Chapter 36
Hotel horror stories.
They had scavenged nearly all the supplies they could find in the Shopping Mall. To keep the people in the Camp alive, they would have to open up a new "battlefield."
The Berthing Hotel was the new battlefield Jun Shutong had chosen. As a hotel, it could meet both their food and lodging needs at once.
But the Berthing Hotel was on the outer edge of the Shopping Mall. Getting there from the third floor meant crossing a skybridge. Although it was not completely exposed to the open air, it was hardly any different from being out under the sky.
Already growing worried, Lu Li asked, "How many people did Sister Jun take?"
"One squad. Seven people," Fatty Lei answered quickly.
"Wait another two hours. If Sister Jun still isn't back, come tell me." With that, Lu Li turned and went back to his room.
All he could do now was silently pray that his worries were unfounded and that Jun Shutong's group was safe.
But most things in this world never took a turn for the better.
Two hours later.
Fatty Lei hurried over to find Lu Li.
"Brother Lu, I think something's happened to Sister Jun and the others. They still haven't come back. I tried calling them on the radio, but there's no answer."
Fatty Lei sounded close to tears, and his face was filled with panic.
To Fatty Lei, Jun Shutong was not just a powerful protector he could cling to. She was also the backbone of the entire Camp. If something really happened to her, his life would never be as comfortable as it was now.
His concern for Jun Shutong was absolutely genuine.
Having already prepared himself for the worst, Lu Li said calmly, "Calm down first. Give me a radio. I'll go over there alone and take a look."
Hearing that, Fatty Lei quickly pressed the radio in his hand into Lu Li's. "Do you need me to find a few people to go with you?"
"No. The more people there are, the more conspicuous we'll be." Lu Li shook his head, declining Fatty Lei's offer.
With his knowledge of Pokémon, as long as he did not suddenly come face-to-face with one, his chances of escaping alive were much better than an ordinary person's.
Following Fatty Lei's directions, Lu Li reached the third floor through Emergency Exit Seven.
There was a shoe store beside the Emergency Exit. After a moment's thought, Lu Li made a point of going inside and changing into a pair of sneakers.
When a human faced a Pokémon alone, fighting back was pointless. Survival really depended on how fast they could run.
Standing at the entrance to the skybridge, Lu Li quickly scanned the sky on both sides. Once he confirmed there were no flying Pokémon, he crouched low and ran toward the Berthing Hotel on the other side.
After reaching the hotel, Lu Li switched on his radio.
"Sister Jun, this is Lu Li. Can you hear me?" he said into it.
After Lu Li repeated himself three times, a burst of static finally came through the radio.
"This is Jun... now... sixth floor... danger..."
Whether it was poor reception or too much distance, Jun Shutong's words kept cutting out. Fortunately, she had still provided the crucial information.
They were trapped on the sixth floor and had encountered danger.
In other words, there was danger on one of the floors below the sixth. They were stuck up there and could not get down, which was why they still had not returned.
"Sister Jun, which floor is dangerous?" Lu Li repeated the question over and over.
Soon, another burst of static came through the radio.
"Fourth... floor... fourth..."
With Jun Shutong's confirmation, Lu Li switched off the radio.
He did not ask what the Pokémon on the fourth floor looked like. The radio's reception was not good enough for that.
"There's danger upstairs?" Lu Li stared at the staircase before him, lost in thought.
Should I go up and take a look? Or think of a safer way?
Lu Li considered whether he could use a Pokémon to deal with the other Pokémon instead of risking his own life.
But the only one he could think of was Mimikyu, and Mimikyu would never agree to come rescue anyone. Even communicating was a problem right now, let alone directing Mimikyu to save people.
"I never thought I'd see the day when I, Lu Li, would risk my life for someone else." He gave a bitter, self-mocking chuckle.
Having made his decision, Lu Li's gaze grew firmer, and he headed resolutely up the stairs.
A Pokémon that stayed inside a hotel all the time probably was not a carnivore. Carnivorous Pokémon needed to hunt, after all. There was no reason for one to keep wandering around a hotel.
Of course.
It was also possible that there were so many people in the hotel that it had no need to go out looking for food.
But based on what he had learned about Pokémon over the past few days, Lu Li did not think that was likely.
That was also why he dared risk his life to investigate the Pokémon on the fourth floor.
Just as Lu Li climbed to the fourth floor through the Emergency Exit, he heard a strange humming sound.
"Ee-yeh~ ee-yeh, ee-yeh..."
"That cry..." Lu Li stopped in his tracks.
His mind raced as he racked his brains for a Pokémon that could make such a strange cry.
But it had been so long that Lu Li could not be sure which Pokémon made that sound. What he could be certain of was that a Pokémon with a cry like that probably was not a carnivore.
At that thought, Lu Li poked his head out and cautiously surveyed the hotel corridor.
A Pokémon about a meter tall, mostly dark purple and white, was pushing a food cart and softly humming something.
"The horns on her head point downward. That's a female Indeedee!" Lu Li was overjoyed as soon as he saw what the Pokémon looked like.
Indeedee was a Pokémon brimming with positive energy. Indeedee were modeled after aristocratic butlers and maids: males resembled butlers, while females resembled maids.
Most importantly, Indeedee's main source of energy was the positive emotions of other creatures.
That was the exact opposite of Mimikyu, who fed on fear.
More importantly, Indeedee was a dual Psychic- and Normal-type Pokémon, not a Ghost-type Pokémon.
The problem now was this.
For the vast majority of Ghost-type Pokémon, an apocalypse like this was the paradise they had always dreamed of.
But for Pokémon like Indeedee, an apocalypse like this truly was the end of the world.
There could hardly be many positive emotions in an apocalypse. Indeedee really could starve to death.
Yet this Indeedee seemed to be in an excellent mood.
Could it be that Indeedee hasn't gone hungry lately? Lu Li wondered.
Just as Lu Li was puzzling over this, Indeedee
pushed her food cart to a door and stopped. She gently knocked.
A moment later, the door opened, and a long, slender hand reached out.
The hand took the food Indeedee offered.
"Thank you, great magical beast," the guest inside the room said gratefully.
Lu Li: "???"
Suddenly, Lu Li felt that this world was a little absurd.
Afraid that his eyes had deceived him, Lu Li quickly poked his head out again, holding his breath as he secretly watched Indeedee's movements.