’A thousand a night?’
lody Sumrs could hardly believe it.
The Oceanus Hotel wasn’t as prestigious as the Nimbus Hotel, but it was still a five-star luxury hotel. A price like that would have been impossible even before the disaster, so how could it be so cheap now?
There was no such thing as a free lunch. lody Sumrs sensed a hint of danger in the man’s smile. She shook her head warily and said, "That won’t be necessary. We’ve already booked a hotel, and we’ve already paid."
The rest of the Sumrs family then began to get out of the car with their luggage. Seeing so many people erge, the man said nothing more, turned, and left.
Colin Sumrs had vaguely overheard their conversation. He glanced at the man’s hastily retreating back and asked lody, "lody, did he say that hotel across the street, the Oceanus, is only a thousand a night? So how much is this place we booked? Is it a lot more expensive?"
lody didn’t dare tell him the real price. Five hundred thousand a night was terrifying, and she was afraid of scaring her family. Steeling herself, she ca up with a lie. "Sophie Thorne pulled so strings for us. We got a discount, so it’s just ten thousand a day."
Even so, the Sumrs family was stunned by the price. ’Ten thousand a day? That’s two or three months’ salary for a normal person! A few days here and a whole year’s wages would be gone!’
Seeing their shocked expressions, lody instantly regretted quoting such a high price. She quickly tried to reassure them, "It’s fine, I’ve still got so money. Let’s go check in first."
Though the family was internally shocked, lody was the one making all the decisions now, so they didn’t say anything more. They simply followed her upstairs to check in.
The receptionist saw lody Sumrs’s reservation and enthusiastically arranged for a bellhop to help with their luggage before personally leading them to the luxury suite.
The elevator rode all the way up to the 36th floor. The bellhop led them to suite 36-02, bowing as he explained to lody and her family:
"The Nimbus Hotel welcos our distinguished guests. This is a deluxe presidential three-bedroom suite. The hotel has a buffet restaurant offering a complintary three-al buffet daily, plus afternoon tea. If you’d rather not go to the restaurant, you can also order à la carte, and we will deliver it directly to your room."
The suite was originally a two-bedroom, but since the disaster began, many people had co seeking shelter with their whole families in tow. The hotel had responded by modifying so rooms, partitioning the living rooms of many suites to add an extra bedroom.
"Alright, thank you," lody replied.
The bellhop smiled and bowed again. "You’re very welco. If any of you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call the front desk. I will leave you to rest now."
After the bellhop left, the Sumrs family began to look around the luxurious suite.
It was every bit the luxury suite of a five-star hotel. The decor was obviously professionally designed—spacious, bright, and elegantly furnished. Every detail radiated quality and class. Even the wall sconces were as beautiful as works of art, casting a warm, soft glow.
Grace Sutton was clicking her tongue in amazent at the suite. She walked to the room’s floor-to-ceiling windows, pulled back the gray, floral-patterned curtains, and looked down. The river below had run dry, its bed completely exposed.
A wave of sadness washed over Grace. ’I wonder when this extre heat and drought will ever end,’ she thought. With a sigh, she slowly drew the curtains closed again.
The family quickly divided up the rooms. Their grandmother and Miss Lowell took one room, Winnie and lody Sumrs took another, while Colin and Grace chose the one closest to the main door so they could be the first to react if anything happened.
Once the rooms were chosen, the family began to unpack. lody placed Albus and its cat bed on the soft carpet. The white cat stretched lazily before curling up inside and closing its eyes to rest.
After he finished unpacking, Colin Sumrs sat on the soft bed, his mind racing. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret over the ten-thousand-a-night fee.
’Ten thousand a day... that’s 150,000 for half a month. Even if he and Grace worked hard for a whole year without spending a di, they might not be able to save that much.’
The more Colin thought about it, the worse he felt. Then, he suddenly rembered the man from the underground garage.
’If that guy was telling the truth... if a room at the Oceanus Hotel is really only a thousand a night... we could save over a hundred thousand in one fell swoop!’
The temptation was too great for Colin Sumrs to resist. He told Grace Sutton he was going downstairs to look around, then quietly slipped out, crossed the street, and headed for the Oceanus Hotel.
lody was in her room helping Winnie unpack when her phone suddenly buzzed. She picked it up and saw it was a ssage from Zane Simmons.
Zane said the wildfire on the back mountain was threatening to spread and that it would be best to evacuate. He asked if lody needed any help.
lody replied that she had already booked a hotel and checked in with her family.
After sending her reply, lody stepped out of the room and noticed Colin was gone. She paused, then asked Grace Sutton, "Aunt Grace, where’s Uncle Colin?"
Grace Sutton answered while still unpacking, "Oh, him. He just can’t sit still, insisted on going out for a walk. Just let him be. You worry about yourself, don’t mind him."
lody still felt uneasy. It wasn’t safe outside; there were reports of looting and rioting everywhere. She worried that Colin might find trouble.
*
anwhile, Colin Sumrs had reached the Oceanus Hotel, just across the street from the Nimbus.
