Chapter 121
Chapter 121
The moment Brother Parrot finished speaking, Cheng Miao saw the fat, bright green bird fly toward her, calling as he came, “Cheng Miaomiao, you’re finally back!”
Cheng Miao let Brother Parrot perch on her head. She stroked his feathers while looking at the black cat behind the receptionist’s desk.
Qiudong sat there obediently, his fluffy tail swaying and his furry ears twitching slightly.
His ocean-blue eyes turned toward Cheng Miao. They looked cold, but she clearly saw the concern inside them.
Oh, the kitty had been worried about her.
Cheng Miao moved closer and, with a gesture that looked natural despite her inner caution, rubbed the top of Qiudong’s head. “Heh, heh. I’m back!”
Qiudong glanced at her coolly and squeezed a single sound from his throat. “Mm.”
Cheng Miao pushed her luck and scratched beneath his chin. Qiudong instinctively raised it and narrowed his eyes in pleasure. Seconds later, he came to his senses. His tail smacked Cheng Miao’s hand, and the entire cat darted aside.
Cheng Miao did not mind. Thoroughly satisfied, she withdrew her hand.
“How many days?” Qiudong asked.
If he was right, they would move to the next Hotel after their following instance. Life had only just become interesting, and soon it would grow dull again.
Qiudong narrowed his ice-blue eyes, lost in thought.
Cheng Miao looked back at her companions. Everyone had either been injured or shaken by the instance. Only Qi Jiajia looked unaffected as she plucked Brother Parrot’s feathers in the lobby.
Brother Parrot circled over her head, diving whenever he found an opening to peck her. The pair fought with tremendous enthusiasm.
“Ten days. Let’s rest longer,” Cheng Miao decided.
Qin Musong immediately paid.
“Thirty percent off for ten days.” Qiudong processed the payment. Cheng Miao felt one second of pain as the money poured away.
Fortunately, expenses other than the room fee were nearly negligible, greatly easing Miser Cheng’s distress.
“By the way, do you have…” Cheng Miao searched for the right words. “Something like a psychological clinic?”
Qiudong had been grooming himself. He lowered his paw and carefully examined her.
A moment later, his gaze shifted to the dispirited Lin Zhu.
“The Hotel provides that service for a fee. Each consultation lasts one hour and costs 500 Travel Coins.”
Qiudong understood. Such problems were extremely common in the game. Cheng Miao had waited this long to ask only because her team’s mental resilience was unusually strong.
Many players suffered continuous declines in sanity, but lower-tier Hotels did not provide psychological counseling. They could only endure it until, eventually, they became twisted.
“Sister Miaomiao, I don’t need it either…”
Cheng Miao interrupted Lin Zhu with a smile. “Not only you. All of us are going. Every single person.”
Qi Jiajia unhappily flicked Brother Parrot’s soft belly, infuriating him. Cheng Miao could not help laughing. “Try it first. If it helps, book more time yourself. This is not where we save money. It affects whether we survive future instances.”
Lin Zhu understood the importance. He simply hated spending the money.
Leaning against the reception desk, Cheng Miao teased, “You don’t actually think you’re just dead weight clinging to our thighs, do you? Have you forgotten how important you were in the Lantern instance and how much you contributed? You carried Shen Xin’s remains out too. And without the talismans you drew, none of us would’ve survived Plate Spirit.”
Lin Zhu had contributed a great deal, even if he acted under Cheng Miao’s direction. The system naturally assigned much of the score to Cheng Miao.
That could be unfair to many teams because it affected how they divided their assets. Looks Are Justice Team did not have that concern.
Once Cheng Miao addressed the small knot in his heart, Lin Zhu scratched his head, relaxed, and smiled happily.
“All right.” Cheng Miao stretched. They had eaten breakfast before leaving the instance, and now it was already late afternoon. No one planned to eat again. “I’m going back to rest. Arrange your own time.”
Qin Musong had suffered severe injuries in the apartment instance and needed rest too.
He patted the back of Lin Zhu’s neck, like both a father and an older brother. “Don’t overthink it. Book whatever you want. Boss Cheng is rich.”
Already at the elevator, Cheng Miao heard him with her sharp ears and raised a hand in protest. “I’m not that rich! Don’t waste it!”
Everyone burst out laughing. The clouds left by the instance vanished from over their heads.
After a hot shower, Cheng Miao lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
In a void of absolute darkness stood a chair woven from vines and flowers, radiating sacred light.
An indescribably handsome man sat upon it with elegant poise. A pair of enormous, flawless white wings spread behind him.
Looking toward a point in the darkness, he asked, “So, you want to go play?”
“Life is too boring. I suddenly miss the old days.” The male voice from the darkness was as cold as an iceberg. It belonged to Qiudong.
“But is there something special about the player you chose?” The winged man seemed to find something amusing. His golden eyes looked over teasingly.
“Jia, you are interfering too much.” Displeasure entered Qiudong’s voice. Jia suppressed his laughter and stopped teasing him.
“You may go play. I will find someone to replace you at your Hotel. But you must understand that once you enter an instance, you will be no different from an ordinary player. You can be injured. You can die.”
“I know.” Qiudong sounded lazy. A faint laugh entered his next words. “Do you really think I would die so easily inside an instance?”
“Of course not.” Jia shifted into a more comfortable position and sighed. “You are one of the finest players the Survival Inn has ever seen.”
In the darkness, the faint outline of a tall man could be seen sitting on the ground with one long leg bent. A flash of blue crossed eyes that were slightly paler than an ordinary person’s.
Cheng Miao woke and stretched. When she opened her door, she saw Qin Musong in an apron and Lin Zhu clumsily passing him seasonings.
“Morning, Sister Miaomiao.”
Cheng Miao smelled bacon. Seeing the clear brightness restored to Lin Zhu’s eyes warmed her heart. “Did you go to counseling?”
Lin Zhu nodded earnestly and handed Qin Musong the butter. “Yes! Sister Miaomiao, the doctor is a golden retriever! She’s so gentle. She even gave me hypnotherapy, and I feel much better! I think I’m in better shape now than when I first entered the last instance!”
Qi Jiajia sat at the dining table with a knife and fork, waiting for breakfast. She frowned impatiently. “Stop talking. Now that you’ve told her, Cheng Miao will want to pet a dog after she’s done petting the cat!”
Qin Musong looked helplessly at Cheng Miao’s shining eyes and set bacon-and-egg sandwiches on the table. “Everyone should try it. I served in the military. Mental health problems cannot be taken lightly.”
Cheng Miao nodded, then looked at Qi Jiajia. “You especially need to go.”
Qi Jiajia unhappily ate her fried egg but did not object. Her two little pigtails drooped listlessly at her sides.
Cheng Miao patted her head and began breakfast.
After the meal, Cheng Miao went to counseling. Qi Jiajia took Lin Zhu to play video games in the room, while Qin Musong went to train in the gym.
An hour later, Cheng Miao emerged feeling refreshed and went to pay, only to hear a gentle, mature female voice behind her.
“Qiudong, there is no need to charge this young lady.”