Honored Guest

Can mutated species communicate?

When the man spoke, even Qi Xing stopped his action of opening the door and looked over in surprise.

Jiang Zhaosu finally dared to believe it wasn't her imagination: "He... spoke...?"

"He spoke."

Qi Xing's expression turned serious.

Generally, mutated species that could speak were at least Rank A in combat power.

Seeing both Jiang Zhaosu and Qi Xing looking at him, the mutated species spoke again.

His way of speaking was somewhat similar to Jiang Zhaosu's, both slow and hoarse, as if his throat had a hole in it, occasionally mixed with the guttural growls of a zombie.

"I... hotel manager... Sun Penghui..."

The mutated species even placed a hand on its chest and bowed to them like a gentleman.

"Esteemed... guests... please... follow me... downstairs... to register..."

Ugh.

Jiang Zhaosu was stunned.

As expected of a Five-Star Hotel manager, he hadn't forgotten his job even after becoming a zombie.

Although this mutated species exuded a dangerous aura, it didn't seem to have any intention of attacking them.

Should they kill it? Or see how things played out first.

Jiang Zhaosu couldn't make up her mind and looked at Qi Xing.

Qi Xing still held the thin wire for picking locks in his hand. He looked at Jiang Zhaosu, then at the mutated species patiently waiting for their answer.

Qi Xing subtly put his hand behind his back and, as if nothing had happened, put the wire back into his pocket.

"Sure. Let's go, Fugui."

Qi Xing put his arm around Jiang Zhaosu's shoulder and motioned for the mutated species to lead the way.

The mutated species walked ahead, while the two of them followed behind, communicating with glances and gestures.

Jiang Zhaosu nudged her mouth towards the mutated species in front and made a chopping motion at her neck, winking and signaling frantically at Qi Xing.

(Are we just going to go along with this? Not kill it?)

Qi Xing shook his head, raised his hand, and shook it like a rattle, then waved his hand and made a running motion with two fingers.

(No, my abilities aren't easy to use here. If we can't beat it, we're done for. We'll act when the opportunity arises, and if it doesn't work out, we'll run.)

Jiang Zhaosu: "..."

Helplessly, they could only follow the mutated species downstairs.

This mutated species was very dedicated. As they went downstairs, it even thoughtfully explained to them: "The hotel lost power... stairs... please excuse us..."

Jiang Zhaosu's speech was not fluent, so Qi Xing answered for her: "It's okay."

Mutated Species: "Complimentary... room upgrade..."

"Haha, thank you, Manager Sun."

Qi Xing was like a machine, responding to every word the mutated species said.

This mutated species rarely encountered guests who dared to chat with it like this, so it became more enthusiastic and excitedly introduced the hotel's facilities to them along the way.

"Second floor... restaurant... every morning at seven... free breakfast..."

"First floor... has a banquet hall..."

"Fourteenth floor... gym... free to use..."

"Top floor... has a bar... infinity pool... good for photos..."

Its introductions were good, but the mutated species spoke too slowly. Jiang Zhaosu felt anxious for it and couldn't help but say: "Speak... faster..."

Hearing her words, the mutated species sadly touched its severely deformed neck: "I... will try my best..."

"Don't... drag out... the words..."

"You... also... drag..."

Listening to their snail-paced conversation, Qi Xing felt that his own language system would eventually malfunction if this continued.

Upon reaching the first floor, the mutated species led them to the front desk and asked for their identification: "ID card... room..."

Who carried an ID card these days?

Qi Xing and Jiang Zhaosu looked at each other blankly for a moment.

Qi Xing let out an "ah," thought of a solution, and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small notebook.

He had found it specifically so Jiang Zhaosu could draw earlier.

Qi Xing wrote a few words on it, tore off a page, and handed it to Sun Penghui: "Book a twin room."

As he was writing, Jiang Zhaosu stood on tiptoe to peek.

Qi Xing wrote "Li Ronghua" and "Li Fugui."

