Chapter 60 – A Position of Disadvantage

When reminded by Shen Zhigui, Chu Jiangyue also remembered—after the apocalypse, some people who went out scavenging had indeed said that outside the base, besides zombies, there were also mutated animals and plants rampant everywhere.

Apart from pets like cats and dogs raised before the apocalypse—who, after mutation, would remain close to their owners—other mutated creatures all bore a natural hostility toward humans.

The situation with mutated plants was much the same as with animals.

But the current Chu Jiangyue clearly didn’t know this.

Zombies, plus mutated animals and plants—humanity really was at the greatest disadvantage.

“Mutated animals and plants? I haven’t seen any yet. If I get a chance next time, I’d like to take a look.”

Chu Jiangyue showed a curious expression.

“If Boss Chu is interested, you can join us when we go out next time,” Shen Zhigui said, seizing the opportunity to extend an invitation.

But he also knew that as the owner of Jianglin Hotel, Chu Jiangyue didn’t need to rely on scavenging outside for survival.

When she might leave Jianglin Hotel again was truly uncertain.

“Sure. If I want to go out next time, I’ll contact you.”

With Shen Zhigui and his team’s strength being top-tier, Chu Jiangyue didn’t have to worry about anyone slowing her down.

After dinner, Chu Jiangyue returned to her two-story wooden cabin.

The most important task now was to find the remaining 1,000 new guests. The best way was to recruit directly at the base.

But to make people trek all the way from B City Safe Base to Jianglin Hotel, she needed something compelling enough to attract them.

After all, outside the base, zombies roamed freely, and mutated animals and plants lurked everywhere. Those without strength didn’t even dare step outside the gates.

‘Little Fox, why didn’t I ever draw a bus? A bus could carry so many more people than an off-roader.’

If she had a bus, she could bring more people back from the base.

If B City Safe Base wasn’t enough, there were always other bases. She couldn’t put all her eggs in one basket.

[“Host, task rewards are random. I can’t do anything about that.”]

In the little fox’s view, Chu Jiangyue’s luck was already much better than that of other hosts.

The office hall and restaurant alone were rewards countless people longed for but never obtained.

Chu Jiangyue sighed softly. It seemed she really needed to make a trip to B City Base.

Once she had decided, she stopped thinking about other things and, at 6 p.m. sharp, clocked off work.

But while she was off duty, Chu Jiangyang wasn’t.

As a robot, Chu Jiangyang could work 24 hours straight without a problem.

Of course, Chu Jiangyue wasn’t that ruthless—after 6 p.m., she allowed Chu Jiangyang to choose freely: work if he wanted, or simply shut the hotel gates if not.

After clocking off, Chu Jiangyue messaged Shen Zhigui and the others, telling them she planned to head to B City Safe Base tomorrow. She didn’t know if they wanted to join.

If they were interested, they could come along. If not, she could manage on her own.

After all, she had just said today that she could join them on an outing. This was her keeping her word.

On the other side, when Shen Zhigui received her message and saw her plan, he was a little surprised.

Every day, B City Safe Base sent people to recharge and apply for ID cards, trying to achieve full coverage of Jianglin Hotel memberships.

After so much time, at least 60%—if not 80%—of the base had registered for Jianglin Hotel ID cards.

And the road from Jianglin Hotel to B City Safe Base was already more than half complete. Before long, the two sides would truly be connected.

He had thought that if Chu Jiangyue ever wanted to visit B City Base, she would wait until the safe passage between them was fully constructed.

But since she wanted to go now, Shen Zhigui figured there was no harm in tagging along.

Still, it wasn’t something he could decide alone, so he replied that he would ask the others.

Chu Jiangyue saw this but didn’t respond—she knew he would message her again once they had decided.

Sure enough, about ten minutes later, Shen Zhigui messaged again.

With their level of strength, it didn’t really matter where they went. Since Chu Jiangyue wanted to go, they agreed without hesitation.

After all, she was the boss of Jianglin Hotel—they naturally had to give her face.

Having received a definite answer, Chu Jiangyue felt completely at ease.

---

The next morning, Ren Jie, who hadn’t left Jianglin Hotel the day before, finally prepared to depart.

As he left, he happened to see Chu Jiangyue and Shen Zhigui’s group also heading out.

“Boss Chu, Mr. Shen—you’re going out as well?”

Ren Jie was puzzled. Since when were Chu Jiangyue and Shen Zhigui so familiar with each other that they would go out together?

“I’m planning a trip to the base. Mr. Shen and his team are interested too, so we’re going together.”

Chu Jiangyue knew many eyes were on her whenever she left.

But she didn’t care. Let them watch—no one could ever uncover the hotel’s ultimate secret.

“Since we’re all going to the base, why not travel together?”

Hearing that their destination was also B City Safe Base, Ren Jie’s eyes lit up.

With Shen Zhigui and Chu Jiangyue’s group along, their safety would gain an extra layer of protection.

After all, he was escorting many ordinary people. The captain had already returned to the base early with some men to protect the teachers and students, so he didn’t have many fighters left on hand.

Xie Silin and the others looked to Shen Zhigui, who in turn looked at Chu Jiangyue.

Chu Jiangyue: …

How did she end up being the one to decide?

“I don’t mind,” she said.

For safety, the optimal route was indeed the official road between Jianglin Hotel and B City Base.

With barriers against zombies, the completed safe passageways posed no risk of zombie attacks.

So whether they traveled together or separately didn’t make much difference.

“Big sister!”

Fu Tong—the girl Chu Jiangyue had rescued at the convenience store—spotted her and greeted her happily.

Seeing Fu Tong standing with that mother and son pair, Chu Jiangyue realized they must have formed a temporary team.

Once they reached B City Safe Base, the kind of life they could manage would depend on themselves.

If you don’t push yourself, you’ll never know your limits.

Chu Jiangyue nodded in their direction. With no vacant rooms at Jianglin Hotel, they must have stayed somewhere nearby last night.

“Boss Chu, you know them?” Ren Jie asked.

Yesterday, he had only seen the unfortunates Shen Zhigui had brought back. He hadn’t seen Fu Tong or the mother and son.

“I rescued them outside. Since the hotel had no rooms, I told them to stay at the base for a while.”

As for when they might return to the hotel—that wasn’t Chu Jiangyue’s concern.