Chapter 5: The Big Shot Shen Zhigui
Jianglin Hotel was located near the Shengshi Huadu residential area. Although Shengshi Huadu was a villa complex, there were still quite a few people around.
Not long after Cui Hao left with Jiang Zhenzhen, Chu Jiangyue saw through the hotel's open door a person using supernatural abilities to blast several zombies into piles of blackened ash.
Just as the apocalypse began, someone had already awakened supernatural abilities—and not just any ability, but the universally acknowledged strongest offensive power in their past life: lightning-based abilities. A textbook male lead setup!
How had she never encountered such a top-tier figure in her past life?
Chu Jiangyue felt a twinge of doubt.
Shen Zhigui had noticed Chu Jiangyue and Jianglin Hotel long ago.
He had lived in Shengshi Huadu for five years and knew for certain that both the woman and the hotel had appeared only after the zombie virus outbreak.
Whether it was the suddenly appearing woman or the overnight construction of the building, everything about them reeked of strangeness.
For the safety of himself and his teammates, Shen Zhigui decided to test the waters.
Seeing the big shot approaching, Chu Jiangyue stood behind the counter with a perfectly measured smile: "Hello, welcome to Jianglin Hotel. Do you need accommodation? Grand opening discount—only 100 copper coins per day~"
That's right—Chu Jiangyue didn't give Cui Hao the grand opening discount, but this big shot was someone she still wanted to befriend.
Upon entering the hotel, Shen Zhigui immediately sensed that his supernatural abilities had been disabled. Something was seriously off.
A lone woman running a hotel that could suppress supernatural abilities—this immediately put Shen Zhigui on high alert.
"100 copper coins? What's this?"
"Copper coins are our hotel's universal currency. 100 copper coins equal 1 silver coin, and 100 silver coins equal 1 gold coin.
Guests can exchange any items for currency. First-time top-ups include a complimentary hotel membership card."
Having witnessed this person's skills in dealing with zombies earlier, Chu Jiangyue pegged him as a valuable future customer—hence her friendlier attitude.
Reading people and adjusting accordingly? She was a professional at that.
"When I came over, someone told me you have supplies here."
Shen Zhigui didn't take anything, but instead said another sentence.
He was indeed guided here, but the situation wasn't quite what he expected.
"Liu Yiyi?"
Besides the person in front of him, only Liu Yiyi had been here before.
"Don't know her."
Shen Zhigui was telling the truth - the person who guided him here was indeed a woman, but he genuinely didn't know her.
"No problem. If you want to purchase supplies, please top up your account first."
Chu Jiangyue narrowed her eyes, smiling brilliantly.
But Shen Zhigui only felt that the brighter her smile, the bigger the trap ahead would be.
Yet right now, he truly needed supplies.
Shen Zhigui took off his wristwatch and placed it on the tray Chu Jiangyue had just pointed to.
[Metal watch*1 detected, can be exchanged for 500 copper coins. Confirm exchange? Press YES to confirm, NO to cancel]
Shen Zhigui pressed "YES".
[Respected Mr. Shen Zhigui, congratulations on becoming the 2nd guest of Jianglin Hotel. We have exchanged 500 copper coins for you. Your first recharge comes with an identity card - please keep it safe]
On the tray, the wristwatch had disappeared, replaced by a card resembling a bank card.
"This is your identity card. For future entry/exit and all hotel expenditures, simply swipe this card.
Our new rooms cost 100 copper coins per night. Would you like to book accommodation, sir?"
Shen Zhigui picked up the card: "No, I'm here to purchase supplies."
Shen Zhigui never forgot his original purpose.
Chu Jiangyue: ...
Inner monologue: *WTF*, outer expression: all smiles.
"Over there. Just follow the instructions for purchases."
Chu Jiangyue pointed at the shelves displaying steamed buns and meat buns.
Pretending not to notice Chu Jiangyue's gritted teeth, Shen Zhigui calmly turned toward the shelves.
Without needing Chu Jiangyue's guidance, he intuitively figured out how to place his order.
After placing the order, a virtual screen appeared before him, clearly displaying his remaining balance and the items he had just purchased.
But what concerned Shen Zhigui most was the friends list, though currently it didn't contain a single person.
"Boss Chu, about this friends list…"
"Oh, if your friends are also guests at the hotel, you can add each other as friends. Just treat it like the social apps we used before the apocalypse."
Chu Jiangyue had no idea what kind of surprise her words would bring to Shen Zhigui.
Due to the disordered magnetic field on Blue Star, all electronic devices had stopped functioning, leaving them without any means of communication when outside.
If what Chu Jiangyue said was true, Shen Zhigui thought it necessary to have all his teammates come over.
His 500 copper coins couldn't actually buy much.
"I'll go back and call my friends over."
If they bought a lot, it would be difficult for him to carry everything alone, but someone in his team had awakened spatial abilities.
"Friendly reminder: If you encounter a Level 1 zombie and manage to kill it, you can exchange its crystal core for rewards.
One Level 1 zombie crystal core can be exchanged for 100 copper coins."
Since Shen Zhigui had come alone without much dirt on him, it proved his skills were still quite good.
Shen Zhigui paused, turned to look at Chu Jiangyue—she seemed to know too much.
Chu Jiangyue met his gaze without guilt, a faint smile lingering at the corner of her lips.
In the end, Shen Zhigui averted his eyes: "Understood. Thanks for the reminder."
"No need to thank me. Only when guests have money can my hotel thrive."
Shen Zhigui didn't respond, taking his ID card and leaving the hotel.
The new task required her to check in 10 guests, but so far, only recharged guests had come—no actual check-ins. Chu Jiangyue felt somewhat frustrated.
However, luck seemed to be on Chu Jiangyue's side today. Not long after Shen Zhigui left, he returned with several people in tow.
Everyone carried bags on their backs, their eyes sparkling as they entered the hotel.
"Boss Chu, they all want to make deposits, sorry for the trouble."
The emergence of identity cards solved a major problem for Shen Zhigui's team, so their attitude toward Chu Jiangyue had noticeably improved somewhat now.
"Alright, alright, one at a time."
These people had all been briefed by Shen Zhigui and were very familiar with the deposit procedure.
The items in their backpacks were all things they considered valuable.
Gold, silver, jewelry, jade, and gemstones—regardless of ownership—were all piled onto the exchange machine.
After all, these things were the least valuable in the apocalypse—the kind nobody would even bother picking up if left on the street.
Being able to repurpose waste naturally made them happy.
After everyone finished exchanging, Chu Jiangyue: Happy happy (｡∀｡)
Meanwhile, Shen Zhigui and his group stood in front of the shelves, starting to place orders for goods.
Among Shen Zhigui's four companions, Jiang He had awakened a spatial ability—currently about the size of two 24-inch suitcases, with the most important feature being its preservation capability.
This feature brought considerable convenience to Shen Zhigui and his companions' lives.
Chu Jiangyue could only watch as Shen Zhigui and his group bought 20 of each of the 5 types of food, then had Jiang He store them in their spatial inventory.
However, what surprised Chu Jiangyue was that Shen Zhigui's team already had a space-type ability user among them.
After all, in her previous life, Chu Jiangyue had only heard of space-type ability users a full year after the apocalypse began.
Chu Jiangyue glanced at Shen Zhigui and his group again, feeling that something was off.
『Little fox, do you know what roles Shen Zhigui and his group play?』
With strength like theirs, she should have at least heard something about them in her three years in the apocalypse!