Qi Xing's handwriting was surprisingly unsuited to his handsome and refined appearance, with strokes connected in a wild and unrestrained manner.

Jiang Zhaosu guessed that Qi Xing's composition scores in school must not have been high.

The mutated species manager actually accepted this perfunctory and sloppy "ID."

The mutated species, acting as if it were serious, placed the two small pieces of paper on a machine for checking IDs, then tapped a few times on a non-powered computer keyboard before looking up and saying to them, "Registration... complete..."

"Thirteenth floor... room 1304..."

The mutated species handed them both small pieces of paper along with another small card: "Here... is your room key..."

Jiang Zhaosu initially thought it was a real room key, but upon taking it, she realized it was a promotional card from a massage parlor.

This registration process was like playing house.

Qi Xing put his arm around Jiang Zhaosu and thanked the mutated species.

After they walked up the stairs, the mutated species still remembered to shout behind them, "Tomorrow... breakfast... come..."

Jiang Zhaosu and Qi Xing climbed three floors straight.

Jiang Zhaosu sniffed the air for the mutated species' aura and said to Qi Xing, "It's not... following..."

Qi Xing was also observing their surroundings: "Strange, in such a large hotel, there aren't any other zombies?"

He and Jiang Zhaosu had been going up and down for half the day and hadn't encountered a single zombie other than that mutated species.

"There are..."

Jiang Zhaosu smelled the aura: "Zombies... people... both..."

"Both?"

Qi Xing looked at the dark, abyss-like corridor in front of him, which was no longer illuminated by electricity: "Then why isn't there any sound?"

"Upstairs..."

"Let's go up and see."

Jiang Zhaosu and Qi Xing continued to climb the stairs.

On the fifth floor, they finally encountered a zombie.

This zombie was plump and dressed in a suit and tie. Before death, it had clearly been a businessman, and even in death, it was not as crude and savage as ordinary zombies, pacing back and forth in the corridor.

Only when it clearly smelled Qi Xing's aura did its eyes turn fierce, and it roared as it charged towards them.

Qi Xing's hand moved like a blade, cleanly severing the business zombie's head.

"More... are appearing..."

This zombie seemed like an omen.

Jiang Zhaosu smelled the scent of zombies growing stronger in the air.

"In the rooms..."

"The zombies are all in the rooms?"

Jiang Zhaosu nodded and pointed to a door that was open in the corridor: "It... came out..."

This hotel was too bizarre.

The zombies were actually confined to the guest rooms. Ordinary zombies had no consciousness and couldn't open doors, so they couldn't get out.

Besides that mutated species, Jiang Zhaosu couldn't think of anyone else who could have done this.

But why would it do this? Was it to protect humans?

That would be even more bizarre, wouldn't it?

Why would a mutated species protect humans?

Did it have consciousness, like her?

But looking at the mutated species' game-like registration process, Jiang Zhaosu didn't think so.

After thinking for a long time, Jiang Zhaosu's mind was a mess, and she couldn't understand the current situation.

However, the higher the floor she climbed, the fainter the human scent she could detect, indicating that there were no humans on the upper floors.

Curiosity drove Jiang Zhaosu and Qi Xing to climb all the way to the thirteenth floor, to room 1304, the room the mutated species had mentioned.

The mutated species manager had indeed kept its promise and booked them a luxury suite.

The suite was extremely spacious, about a hundred square meters by Jiang Zhaosu's estimation, with a living room, study, kitchen, and two bedrooms.

The living room and bedrooms had floor-to-ceiling windows, offering a view of the city's iconic buildings.

The luxurious and opulent decoration shocked Jiang Zhaosu for a hundred years.

She had never seen such a nice house before! It was so much brighter than her basement.

Jiang Zhaosu flopped onto the soft bed, not wanting to get up.

Although zombies didn't need sleep, she sometimes habitually closed her eyes and pretended to rest like a human for a short while.

Qi Xing looked at her lazy, boneless appearance and smiled. He also sat on the bed and casually asked, "Fugui, have you grown taller recently?"