"Ho!" Jianyi gasped, her eyes filled with shock.
"Auntie, you scared me!" Jianyi quickly complained, reproaching the cleaning lady for her sudden appearance.
The cleaning lady was initially taken aback but then, feeling somewhat guilty, she asked, "Oh, you were in the room?"
Slightly embarrassed, she continued, "I was wondering why no one answered when I knocked. The TV volume was so loud; it's not good for your ears!"
The TV volume had indeed been set very high, and the cleaning lady had to speak loudly to be heard over it.
Jianyi furrowed her brow, picked up the scattered room cards from the floor, and handed them back to the cleaning lady. She then pushed the woman out of the room.
"We don't need cleaning today," Jianyi said firmly.
With that, she closed the door with a firm click, leaving the bewildered cleaning lady outside.
However, the cleaning lady didn't stay puzzled for long. After a moment, her expression changed, and she quickly stashed the room cards in her small bag. She then pushed her cleaning trolley away and hurried towards the end of the corridor.
Inside the room, Jianyi returned with a dark expression on her face. Chen Junsheng had already turned down the volume of the TV and asked tentatively, "Is everything okay now?"
"No," Jianyi shook her head, her tone cold. "It's a big problem."
Chen Junsheng was taken aback and instinctively picked up the backpack that had been placed on the sofa. "So, what should we..."
Jianyi raised her hand. "Not in a hurry. Let me think."
The more she felt that something was amiss, the clearer Jianyi's thoughts became. She had now confirmed that Huo Chengzhang had been reborn. Moreover, the man who had just left, the one she didn't recognize, had a distinctive way of walking.
She remembered hearing that same footsteps sound yesterday morning when she had passed by Huo Chengzhang and his group. The man who had been standing at the door just now was likely one of Huo Chengzhang's people.
Huo Chengzhang had been reborn, and he was likely the mastermind behind the news broadcast that had just aired. Jianyi realized that this was no coincidence.
Huo Chengzhang had chosen the Gold Crown Hotel for the same reason she had—to take advantage of the hotel's defenses and wait for rescue during the early days of the apocalypse.
But Jianyi had a strong intuition that Huo Chengzhang had already discovered her identity as a reincarnator. If that were the case, how would he treat her?
He would definitely not save her.
Huo Chengzhang would prefer that she stay far away from him and Xiao Xiao, never appearing in their lives again.
With this in mind, Jianyi had no intention of staying. She had no interest in being a savior and didn't want to have any connection with these two people.
Jianyi made up her mind and turned to Chen Junsheng, saying, "Pack up, we're leaving."
To her surprise, Chen Junsheng had already shouldered his backpack and even changed into a pair of women's sports shoes. He handed her a pair as well.
Jianyi hesitated for a moment but quickly changed her shoes. She opened the door and the two of them walked quickly to the elevator.
As they entered the elevator, the one next to it made a "ding" sound, and Huo Chengzhang, accompanied by two bodyguards, stepped out of it.
The two bodyguards were dressed in suits and sunglasses, and their imposing presence was impossible to conceal. It was clear they were more than ordinary security personnel.
Huo Chengzhang held a room card in his hand and approached the door of Room 555. He said to the two bodyguards who had their hands tucked into their chests, ready to draw their guns, "Once we confirm their identities, kill the man and sedate the woman, then throw her out of the hotel."
The two bodyguards, unfazed by the word "kill," nodded lightly in agreement. Huo Chengzhang gestured for them to step aside, and they quickly entered the room.
They were about to take action when they found the room empty—both the inner and outer rooms, including the bathroom, were devoid of any occupants.
The two bodyguards exchanged glances, and their extensive hunting experience allowed them to quickly come to a conclusion: the occupants had left not long ago.
They retreated from the room, and Huo Chengzhang, who had been waiting anxiously, asked, "What's the situation?"
The two bodyguards made a hand gesture indicating that there was no one inside, and they pointed towards the elevator.
Huo Chengzhang's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly walked to the elevator room, watching the numbers on the elevator display change from 2 to 1. He rushed back to Room 555 and looked out of the large floor-to-ceiling window, peering down at the hotel's entrance.
Jianyi and Chen Junsheng, who had just left the hotel, couldn't have imagined that the person they were trying to avoid was not after Jianyi's life but was instead targeting the kind-hearted young man, Chen Junsheng.
...
...
Night fell, and the midnight bell rang once again.
Most citizens had chosen to stay home, following the instructions from the news. The private cars in the underground garage had taken up all the parking spaces. As people returned home late at night, they drove into the underground garage, circling around before finding an available spot.
At this time of night, except for those who stayed up late, most people were already asleep. The underground garage was exceptionally quiet, and after the cars turned off their engines and the lights went out, there was no sound to be heard. It was as if the entire world had been muted.
The overhead lights passed by, illuminating one section at a time, and darkness followed suit.
A person returning late looked back, and in the dim light, they saw only neatly parked private cars and one particularly conspicuous vehicle.
"Wow, an A-class RV! Is it rented or bought? It must cost millions. Who's such a big spender?"
"Roar..."
A hoarse roar, as if coming from deep within the throat, echoed from the darkness and caught the attention of the person who had been commenting on the RV. Just as they were about to investigate further, a shadow accompanied by a putrid stench lunged at them from the darkness!