Chapter 11: The Arrival of Hot Weather
The next day, when Chu Jiangyue went to open the hotel door, she noticed at a glance that the fruit sapling planted just yesterday seemed to have grown significantly taller.
『Little Fox, has it grown taller?』
Yesterday, it only reached her knees, but today it was up to her thighs—wasn't this growth speed a bit too fast?
This defies science!
「That's right, it has indeed grown taller. This is normal, Host. Don't worry about it」
『If it keeps growing at this rate, won't I be able to sell fruits at the hotel very soon?』
After all, there were already fruits in the kitchen fridge—whatever grew from this tree, she could generously share with the hotel guests.
「Let's wait until the fruit tree matures first」
The reward mentioned a random sapling—who knows what kind of fruit it might bear?
However, Chu Jiangyue clearly hadn't noticed this detail yet.
Chu Jiangyue shifted her gaze from the sapling and glanced outside.
『Little Fox, look over there! Is that… a Level 1 zombie?』
Because of the distance, Chu Jiangyue couldn't see it clearly, but that zombie was noticeably faster than the others.
『It's a Level 1 zombie, host. Are you going to deal with it?』
The strength of Level 1 zombies isn't actually that high; what's truly terrifying is the zombie virus they carry.
Ordinary people will enter a latent period just from being scratched, eventually turning into zombies at any time - this is the most troublesome aspect of the zombie virus.
"Let Shen Zhigui and the others handle it. I don't make my living by killing zombies."
This was Chu Jiangyue's first encounter with a Level 1 zombie since rebirth, which also indicated that the zombies had begun evolving.
The villa area had relatively few zombies, yet even here Level 1 zombies had emerged. In places with higher zombie concentrations, there might already be Level 2 or even Level 3 zombies appearing.
「But host, it seems Shen Zhigui and the others aren't killing zombies in this area.」
Chu Jiangyue didn't open until 10 o'clock, while Shen Zhigui and his group had already swiped their ID cards and left the hotel long before.
"Not now, but we'll meet eventually."
Moreover, Chu Jiangyue suspected that Shen Zhigui's group wasn't killing zombies near the hotel precisely because there were too few zombies in this area.
However, Chu Jiangyue had thought Shen Zhigui's group would be killing zombies outside until evening, never expecting them to return by noon.
"Boss Chu didn't go out today?"
Xie Silin had managed to hitch onto powerful allies—today she went out zombie-hunting with Shen Zhigui's group.
Seeing Chu Jiangyue sitting fresh and clean behind the counter, her envy was undeniable.
She even had time to braid her hair today!
Chu Jiangyue shook her head: "Though I didn't go out, I spotted a level 1 zombie at the entrance—wondering if you encountered it."
"It's not about the zombies. The temperature seems to have skyrocketed suddenly today—we simply couldn't stay outside."
The villa district was without water or electricity—those hiding in the villas probably couldn't endure much longer either.
However, they also discovered that Jianglin Hotel remained completely unaffected by the weather - the moment one stepped inside, the temperature returned to normal.
"There are still 3 vacant single rooms in the hotel. If you have friends, you can invite them over."
Chu Jiangyue had no solution for the extreme heat either - she was only managing to stay safe by relying on the hotel.
"Hmm, if you can find more people to come register for ID cards at the hotel, it might increase the number of available rooms."
As for going outside herself, Chu Jiangyue absolutely refused.
The five of them exchanged glances, at a loss for words.
"Let's wait until sunset this afternoon before discussing it further."
The temperature was simply too high right now - they weren't foolish enough to risk their own safety for others.
Chu Jiangyue neither agreed nor disagreed - it made no difference to her either way.
"We're going back to our rooms first."
Covered in sweat and stench, Shen Zhigui currently only wanted to take a shower as soon as possible.
『Little fox, tell me… isn't there any way to deal with this?』
Chu Jiangyue thought that since the little fox could come here, it couldn't possibly be just to have her run a hotel - there must be more to it.
「The host just needs to work hard to complete tasks, accumulate experience and level up as soon as possible」
As for anything more, the little fox refused to say another word.
『Easier said than done. With this scorching weather, barely anyone dares to step outside. Our hotel only has 20 potential guests right now, and even they don't come every day.』
Those who are timid might not have left their homes at all by now.
The little fox fell silent again. If it had a solution, it wouldn't still be stuck as a plain-furred fox.
"Hmph!"
"Hmph! Boss, help!"
Chu Jiangyue was just about to head into the kitchen to cut a watermelon when someone unexpectedly showed up at the door.
By the looks of it, they were probably previous guests of the hotel.
Two men arrived, both sporting beer bellies—clearly, they'd lived comfortably before the apocalypse.
"Whoa! It's so cool inside the hotel! Boss, got any ice water for sale?"
Before the apocalypse, they'd never have settled for plain ice water—it was all about coffee and tea back then.
"No ice water here, take it easy. By the way, the hotel still has vacant rooms. Would you like to stay? 200 copper coins per day."
Today is no longer the grand opening promotion day.
"Stay! I'll stay! Boss, book me for 10 days first. This damn weather, even villas can't handle it!"
"I'll stay too! Same as him, 10 days."
The two pot-bellied men reacted with surprisingly identical enthusiasm.
"Fine, just come over and swipe your ID cards to pay when you're rested."
Chu Jiangyue processed their orders, then headed to the kitchen - she'd been thinking about that big watermelon earlier.
Chu Jiangyue directly halved the watermelon, grabbed a spoon, and carried it out.
"Watermelon! Boss, how much for the watermelon? I've got money!"
But Chu Jiangyue shook her head: "This is mine, you can't have it."
This was the hotel's privilege for its owner; others weren't entitled.
They'd have to wait and see if she got lucky enough to obtain more later.
"Boss, how come… you clearly have watermelon but won't sell it?"
Chu Jiangyue gave the man a glance: "Those are the rules."
Another person nudged that man's arm, signaling him to speak less.
Having a place to stay is already good enough - if they stayed in their own villa, they'd probably die from the heat sooner or later.
Though regretful, the man ultimately didn't say more, fearing he might offend Chu Jiangyue and get kicked out immediately.
They had personally witnessed that tall, skinny guy disappear that day.
The two separately swiped their ID cards to pay, then entered their room empty-handed.
As long as there was balance on their ID cards, they wouldn't starve in the hotel, so Chu Jiangyue didn't bother with them.
Since they could safely make it here from their villa, it proved they had some capability - as long as they weren't too lazy to do anything, they could afford to stay.
Chu Jiangyue looked outside through the hotel entrance, her mood growing heavy.
This extreme heat is really becoming a serious problem.