In her private room, Charlotte had just finished a hot bath, her cheeks slightly flushed. She was drying her hair and turned on the TV out of habit.
"System, how do I upgrade Bear?"
The crystal cores recovered from Tucker didn't count towards the store's sales figures and went straight into Charlotte's personal account.
With 3550 points in her account, she considered it a nice little windfall.
[Upgrading to Level 2 requires 200 points, which will unlock language functions and enable basic conversation]
"Great, upgrade it using my personal account."
Summer brought out a cup of cold dessert from the food court and started watching anime.
[Upgrade Complete]
Down in the lobby, Bear was standing at the door, performing its duty. With a few flashes of light in its eyes, it opened its mouth and spoke in a cute teenage voice, "Guarding the door... ensuring safety, Bear guards the door..."
Summer was oblivious to this development, as she was already feeling drowsy. After turning off the TV, she crawled into her soft bed and went to sleep.
...
Belle reluctantly opened her eyes. If it weren't for her bladder feeling like it might explode, she wouldn't have gotten out of bed.
The public restroom was so far away; she had to cross the entire hallway to get there.
Since when did single rooms not have their own bathrooms?
Yawning, Belle opened the door and came face-to-face with an extraordinarily large-eyed, palm-sized face.
"Ah!"
With a scream, she fell to the floor. Her urgent need to use the restroom suddenly vanished. She slammed the door shut, her hand resting on her rapidly rising chest as she gasped for air.
She remembered now—it was the surveillance device arranged by Boss Charlotte!
This was a nightmare.
Suddenly alert, Belle sat on the edge of her bed, calculating how many points she had left on her card and how long it would last.
This wouldn't do. Including meals, she could only afford to stay for two more days at most.
Though Boss Charlotte hadn't directly deducted points from her card, she certainly wouldn't offer free accommodation. She would have to go out and hunt zombies to gather crystal cores.
After mentally preparing herself, she took a deep breath and opened the door. The face she had feared was still there.
"Move aside... I need to go out."
Wensy took a few steps back, maintaining a one-meter distance from Belle as she exited.
Belle tried her best to ignore the unsettling presence.
...
"Bear, go tidy up upstairs."
Seeing Bear standing motionless at the door, Charlotte opened the main door and directed it to handle other tasks.
"Okay, Boss."
???
Charlotte was taken aback. She had completely forgotten that Bear had acquired the ability to speak, and it spoke in a teenage voice?!
The 200 points spent were truly worth it!
At that moment, Belle came down the stairs with Wensy in tow. She flinched when she saw Charlotte but forced herself to greet her.
"Good morning, Boss..."
Charlotte responded with a brief, indifferent hum and walked past her.
Belle, seeing Charlotte head to the dining area, didn't dare linger around. She was terrified that if she displeased the boss, she might be tossed into a zombie horde.
She bought two breakfasts from the machine, saving one for lunch, and planned to stay out during the day.
Wensy dutifully followed her orders, ensuring that Belle remained in her line of sight at all times.
Belle had hoped the zombies would deal with her, but she quickly realized that the zombies could only see her and ignored Wensy.
Frustrated and angry, Belle had no other plans and had to set aside her thoughts for the time being.
Charlotte, having heard about this, sneered. She had anticipated this kind of trick!
After breakfast, the number of people in the hotel decreased. The old woman stayed upstairs, and Fawna, frightened by the previous day's events, hid under the covers, repeatedly urging her brother to return home.
As a result, only Charlotte remained in the living room, watching TV.
As the sun rose higher, the temperature outside soared, with visible heatwaves making it almost unBearrable to breathe.
Even Charlotte felt the heat while sitting in the store.
She had Bear close the door and set up a standing air conditioner to cool the room, gradually making the temperature comfortable.
Standing by the door, Charlotte looked outside. In such hot weather, even zombies seemed to lose their vitality, their movements becoming increasingly sluggish.
She then saw a boy quietly emerging from a nearby shop. He wore a tattered straw hat he had presumably found, and he sneaked up behind a zombie, delivering a crushing blow to its vulnerable skull.
The zombie collapsed, and the boy pried open its bones, searching inside. After a while, he pulled out a level-one crystal core, smiling with satisfaction.
When he noticed Charlotte watching from behind the door, his smile froze. He decided to drag the zombie's body to the end of the street and dispose of it elsewhere.
Afterward, the boy hid in a rundown shop not far from the hotel, where he had placed several heavy tires. If zombies came close, he would jump into the tires, making him invisible from the outside. If the zombies were of a higher level, he could quickly retreat to the hotel, where he felt secure.
Lack of ability, compensate with brainpower.
This was the safest hunting method he could come up with.
Originally, he worried that the boss might disapprove, but since she had seen him but said nothing, it probably meant she had given her tacit approval?
The temperature outside was too high. The boy licked his dry lips, his throat feeling parched.
After waiting for a long time without seeing any zombies, he decided to return to the hotel to drink some water and grab a bite before heading back out.
The temperature under the eaves was a stark contrast to the street. Walking on the asphalt felt like his shoes were melting.
In such heat, an egg placed on the ground would likely cook instantly, right?
After only a few steps, the boy was drenched in sweat. It was the hottest part of the day, and even breathing felt like burning his throat.
Struggling against the discomfort, he quickened his pace and pushed open the hotel door, only to be greeted by a rush of cool air!
There was actually an air conditioner?!
He closed the door and stared in amazement at the standing air conditioner. He felt that the boss had everything one could wish for; staying with her was definitely a good choice!
Charlotte, having watched him for a while, found the boy vaguely familiar, perhaps resembling someone from another world.
"What's your name?"
Surprised that the boss had spoken to him, the boy quickly regained his composure and answered cautiously, "My name is Yanis."
"Nice name. How old are you this year?"
"16."
"Hmm." Charlotte's gaze shifted to the empty refrigerator, and she smiled, "If your mother has nothing to do, she can come down to enjoy the air conditioning and watch TV. No points required."
Yanis was stunned and hurriedly thanked her, "I'll go tell my mother. Thank you, Boss!"
Enjoying air conditioning and watching TV! Yanis's eyes sparkled with excitement. He hurriedly went upstairs, not noticing the sly smile on Charlotte's face as she watched him.