!] The system chimed in. [You can just tell him that since he’s a paying customer, it’s totally fine!]
Chu Yi smiled.
He was indeed remarkably handsome, possessing a refined elegance entirely absent among wastelanders.
He didn’t look like a mortal at all.
“Sure,” Chu Yi agreed readily. “Then I’ll just charge you 5 points a day.”
‘This is the “Protective Shield Daily Maintenance Fee.”‘