Chapter 102 The Day of Doomsday (V)
Qiao Yuan read the contents of the paper at a glance and finally understood what was going on.
This is a base founded by a man who claims to be a messenger of God. When the end of the world comes, they will take in and protect the humans chosen by God, providing them with sufficient food and stable beds. This poster is the admission ticket, representing being chosen by God. One admission ticket can bring up to three family members. Afterwards, they will summon God to end this doom.
The address is written in the lower right corner of the poster, which is in District 9, and the time is half a month ago. The pictures are a few photos of the base, with a soft and relaxing bed under the warm light, delicious food, and a pattern of the base next to it.
The base pattern is not the common cross, but a golden eye. Even the pupil light is carefully depicted. No matter from which angle you look at it, there is a cold feeling of being watched.
Under normal circumstances, this kind of poster would definitely be considered as some kind of cult initiation propaganda, but judging from the fact that the store owner clenched his fists tightly before dying, in a doomsday environment, this is equivalent to their last straw. After all, according to the words on the poster, the whole world has fallen into hell, so they might as well take a gamble and see if the base in District 9 is actually heaven.
There is a number 1000 under the poster. If this represents the number of people who have been sent out, Qiao Yuan suspects that the reason they didn't find any humans after walking through several streets was because they were attracted by this poster.
Song Yanchi: "Sister, shall we go?"
When Qiao Yuan was around, he always subconsciously asked for Qiao Yuan's opinion.
Qiao Yuan's eyes turned away from the words "God's messenger has received guidance from God and can solve all doubts for everyone": "If we haven't found any clues yet, let's go there and take a look."
After all, there is a high possibility that there are human gathering areas there.
Song Yanchi naturally nodded.
After putting away the poster, the two walked out of the store and continued walking along the street. When Qiao Yuan was in the villa area before, it was already evening. As time passed, when she and Song Yanchi walked out of the store, the sky was already stained with a little night color. According to the time displayed in the watch shop they passed by, it was only six o'clock in the evening.
Qiao Yuan noticed that the sky was very strangely dark. It didn't seem like the sky was gradually getting darker. Instead, it looked like a drop of ink falling into water and then gradually expanding outward. According to this trend, Qiao Yuan estimated that it would be completely dark by eight o'clock in the evening. This made her feel relieved. After all, night was always the most dangerous time in the dungeon. For the sake of caution, she and Song Yanchi could no longer be outside.
But there was still some time before dark, enough time for them to search around for a while.
However, as they walked, the two soon realized the problem.
Song Yanchi raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead and said hesitantly, "Is it my illusion? Why is the weather getting hotter?"
"No." Although Qiao Yuan's body temperature is naturally low, sweat is oozing out of his forehead because of the heat at this time: "The temperature is indeed rising."
She had taken off her coat and held it in her arms, revealing the sports vest underneath, but the heat had not subsided at all. Her long hair, which had once been like a waterfall, was temporarily tied into a ponytail. A few strands of hair that fell on her cheeks seemed to be wet with sweat and stuck to her cheeks, and beads of sweat began to ooze out of her swan-like neck.
However, before that, they didn't feel the slightest bit of heat. Qiao Yuan wore a coat, while Song Yanchi wore loose short-sleeved shirts, and they both felt the perfect temperature.
The abnormal temperature changes seem to appear in...
Qiao Yuan looked up at the sky.
Song Yanchi also discovered this: "The darker the sky, the higher the temperature."
This is obviously contrary to common sense. After all, generally speaking, the temperature is lower at night.
The two of them looked solemn. Although they didn't have a thermometer, they felt that the temperature was nearly 39 degrees Celsius. It was only one-third dark now. According to this trend, if they waited until it was completely dark, the temperature would soar to at least 100 degrees Celsius.
You should know that a temperature over 35 degrees is considered high temperature and may be life-threatening.
Qiao Yuan felt that he was already showing signs of dehydration.
"We can't stay outside anymore." Qiao Yuan made a prompt decision. Thinking about how she didn't feel any heat in the store just now, she guessed that it would be okay to stay in the store. However, when she and Song Yanchi wanted to try to hide in the store next door, they found that the shops along the way had quietly closed their shutters.
Song Yanchi: "Is there anyone inside?"
The two tried to speak to the store, but received no response. Song Yanchi later tried to break the shutter door and kicked it. Song Yanchi was still very confident in his strength, but he didn't expect that the shutter door would not move at all after one kick.
Qiao Yuan had collected a few knives for self-defense while looking for clues. She tried to knock it open with the knives, but failed as well.
