Zhao Xing felt his way in the dark to the guidepost, where he heard a distinctly synthetic child’s voice saying, “You are being unreasonable.”

A young man’s voice shot back, exasperated, “Who are you calling unreasonable? You’re the one who asked if I needed directions! I said I was going to Zhao Fang’s house, and you said there was nothing good at Zhao Fang’s house!”

The guidepost replied, “Correct. I recommend you turn left down this road, then make a right, and go up a slope.”

The man was silent for a moment, then got even angrier. “That’s the damn village well for watering vegetables!”

The guidepost: “Correct. An exasperated human needs to wash their face to clear their head.”

The man looked like he was about to faint from anger. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight the guidepost.

Next to him stood a very pretty girl, holding the leash of a snow-white Samoyed.

The dog was wagging its tail, watching the argument, while the girl was shaking from trying to suppress her laughter.

Zhao Xing cleared his throat. “Is that Zhao Ming, back for a visit? Uncle Zhao Fang was just talking about you a few days ago!”

As he finished speaking, the guidepost chimed in. “His name is Zhao Ming? Can he provide illumination like me?”

With a whoosh, it switched on a bright light, as powerful as a street lamp, illuminating the three of them clearly.

The guidepost said, “I am super awesome.”

The girl nearly convulsed with laughter.

Zhao Ming rolled his eyes in frustration but managed to greet Zhao Xing. “Brother Ah Xing.”

Zhao Xing wanted to laugh too but was too embarrassed. He ran over and explained, “I don’t know if Uncle Zhao Fang told you, but I opened a guesthouse up on the mountain. We’ve had some guests recently, so I installed a guidepost in our village. It has a voice program installed. It’s more of an Artificial Idiot, you don’t have to pay it any mind. And this is?”

The guidepost: “Oh? Is that so?”

Zhao Ming had calmed down and was now a bit embarrassed. “Her name is Lu Sicheng, she’s my girlfriend. We’re on break for a few days, so I brought her back to the village to have some fun.”

The guidepost: “Are you sure about that?”

Lu Sicheng, on the other hand, was perfectly composed. “Hello, Brother Ah Xing. Zhao Ming has told me about you. Sorry to trouble you tonight.”

The guidepost: “Pfft! Don’t even mention it!”

The three of them managed a few difficult pleasantries against the background of the guidepost’s commentary, before finally just staring at each other, at a complete loss for words.

The guidepost: “Errbody, why aren’t you! Talk! Ing! Let’s get this party started! C’mon baby~ Oonts oonts oonts oonts oonts…”

The streetlight on its head turned into a flashing, multicolored disco ball.

Zhao Xing: …

He now understood why this guidepost was named “Be Quiet for a Moment.” He fumbled around for a long time but couldn’t find the guidepost’s off switch.

He could only say sheepishly, “It’s too late today. Let’s all go back and get some rest. It will probably quiet down if we ignore it.”

Zhao Ming: “Right, right! I just got back, and I haven’t eaten yet!”

The two of them stared at each other, neither having heard what the other said.

But they both clearly wanted to leave.

Finally, with a helpless wave, they ran off in opposite directions.

As Zhao Xing ran, he poked the System. “What’s with this guidepost? Can you think of a way to shut it up? It’s going to wake up the whole village!”

“Please rest assured, Host,” the System replied. “The guidepost has a built-in protection function. Its voice can only be heard within a three-meter radius.”

Zhao Xing looked up at the sky. Did the creator install that function because they couldn’t stand being annoyed by it either?

---

Thanks to the report in the Qingyang Daily, the guesthouse received many guests during this period.

And after one weekend, the feedback from the first batch of “crab-eaters” came out, and the guesthouse went viral on social media all over again.

First to blow up was Gao Jiajia’s post. University students are often the most active group online, and the post was quickly screenshotted and shared.

Many people were captivated by the descriptions.

With the post leading the charge, many other guests also began to post pictures and videos: lining up for food at the guesthouse, eating in silence in the main hall, going out to dig for wild vegetables, watching the handsome owner feed the birds…

On top of that, the Qingyang Daily’s editorial office was collaborating with several local public accounts to promote the article.

When these videos and photos came out, the public accounts saw the buzz and started sharing them automatically without even being asked.

A few of the more cunning public accounts even created nine-photo grids for “Lining Up for Food,” “Eating,” and “Feeding the Birds.”

Even Little Orange got its own dedicated nine-photo grid.

Many local netizens were genuinely intrigued.

“I’m really confused. I’ve watched so many videos of them eating. Is it illegal to talk during meals at this guesthouse? What’s the sentence?”

“They say the food is so delicious that no one can be bothered to talk. To be honest, I don’t really believe it. The food looks pretty average, and there’s not much variety…”

“You don’t get it, person above. It’s exactly this kind of communal pot cooking that’s the most fragrant! slurp!”

“Sob sob sob, Little Orange! Such a delicate little orange cat! I want a kitty massage too…”

“LMAO, did you guys see that post from Qingyang University? It says this little cat is often forced to work overtime at night. Once it comes, it can’t leave, hahaha!”

“Saw it, saw it! Sometimes it’s even forced to sleep with… him! Is this the depravity of human nature or the collapse of morality?!”

“Sob sob sob, little kitty, do you need legal aid?”

Surprisingly, netizens scoured the entire social media landscape of Qingyang City and found that not a single one of these guests had a bad review.

When faced with others’ skepticism, the guests would just smile mysteriously and tell them to go once and they’d understand.

This mysterious attitude, it had to be said, really piqued everyone’s curiosity.

Many people began to consider it. It wasn’t that far to go once. Maybe they should go on a weekend or a holiday?

