Old Friends
12:04 a.m.
Zhang Heng parked the Volga outside the entrance to the Pripyat Grand Hotel. Aside from the White Mare reappearing earlier, the group encountered nothing else strange along the way and arrived at their destination without incident.
There were no security measures outside the hotel either. Although quite a few prominent figures were staying inside, after Pripyat announced the mass evacuation, the cooks and service staff had basically all gotten on the buses and left, not to mention doormen and security guards.
In fact, even if anyone had remained, they would not have stayed crouching on the street and soaking up radiation. Besides, the entire city had already been evacuated, and only disaster relief personnel remained. Thus, Shcherbina and the others did not think their lodgings would be in any danger.
But tonight, the Pripyat Grand Hotel welcomed a group of uninvited guests.
Zhang Heng got out of the car, took the Plague Bone Bow from the trunk, and slung it over his back. Kratos and Kill la Kill Boy stepped out after him, followed by Bessonova supporting Mouse.
The five of them remained silent as they crossed the red carpet outside and entered the hotel lobby.
The place was pitch-black now, with not a soul in sight. Zhang Heng deliberately shone his flashlight toward the front desk. Snezana had been taken away by the Doctor and Mechanic before the evacuation, but even if she had not left, she would not have remembered what happened in the Parallel Instance.
Zhang Heng merely glanced over there before withdrawing his gaze and preparing to continue forward. Yet the next moment, he suddenly stopped.
"What is it?" Kratos asked.
"Something is missing here."
"Something? What?" Mouse looked around, unable to spot what Zhang Heng said was missing. He then said,