“I’m going to work for the inn for the rest of my life!”
After leaving the inn, Xue Xiaobai drove Liu Dao’s truck and returned to Panlong Base in less than two hours.
A vehicle cost quite a bit of money. In the past, he had always traveled by motorcycle, which took three or four hours to get back to the city.
Now, thanks to the innkeeper, he had received a reasonably good vehicle for free. How could he not call that lucky?
After finding an empty spot to park the truck, Xue Xiaobai went home and began packing his things.
He intended to live at the inn long-term. He also had a feeling that if he checked out, getting another room there later would be a hassle.
So, just in case, he decided to pack everything first—at the very least, he needed to bring over some dry food and daily necessities to make things easier for his mother.
After packing up his meager belongings, Xue Xiaobai had barely stepped out of his house when he ran into Brother Beizi, who was wearing a stiff expression.
“Xiaobai, I heard from some of the older folks nearby that that damned Liu Dao brought his men to find you, and even took you and Auntie Xue out of the base?” Zhu Bei’s face was full of concern. “Are you two all right? Did something happen?”
Xue Xiaobai’s mother’s husband and Zhu Bei’s father had been friends through thick and thin. Unfortunately, the two of them had encountered mutant creatures while out gathering supplies and died together.
Zhu Bei’s mother had died when he was young, leaving only him and his younger sister to depend on each other.
To support his sister, Zhu Bei had begun accompanying ability-user teams on missions when he was ten, serving as bait simply to earn a few more points to buy medicine.
You could call it good luck: after performing missions day after day, he awakened an ability.
You could also call it bad luck: he had awakened the lowest-grade speed enhancement, and the ability users mocked him, saying he was only fit to act as bait at the front.
And now, after completing a mission, Zhu Bei had hurried back to the base without stopping. When he heard about the Xue family’s situation, he immediately came looking for them.
Feeling his concern, Xue Xiaobai’s heart warmed.
“We’re fine now. Mom and I are both doing well.” He rubbed his hands together and wiped the sweat from his face.
It was June, and the sun was blazing like a furnace.
“Brother Bei, I came back to the base to tell you something.” He organized his thoughts. “If there were a place that could treat Nan’s Dust Wasteland Disease, would you be willing to go?”
The moment he finished speaking, Zhu Bei grabbed him by the arm.
“What? It can treat Dust Wasteland Disease?! Xiaobai, you’re not joking, are you?”
Dust Wasteland Disease was the chronic, incurable illness most commonly suffered by wasteland residents.
Only wealthy, powerful figures could afford to hire healing ability users to eradicate the disease.
Otherwise, on this land filled with dust and radiation, there was nowhere to escape.
Zhu Bei’s younger sister, Zhu Nan, was already in the late stages of Dust Wasteland Disease. The medicine he obtained by risking his life could only delay her death by a few days at most.
He couldn’t bring himself to buy euthanasia drugs, always hoping that a miracle would arrive. And so, he had dragged things out until now.
Hearing Xue Xiaobai say this, his deadened heart suddenly burst back to life.
“Brother Bei, don’t get worked up yet. Let me explain.” Xue Xiaobai told him everything about the inn.
From encountering the inn in the wilderness, to checking in, to discovering that it had radiation-free water and fresh air…
With every sentence, Zhu Bei’s eyes widened another fraction.
Such miraculous things were practically no different from the fairy tales he had read as a child.
By the end, Zhu Bei raised a hand and touched Xue Xiaobai’s forehead.
“Xiaobai, you don’t have a fever, do you…”
“How could I have a fever! Everything I’m saying is true!” Xue Xiaobai grew anxious. Then he suddenly remembered that he had brought the water bottle with him. He immediately opened the lid and held it out for Zhu Bei to inspect.
“Here! This is the inn’s water! If you don’t believe me, drink it!”
Zhu Bei, half convinced and half doubtful, brought the bottle to his lips and took a small sip.
The next second, shock appeared in his eyes, impossible to conceal.
“This water—”
“See, Brother Bei? Why would I lie to you!” Xue Xiaobai said sincerely. “My mom just stayed there for a few hours, and she stopped coughing. Even her breathing became easier!”
Zhu Bei said no more. He immediately returned the water bottle and said, “I’m going to get my sister. We’ll leave right now!”
After working for ability-user teams in the inner city for more than ten years, he had managed to accumulate quite a bit of wealth, all of which he had deposited into the base’s points card.
To be able to stay at the inn, he went to the points exchange office and converted all his points back into crystal cores.
A total of 153 second-level crystal cores.
Indeed, compared to the ability-user big shots in the inner city, this amount of points was pitifully small.
But every month, he had to buy medicine for Dust Wasteland Disease and maintain their daily expenses.
Zhu Bei had already done everything he could to save this much money.
Feeling the curious gazes coming from all directions, he restrained the excitement in his eyes and kept his expression as calm as usual.
After putting all the crystal cores into a bag, he lowered his head and hurried away.
It was only when he saw Xue Xiaobai start up Liu Dao’s truck that he could no longer control the astonishment on his face.
“This…”
“Those three guys tried to rob the innkeeper, but they didn’t expect him to kill them instead.” Xue Xiaobai grinned. “The innkeeper is a really good person! Brother, you have to believe me!”
Zhu Bei swallowed his surprise and helped his sister into the truck.
And so, the three of them rode the truck as it rattled and creaked across the wasteland.
With the vehicle pushed to its maximum speed, they arrived at the inn in front of the mangrove forest in less than two hours.
