Chapter 64: Distributing Flyers for Jianglin Hotel

“Just now, the guy guarding our community gate came out with a pack of instant noodles. I don’t know if…”

The skinny old man turned his gaze toward Jiang He. Clearly, the guard at the gate had already told him it was Jiang He who gave the noodles.

Since the noodles came from Jiang He, they naturally assumed Jiang He was the one in the group with real authority.

“Uncle Zhang, I think the meals they’ve been eating look pretty good too.”

Even if the dishes couldn’t last long, they could buy them and eat them right away.

It had been so long since they’d eaten a proper hot meal.

The skinny old man didn’t refute the young man behind him. Instead, he smiled at Chu Jiangyue and her group—the meaning was obvious.

“You want cooked food?”

Chu Jiangyue looked at the skinny old man.

“It’s hard for everyone right now. When you’re out in the world, we all have to support each other. If there’s something you want, we can trade as long as we have it.”

The skinny old man looked at Chu Jiangyue, the only one who had spoken.

“As it happens, I still have some, but times are tough, prices are skyrocketing…”

There was no way she was giving it away for free. Nor did she want to barter random goods. If they could pay in zombie crystal cores, then there was room to talk.

“Understandable, understandable. Times are hard for everyone. Higher prices are normal.”

“That’s good. Stir-fried greens, 2 level-1 zombie crystal cores per plate. Vinegar shredded potatoes, 4 cores per plate. Tofu with scallions, 6 cores per plate. Tomato scrambled eggs, 8 cores per plate. Braised pork, 10 cores per plate. Rice, 1 core per bowl.

So, gentlemen, how much would you like?”

Chu Jiangyue listed all the prices in one go and looked back at the skinny old man and his people.

When they heard everything had to be paid with zombie crystal cores, the skinny old man and the young men behind him didn’t look so good.

There were no zombies inside the residential compound, and they didn’t dare go outside. They had been hiding inside the whole time, never once leaving.

So when it came to paying in crystal cores, they definitely had none.

“We don’t have zombie crystal cores. Can’t we exchange something else instead?”

If they didn’t have crystal cores, Chu Jiangyue wasn’t interested.

She was already giving them a special chance. No money, no deal.

“I don’t need anything else.”

Rejected, the skinny old man and the young men behind him looked even worse.

“You’re just a woman. You can’t represent everyone, right? If we don’t have crystal cores, then we’ll use something else. Otherwise… you won’t be leaving this community safely!”

“So if negotiations fail, you want to get rough?”

Lin Xuyuan was hot-tempered. Flames suddenly gathered in his hand.

When the skinny old man and the young men saw the fireball, their expressions grew grave.

They knew what that was. Some people in the compound had also awakened abilities.

But none of them gave off the same sense of danger as this young man in front of them.

“Wait… don’t be rash. Let’s talk this through.”

The skinny old man realized their little scheme had backfired. These people weren’t ones to be trifled with.

“What I said before still stands. Before we leave, you can come with crystal cores and make your exchange.”

Chu Jiangyue knew she couldn’t push them into a corner, so she left them a shred of hope.

How many cores they could gather in the end would be their own problem.

“We also have instant noodles. 5 cores for a pack.”

Jiang He chimed in at the right moment.

The price looked steeper than Chu Jiangyue’s meals, but the advantage was clear: instant noodles were sealed, long-lasting, easy to store.

Her cooked dishes, in this weather, had to be eaten the same day.

“We’ll go prepare some crystal cores.”

The skinny old man didn’t argue further and left with his people.

—

This little incident didn’t affect Chu Jiangyue’s group. After they left, everyone continued eating their unfinished meal.

Su Zhucheng placed several ice cubes under the table to keep the food from spoiling too quickly in the heat.

『Little Fox, those flyers you made before—can you make more?』

Earlier, to attract customers, Chu Jiangyue had distributed flyers at Shengshi Huadu Community. But now, the supply had run out.

This community, though protected by mutated plants and free from zombies, would eventually become unlivable as the extreme heat dragged on.

Since they were here already, she didn’t mind giving them a lifeline.

「Of course. How many does the Host want?」

Jianglin Hotel had already leveled up, and Little Fox had more energy to use.

Producing some flyers was nothing at all.

『Make me a hundred copies.』

「Okay, Host!」

Little Fox perched on her shoulder, tail flicking, little face scrunched with effort.

Before long, a neat stack of 100 flyers appeared before Chu Jiangyue.

The flyers showed photos of Jianglin Hotel’s main entrance, the restaurant, and the front doors of Buildings 1 and 2.

「Holding this flyer grants protection against the extreme heat and zombie attacks within a one-meter radius for three days. Is the Host planning to give these to the residents here?」

Aside from Chu Jiangyue and Shen Zhigui’s group, the only people here were the original residents.

Shen Zhigui and the others had insulated suits and abilities—encounters with zombies wouldn’t be dangerous for them.

That left only the locals.

『Let’s call it my good deed of the day.』

The sudden appearance of a stack of paper in front of Chu Jiangyue didn’t surprise Shen Zhigui’s group anymore.

After witnessing a whole hotel rise overnight, a few sheets of paper were nothing special.

Still, they couldn’t take their eyes off Chu Jiangyue.

“Flyers for Jianglin Hotel. Do you want to help me hand them out?”

She reached out and gathered up the floating flyers, storing them in her system backpack.

“If Boss Chu needs us, of course we won’t refuse.”

Shen Zhigui didn’t mind helping her with such a small task.

Chu Jiangyue glanced at him. “No need. These are for the people in this community.”

Since they wanted noodles and food, they’d come back eventually. She would hand the flyers to the skinny old man then.

Sure enough, an hour later, the old man returned with more people.

They bought 50 packs of instant noodles from Jiang He, and from Chu Jiangyue, they bought 3 plates of each dish and 50 bowls of rice.

This time they had also brought more young men to help carry everything back.

Before they left, Chu Jiangyue took out the flyers.

“These are promotional flyers for Jianglin Hotel. Holding one protects you from the extreme heat and zombies for three days within a one-meter radius.”

“This is…”

“This is my hotel. If you find life here unbearable, you can come take a look.

There are also people from B City’s safe base inside. If you don’t want to stay in the hotel, you can follow them to the base.”

Once she reached the safe base in B City, she should be able to complete her latest mission to recruit new guests.

And once that mission was done, chances were high that new hotel rooms would unlock.