This fatso is really something else.
Zhang Ye looked at his obviously fake smiling face and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
If it were him, he probably couldn't manage to put on such an act.
No wonder the guy is a boss.
With such thick skin, it's definitely worth learning from, especially for a newcomer like me just starting on the capitalist... the path of a people's entrepreneur!
Oh no, could this guy be the talent the system task requires me to find?
Zhang Ye suddenly felt a bit nervous.
"Director Huang, I have a question for you."
Upon hearing his form of address, Huang Zhigang immediately broke into a beaming smile, thinking that this awkward phase had passed, and eagerly replied, "Ask away, haha."
"Are you an electrician?"
What does that mean?
Does he want me to help dismantle a motor?
Huang Zhigang was slightly taken aback and shook his head subconsciously: "No, that's a technical job, not just anyone can do it."
Zhang Ye's worried heart finally relaxed.
Good, it's not him.
The company has just started; there's absolutely no way to involve someone like Huang Zhigang, whose mind is even trickier than... who knows what kind of tricks he might pull behind one's back?
"Does the hotel have an electrician then?"
When he asked this question again, a hint of realization flashed in Huang Zhigang's eyes, and he immediately laughed, "Yes, I'll have someone bring him over right away."
The person was brought quickly, a man.
"Are you really an electrician?"
Zhang Ye frowned, his face full of doubt. Could it be that Huang Zhigang randomly picked some dumbass to fool him?
The system prompt was very clear in front of his eyes.
Does not meet the requirements.
The man didn't even dare to lift his head to look at him, just kept nodding: "Yes, I'm an electrician. I maintain anything that goes wrong in the hotel."
Zhang Ye found his words even stranger.
It didn't make sense for him to lie to him.
But why doesn't he meet the criteria?
Is it because he's not likable enough?
Or—
Wait, is there a line of fine print after the task requirements?
Gender requirement, female?
Oh man.
Zhang Ye was immediately at a loss for words.
He waved his hand impatiently, telling the fearful-looking male electrician to scram, but his mind was still on the system task.
After all this trouble, does it mean I need to find another female employee to come in?
This darn system, it discriminates by gender?
He liked that.
What boss wouldn't want their company to be full of women? You don't? Hypocrite!
Whether or not they can do the job isn't important; what's important is that they should be capable!
I mean work attitude, thank you.
"A female electrician?"
Huang Zhigang's eyelid twitched when he heard Zhang Ye's words, but then he quickly recovered his composure.
"Haha, we don't have that. The hotel usually has only this one electrician."
After saying that, he started leading Zhang Ye upstairs.
"Let's go, Director Zhang."
"We'll head to the machine room now."
Zhang Ye looked at his enthusiastic demeanor and instantly became vigilant.
Unprovoked generosity.
It's either treacherous or thievish.
This fatso couldn't possibly be planning to con me, could he?
The hotel was nine stories tall, and the machine room was on the ninth floor.
"Director Zhang, we're here."
Huang Zhigang was walking and then suddenly stopped, looking back at Zhang Ye.
"We're here?"
"Didn't you say it was on the ninth floor?"
Zhang Ye glanced at the few men that had encircled them at some unknown point, his hand already reaching for the short knife.
This was a trophy from sweeping the villa area.
The blade was over twenty centimeters long, with two deep blood grooves on the side.
Huang Zhigang, with a flickering gaze, seemed hesitant, but after a moment, he laughed and explained, "Ah, Director Zhang, you misunderstood."
"They're here to help."
"Help?"
"Help with what?"
Zhang Ye did not relax his vigilance and even drew his knife outright, staring intently at the weapons in those people's hands.
If he had known, he would have brought the Twelve Protectors up with him.
But on second thought, that didn't seem quite appropriate either.
If he had really done so, probably these survivors would have started fighting for their lives the moment they saw him, so what about looking for the generator?
It seemed he needed to recruit more human staff.
That'd make a good bodyguard for himself.
Then, when facing such situations as meeting with other survivor forces, he wouldn't be alone.
"Director Zhang, now that it has come to this, I won't hide it from you anymore,"
"I can't take you directly to the ninth floor."
Huang Zhigang suddenly looked ashamed, then heaved a sigh and continued:
"Actually, we are only on the sixth floor now."
"There are zombies upstairs."
"I asked them to come to protect you," he said.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ye finally understood and couldn't help but laugh.
"Protect me?"
"Mr. Huang, you really have a sense of humor."
"You just want to go up, but don't dare to, so you decided to ride on my coattails, right?"
Having his ulterior motive exposed, Huang Zhigang's face suddenly turned red and white alternately, like a revolving lantern.
Endure!
I must endure!
A husband can endure, and so can a wife!
His face stiffened for a long time, but he still managed to laugh.
"Hehehe, worthy of Director Zhang, you saw right through it," he said.
"More people mean more safety, right?"
"It's a win-win!"
Zhang Ye thought the statement wasn't wrong, but coming from this fatso, it just didn't seem trustworthy.
He would have to be more careful when the time came.
A zombie, convulsing all over, blocked the path in front of everyone.
Each person looked enviously at the electric baton in Zhang Ye's hand.
This was already the fifth zombie.
Nobody had thought that such a small electric baton could instantly lay a zombie, which feels no pain, to the ground.
Envy filled Huang Zhigang's eyes.
No wonder this kid could make it up from below by himself and still remain unharmed.
So zombies are afraid of electricity!
If only he had known this, he would have had procurement stock up on more of these devices back then, and now he wouldn't have to hide scared upstairs.
Six people followed Zhang Ye up.
Almost all of them were hotel staff, mostly security guards.
Zhang Ye stealthily glanced at everyone and couldn't help but smirk internally.
A bunch of big guys acting like mice.
The zombies hadn't even approached yet, and they were already preparing to run away.
If it weren't for Huang Zhigang blocking them from behind and having himself as a "zombie-resistant pioneer" in the front, they probably wouldn't have dared to climb the stairs.
Just as expected of security guards.
Whether it was a hotel or a residential community, they were all the same.
Ganging up on lone delivery guys was about all they could handle.
The zombie on the ground had stopped convulsing, but its body remained still, appearing dead.
Like this "corpse," there were four more behind them.
Soon there would be a sixth.
And a seventh.
Until Zhang Ye's electric baton was almost out of charge, they finally saw the machine room's door.
The people inside were long dead.
Either eaten by zombies or starved to death.
From the seventh floor to the ninth floor, there wasn't a single living person left.
"Huh."
Just then, Zhang Ye suddenly let out a cry of surprise.
The door to the machine room was not locked.
That wasn't right.
Hadn't Huang Zhigang said that this place was always locked to prevent unauthorized access?
Just as he was about to turn around and ask, he saw that the people behind him had a very odd look, tense expressions, but their eyes fixed firmly on him.
Zhang Ye felt his heart sink.
Just as he had thought, trouble had come.