Chapter 16: Dream Party Hotel

Lin Yi carefully led Wen Ya into the hotel through the fire escape after manually breaking the lock on the rooftop door.

It was already afternoon, and the windows of the privacy-focused hotel were tightly shut. Without electricity, the interior was somewhat dim.

On the ninth-floor corridor, a few zombies wandered aimlessly. The red carpet was dotted with dark stains. Blood splatters formed patterns on the walls covered with elegant wallpaper.

A female zombie, with only her upper body intact, crawled back and forth on one hand. Behind her, a zombie resembling a male student gnawed on a plump severed leg, following her step by step. They looked like a couple.

What a heartwarming scene.

Unsurprisingly, they were probably a young couple who had come here for a romantic rendezvous.

Lin Yi quickly identified his targets, preparing to clear the entire floor. The zombies wandering outside, exposing themselves, weren't scary. The real danger lay in those hidden in the rooms.

"Forward thrust," Lin Yi muttered.

He darted out from the staircase corner, his blade piercing the male student zombie's brain like a sword. One fatal strike.

The zombie with its brain tissue destroyed wobbled and fell. The female zombie crawling at its feet hadn't yet reacted when Lin Yi crushed her skull with one stomp.

"Roar!"

The zombies further down the corridor heard the commotion and suddenly turned, howling.

Unlike the slow zombies in movies, the zombies in this apocalyptic game moved extremely fast. The remaining zombies charged furiously towards Lin Yi.

"Upward diagonal slash," he said.

The blade swung, and Lin Yi killed one before taking another step.

"Backhand downward chop," he continued.

Sidestepping and changing his stance, two flashes of his blade disappeared in an instant.

With precise control of force, he easily sliced the remaining zombies in half.

Combining the combat skills honed over three years in his previous life's apocalypse with his powerful physical abilities, Lin Yi was like a killing machine in close combat—efficient and cold.

In less than three seconds, the zombies in the corridor were completely cleared.

Wen Ya clutched a fire axe, following behind Lin Yi. She had initially thought of helping him finish off any stragglers, but seeing the bodies split in half all over the floor, she could only lower her axe sheepishly.

She felt rather useless.

"I'll look for a key card," she said, perhaps wanting to show some usefulness.

Wen Ya quickly crouched down, fighting her discomfort as she began searching the bodies.

Lin Yi tilted his head slightly, looking at her with an odd expression.

"There's no power. What use is a key card?"

Ignoring the embarrassed Wen Ya, Lin Yi directly grabbed the door lock with his bare hands.

The metal deformed, and the doorknob was easily pulled out.

Nothing was simpler or more efficient than forceful entry.

"Room 909," he announced.

They entered the room.

It wasn't large, with a water bed in the center. Several erotic paintings hung on the walls. A swing chair, yoga ball, and even a few black straps connected to the ceiling hung at the head of the bed.

Wen Ya followed Lin Yi with her head lowered, her face flushed red.

Though she wasn't quite sure what everything was for, it all looked rather intense.

"You stay here and rest. I have something to do," Lin Yi said after ensuring there were no zombies hiding in the room.

The ninth floor had been cleared of zombies, so it was temporarily safe.

"Where are you going?" Wen Ya raised her head, instinctively wanting to ask Lin Yi where he was headed and why she couldn't come along.

"I have business to attend to," Lin Yi cut her off. "The space here is too small. It's not safe for you to follow me."

Lin Yi hadn't come to the Dream Party Hotel simply to find a place to stay near the hospital. If he remembered correctly, there was a mutated zombie here.

He was just one mutated creature away from upgrading both his Awakened rank and player level. Once he reached level 1, his abilities would see another qualitative leap.

When he engaged in battle with the mutated creature later, Wen Ya would only be a burden if she followed.

Her true value lay in awakening in a few days, after which Lin Yi could bring her to participate in the battle against the [Stitcher]. Or later, when building his power base, she could serve as logistics personnel providing mental energy.

Wen Ya didn't say anything more. She wasn't foolish enough to act recklessly like the female supporting characters in movies.

Lin Yi walked out of the room, leaving her some food. Along the way, he had heard her stomach growling quite a bit, though she never mentioned it.

Reaching the end of the corridor, Lin Yi was about to go downstairs when he heard an unusual sound.

"Click."

The door of Room 901 suddenly opened, and a middle-aged man emerged with a young woman.

"Hello, comrade!" the middle-aged man said excitedly, his face unshaven.

He habitually tried to shake hands with Lin Yi, looking like someone who worked in an official capacity.

Lin Yi stepped back, his expression cold.

The man's outstretched hand hung awkwardly in the air.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the middle-aged man said, clearing his throat out of habit. The young woman beside him secretly glanced at Lin Yi.

"I'm the head of the Forestry Department. My name is Wang Jianguo."

"Big brother, I'm Xiuxiu," the woman said in a coquettish voice, batting her eyelashes at Lin Yi.

She pulled down her top slightly, revealing more of her chest.

Lin Yi remained unmoved, quickly grasping the nature of their relationship.

"First of all, thank you very much, comrade, for rescuing us. I express my utmost gratitude..." Wang Jianguo began.

"Whoosh."

