Delivery Driver Checks In

At the entrance of a hotel in Binhai City.

"Hey, can't you give a heads-up before slamming on the brakes? I paid for this ride!"

Shen Qing's electric scooter screeched to a halt, one leg propping it up against the pavement.

Ignoring the young man's grumbling behind him, he fixed his gaze on the hotel's massive signboard and dialed a number.

"Hello. I'm a courier from Hummingbird Delivery. I have a delivery for you here at Mingdu Residential District, Room 201, but there's no one in the room..."

Before he could finish, a hurried female voice cut through the phone.

"Mingdu Residential District, Room 201? Isn't this a hotel?!"

Shen Qing didn't even glance at the order as he replied, "Ma'am, the address you left is for the residential district. Also, I have another delivery for you here—a late-night snack your boyfriend ordered."

The woman fell silent for two seconds before continuing, "I must have left the wrong address. Just bring them both over; I'll give you a tip."

"Alright, then please tell me the hotel address..."

Before Shen Qing could finish, the line went dead.

He looked at the hotel address and room number sent to his phone, tore the remarks off one of the orders, and turned to the young man behind him.

"This is the place. Get off."

"Once we're near the room, hide yourself. I need to confirm the situation. Remember, that one thousand yuan you promised."

The young man jumped off the scooter, his face darkening as he nodded. "Don't worry, you'll get it... Damn it, five days, and it finally came to light."

The two walked into the hotel lobby and headed straight for the stairs.

In a typical budget hotel, if you don't ask the front desk anything and just walk in, rarely will anyone stop you—though it's best not to be wearing a delivery uniform.

Sure enough, the receptionist at the counter only glanced at them, assumed they were guests picking up food, and paid them no further mind.

After all, there were no delivery robots here.

Reaching the fourth floor, Shen Qing double-checked the room number and pressed the doorbell. "Hello, delivery."

After a few seconds of silence, just as he was about to ring again, the door finally opened, and a scent like herbal perfume wafted out.

Standing at the door was a woman in a red spaghetti-strap nightgown with a very low neckline.

She leaned against the doorframe, looked Shen Qing up and down, and a flash of surprise crossed her eyes as she said in a flirtatious tone:

"Oh, aren't you a little cutie?"

Shen Qing instinctively lowered his head, appearing shy—the spitting image of a college student fresh out of society, his eyes still filled with a naive, clear-eyed stupidity.

"Here is your delivery."

He hurriedly handed over the food, his gaze sweeping toward the room.

It was a standard double room. A drama was playing on the wall-mounted TV, and two wine glasses and an opened bottle of red wine sat on the nightstand.

A man's shirt was draped carelessly over a chair by the window, and a pair of men's leather shoes lay askew on the floor.

Though he couldn't see the situation on the bed, it was already quite obvious.

"Little cutie, what are you looking at?"

Perhaps his movements were too clumsy, or perhaps he hadn't intended to hide it at all, but the woman immediately sensed something was off. "You're invading a guest's privacy, you know. Be careful, or I'll report you."

She took a step forward, the strap of her dress sliding down to reveal a rounded shoulder, and noticed the order in Shen Qing's hand with the remarks torn off.

"What's the situation with this order?"

She said with interest, "Tell big sister, why did you tear off the remarks? You don't want to be reported, do you?"

Seeing Shen Qing's innocent, boyish look, the woman licked her lips and breathed into his ear with undisguised intent.

"It's my boyfriend being suspicious, right? So, little cutie, do you want to come inside and take a closer look?"

As she spoke, she reached out to grab Shen Qing's hand, only for him to jerk it back and dodge away.

Shen Qing kept his head down and said, "Uh, it's cash on delivery, and I have other orders. Please, hurry up."

The woman froze.

"How boring..."

She muttered, stunned that someone would dodge her charms twice out of sheer shyness. A moment later, she couldn't help but curse:

"That loser, cash on delivery? I'm going to get my phone."

She turned around, failing to notice that as Shen Qing lifted his face, there wasn't a trace of shyness left.

He suddenly raised his right foot and kicked out with force.

Bang!

A loud crash exploded in the hallway, and the young man hiding around the corner jumped out instantly. "Hey, why did you just start fighting?"

Shen Qing shook out his wrists and replied without looking back, "Don't be stupid. She was about to make a move on me. That thousand you promised was for me to act as bait, not to get myself dragged into this."

With that, he lunged into the room.

"Damn it, wait for me!"

The young man hurried over, glanced around the hallway to ensure no one was there, then slammed the door shut and locked it with a bang.

The room immediately erupted into a cacophony of crashing furniture, shattering glass, and all sorts of chaotic noises.

Yet, the woman whom Shen Qing had kicked against the wall remained completely unscathed.

She slowly stood up, her face twisted into a hideous expression, her skin shifting from fair to a grayish-brown, covered in deep, gully-like cracks that resembled dead wood.

A middle-aged man lay on the bed, his life or death unknown.

"Are you those damned Supernaturalists?!"

The woman's voice was hoarse as several vines, each as thick as an infant's arm, whipped through the air toward Shen Qing, smashing the surrounding furniture into splinters and sending wood chips and foam flying everywhere.

Shen Qing barely dodged an attack; the vine grazed his ear and embedded itself deep into the wall behind him.

He furrowed his brows and shouted at the young man behind him, "This is a near E-rank Demon, are you not going to help?"

Well, this was not the poor sap the Demon had been targeting.

"Don't worry!" The young man nodded, crouched down, and slammed his hands onto the floor. "Fossil to Weapon!"

The marble floor instantly transformed into several stone chains, binding the woman. She roared in fury, her vines lashing out against the restraints.

Although cracks appeared in the chains the very next moment, it was enough for Shen Qing.

A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he lunged forward.

At that moment, the woman suddenly ceased her vine attacks and snapped her head up, her eyes glowing with a verdant light as she activated her charm ability.

Shen Qing had nowhere to hide, yet the next instant, his massive fist descended, leaving the woman's eyes filled with confusion.

"How?!"

She was slammed heavily into the ground, utterly bewildered; clearly, other Supernaturalists of the same level, or even stronger, had always been affected by her to some degree.

"You refuse to repent even in death!"

Shen Qing let out a cold snort, reached out with his right hand to seize her by the throat, and smashed her into the floor once more. Bang! The floor cracked instantly, sending marble shards flying.

The woman shrieked in agony as the bark on her body split open, oozing red blood.

Shen Qing ignored her completely, landing punch after punch. With every dull thud, red blood splattered everywhere—on the walls, and across his own face.

It wasn't until the Demon before him finally went completely still that the red liquid began to seep into the cracks of the floor.

[Demon slain: Centennial Tree Spirit. Obtained Trait: Spirit-Absorbing Root (Green).]

[Spirit-Absorbing Root: A nascent spirit root, absorbing energy for use. Spirit absorption speed +50%. Passive absorption of spirit energy while in contact with the earth, equivalent to 30% of normal cultivation speed.]