Qiao Yuan and Song Yanchi turned around and walked back. The shops they had entered before and were sure were empty now had their shutters drawn, as if they were closed to visitors.
Now they are sure that it is not human error, but the shops themselves are just weird.
But this was not good news for the two. The night had already extended a few degrees, and the temperature had soared to 50 degrees. Qiao Yuan and Song Yanchi's vision was already a little blurry, and their clothes were almost soaked with sweat. Although there was no sun, their exposed skin was very hot, and it was too hot to put on clothes.
The ground was also very hot, and Qiao Yuan was worried that the soles of his shoes would melt.
When she and Song Yanchi went to the store, they didn't find any water or food, so now they didn't even have water. Because of dehydration, her throat felt like she had swallowed a razor blade, and even breathing caused a pain, and for a while she couldn't make a sound at all.
For the first time, Qiao Yuan experienced the feeling of his muscle tissue melting, and he also understood Xiaowei's feelings.
She thought that even if it was karma, Shadow should feel the heat, especially since black absorbs heat even more. Xiaowei's revenge might be even more satisfying.
The system didn't want to reply, but in order to distract himself from the heat, Qiao Yuan couldn't speak to Song Yanchi, so he could only complain to the system in his mind.
System: [You feel hot, probably because a black heart also absorbs heat]
Qiao Yuan was not too excited yet. She knew that the system was mocking her for being cruel, so she silently recorded it in the account.
Zizi—zizi—
A slight sound of electric current was heard, which was particularly obvious in the quiet street, causing both of them to look over at the same time.
Suddenly, a signboard lit up behind them. The words "Xinxin Hotel" on it were particularly eye-catching in the night. There was also a signboard with colorful lights at the door, indicating that it provided hourly rooms. Of course, the most important thing was that it didn't have a rolling door. Although the glass door was closed, through the frosted paper on it, you could vaguely see the warm light inside, which formed a sharp contrast with the shops on the left had tightly closed rolling doors.
Qiao Yuan and Song Yanchi looked at each other and both knew that there was something wrong with this hotel.
They clearly remembered that they had not seen this hotel when they passed by just now, and the other party appeared suddenly.
But Qiao Yuan still weakly made a "come in" gesture.
After all, they had no right to choose. Looking around, this was the only shop that was still open. The night was spreading quickly, and it was almost halfway through. If they stayed outside any longer, they would be dead. There might be a glimmer of hope inside.
Song Yanchi understood, and he and Qiao Yuan walked towards the hotel together.
Because the glass was covered with frosted paper, it was impossible to see clearly what was inside from the outside, so the two of them were extremely cautious when they entered.
The glass door was easily pushed open, and Qiao Yuan felt relieved, fortunately it was not impossible to push it open.
As the two stepped in, there was a crisp sound of wind chimes above their heads, as if welcoming them. The moment they entered, the heat and high temperature that had been lingering around them finally faded away, and the two finally felt alive. Song Yanchi, who had just wilted due to the heat, was finally able to straighten his back again and cleared his throat.
Qiao Yuan put on his coat and looked around quickly. This looked like an ordinary small hotel. There was a narrow reception desk as soon as he entered the door. There was a business license hanging on the wall, but no one was at the reception desk. A few steps forward, there were stairs on the left and a corridor on the right.
"No one? Then let's go in directly?" Song Yanchi whispered to Qiao Yuan.
In the real world, he had never stayed in such a hotel, so he naturally couldn't help but frown at the simple environment.
Qiao Yuan sometimes suspected that this game was sent by the "Where Are We Going, Dad?" production crew to play a trick on Song Yanchi. He heard that the previous copy involved farming, and in a few days they successfully turned Song Yanchi from a person who had never seen raw wheat into a good farmer. And because there were the most eggs in the village, the other party had eggs for every meal during those days. Even when he was having dinner with Qiao Yuan, he didn't touch any dishes related to eggs.
However, just as Song Yanchi finished speaking, a crisp voice rang in his ears: "Are you two going to check in, meow?"
The sudden sound made Qiao Yuan and Song Yanchi tense instantly. The sound came from the front desk next to them, but they didn't see any living creatures just now.
The voice sounded again: "I'm here meow~"
This time, Qiao Yuan and Song Yanchi both clearly heard the "meow", and their eyes fell on the same place at the same time.
It was a lucky cat pendant placed on the counter. It was normal to have a lucky cat at the front desk of a store, so although the two of them had glanced at it before, they had not paid much attention to it. Only now were they observing each other carefully.
It had a smiling face, and held a couplet in each of its paws. One paw held up "Wealth from all directions" and the other held up "Attracting wealth and treasure". There was also a large copper coin hanging on its chest, on which was written "Money rolling in".