Lin Yi pointed his blade at the middle-aged man's throat, stopping his endless official-speak.

This person was likely a government official, prone to excessive talk.

"Get to the point," Lin Yi said.

A hint of killing intent made the two step back, nearly losing their balance.

After regaining his composure, a flash of dissatisfaction crossed Wang Jianguo's eyes.

He held a high position and was used to being respected. Who wouldn't flatter him upon meeting?

However, he had been trapped in the room for days and didn't know what the outside world had become.

Years in officialdom had taught him to read situations. He had watched through the peephole as Lin Yi easily dispatched the zombies surrounding them.

The thought of having Lin Yi protect him had crossed his mind.

If there were still many of these monsters outside, Lin Yi was their only hope of getting out.

"Comrade, if you're willing to escort me to the government office, I'll certainly recommend you for commendation to my superiors," Wang Jianguo said, suppressing his displeasure and trying to curry favor with Lin Yi.

"It could be quite beneficial for your future development. Getting a position in public service wouldn't be difficult."

Lin Yi sneered and turned to leave, not bothering to respond.

Seeing Lin Yi unmoved, Wang Jianguo suddenly felt a surge of anger.

"Young man, think carefully. I have some influence in the Forestry Department," he said.

"We can't get through on the phone now, and government people can't find me. That's why I'm asking for your help."

"Don't waste such a good opportunity."

Xiuxiu, leaning against Wang Jianguo, chimed in, "Big brother, Director Wang's position is quite significant. If you're willing to take us with you, you can make any request later."

Wang Jianguo nodded with satisfaction upon hearing Xiuxiu's persuasion.

Lin Yi let out a cold laugh.

Idiots.

Government?

If things hadn't changed, the government building was likely now a zombie stronghold. According to his memories from his previous life, there were at least ten mutated creatures lurking inside.

Xiuxiu, seeing that Lin Yi hadn't slowed his pace at all, became anxious.

The zombie corpses in the corridor were truly frightening.

"Director Wang, why don't we just follow behind him for now?" she suggested.

Wang Jianguo's face darkened, but he nodded.

He had seen the terrifying sight of zombies eating people over the past two days. If Lin Yi hadn't cleared the corridor, he wouldn't have dared to leave the room.

Seeing Lin Yi getting further away, the two hurriedly followed, jogging to keep up.

...

On the eighth floor, Lin Yi pushed open the heavy fire door and his gaze sharpened.

In the center of the corridor, a dozen zombies were relentlessly pounding on a room door.

It seemed someone inside had made a noise.

In the room, a couple huddled in the corner, their eyes filled with terror.

The door frame had started to come loose after the zombies' night-long assault. It looked like the zombies outside were about to break in.

A fist-sized hole had already been punched through the cheap wooden door.

"Yu Shihao, what should we do?!" the girl asked the boy next to her, her voice trembling.

Yu Shihao turned to look at her, his face filled with hatred.

"You're asking me what to do?!" he snapped.

"You stupid bitch, you came to a hotel with me while on your period. Are you out of your mind?!"

In his anger, Yu Shihao slapped the girl across the face, then followed up with a kick.

After the zombie outbreak, he, a frequent moviegoer, had immediately chosen to lock the door and hide.

From his observations, there were still quite a few living guests on this floor.

Now the zombies had been pounding on their door since yesterday, ignoring everyone else.

It was clearly because of the strong blood scent from the girl beside him!

"Yu Shihao, you're not like this, right? You said you'd love and protect me," the girl said, her face streaked with tears, clinging to a last shred of hope.

She subconsciously tried to make excuses for Yu Shihao. Maybe he was just too scared?

"Get the fuck away from me. If you weren't a virgin, would I have even looked at you?" he snarled.

Her heart sank.

Yu Shihao anxiously pressed buttons on his new model phone, trying to make a call.

It was useless.

A phone without a signal was no better than a brick.

In his frustration, he smashed the phone on the ground.

The phone had been bought by the girl through her work-study program.

Yu Shihao had told her that her phone wasn't good enough, and if she wanted him to contact her often, she should buy him a new one.

Amidst the scattered pieces on the floor, the girl, named Zhou Fang, covered her face and wept silently, slowly releasing her grip on the boy's arm.

Zhou Fang and the boy were college classmates.

He had pursued her for a long time, always gentle and caring towards her.

She wasn't particularly attractive and had always been somewhat insecure. It was the first time in her life someone had been so nice to her, so she had accepted Yu Shihao's pursuit out of gratitude.

Just before the apocalypse broke out, he had pestered her to come out, saying this was a private cinema.

Inexperienced, she had agreed without much thought.

She never expected that in the face of danger, Yu Shihao would show his true colors.

"Roar!"

A zombie howled, and a rotting arm reached through the hole in the door.

The boy stared at the hand, terrified.

He couldn't wait any longer!

Zhou Fang, crying with her head down, didn't notice the boy suddenly standing up beside her, his eyes flashing with malice.

He took out a small knife from his keychain and stabbed it directly into Zhou Fang's ankle!

"You bitch, didn't you say you loved me?" he sneered, his face twisted.

He stepped on her other leg and repeated the action.

"If you love me, then die for me."