The Oceanus Hotel’s decor was just as grand as the Nimbus Hotel’s, but unlike the Nimbus, several young, beautiful hostesses stood at its entrance.
They wore short, white, lace-trimd cheongsams, their hair was elegantly pinned up, and their makeup was exquisite.
When they saw Colin Sumrs approaching, they looked up to size him up. Upon seeing his plain attire, they turned their heads away and paid him no mind.
Colin didn’t mind. He walked up to the front desk alone and asked the receptionist tentatively, "Are you accepting check-ins right now? How much for your cheapest single room?"
The receptionist glanced up at Colin and replied with a smile, "Hello, sir. Yes, we are. The cheapest single room is two hundred thousand a night."
Colin was stunned. ’Two hundred thousand a night?! I couldn’t make that much in two years!’
He thought he must have misheard, so he asked the receptionist to confirm the price several tis. When he realized it really was two hundred thousand a night, his jaw dropped in astonishnt.
Once the shock subsided, Colin asked hesitantly, "But... I thought it was a thousand a night? I just ran into one of your people in the Nimbus Hotel’s garage. We’d already checked in over there, but he told it was really cheap here, so I ca to ask."
The receptionist had initially pegged Colin as soone who couldn’t afford a room and was about to dismiss him. But when he ntioned he had already checked into the Nimbus Hotel, her opinion shifted. Perhaps he was one of those discreetly wealthy types.
So, the receptionist put on another polite, practiced smile and explained, "Here at the Oceanus Hotel, we have different price points for different clientele. For you, sir, the rate is indeed two hundred thousand a night."
Colin was completely baffled. "It’s the sa check-in process," he asked, confused. "Why do you treat people differently?"
The receptionist giggled, covering her mouth. She looked up at Colin, giving him a slow blink. Her smile was loaded with implication, and her tone turned sultry. "Different services co at different prices, of course. Rest assured, sir, we can provide... *special* services you won’t find at the Nimbus Hotel. I guarantee you’ll find it well worth the price!"
Seeing the receptionist’s sultry, suggestive gaze, a chill ran down Colin’s spine. A sudden, inexplicable fear washed over him, and he shivered violently.
Just then, a pot-bellied middle-aged man who was clearly rich and influential approached, flanked by two hostesses in white lace cheongsams, ready to check in.
The receptionist imdiately turned to attend to the new arrival, ignoring Colin completely.
Seeing this, Colin didn’t dare ask any more questions. He turned and hurried out of the Oceanus Hotel.
*
The intense heat outside quickly dispelled the chill in Colin’s heart. He took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves before heading back to suite 36-02 at the Nimbus Hotel.
Seeing Colin return safely, lody and the others breathed a collective sigh of relief.
lody asked, "Uncle, where were you? It’s not safe outside. You really shouldn’t be leaving the hotel."
"I just went to the Oceanus Hotel," Colin replied, a look of confusion on his face. "That guy in the garage said a room at the Oceanus was only a thousand a night, right? I figured if it was that cheap, we could save a lot of money, so I went over to ask."
"But when I got there, the receptionist told their cheapest room was two hundred thousand a night. She also said they have different prices for different people."
lody frowned. The sa hotel had quoted two vastly different prices to her and her uncle, and the gap was enormous. Sothing was definitely fishy about that place.
’If soone is offered a product for only one percent of its actual price, then who is the real product?’
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, especially not in a place run by capitalists.
A chill crept into lody’s heart. She couldn’t help but think of the criminal organization that had killed her in her past life. She figured there was a good chance the Oceanus Hotel was just as shady.
lody made a ntal note. Her whole family was staying here now; she couldn’t drag them into trouble. But she quietly filed the incident away, planning to pass the information on to the police once they left.
*
After unpacking, the Sumrs family rested for a while. When lunchti approached, they all went down to the buffet restaurant together.
"Excuse , are pets allowed inside?" lody asked the restaurant manager, holding Albus.
The manager looked at the well-behaved little white cat in lody’s arms and nodded. "Just please keep a close watch on it. Don’t let it run around or disturb the other guests."
lody nodded.
The Nimbus Hotel’s buffet had an incredible spread of both Chinese and Western dishes. Outside, a single vegetable was a rare find, but here, the ingredients were so plentiful it was as if the disaster had never happened.
Guests were scattered about in small groups, dining and conversing in low voices. The restaurant wasn’t crowded; it seed many had chosen to dine in their rooms.
As Colin Sumrs picked up a plate, he muttered, "Ten thousand a day. At this price, we need to eat our fill. We have to get our money’s worth."
Grace Sutton laughed. "Vegetables are astronomically expensive these days. For our whole family to have a feast like this... this one al alone probably makes up for the cost."
The whole family eagerly grabbed plates and started picking out their favorite foods. lody also got a plate, intending to get so fruit for everyone.
She had just reached the dessert and fruit section when she overheard a custor complaining to the restaurant manager.
"Manager, the fruit selection has been terrible these last few days. It’s just the sa few things, either apples or lons. I’m spending tens of millions to stay at your hotel, and this is the kind of stuff you fob off with?"
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