Chapter 11: The Arrival of the Heatwave

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The next day, when Chu Jiangyue went to open the hotel, she immediately noticed that the fruit tree seedling she had planted yesterday seemed to have grown quite a lot.

『Little Fox, did it grow taller?』

Yesterday, it only reached her knees, but today it was up to her thighs. Wasn’t this growth rate a bit too fast? This doesn’t make scientific sense!

「That’s right, it has grown taller. It’s normal, host, don’t worry about it.」

『If it keeps growing at this speed, then I could soon sell fruit at the hotel, right?』

After all, the kitchen fridge already had fruit, and whatever this tree produced, she could generously share with the hotel guests.

「Wait until the fruit tree matures.」

The reward said it was a random fruit tree seedling, so who knew what kind of fruit it might produce.

Chu Jiangyue hadn’t noticed that yet.

She looked away from the seedling and glanced outside.

『Little Fox, look over there! Is that a Level 1 zombie?』

Because it was a bit far, she couldn’t see clearly, but the zombie’s speed was noticeably faster than the others.

『It’s a Level 1 zombie. Do you want to handle it, host?』

Level 1 zombies weren’t actually very strong. What made them dangerous was the zombie virus they carried.

If an ordinary person got scratched, they would enter an incubation period and eventually turn into a zombie—this was the most difficult aspect of the virus.

“Let Shen Zhigui and the others handle it. I’m not living off fighting zombies.”

This was Chu Jiangyue’s first time seeing a Level 1 zombie since her rebirth, but it also indicated that zombies had begun to evolve.

Even in the villa area, which had relatively few zombies, Level 1 zombies had appeared. In areas densely populated by zombies, there might even be Level 2 or Level 3 zombies.

「But host, Shen Zhigui and the others don’t seem to be killing zombies over here.」

Chu Jiangyue opened the hotel at 10 a.m., but Shen Zhigui and his team had already left using their ID cards.

“They’re not here now, but we’ll meet them eventually.”

Chu Jiangyue also suspected that the reason Shen Zhigui and his team weren’t killing zombies near the hotel was that there were too few zombies in this area.

She thought they would be out hunting zombies until evening, but surprisingly, they returned at noon.

“Boss Chu, you didn’t go out today?”

Xie Silin had really clung to the “big guys” and was supposed to go out with Shen Zhigui’s team to fight zombies.

Seeing Chu Jiangyue sitting inside the counter so fresh and tidy, he couldn’t hide his envy.

She even had time to style her hair today!

Chu Jiangyue shook her head. “I didn’t go out, but I saw a Level 1 zombie at the door. I wonder if you encountered it.”

“It’s not about the zombies. Today, the temperature suddenly rose a lot, and we simply couldn’t stay outside for long.”

The villa area had no water or electricity, so even people hiding inside would find it unbearable.

However, they also noticed that Jianglin Hotel was completely unaffected by the weather. Once inside, the temperature returned to normal, and a gentle cool breeze even blew through.

“The hotel still has vacant rooms. If you have friends, you can invite them over.”

Chu Jiangyue had no solution for the heatwave; she could only rely on the hotel to remain safe.

“Hmm, if you can bring more people to get hotel ID cards, there might be even more rooms available.”

She refused to go out herself.

The five exchanged glances, saying nothing.

“Let’s wait until the sun sets this afternoon.”

The temperature was too high now; they weren’t foolish enough to risk themselves for others.

Chu Jiangyue didn’t comment—she didn’t mind either way.

“We’ll go back to our rooms first.”

Covered in sweat and the smell of body odor, Shen Zhigui just wanted to take a shower.

『Little Fox, isn’t there some way to deal with this?』

Chu Jiangyue thought that since Little Fox had brought her here, it couldn’t just be about opening a hotel.

「Host, you just need to focus on completing tasks, gaining experience, and leveling up as quickly as possible.」

Little Fox didn’t say anything more.

『Easy for you to say. With this heatwave, very few people can go outside. Our hotel only has a handful of guests, and they aren’t daily visitors.』

Those timid ones probably hadn’t left their homes at all.

Little Fox remained silent. If it had a solution, it wouldn’t still be just a basic fox.

“Heh!”

“Heh! Boss, help!”

Just as Chu Jiangyue was about to get a watermelon from the kitchen to eat, someone arrived at the door.

It looked like guests who had visited the hotel before.

Two people entered, both with beer bellies, obviously having lived comfortably before the apocalypse.

“Whoa! The hotel is so cool! Boss, do you sell ice water?”

Before the apocalypse, they had never drunk ice water—they drank coffee or tea.

“No ice water. Take a moment to relax. By the way, the hotel still has unoccupied rooms. Want to stay? 200 copper coins per day.”

Today was no longer the opening promotional price.

“I’ll stay! Boss, book me for 10 days. This damn weather, villas aren’t usable!”

“I’ll stay too! Same, 10 days.”

The two large-bellied men had surprisingly identical reactions.

“Alright, just rest and then come swipe your ID cards to pay.”

Chu Jiangyue set up their orders and returned to the kitchen for the watermelon she had been eyeing.

She cut it in half, grabbed a spoon, and carried it out.

“Watermelon! Boss, how much for this? I’ve got money!”

Chu Jiangyue shook her head. “It’s mine; you can’t eat it.”

This was a perk for her as the hotel owner; others didn’t get this privilege.

They would have to wait to see if she could unlock some for sale later.

“Boss, you have watermelon, so why can’t we buy it?”

Chu Jiangyue glanced at him. “It’s the rule.”

The other person nudged his arm, telling him to speak less.

Having a place to stay was already good enough. Staying in their villa, they would probably have died from the heat sooner or later.

Although disappointed, he said no more, fearing that offending Chu Jiangyue might get them kicked out.

That tall, thin man—they had seen him disappear before their eyes.

Both swiped their ID cards to pay, then entered their rooms empty-handed.

As long as there was balance on their ID cards, they wouldn’t starve in the hotel, so Chu Jiangyue didn’t worry about them.

Since they managed to escape their villas safely, they must have some ability. As long as they weren’t lazy, they could afford to stay.

Chu Jiangyue looked out the hotel entrance and grew serious.

This heatwave was going to be really difficult to handle.