As soon as they approached within three meters of the shop, Zhu Bei and Zhu Nan smelled the fresh air rushing toward them.
How should they describe that feeling?
The usual dry, gritty sensation was gone. So were the faint odors of rot and fish.
With just one breath, it felt as though every cell in their bodies was shouting and roaring, demanding more air.
Zhu Bei felt as though every pore on his body had opened up to embrace the atmosphere here.
Then he looked at his younger sister, Zhu Nan. The pallor of her face had instantly improved by more than half!
This was unbelievable!
Zhu Bei opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say.
After experiencing the beauty of this place, being asked to return to the base was practically no different from being sent to hell.
Suppressing the shock in his heart, he carefully helped his sister into the shop.
Compared to his caution, Xue Xiaobai was much more at ease.
He walked lightly up to the front desk and said respectfully, “Great Innkeeper, I’ve brought you new guests. This is Brother Zhu Bei, and this is his younger sister, Zhu Nan.”
Zhu Bei immediately greeted him. “Hello, Innkeeper.”
He was actually a little nervous.
Although Xiaobai had told him that a room here only cost ten first-level crystal cores a day, could a place this good really be that cheap?
And then there was the innkeeper himself. He looked young, with fair skin and not a single brown spot on his face. At a glance, he was clearly a powerful ability user!
After all, among the level-six-and-above ability users in the inner city, which one didn’t look down on outsiders with their noses in the air?
Could there really be such a powerful and kind-hearted ability user who had opened an inn in the wilderness specifically to help people?
But when he thought about it carefully, there really wasn’t anything on him worth coveting…
Several thoughts battled back and forth in Zhu Bei’s mind.
In the end, the sound of Chu Yi tapping his fingers brought him back to his senses.
“Are you staying at the inn? If not, you may not remain in the shop for more than ten minutes. Otherwise, an additional breathing fee will be charged.”
Zhu Bei froze, then immediately nodded repeatedly.
“Staying! Staying! I want two rooms!”
Chu Yi pointed toward the entrance. “Go to the machine by the door to pay and get your card. It has instructions on how to operate it. You can choose to get one card, bind it to your identity, and open two rooms. Or you can each get a card and recharge them separately. Getting a card costs one point.”
Zhu Bei nodded again and again.
He walked over to the machine and, sure enough, saw several services displayed on the screen. He only needed to press the corresponding button to proceed.
He wasn’t very educated, but when he was young, he had learned a few characters from Teacher Zhang in the shantytown. Naturally, he could understand the words on the machine.
So, following the instructions, he selected the card-issuing service.
【Please insert crystal cores.】
As soon as the words appeared, a dark opening emerged at the bottom of the screen.
Zhu Bei hurriedly inserted one second-level crystal core.
【Once converted into points, crystal cores cannot be returned or exchanged. Do you confirm this operation?】
He selected Yes.
【Detecting facial features. Scanning irises… Please wait.】
【Your exclusive inn identity card has been generated. Remaining points on the card: 49.】
Zhu Bei’s eyes lit up. Remembering the 152 crystal cores still left in his bag, he gritted his teeth and put them all in!
Although once crystal cores were converted into points, there was no way to exchange them back.
But thinking of the inn’s miraculous nature, and seeing how his sister’s complexion had improved in an instant, he was determined to stay a few more days.
Once the crystal cores were gone, he could go kill more mutant creatures. But he only had one life.
With that thought, Zhu Bei didn’t hesitate at all. He immediately inserted the remaining crystal cores.
【Ding! Recharge complete. Card balance: 7649.】
【Would you like to check in? If not, please leave the inn’s premises within ten minutes.】
On the way here, he had already heard from Xue Xiaobai that, with all the miscellaneous fees included, one room cost 127 points per day.
If he only opened one room, he could probably stay for more than a month.
During that time, as long as he kept killing enemies, he would definitely be able to extend his sister’s stay. Perhaps he could even become a regular guest of the inn!
Xiaobai had also said that one room could accommodate two people. So he could check in, but not stay inside himself. He could return to the base at night, paying only an additional ten points for the breathing fee and one point for toilet usage.
Zhu Bei’s calculations were going off like firecrackers. After all, even with more than seven thousand points, he was still far too poor.
To cure his sister’s late-stage Dust Wasteland Disease would require far more time, manpower, and money than just a little.
But then he felt that being so stingy was really unfair to the innkeeper.
After all, at this price, being able to live in a place with fresh air and radiation-free water was practically charity. No, it was a gift from heaven!
After thinking it over, he gritted his teeth and booked two rooms.
【Congratulations! Your rooms have been successfully opened. Your room numbers are 102 and 103. You may spend one additional point to bind a supplementary card. The supplementary card cannot be used for purchases, but it can open the room door and is suitable for family members.】
“Do it!”
It only cost one point. The innkeeper really was here to do charity!
【Received. Calculating. Printing receipt…】
【Supplementary card fee: 1 point. Room fees: 200 points. Toilet usage fee: 2 points. Breathing fee: 20 points.】
【Total: 223 points.】
【Remaining points on card: 7426.】
Looking at the printed receipt, Zhu Bei finally let out a sigh of relief.
Then he remembered the “protective shield maintenance and usage fee” Xue Xiaobai had mentioned. He looked outside the inn at the level-one mutant creatures lingering beyond the protective shield, and his blood immediately began to boil.
“Activate automatic renewal!”
He was going to work for the inn for the rest of his life!