Chapter 67
Chapter 67
Two figures flickered across the poorly connected television. There was no mistaking the cockroach brothers in their long traditional gowns!
Cheng Miao turned up the volume in disbelief. Ah Zhang’s familiar voice emerged. “And then the tomato got run over and turned into ketchup.”
On the other side, Ah Lang twitched its antennae. “Ha ha.”
The corner of Cheng Miao’s mouth twitched. So Front Desk attendants in the Survival Inn could earn extra money performing comedy routines?
Ah Zhang and Ah Lang looked no different from usual. One was lively, the other taciturn. Their jokes were so painfully cold that Cheng Miao sighed again and again.
At last, the program cut to a commercial. Incredibly, Ah Zhang was promoting its handmade Space Backpacks. Cheng Miao shook her head and opened the channel list.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of channels filled the screen: Cockroach Brothers Channel, Miss Mosquito Channel, Brother Parrot Channel…
Cheng Miao selected Brother Parrot Channel. Sure enough, the budgerigar with three ridiculous tufts was telling a story. It was tedious and endless. Cheng Miao lasted one minute before changing the channel.
So… every Inn’s Front Desk attendant had its own channel. Perhaps the channels gave them a way to entertain one another. More importantly…
Cheng Miao had wondered how veteran players learned the personality of every Front Desk attendant. This appeared to be their source of information.
Grandpa Myna had a foul temper and cursed people over the slightest disagreement, so players generally avoided him.
Myna Guesthouse, however, offered an excellent deal: stay three consecutive nights and have a fourth night’s room fee waived. Many players found that worth considering.
Did that mean Front Desk attendants had performance targets too?
That made sense. Otherwise, they might begin shirking their work.
Cheng Miao opened the Black Cat Hotel channel. The screen showed nothing. There was no cat and no information about lodging discounts. It was as deserted as Qiudong’s personality.
She turned off the television and took out the keypad phone they had purchased, which supported calls and video just like a phone in the real world. Then she sent a message to the group chat.
Cheng Miao: Watch TV.
Lin Zhu: Okay.
Qin Musong: Right, you haven’t seen the television before.
Qi Jiajia: …
Lin Zhu: What the hell is this?!
Qin Musong: It helps players pass the time and lets them learn about the different Front Desk attendants, which helps them choose the Inn best suited to them.
Lin Zhu: This is supposed to pass the time? Why is that magpie telling ghost stories in the middle of the night?!
Qin Musong: …Why isn’t Jiajia saying anything?
Qi Jiajia: …What kind of garbage phone is this? Why couldn’t we buy a touchscreen?!
Cheng Miao: Money’s tight. Make do for now.
Qi Jiajia: …
Lin Zhu: Hehehe, check out Channel 455. Miss Red-Crowned Crane is dancing!
Everyone else fell silent.
The phone made it much easier for them to stay in contact.
As Cheng Miao listened to Brother Parrot drone on with its story, sleep miraculously returned. Just as she was about to doze off, Qin Musong sent her a private message.
Qin Musong: Which Hotel are we going to next?
Cheng Miao had an idea, although it was driven by selfish motives. Qi Jiajia did not care, and Lin Zhu would accept any choice. Qin Musong, however…
Her fingers explored the keypad before typing, “I want to go to Black Cat Hotel.”
Qin Musong: All right. Get some rest.
Cheng Miao was surprised, yet somehow she had expected exactly that response.
She looked up at the halo surrounding the moon. Was this what it felt like to be trusted?
She must have been unbelievably lucky to meet these people.
The next morning, Cheng Miao and the others ate breakfast. Her three teammates went to the Grocery Store to replenish their supplies.
Cheng Miao spoke to Brother Parrot as it preened beside her. “That story you told last night was pretty good.”
Brother Parrot cackled. “You have excellent taste. My stories are for people capable of understanding them. Don’t let the small audience fool you. Those people are poorly educated and can’t appreciate how much depth my stories contain…”
Cheng Miao interrupted. “Do these channels serve any purpose besides all the work you put into running them?”
Brother Parrot suddenly fell silent and stared at her. Just as its beady eyes began making Cheng Miao uncomfortable, it looked away. “Mm. They have many uses. Players have to discover those themselves.”
Cheng Miao said nothing. Now she stared at Brother Parrot.
It tilted its little head and stamped one tiny foot. “Fine, fine. For example, Front Desk attendants sometimes announce special instances with very high rewards. If you see one on television, you can reserve a place.”
Cheng Miao considered that. “So the channels are also an information network.”
Brother Parrot nodded while calculating her bill. “Exactly. You can also pay to rent a Front Desk attendant’s channel, perhaps to recruit teammates or broadcast a message.”
Satisfied with the answer, Cheng Miao bought several more cans of cat food, along with cat treats, teaser wands, and similar supplies, then packed them into her Space Backpack.
After processing the payment, Brother Parrot swept one wing outward. “Come on. I’ll take you on an outing this afternoon.”
Qi Jiajia sneered. “An outing in a place like this? Why not just make us help with the farmwork?”
Brother Parrot said nothing.
Qi Jiajia had killed it with rage.
Cheng Miao had never visited the rear entrance of the Inn. In fact, even Qin Musong had never known an Inn’s back door could conceal an entirely different world.
An expanse of pristine snow greeted them. Distant mountains lay beneath silver-white coverings, resembling a snow-pale sleeping beauty.
Several plum trees beside the Guesthouse released a rich fragrance. Not far away, a small river had frozen solid, reflecting dazzling sunlight.
Cheng Miao and the others stared in amazement. Brother Parrot alone circled with its head and chest held high, smug as could be. Its words clearly targeted someone. “Some people really are frogs at the bottom of a well!”
Qi Jiajia had no time to argue.
She loved snow, but her parents never allowed her to play in it.
They worried she would get sick, worried she would frostbite her hands, worried about one thing after another.
Qi Jiajia had not behaved in the real world as she did in instances.
She had not been obsessive or unpleasant. She had resembled an exquisite doll: obedient, well behaved, and nearly devoid of emotion.
Her parents had wondered why, despite her privileged life, Qi Jiajia still seemed like a false person.
She rarely truly cried, laughed, or grew angry. Every movement was perfect, yet lacked the warmth of life.
Qi Jiajia felt imprisoned by that world. Everyone envied her yet treated her with extreme caution.
In their eyes, she was only the wealthy heiress Qi Jiajia, a precious young lady to be handled with care.
No one dared show displeasure toward her. No one even dared raise their voice.
Qi Jiajia found everyone boring. Life itself was boring.
Then she entered the Survival Inn and experienced how ordinary people, even weak people, were treated. It surprised and angered her, but it also made her feel alive.
That was why Cheng Miao seemed extraordinary to her. Cheng Miao appeared aloof, yet cared deeply about others.
To Cheng Miao, Qi Jiajia was simply an ordinary young girl. Cheng Miao had not even liked her much at first, but she respected Qi Jiajia’s efforts and accepted her as a teammate.
Qi Jiajia cast her thoughts aside and threw herself into the snow.