Apocalypse: The Hotel She Runs Is the Only Paradise

Chapter 19

The menu was incredibly diverse, offering everything one could expect in a hotpot restaurant. It included ingredients like fatty beef, high-calcium lamb, hand-sliced beef, shrimp paste, enoki mushrooms, and many more. Gu Wanyin scrolled through the menu for a long time without reaching the end.

The system had thoughtfully included meat platters, meatball platters, and vegetable platters, allowing customers to try a variety of dishes for fewer points. Although the portions weren't large, it was still quite satisfactory.

There were numerous soup base options, such as spicy, tomato, three-flavor, and mushroom. Customers could also choose split pots or quad-section pots.

The prices were preset by the system and quite reasonable. Meat dishes were five points per plate, meat platters were ten points, vegetable dishes were three points, vegetable platters were six points, and soup bases were eight points, including split pots and quad-section pots.

Dong Yue and Zhuang Xiaoxia couldn't help but exclaim in amazement as they perused the menu.

However, Gu Wanyin noticed that there were no cooked dishes like fried crispy meat or fried mantou slices.

She thought that perhaps these items would be unlocked in the hotpot restaurant once they were available in the cafeteria's food dispensers.

Without further delay, she began ordering.

Since she had two kids with her, she didn't dare order all spicy dishes. She chose a split pot with tomato and spicy broths, then discussed with the children to order many of their favorite dishes.

Of course, she left some items unordered for next time. After all, they shouldn't waste food!

Zhuang Xiaoxia and Dong Yue, mindful of their points, ordered conservatively. Apart from the soup base, they chose one meat platter, one vegetable platter, and a portion of shrimp paste.

Naturally, the points would be split evenly between them, with the system deducting half from each of their cards.

Similar to the noodle shop, once they placed their order, the pot and various dishes rose up from below.

The soup in the pot was already boiling, and there was no need to add more as it would automatically refill while they ate.

Zhuang Xiaoxia and Dong Yue marveled at this once again.

After preparing their dipping sauces, they eagerly began to eat.

The spicy broth was intensely flavorful, causing them to break out in a sweat as they ate, while the tomato broth was delightfully tangy.

The fatty beef slices were incredibly tender, the shrimp paste was fresh, and the tripe was crisp and flavorful!

Everyone ate with great enthusiasm, and they had even brought drinks from the cabinet beforehand. Now, enjoying hotpot with cola was the ultimate pleasure.

After eating voraciously for a while, Zhuang Xiaoxia exclaimed, "I never thought I'd be able to eat such delicious hotpot in this post-apocalyptic world!"

"I know, right? Before, I was just thinking about surviving one day at a time, afraid I might not see the next sunrise every night!" Dong Yue said excitedly. "But now... it feels like a dream!"

Although Gu Wanyin didn't want to dampen their spirits, she felt compelled to remind them, "You need to keep an eye on your points, okay? Once you run out, you'll need to exchange other items to replenish them. Otherwise, I won't be able to let you stay here."

While she felt a connection with Dong Yue and Zhuang Xiaoxia, she wouldn't break system rules for anyone.

So all she could do was remind them not to get too carried away and forget about their responsibilities.

"Oh, right!" Zhuang Xiaoxia suddenly remembered. "I don't have much left now, just two level-one crystal cores."

She actually had a special ability, but it was very weak: only level-one earth manipulation.

Previously, she had been lucky enough to join a group of ability users in killing a horde of zombies, and she had received some crystal cores as her share.

But she had been living in a base that required crystal cores for residence, so she had used most of them to pay for her stay, leaving her with just two level-one cores.

That day, she had ventured out hoping for some luck, but ended up encountering several zombies. She fled in terror and fortunately found herself at this hotel.

Staying here was definitely cheaper than the base, but she couldn't keep depleting her resources without replenishing them.

After all, besides accommodation, she still needed to eat!

Take this hotpot meal, for instance. Although it wasn't expensive, she had to steel herself to indulge in it.

After this meal, she decided to be frugal for the next few days!

"Shall we try going out together in a couple of days?" Dong Yue said worriedly. "Though I don't have any special abilities..."

"Hey, I'm only level one, not much better than you," Zhuang Xiaoxia said with a wry smile. "Let's give it a try. If we're lucky, we might kill a zombie. If not, we'll have to settle for scavenging other items."

But they knew that crystal cores would probably fetch the most points in exchange.

Her bracelet had been worth 300 points earlier because it had been valuable before the apocalypse, set with three diamonds.

Ah... thinking about the bracelet reminded her of Wei Fenghua.

Oh no! He has a girlfriend now, she shouldn't think like this!

Zhuang Xiaoxia channeled her heartache into her appetite, taking another big bite of meat.

...

After finishing the hotpot, they didn't need to clean up the table. The system would automatically collect and clean the dishes after they left.

A sign reading "Peace Hotpot Restaurant" was hung at the entrance.

As they left the restaurant, Gu Wanyin heard the system's voice again.

"Ding! New task unlocked: Recruit one night shift attendant. Task rewards: Unlock rooms 301 and 302, upgrade rooms 209 and 210; Unlock one staff dormitory room, two sets of staff uniforms; Unlock unlimited quantities of five types of medicine. Note: All third-floor rooms are double rooms, priced at twenty points."

Another new task! This time to recruit a night shift attendant?

She had previously set Xu Shi's working hours from 8 AM to 8 PM, so the night shift attendant would work from 8 PM to 8 AM, right?

This way, if guests arrived in the middle of the night, the system wouldn't need to wake her up!

The system was truly considerate!

Moreover, this time they could unlock five types of medicine.

Although many who survived the apocalypse had greatly enhanced physical constitutions, some had become very frail, barely clinging to life.

Take Fu Sishu, for example. He had some unknown illness that caused frequent coughing.

If she, Cola Hamburger, or any of the hotel guests had a headache or fever, it would be troublesome without medicine.

They arrived at the hotel lobby, and Zhuang Xiaoxia was about to turn towards the staircase to go up to her room and rest, when she saw Wei Fenghua and Bai Shuwen buying things at the cabinet.

The two looked very intimate, with Wei Fenghua's arm around Bai Shuwen's waist.

Zhuang Xiaoxia lowered her gaze, forcing herself not to look in their direction.

To be honest, she felt somewhat guilty now.

Her breakup with Wei Fenghua had been amicable, and it had been many years since then. Why shouldn't he be allowed to have a girlfriend now? What right did she have to feel upset about it?

But... the human heart isn't so easily controlled.

Of course, even if she felt hurt, she would only suffer in silence and would never try to interfere with their relationship.

After grabbing a bottle of orange juice, Bai Shuwen said to Wei Fenghua, "I'm going back to the room to rest. What about you?"

"You go ahead, I want to look around the hotel a bit more. I'm quite curious about it," Wei Fenghua said with a smile.

"Alright," Bai Shuwen didn't suspect anything.

As she walked past, she smiled and greeted Gu Wanyin and the others.

Seeing the beautiful woman up close made Gu Wanyin's heart race!

Bai Shuwen was not only gorgeous but also had an extraordinary aura!

Indeed, beautiful older sisters were her favorite!

However, after Bai Shuwen went upstairs, Wei Fenghua approached Zhuang Xiaoxia and said, "Can we talk?"