Chapter 17: Host, Time to Go to Work!

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Shen Zhigui and the others turned in the direction Xie Silin had pointed and immediately noticed the wooden house.

“There’s even a path connecting the two buildings. Could this be Boss Chu’s doing?”

Su Zhucheng quickly noticed some details that seemed off.

Sure enough, as soon as Su Zhucheng spoke, everyone looked at him. Jiang He smiled faintly and said in a calm voice:

“After all that commotion, we didn’t hear a thing yesterday. Boss Chu must be incredibly skilled, huh?”

Lin Xuyuan found it all unbelievable. Since meeting Boss Chu, everything had started to feel almost impossible.

“All you can say is, the world is full of surprises.”

“But what about Boss Chu? After all that commotion, no one came to give us an explanation?”

Xie Silin glanced back earlier and realized that the place they were staying in had changed—from a two-story mud-brick building into a ten-story red-brick house with a sloped roof.

Judging by the fact that they hadn’t had to go downstairs when leaving their rooms, their rooms should still be on the first floor.

“Boss Chu won’t get up until ten. Let’s have breakfast first, then go look for supplies. By the time we return at noon, Boss Chu should be up.”

“I really envy Boss Chu. Life now is even more comfortable than before the apocalypse.”

Compared to the corporate grind before the apocalypse, no one lived as comfortably as Chu Jiangyue does now.

“If you think your account balance is enough to live in the hotel for life, you could just lie back and relax too.”

Thanks to Jianglin Hotel’s exchange system, they had spent this time not only hunting Level 1 zombies for crystal cores but also collecting gold, silver, jewelry, antique vases, and other items they thought were valuable.

Unfortunately, many of the things they considered valuable weren’t worth much in the exchange system.

The conclusion was clear: hunting zombies for crystal cores and exchanging them was the most worthwhile strategy.

“Hey! There’s even some Chinese cabbage to buy! Too bad I didn’t collect any seasonings, or I could buy a few to try.”

Back in the lobby, Xie Silin had originally planned to buy a meat bun for breakfast but was surprised to find that the hotel had added new food items.

The bright green Chinese cabbage looked appetizing at first glance.

As Xie Silin mentioned it, Shen Zhigui looked over. Seeing that it was really Chinese cabbage, his eyes lit up.

“Wow! The price isn’t bad either.”

Lin Xuyuan had initially thought of buying a few to stir-fry, knowing Jiang He’s space surely had seasonings.

But seeing the price—100 copper coins per piece, two pieces equaling their daily lodging fee—he reconsidered.

“Everyone, how about we pool our coins, buy two or three each, and share?”

Xie Silin wasn’t willing to buy too much at once, but spending a little for one or two pieces was fine.

Shen Zhigui immediately ordered 20 pieces, swiping his card in one go. The 20 pieces of cabbage appeared at the counter the next second. He handed them to Jiang He: “You handle the rest.”

Jiang He tossed some to Xie Silin: “You wash the vegetables, open the room door, and we’ll cook in your room.”

“Got it! Right away!”

Xie Silin held the cabbage, unable to hide his smile.

Once all five were in Xie Silin’s room, Jiang Jianhai and Liu Yiyi opened their room door, exchanged a glance, then “slam!” shut it again.

Chu Jiangyue had been woken up in the middle of the night yesterday, worked overtime until 2 a.m., and collapsed into bed immediately.

She woke up at 9:30 a.m.

However, she had already decided yesterday to start work two hours later today, so she wasn’t in a rush.

“Host, host! The hotel has been upgraded and renovated. The new task was released yesterday. So many guests are waiting to check in—time to get to work!”

Seeing Chu Jiangyue moving sluggishly, even showing signs of wanting to nap again, the little fox hurriedly urged her.

A new task?

Chu Jiangyue opened the system panel and saw it: after the hotel’s upgrade and renovation yesterday, the system had released a new task:

【Task Released: Building 1 fully unlocked. Host, receive guests and complete check-ins (8/100)】

“Looks like they didn’t leave me a single moment to rest.”

Having just unlocked a building, a check-in task was immediately issued—a hardship even a donkey in a production team would sympathize with.

“Host, it’s not my fault. Tasks are autonomously released by the system based on your progress. There’s no time limit. That’s already very humane!”

The little fox quickly distanced itself—it was just an all-knowing spirit, not responsible for task management.

Chu Jiangyue didn’t respond—she was only venting.

“By the way, your fur… seems smoother than before?”

She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but the little fox’s fur now felt more realistic.

“See? You think so too! Once the hotel reaches level 5, I’ll have a physical form!”

Then it could eat freely, not just watch Chu Jiangyue enjoy food while it got nothing.

“You’ll have a physical form? But your appearance… isn’t supposed to exist, right?”

The nine-tailed fox had only existed in legends of the Dragon Kingdom.

“Come on, it’s the apocalypse. You’ve awakened abilities—so having a nine-tailed fox isn’t impossible, right?”

The little fox proudly displayed all nine tails to Chu Jiangyue.

Only Chu Jiangyue had the privilege of petting all nine tails.

“You’re not entirely wrong.”

With abilities awakened, science no longer mattered.

“Ah! I’m supposed to get you to work, but we got sidetracked! Host, get up and start your job!
Many people have come looking to inquire about accommodations.”

The changes at Jianglin Hotel were obvious to anyone with eyes. Naturally, clever people could deduce that rooms might now be available.

But since Chu Jiangyue hadn’t appeared, many eager guests had grown impatient.

With daytime temperatures so high, they couldn’t waste much time at the hotel.

“Got it, got it. I’m getting ready.”

Chu Jiangyue got out of bed, brushed her teeth, washed her face, and grabbed an outfit from the wardrobe.

Thanks to the little fox’s urging, she was out of the room in 30 minutes and made herself breakfast.

By the time she finished eating and stepped out of the two-story wooden house, it was nearly 11 a.m.

After yesterday’s upgrade, Jianglin Hotel had expanded considerably, with the lawn marking the boundary.

Within the lawn’s range, the temperature was unaffected by the outside heat, remaining comfortably like a spring breeze.

Sharp-eyed people saw Chu Jiangyue emerge from her wooden house and head toward Building 1.

“Boss Chu, you finally came!”

“Boss Chu, do you have any rooms available today? Can I book one?”

“Good morning, Boss Chu!”