"Dad, didn't you say you wanted to take over this hotel?"
Why is he being so reckless?
Belle bit her tongue and refrained from saying this out loud. Her dad usually had a friendly demeanor, but today he seemed to be intentionally provoking the female boss.
Was there some kind of scheme? Ugh, plan.
Tucker's mouth was stuffed with fried eggs, his face smeared with grease, even getting caught in the stubble on his chin.
Belle felt a bit nauseated and looked away, focusing on another customer at a table behind them.
She hadn't seen many men who still looked so clean in the apocalypse.
The man in front of her appeared even more refined than her, with long, strong fingers and well-defined muscles.
She slightly leaned forward, trying to peek into the man's partially open shirt.
Wow, quite impressive...
Belle thought this man had a better build than Harvey.
Compared to him, Harvey seemed like a chick...
The man sensed something and halted his eating, his sharp gaze locking onto her.
Belle quickly looked down and pretended to eat.
But he was much less temperamental than Harvey...
Tucker glanced at her, then turned back to the man, offering a friendly smile and nodding.
The man's indifferent gaze swept over them before he stood up, returned his tray, and quickly left the restaurant.
"Damn it, both the boss and customers here are tough to deal with, all so high and mighty! Damn." Tucker glared at the man's retreating back, muttering angrily.
"When I take over this place, the first thing I'll do is kick those two jerks out!"
"Dad, are you really planning to take over the hotel and give it to the base's big boss? I..." Belle looked regretfully at the fresh food on the counter. It could last them a long time, and with so many people at the base, it wouldn't be enough.
If the hotel were hers, she'd only allow handsome, well-mannered young men as customers.
No women allowed, no children, and no old men either.
She imagined countless handsome men kneeling in front of her with crystal cores, their attractive faces full of pleas, begging her to let them stay in the hotel. Meanwhile, she'd be wearing a beautiful dress, high heels delicately stepping on their faces, her manicured fingers lifting their chins as she said, "Please me."
"Heh heh."
Belle grinned foolishly.
Smack!
Tucker couldn't stand her silly expression and slapped her on the head.
"Eat more! No more food today, this is the only meal."
With a pang of despair, Belle thought of all the crystal cores he had and dared not defy him.
She could only reluctantly stuff the eggs into her mouth.
"Are you useless? You're full after just a couple of bites? Worthless!"
Seeing her struggle to finish an egg, Tucker lost his temper and knocked her chopsticks away.
"If you can't eat, get out and look for some zombies nearby. Gather a few more crystal cores!"
Belle sighed in relief and got up, her stomach so full it felt like it was about to burst. She rubbed her belly, feeling uncomfortable.
Noticing Tucker's expression indicating more anger, Belle quickly turned and fled.
"Warning, customer Belle did not return the tray to the machine. Please rectify."
The robot at the door turned, its red light locking onto Belle, and its belly emitted a crackling sound as it prepared to act.
Belle froze, not daring to move.
"Dad... I'll return the tray."
She slowly walked back, placing the tray into the machine. The screen displayed a deduction of 30 points, and the machine ejected her card.
Belle immediately shielded the screen to prevent Tucker from seeing the deduction.
Why did it deduct money directly...
Belle felt bitter but didn't dare tell her dad. She could only awkwardly retrieve her card.
"Dad, I'm going out now."
Tucker, unaware of any problem, continued to eat as he picked up a few more slices of fried egg.
The eggs were indeed well-cooked, crispy and delicious, with a bit of runny yolk in the middle.
Belle hurriedly escaped the restaurant, clutching her chest and relieved she had left quickly.
Turning around, she saw Charlotte watching her while eating chilled watermelon.
"Is there something wrong?" Charlotte threw the watermelon rind into the trash and wiped her fingers with a napkin.
The anxious-looking Belle had just rushed out of the restaurant. Wasn't it just her and her father in there?
Had they caused trouble?
Charlotte scrutinized Belle with suspicion.
Belle quickly waved her hands, shaking her head and saying it was nothing. She ran out of the hotel without even glancing at the TV.
Seeing her guilty expression, Charlotte frowned and walked back into the restaurant.
The restaurant had been thoroughly cleaned. The windows were bright, the tables were neat and clean, and there were no stains on the food counters or damage to the equipment.
What was Belle so panicked about?
Charlotte's gaze settled on Tucker.
He looked up and gave her a greasy smile.
If it weren't for the calculating glint in his eyes, Charlotte would have been happy to be a kind boss.
Since there were no issues in the restaurant, Charlotte left without addressing Tucker.
Returning to the lobby, she bought six discreet surveillance cameras from the mall for 300 points.
She called Bear to install the cameras.
Two on the third floor, monitoring the stairs on either side as well.
The cameras on the second floor were adjusted to match the layout of the third floor.
The original cameras on the first floor stayed in place, but a new one was added outside the door and another in the restaurant.
The last camera was installed in her office, monitoring the hallway and the office door.
While Tucker was sipping soy milk and contemplating, a toy bear walked in carrying a surveillance camera. At first, he didn't understand what was happening.
The toy bear casually bent the wall as if it were soft cheese. Tucker was shocked, spilling his soy milk, which rolled off the table and shattered on the floor.
Is this really a shoddy construction?
A bear almost brought down the wall?
Ignoring the broken glass on the floor, Tucker rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
How could such a building withstand a zombie attack?
The toy bear inserted the camera into the wall, released it, and the wall returned to its original state like jelly, with a soft "duangduang" sound.
He felt like something extraordinary had just happened!
Tucker anxiously wanted to check outside, wondering if the hotel was made of some sort of monster's stomach.
"Beep beep, warning, customer Tucker did not return the tray to the machine. Please rectify. Warning, broken restaurant utensils, fine of 10 points, please pay."
The robot blocked his way, preventing him from leaving.
"I've never heard of having to return trays after eating! You hired this robot to work, not to just stand around like an idiot! Get out of my way, or I'll complain about you!"
Tucker had prepared his complaints, ignoring that it was a robot and not a human. He intended to argue based on his own standards, not really caring about the service.
The red light from the robot was extremely uncomfortable for him. Filled with malice, he intentionally moved a bowl of vegetable porridge closer to the robot.
"Warning, carrying restaurant food outside is prohibited."
"Warning, customer Tucker did not return the tray to the machine."