Chapter 79
Chapter 79
“I want to share a room with Brother Shuang!”
Xia Susu hurried forward as she spoke, as if terrified someone would snatch him away from her. She completely failed to factor Huang Xinze, who had just been talking, into the equation.
Liu Shuang froze. He had never expected a gorgeous woman to actually throw herself at him!
Huang Xinze pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a long sigh. He was not sighing because he could not share a room with Xia Susu, but because the heavens really were fair. They had opened a window for Xia Susu, and also shut a door on her!
She really was a beautiful idiot. Liu Shuang might as well have written the word “fraud” across his face, yet she still believed he was some big shot.
Huang Xinze sighed again, but with things as they were, it was not exactly his place to say more.
Off to the side, Xu You pressed her lips tightly together to keep from laughing. Xia Susu and Liu Shuang in one room-one wanted to cling to a powerful patron, while the other was a paper tiger. She could hardly imagine how hilarious it would be if there was even the slightest disturbance tonight.
“No problem! I’ll definitely protect you!” Liu Shuang, however, was brimming with confidence and agreed without hesitation.
Huang Xinze made one last attempt. “Susu, are you really not going to consider me again?”
Xia Susu walked over to Liu Shuang’s side and raised an eyebrow at Huang Xinze. “I still believe in the strength of a big shot!”
Xu You gave her a thumbs-up. “Good eye! Sooner or later, you’ll get to witness the big shot’s ‘strength’ for yourself!”
Wei Sen looked at the remaining people in the group: two women and one man. She figured Xu You and Chen Lin probably would not be willing to team up with Huang Xinze either. Of course, that included herself.
“Daoist, you share with Chen Lin,” Wei Sen said.
Xu You looked perfectly calm. As long as she was not paired with someone she hated, it made no difference who she roomed with.
“Sure.”
Chen Lin looked a little worried. “Then Sister Sen, you…”
“Sister Sen is actually going to share a room with me! This happiness is too sudden!” Huang Xinze clenched both fists in excitement.
Wei Sen pressed her lips into a flat line and looked at Huang Xinze. “I’m staying alone, thanks.”
“Ah, what a heartless woman!” Huang Xinze clutched his chest.
“Xiao Ze, want to stay with me tonight?” Lao Wang walked over, holding his ID card.
Only then did Huang Xinze seem to remember something, and his expression turned serious. “Sure!” As he spoke, he still glanced at Wei Sen uneasily. “Sister Sen, you really don’t need me to stay with you?”
“No.”
“All right.”
Wei Sen looked at Lao Wang. “You’re Huang Xinze’s friend, and you’re also from Civilization City?”
No one had expected Wei Sen to suddenly ask such a direct question.
Lao Wang looked over, a flicker of suspicion passing through his eyes, though his expression remained fairly genial. “Yes. Is there a problem?”
“You…”
Just as Wei Sen was about to speak, Guo Lan suddenly grabbed her wrist.
“What you want to ask has nothing to do with this Instance. We should check in first.” Guo Lan’s expression was as stern as ever. It was obvious she had laid her distrust of Lao Wang out in the open.
“You know what I want to ask?” Wei Sen looked at Guo Lan in confusion.
“Two worlds.”
Guo Lan’s brief answer made Wei Sen fall silent.
She should have realized it long ago. Whether it was Guo Lan, He Xu, or Zhou Jie, they were all people on the Hero Ranking. After clearing one Instance after another, they naturally knew many people known as Order Keeper as well. In that case, they should have discovered long ago that Order Keeper might come from different worlds.
Lao Wang had also heard Guo Lan’s words. He smiled faintly and said, “It’s not some secret. When the time comes, let this young lady explain it to you.”
Wei Sen fell silent.
Indeed, for veterans who had cleared one Instance after another, the fact that Order Keeper came from different places was nothing surprising. As for newcomers like them, most might not even have realized the issue yet.
After all, not every team was like theirs, with every member surviving from the very first Instance, and most of them being selected by the Mysterious Organization for an offline meeting after returning to the Real World.
But as long as someone survived in the Eerie World long enough, they would discover this sooner or later. So among those with the title of Order Keeper, this matter was not some unspeakable secret.
Wei Sen stopped pressing the issue.
Soon, everyone had their IDs ready. There were thirty people present. Aside from Wei Sen and Zhong Lingkun, the rest all checked in two to a room.
Just as everyone was about to head upstairs, the landline at the front desk suddenly rang. The shrill, urgent ringing made them all stop in their tracks again, stirring an inexplicable unease in their hearts.
“Hello, good evening.” Meiya picked up the phone, and her expression gradually turned solemn. “All right. Yes. Mm, I’ll pass the message on to the guests.”
Meiya hung up and walked back over.
“Everyone, I have some rather bad news to tell you.”
The group instantly grew tense. In an Instance, bad news often concealed deadly danger.
“Due to the heavy snow, the bus can’t enter the mountains. It is expected that the snow won’t stop until seven days from now, and only then will the bus be able to come in and take you back.”
“You mean we have to stay here for at least seven days?” Meng Zhenzhen asked.
Meiya nodded. “Yes. But please don’t worry. Because of the weather, the inn doesn’t have any other guests during this period, so regarding room fees, the manager has decided to charge everyone the lowest market rate: 200 per person per night.”
“Seven days is only 1,400. That really is cheap!” Lin Xiaoxue whispered.
“Cheap?” Guo Lan frowned and looked at Lin Xiaoxue. “We’re in big trouble!”
Lin Xiaoxue was still confused, but Xu You was the first to spot the problem. “When we checked our suitcases earlier, did any of you find cash on you?”
Only then did everyone realize they had nothing but phones with no signal, their IDs, and a few personal items. There was no so-called money at all!
If they had no money, how were they supposed to pay the room fee?
“The currency in the Eerie World probably isn’t RMB, right?” Wei Sen looked at Guo Lan. It was obvious this woman knew.
“Of course not. Their circulating currency is…” Guo Lan looked at the Black Watch. “Merit Points!”
“What?!” The people who had just learned this immediately exploded into an uproar.
Xia Susu reacted the most violently. She stared at He Xu and Zhou Jie in disbelief. “Is what she said true? I get charged 200 Merit Points every night?!”
“Yes. How many do you have right now?” He Xu asked.
Xia Susu instantly went weak, nearly unable to stay on her feet. Trembling, she raised her hand to check her Merit Points.
At the same time, Huang Xinze, Xu You, Lin Xiaoxue, and Chen Lin did not look much better.
Among them, Lin Xiaoxue had earned 500 Merit Points in Infinite Flight and 100 Merit Points in Zhihui Primary School, for a total of 600 Merit Points. That was only enough for three days.
As for Huang Xinze, Xu You, and Xia Susu, they had earned 50 Merit Points in Infinite Flight and 100 Merit Points in Zhihui Primary School, for a total of 150 Merit Points. They could not even afford one night!
Chen Lin was even worse off. She only had the 100 Merit Points from Zhihui Primary School, and by now she was completely panicking.
There was one other person among them who was extremely nervous: Liu Shuang, who had always presented himself as a big shot.
He secretly checked his Merit Points. He had 600 in total, only enough to survive three nights. Wasn’t he completely screwed?!