If you look at it alone, even Qiao Yuan has to admit that it is indeed a lovely ornament.
But when I realized that it was it that had spoken, the incident became somewhat terrifying.
Could it be that he is also like Xiaowei, who was transformed from a human into a lucky cat?
If this is the case, the sudden appearance of this hotel can be explained, after all, the owner of the hotel is not human at all.
As Qiao Yuan was thinking, he and Song Yanchi almost subconsciously distanced themselves from the front desk. However, because the hotel was narrow, the two of them hit the wall after only a few steps, making a dull sound.
The lucky cat's originally smiling expression changed, Wanwan's eyes became sad, the corners of his lips turned downward, and his voice revealed nervousness: "Please be gentle, don't damage the wall, otherwise it will be a big project to repair it~"
"And if you don't check in, you'll be asked to leave, meow~"
As soon as it finished speaking, it suddenly jumped down from the front desk. Its entire body suddenly swelled dozens of times, from a palm-sized pendant to three or four meters tall. Its ears were against the ceiling, blocking the light above its head, making its originally smiling expression look a little eerie and revealing a sense of oppression.
The arm it was holding up to symbolize "bring in wealth and treasure" was still waving. It was obvious that the word "please" was full of water, and it might be more appropriate to use the word "swing". The wind from its fist blew up the hair of the two people.
Seeing that the lucky cat was about to take action, Qiao Yuan grasped the key point and immediately said, "We need to check in."
As soon as these words were spoken, the lucky cat immediately returned to its normal size and returned to the counter.
However, Qiao Yuan and Song Yanchi did not take advantage of this opportunity to attack. The lucky cat was obviously much faster, and they did not even see how it jumped up and down the counter.
If the sneak attack fails, the outcome that awaits them will obviously not be very good.
Qiao Yuan: "Are you the boss here? Are you also an infected person who turned from a human?"
Qiao Yuan wanted to repeat the same trick and continue to pretend to be a human infected person, but unexpectedly, the lucky cat replied seriously: "The previous boss was a human and died. I am the new boss here, meow~"
"I should be considered an infected person, you can call me Lucky Cat~"
Qiao Yuan understood. She originally thought that only humans could become infected, but she didn't expect that this ornament could also...
Qiao Yuan: "We want to wait until it gets cooler outside before leaving. Will it get cooler after dawn?"
"Yes, meow~" Zhaocai has already begun to introduce diligently: "We have hourly rooms, single rooms, double rooms, king-size rooms, themed love rooms and other room types, meow~"
"Since you two are waiting until dawn to leave, I suggest that you use any room other than the hourly room, which is more cost-effective."
"Also, please note that a single room can only accommodate one person at night, a double room can accommodate two people, a king-size bed room can accommodate two people, and a themed love room can accommodate two people in accordance with public order and good customs. Extra people cannot stay in the room, meow~"
Song Yanchi didn't know what he was thinking about. His ears turned red, and he kept saying, "Why are there still themed love rooms at this time?"
Zhaocai: "Just because you don't have fun doesn't mean others don't have fun, meow~"
Song Yanchi: "...Who are you saying has no interest?"
Qiao Yuan had already realized the difference in this world, so she naturally realized that the other party was not joking. She and Song Yanchi had stayed together in the copy world before, so she preferred to choose a double room or a double bed room.
But now there is a more important problem facing the two of them.
Qiao Yuan: "We don't have any money, can we pay for the room with something?"
Zhaocai: "Of course, cash is difficult to circulate now, but the goods you use must be in line with the corresponding prices, meow~"
A price list automatically popped up and appeared in front of Qiao Yuan and Song Yanchi.
After quickly reading it, Qiao Yuan fell silent, while Song Yanchi shouted out: "Hourly rooms are one thousand per hour, single rooms are ten thousand per night, and double rooms and king-size rooms are one hundred thousand per night..."
"One million for a themed love room?!"
The last sentence was spoken in a high tone.
Zhaocai: "After all, we are the only hotel still operating in this environment, and it is very hard for me too~"
"I suggest you two check in quickly, I'm about to get off work, meow~"
Qiao Yuan: “…”
How important it is to have a competitor.
But in some ways, the other party is indeed quite wealthy.
The situation quickly reversed. Now it was no longer a question of Qiao Yuan and Song Yanchi choosing a room, but rather which room's fee could be reached by the total amount of their belongings.
The caring voice of Zhaocai still rings in my ears: "If there is no commodity, hands, feet and voice can all be valued. Please don't forget your own value, meow~"
