Chapter 91: Dawn Hotel
He looked up and glanced inside the RV. It was clean and bright. In the corner was a faucet that wasn’t shut tight.
It dripped every now and then into a sink below, its drain pipe leading to who-knows-where.
He couldn’t help but point it out. "Your faucet isn’t shut tight." Feeling that was a bit blunt, he quickly added, "And I’ll take one of those, thank you."
Lily Hart glanced back and said nonchalantly, "It’s fine. The faucet’s broken and won’t tighten. You can just pick one yourself. They’re one Level 1 Crystal Core each."
Logan Holland gave the man beside him a look, and the man produced two Crystal Cores, placing them on the table.
Sitting on a high stool, Lily Hart took the Crystal Cores, then rested her chin in her hand and studied him.
’He doesn’t look like an ordinary resident. The men following him are probably bodyguards. I wonder who he is?’
Logan Holland still couldn’t help himself and kept glancing over at the faucet.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he said, "Shop owner, one of my men can fix faucets. Would you let him repair it for you?"
His tone was an odd mix of forceful and humble, yet the offer of help made it seem perfectly natural.
Lily Hart was taken aback for a second, then nodded understandingly. "Alright."
As soon as she agreed, one of the men behind Logan Holland stepped forward and entered the RV.
He even had his own tools. With a quick CLICK and a CLACK, the faucet was fixed. Lily Hart watched, duly impressed.
Only then did Logan Holland relax. He picked two tickets that caught his eye and began scratching. After he finished both, he examined them from top to bottom.
He couldn’t figure it out at all. What were the revealed patterns supposed to represent? They looked like fruit, yet also like vegetables.
He handed them to Lily Hart and asked casually, "What are these supposed to be?"
Lily Hart glanced at them, her tone flat and perfunctory. "Oh. One fruit basket, one bunch of cabbage. Redeeming now?"
Logan Holland’s eyes lit up. Suppressing his excitement, he nodded firmly. "Redeem!"
"Mm." Lily Hart stuffed the tickets into the Lucky Cat’s mouth. The gazes of Logan Holland and the men behind him instantly locked onto it.
Soon, a lavish fruit basket and a bunch of verdant cabbage appeared on the counter, accompanied by a rich, overwhelming fragrance of fruit.
Logan Holland eagerly leaned in for a closer look, his eyes shining. Even at The Central Research Institute, he’d never seen fruit so plump and fresh.
He couldn’t help but think, ’Fruits have seeds. If I save them and take them back to the Institute...’
’Could they get them to grow? And if they did, would the fruit be this fresh?’
Just the thought made Logan Holland’s heart pound with excitement. If they could grow one, they could grow a second, which meant there could be countless more.
Wasn’t this hope for humanity’s future?! Logan Holland’s gaze on the fruit basket grew even more intense.
But on second thought... ’Where in Cathaya is there any soil suitable for planting anymore? It’s all contaminated; you can’t grow anything in it...’
His spirits deflated in an instant. But it didn’t matter. As long as there were seeds, there was hope.
Lily Hart had been watching him the whole time. She saw his eyes go from gleaming with excitement to dull and lifeless, then fill with light once more.
It all happened in just a few short seconds. ’This man’s emotions are really unstable,’ she thought. ’So mercurial.’
Logan Holland unwrapped the plastic from the fruit basket, took out a perfectly shaped, richly colored apple, and held it to his nose, inhaling deeply.
Ah, the rich aroma of apple, so fresh and sweet, it was an irresistible invitation to take a bite.
With a crisp CRUNCH, Logan Holland took a bite. Juice sprayed out in a perfect arc, revealing the flesh of the fruit within.
The skin was thin, the apple crisp and juicy. As he chewed, he realized it wasn’t just sweet; there was a hint of tartness, and the two flavors were perfectly balanced.
He couldn’t stop, taking one bite after another. In less than a minute, Logan Holland had eaten the entire apple.
The bodyguards behind him were practically drooling. They had undergone professional training.
They didn’t normally get tempted, nor did their eyes wander. Unless they absolutely couldn’t help it. That really smelled amazing!
Logan Holland put the apple core, along with the fruit basket and the cabbage, into his storage space.
Lily Hart was just turning to help another customer when she heard the crisp munching of the apple. She turned back, about to ask if he wanted to wash up...
...only to see him tucking the apple core into his pocket like a precious treasure. ’Is he taking that back with him to... savor later?’
She dropped the idea of asking. People in the apocalypse were always frugal; it was understandable.
Logan Holland said, "Each of you scratch one. Whatever you win is yours to keep. Consider it a little relaxation."
"Yay!" someone in the back cheered quietly.
They swarmed forward, surrounding Logan Holland. Each of them took out a Crystal Core, picked a ticket, and started scratching.
The results were mixed, of course. If everyone had won fruit, how could Lily Hart possibly stay in business?
After everyone had scratched their tickets and redeemed their prizes, Logan Holland took a look around the convenience store.
Naturally, he couldn’t resist and filled several shopping baskets. Everything was surprisingly cheap.
He found himself wishing once again, ’If only this lottery shop and convenience store could be set up in Central Command...’
He looked at Lily Hart, who was smiling faintly inside the RV, and began to calculate how he could persuade her to cooperate with Central Command.
The two previous times he had sent her a private message on the Human Social Sphere app, she had left him on read.
Logan Holland knew Lily Hart wouldn’t be easy to persuade, but meeting her in person today, he wondered if his initial assessment had been off.
She seemed gentle and approachable, always wearing a smile, but that smile rarely reached her eyes.
’Hard to truly connect with...’ was his initial verdict.
Logan Holland didn’t approach Lily Hart immediately. Instead, he headed for a building to the left of the RV.
From the outside, it resembled a guesthouse from the age of civilization, but it had no sign or identifying marks.
Logan Holland walked in on the ground floor and saw an incredibly familiar person at the front desk: Leo Colby?!
What was he doing here? And sitting so... docilely? Behind a... computer?! Neither of those things seemed remotely plausible.
Logan Holland hurried forward. The monitor was on, and Leo Colby looked genuinely focused.
[Welcome to the Dawn Hotel.]
A voice from an unknown source startled Logan Holland. When he recovered, his surprise only grew.
’A hotel? This is a hotel!’
After the voice spoke, Leo Colby seemed to snap out of a daze. He shot the newcomer a dismissive glance and asked, "Checking in?"
He asked in a way that gave off a distinct "check in or get lost" vibe.
"Leo Colby, you don’t recognize me?" Logan Holland was flabbergasted. ’I’m the one who contacts you every single time!’
’For the annual commendation ceremony, for Condolence Day, for the anniversary of the apocalypse—I’m the one sending you the official greetings!’
’How can you not remember me...’
Logan Holland was genuinely hurt. Leo Colby squinted at him for a moment. "Oh. Logan Holland. Are you checking in?"
He was like an NPC with a task to complete, keywords to be triggered, and lines to deliver.
Logan Holland was at a loss for words, but then again, he was used to it. After all, he never received a reply to any of those greetings.
"This is a hotel? How does one check in? What are the prices? What kind of amenities are there?" Logan Holland rattled off a string of questions.
Leo Colby simply slapped an information sheet onto the counter. It was even laminated, which made it look surprisingly professional and official.
Needless to say, Leo Colby had spent points on the app to get this made, all because he was too lazy to answer people’s questions.