Outside was a hotel corridor. The white walls had many yellow-black stains, and not far away, dark red bloodstains were visible. The floor was covered with dark brown carpet, its intricate patterns worn beyond recognition.
Even a garbage dump wasn't this filthy.
Chu Ran looked disgusted.
Nearby, a cylindrical robot that looked about to fall apart, glowing blue, stumbled over. "E-excuse me, do you need to extend your stay?"
A clear, youthful voice, with a hint of shyness.
Chu Ran's gaze landed on the cylindrical robot. A smart robot.
First time seeing one.
The cylindrical robot felt a bit shy at being stared at, wriggling awkwardly as it asked again, "Um, do you need to extend your stay?"
Chu Ran withdrew her inspecting gaze. "Do you have clean clothes and a place to shower?"
Her own hygiene wasn't much better than this hotel's.
If it were before, she would have jumped into the bathtub and scrubbed frantically by now.
Her cleanliness OCD always knew how to adapt to circumstances.
The cylindrical robot's blue light flickered. "O-out of answer scope. Transferring to human service."
Human service?
Chu Ran blinked.
Then the robot's head spun 180 degrees rapidly, nearly falling off, and a panel below the screen popped open, revealing a rectangular speaker. A rough male voice rang out, "You little brat, get your ass up here, now! Something's come up!"
A few seconds later, a boy with messy hair like straw, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, scrambled upstairs. "Coming, coming. What's... up?"
When he saw Chu Ran, he looked a bit stunned, then breathed a sigh of relief—at least she didn't die.
He stood up straight, tousled his hair, and said, "What service do you need?"
Chu Ran noticed the change in his expression and her eyes flickered.
If the original owner wanted to die quietly, she wouldn't pick a place where she knew someone. But what if something went wrong...
"I want to switch to a room with a bathroom."
Looking at the suitcase, the original owner wasn't slovenly. Since she hadn't succeeded in suicide, wanting to clean up shouldn't break character.
Mainly, after confirming there was no danger, her OCD started acting up, seriously threatening her sanity.
"Ah," the boy didn't suspect anything, just scratched his chin hesitantly. "There is one, but the price doubles, and..."
"Lead the way." Chu Ran didn't hesitate.
"Uh, okay." The boy touched his head and turned to lead the way.
Three days without eating and not hungry—impressive.
When they reached the end of the corridor, a monitor above the door shot out a blue light. The boy looked up, and the blue light scanned his pupils. The next second, a silver-white door opened.
He pushed open the door on the left. "The other rooms haven't been cleaned yet. Use the staff dorm for now."
The bathroom only had a rusty showerhead and a transparent bottle with liquid left at the bottom on a shelf. Nothing else.
"I'll buy you a set of clean clothes."
Chu Ran looked at the shabby bathroom, was silent for a few seconds, then resigned herself to her thin wallet. "Fine."
"Pay when you check out." The boy was afraid Chu Ran might have a change of heart again, so he didn't rush her to pay.
He walked to the window and was about to draw the curtain when he saw a black spot in the distance in the sky.
He froze instantly.
Chu Ran stepped forward and followed his gaze. She saw the black spot rapidly expanding.
What was that?
Soon, the black spot turned into a rapidly spinning black vortex.
Chu Ran frowned and was about to ask when she heard the boy shout in terror, "Run! Run!"
Before she could react, the boy, pale-faced, grabbed her hand and sprinted out of the room.
He slammed his right hand heavily against a red screen on the wall, screaming hoarsely, "Everyone get out! Zerg Beast attack!"
Zerg Beast?!
Chu Ran didn't know the specifics, but she'd read a few sci-fi novels—Zerg Beasts were never good news. This time, she didn't need the boy to pull her; she grabbed him and ran downstairs.
After dodging a third pile of vomit, her OCD flared up even in this life-or-death situation. "Doesn't this hotel have a cleaner?!"
"I'm doing everything myself!" The boy, on the verge of collapse, slammed the red screen at every staircase landing, alarms blaring through the small hotel.
Chu Ran narrowly avoided a fourth pile of vomit, her temples pulsing with tension. "Can't you hire another person?!"
She didn't even dare touch the handrails!
God knew what those handrails had been through—the stains formed a Picasso abstract!
The boy expertly dodged a clump of trash. "Don't remind me of that greedy boss's ugly face at a time like this!"