Chapter 195
Chapter 195
Back at Peacock Grand Hotel, Cheng Miao scooped up Qiudong, who was stretching, wrapped both arms around his middle, and thoroughly indulged in petting him.
Qiudong: …?
Back when Cheng Miao was an office drone, petting cats had been her only way to relieve stress. This instance had not been particularly dangerous, but the psychological damage was immense.
As soon as she returned to the Grand Hotel, Qiudong, who had turned back into a cat, had to make a small sacrifice to restore her sanity.
Cheng Miao petted Qiudong until his head spun, then placed him on her shoulder. With her soft, fair cheek so close, he could not bring himself to bite her.
Qiudong tucked his paws beneath his chest and sank into gloom.
After greeting Peacock with practiced familiarity and paying a room fee of exactly 60,000 Travel Coins for ten days, Cheng Miao led the large group grandly toward Mr. Owl’s clinic.
Unlike the clinic at Qiudong’s Hotel, which could receive only one guest at a time, Doctor Owl followed the principle that the greatest sound was silent and the greatest form formless.
He did not care how many guests came at once. He could handle them all anyway.
After spending the afternoon listening to Mr. Owl play and discuss music, Cheng Miao felt much better about the psychological scars left by the oppression and exploitation.
In fact, as a former office drone, she had emerged from that atmosphere sooner than the others.
What troubled her were the original owners of the bodies occupied by those twenty players. Each of them had died at the company for their own reasons.
None had lived to witness the final victory.
But that was beyond Cheng Miao’s power to change. Those twenty people were already dead when the players arrived in the instance.
The Item Cheng Miao received was the resentment of those same twenty people.
Maybe… she would have a chance to see them again someday?
After returning to her room, taking a comfortable hot shower, and climbing into bed, Cheng Miao failed to realize that she had tacitly allowed Qiudong to sleep beside her.
The human and cat looked remarkably harmonious asleep together.
When Cheng Miao awoke bleary-eyed the next morning, Qiudong was already sitting beside her and grooming his fur.
Rubbing her eyes, Cheng Miao gave his head a quick pet, then headed off to wash up while checking her phone.
Elder Yan transferred 10,000 Travel Coins to her as soon as he got out. Cheng Miao had not intended to accept it, since helping him truly had taken very little effort.
But Elder Yan put it plainly. If a favor could be repaid with money, that was best, especially since he also wanted her friendship.
With a toothbrush between her teeth, Cheng Miao suddenly remembered something. She sighed and mumbled indistinctly, “Didn’t you say you’d tell me about King after we got out?”
Qiudong paused mid-lick and lowered his paw with some resignation.
Having too good a memory could be troublesome.
He sat perfectly straight on the bed, his tail wrapped snugly around his body in a complete circle.
“King really is a veteran player, but like me, she’s a player who doesn’t have to enter an instance every month.”
“Hmm?” Cheng Miao spat out the foam and turned to look at Qiudong.
Qiudong jumped onto the counter beside the sink and continued. “We’re veteran players who found permanent jobs in Survival Inn. You can think of us as NPCs.”
“Compared with the Baili couple, Jiang Chen, and the others, we’re more closely affiliated with Survival Inn. We’re permanent employees who generate income for Survival Inn, so we don’t need to enter an instance every month.”
“King’s casino is also officially reviewed and approved by the Game.”
Cheng Miao understood. Qiudong and King were formally employed, while Jiang Chen and the others had simply cleared the Game. They had neither returned to reality nor chosen to become formal employees, so they still needed to work every month.
“Then why does King enter instances?” Cheng Miao deftly tied her hair into a bun.
Qiudong stared at the round bun on the back of her head. His feline instincts made him jump onto Cheng Miao’s shoulder, brace his paw pads against her head, and start pawing at the bun.
Cheng Miao had long since grown accustomed to the contrast between Qiudong inside and outside instances. Yawning, she headed downstairs with the cat perched on her head.
Qin Musong had already ordered brunch. Cheng Miao sat down and ate with everyone.
Qiudong lost interest in her bun after playing with it for a while. He jumped onto the table and resumed their earlier conversation. “King has an enormous appetite for gambling. She especially enjoys gambling with NPCs inside instances.”
Qiudong lowered his head, ate two pieces of meat, then summarized, “Her ability lets her trade souls with others. That’s why she likes entering instances herself. By gambling with NPCs, she can satisfy her urge and obtain their souls at the same time.”
Cheng Miao was envious. “What does she do with the souls after bringing them back?”
Qiudong’s blue eyes gleamed beneath the lights. “Sells them back to the Game in exchange for reduced taxes and rent.”
So that was possible too.
Logically, becoming a formal employee was both more convenient and safer. Why had Jiang Chen and the others not chosen that path?
Qiudong seemed to read Cheng Miao’s mind. His tail swayed lazily. “Neither of the Baili couple can stand being idle. To them, entering instances even strengthens their relationship.”
The corner of Cheng Miao’s mouth twitched. She knew it. Those two were just as abnormal as Gu Jian.
“Then what about Jiang Chen?” Cheng Miao did not think Jiang Chen was interested in instances, so why did he continue entering one after another?
Qiudong did not answer her question. “You can ask him yourself.”
True enough.
Cheng Miao did not dwell on it. She tossed the thought aside and went swimming with the others.
After Cheng Miao posted a photo Lin Zhu took of her at the infinity pool to her social feed, she received a flood of replies.
Ah Zhang: Wow, I’m so jealous. You really can’t compare the quality of a Grand Hotel with anything else!
Ah Lang: Like.
Brother Parrot: Ah, if I weren’t so busy lately, I’d definitely come swim with you!
Tong Qian: Miaomiao is so pretty! What a great figure.
Bai Jiang: When are you coming to the Hotel? We’ll treat you to barbecue.
Jiang Qi: Barbecue! We’re coming too!
Li Cheng: Yeah! Count us in.
Gu Jian: Wow! Miss Cheng is so pretty, so very pretty.
Lian Ge: Hardly anyone uses the social feed. It’s nice to finally have someone easy on the eyes post something.
Baili Qianqiu: Darling, you can post too.
Jiang Chen: Now that’s the life. It suits your style perfectly.
Cheng Miao happily collected a wave of likes and relaxed as she read Bai Jiang’s invitation.
It seemed Bai Jiang and the others had also realized that frequent visits to high-level inns could easily crush their motivation.
So this time, they simply invited Cheng Miao’s group to visit them at the Hotel.
It had to be said that every player who made it this far was shrewd and thoroughly understood the ways of the world.
After arranging a barbecue outing for the following evening, Cheng Miao stretched luxuriously.
The group booked a car to Sleepless City. According to Qiudong, Sleepless City was a special place within Survival Inn.
There were no inns there. It was an extraordinarily prosperous metropolis with everything from shops and bars to movie theaters.
After staying at Peacock Grand Hotel for so long, Cheng Miao and the others were quite eager to explore a modern city like that.
They first went to a movie theater to watch a film. Players had made it, the cast was full of handsome men and beautiful women, and even the screenplay was solid.
“Does this count as working too?” There were not many people in the theater, but Cheng Miao still lowered her voice to ask.
“Yes. This kind of job pays more, but a lot of people apply, and the requirements are strict.” Qiudong lay across Cheng Miao’s shoulder, his fluffy ears occasionally brushing her cheek.
“And the standards here are rigorous. Whether you get the job depends entirely on your acting ability. There are no shortcuts.”
Cheng Miao nodded. No wonder she felt the actors in this film outperformed most celebrities in the real world.
“Hey, isn’t that what’s-his-name?”