For Zhao Xing, this explosion of popularity became a sweet burden.

These past few days, Zhao Xing’s phone had been ringing non-stop. The moment he hung up on one call, the next one would come in.

“Today? No, no, we’re already fully booked for today. Tomorrow is also full. There’s one room available the day after tomorrow… Next week? Sorry, we only accept reservations up to three days in advance right now…”

“Hello, yes, this is he. Sorry, I’m not accepting interviews…”

“Hello, we have no rooms right now. The day after tomorrow is also full… What? You want to buy Little Orange? Not for sale, not for sale…”

Zhao Xing hung up the last call, his voice hoarse with exhaustion. He gulped down a large glass of water before saying, “This won’t do. I have to think of a solution.”

He stroked his chin. “How about we start a public account? Then everyone can make reservations on the account. It would save me from having to communicate with everyone by phone.”

The System clapped enthusiastically. “You can do it, Host! You’re brilliant!”

Setting up a public account was very easy these days. It only took about ten minutes. Although the verification information hadn’t come through yet, it was already usable.

Zhao Xing was still thinking about how to promote it, but he hadn’t expected that he was now the top celebrity in Qingyang City.

Several local media outlets and public accounts were already watching his every move. The moment they saw he had opened a public account, they immediately started sharing it to compete for traffic.

In less than half an hour, the new public account had gained over three hundred followers, and there were fifty or sixty messages in the backend.

Zhao Xing tapped it open:

“Whoa! Is this real or an imitation account?”

“Is this the real person? Is Little Orange there?”

“Does the boss have a girlfriend?”

“Does the boss have a boyfriend?”

“Boss! Let me see your bird(s)!”

Zhao Xing slammed his phone face down. “What is all this nonsense?! Is this what the internet is like these days?”

But he couldn’t afford not to look. After all, the real reservation requests were mixed in with all this useless information.

After reading about a dozen messages, Zhao Xing began to narrow his eyes. “System, you’re an AI, right? Can’t you help me process this information? I’ve seen systems in other novels do it!”

System: “QAQ I’m sorry, Host. The system cannot connect to this world’s network.”

Zhao Xing ground his teeth. “All you can do is spew empty praise!”

After sulking for a moment, the System cautiously suggested, “The Host could ask the little robot to handle it…”

Zhao Xing had to seriously think for a moment before he remembered the little robot that Gui Mei had given him.

He refused decisively. “No way! That little thing can fire a light cannon! What if it blows up my guesthouse?!”

The System fell silent.

Zhao Xing continued to reply to messages… When he saw a particularly eye-searing selfie, he slammed his hand on the table. “What have I done to deserve seeing this stuff?! I’d rather be blown up by a cannon!”

Then he dashed to the warehouse where he kept dangerous items and dug the little robot out of a dusty corner.

The little robot was only palm-sized and shaped a bit like a snowman. On its head was that dangerous little red hat, and it had a scarf.

It looked like a small toy; you couldn’t tell from its appearance that it had the power to blow up half a mountain.

Zhao Xing gingerly placed the little robot on the table. “How do I use this?”

The little robot suddenly moved, shifting from a sitting to a standing position with surprising flexibility. “Detecting owner’s biological signature. Please present your fingerprint and iris for binding…”

Zhao Xing followed the prompts step by step.

The little robot: “Binding successful! Owner, how may I help you?”

Zhao Xing tentatively placed his phone next to it. “Could you please help me process the information on my public account?”

The little robot lowered its head, and a scanning light emitted from its eyes, beginning to scan the phone. “Detecting network signal… Connected… Detecting public account… Beginning processing…”

Zhao Xing let out a long sigh of relief. His hands were finally free!

He finally had time to open the system panel.

【Host: Zhao Xing

Home World: Blue Star Realm

Guesthouse Name: Immortal’s Rest Inn

Guesthouse Level: 1 (Next level: 3740/5000)

System Price: 50 Yuan/Person

System Evaluation: Humble Home with a Brushwood Gate】

Zhao Xing clenched his fist. “Over three thousand points! At most, in another three days, we’ll level up again!”

The System applauded vigorously.

He then checked his bank account balance.

Many guests had come recently.

Besides those who stayed the night, there were also some who came just for a meal, drawn by the reputation.

They would come to play in the morning and leave in the afternoon after eating, so his income was quite good.

Therefore, the balance showed: 2485.6 yuan.

Zhao Xing’s eyes widened. After a long moment, he said with a trembling voice, “System! We’ve struck it rich!”

System: “…Um, yes, Host!”

Zhao Xing: “We can buy a motor-trike! I’ve asked around. Uncle Luan’s motor-trike costs four thousand, but you can get one for three thousand! We’ll have our own motor-trike soon! Aren’t you excited, System?!”

System: “…Yep, so excited, Host!”

Zhao Xing began to fantasize. “If we can earn two thousand every week from now on, that’s eight thousand a month… We can hire people! I can be a hands-off boss!”

The moment he said it, a system notification popped up: 【Detected Host wishes to hire an employee. A recruitment notice has been dispatched on your behalf.】

Zhao Xing: ?

Zhao Xing: “Wait, what was that thing that was just sent out?”

“It’s a recruitment notice, Host,” the System replied. “It will be distributed in all the worlds connected to the guesthouse. Please rest assured, Host!”

Zhao Xing: “…Rest assured my ass! Do you people not understand what ‘if’ means?!”

He said, “Hiring an employee… that requires paying them, right?”

“Yes, Host!” the System chirped.

Zhao Xing looked at his balance of over two thousand yuan, tears streaming down his face.

You were bound to me just to scam me out of my money, weren’t you?!!!