After The Fall Of The Earth, My Hotel Became Popular - Chapter 33

　There was faint black mist gathering behind him, like a dark corner that would swallow up the young man at any time.

　　Wen Bei walked behind him obediently, paused, and then showed a less forced smile to Cheng Jie: “Goodbye.”

　　Afterall, it would probably be the last time that they would meet.

　　…

　　Without any hesitation, after leaving Cheng Jie’s sight, Wen Bei rushed to the location where the Lawful Army was stationed. When he heard the innocent looking young man asking for Captain Lan, Xin Xing originally wanted to get rid of him, but he didn’t, because the moment Xin Xing made eye contact with the taller man behind him, a chill ran through his body.

　　He nodded his head purely out of uncontrollable instinct, then turned around and ran inside to find Captain Lan.

　　He felt that if he slowed down for even a single bit, then he would get killed instantly.

　　Wen Bei didn’t expect things to proceed that smoothly. He turned around suspiciously and found Qiu Tin standing behind him with a bored look on his face.

　　Wen Bei was speechless: “Why did you follow me here?”

　　Qiu Tin: “I am your brother, so of course I have to take good care of you.”

　　He deliberately emphasised on the word ‘brother’ and looked at Wen Bei’s hair with a smile.

　　An untimely voice interrupted them suddenly.

　　Captain Lan walked over, dressed in regular clothes, looking like he was about to get off work: “What do you want from me?”

　　Wen Bei briefly spoke about his encounter with Cheng Jie, barely concealing anything.

　　Captain Lan’s face turned serious little by little: “I understand.”

　　He suddenly picked up the walkie-talkie next to him and called back several of his team members who were responsible for the investigation of the case.

　　Although the existence of the Lawful Army in the base was something quite controversial, and some people even call them the lackeys of those who held the power, Captain Lan and his subordinates still handled every case very efficiently.

　　Not long after receiving relevant information from Wen Bei, they immediately caught Cheng Jie .

　　Wen Bei originally thought that Cheng Jie would clean up the scene after he left and hide his traces like how he had when killed those people in the factory. But, according to Captain Lan’s description, it seemed like he had no idea of planning an escape.

　　It turned out that he calmly stayed in the room with Ruan Tiantian’s corpse, while waiting for his capture.

　　The day after the incident, Captain Lan specifically came to thank Wen Bei. Probably thinking that he was also a relevant person in the case, he mentioned some related details, which could not be released to the public.

　　When talking about the motive for committing the crime, Wen Bei raised his head, his eyes clear and without impurities: “Do you know why he did this?”

　Captain Lan: “You mean eating human flesh?”

　　Captain Lan laughed at himself: “Although I hate it when ordinary people accept the protection of polluters and then look at polluters like monsters, I still have to admit that some polluters have very unstable mental states, even those who were very kind before they became polluters. People who become polluters end up killing people without a single change in their expressions, as if the deformations in themselves are not just limited to their bodies but also their psychology…”

　　Before hearing Captain Lan speak about it, Wen Bei had never really thought that polluters would face such a problem.

　　He suddenly remembered the time when Ji Mingyuan had once described his own psyche when his pollution level had gone beyond 95. He had told Wen Bei that at that very moment he wanted to destroy everything he saw.

　　Did everyone, especially the polluters, agree with the ruthless approach of the Base towards polluters?

　　What would echo in the hearts of those polluters whose pollution level eventually reached a level where they would be mercilessly abandoned by the base?

　　In his own heart, Wen Bei increasingly questioned the cruel decision of the base.

　　‘It’s like a landmine. Every time you evict a polluter, you are actually planting a bomb for yourself.’

　　Captain Lan: “You helped me a lot in this case. If you have any difficulties, please do tell me.”

　　He glanced back around the guest house.

　　”If you want to find a job, I can introduce you to a place where the daily wage is higher than the factory.”

　　Wen Bei thought of his previous two visits to the factory. Realising that the man had misunderstood, he had no intention of explaining his situation. He lowered his eyes and smiled sweetly: “I really do have something to ask you.”

　Wen Bei lowered his voice and waited quietly.

　　He knew that the man in front of him would agree to his request.

　　Captain Lan was stunned for a moment after seeing the smile: “Sure. What is it?”

　　Sure enough, after hearing his words, Captain Lan agreed without a second thought, not even asking Wen Bei about it first.

　　Wen Bei: “What will you be doing with the canned food adulterated with human flesh?”

　　Captain Lan’s face darkened as soon as Wen Bei mentioned his question: “We have found the batches of canned meat contaminated with human flesh. We will destroy them. Fortunately, this batch has not yet entered the market.”

　　Captain Lan paused for a moment: “So far, there have been two serious famines in the base. At that time, grain cakes had not yet been produced. Many people were so hungry that they had to turn to the black market. Because of that, the black market in the base became popular for a period of time.”

　　The powerless were the first to be targeted. Some people even killed weaker polluters, claiming that eating their flesh would give them abilities and their pollution value would also not exceed fifty.

　　Even with the short explanation, Wen Bei could imagine what a dark time it was.

　　Captain Lan gave him a bitter smile: “So among all the illegal meat trades banned by the base, human meat ranks first. So, even if so many cans of canned meat are wasted this time, they still cannot be allowed to flow into the market.”

　　As the conversation progressed, Captain Lan’s expression became more and more uncomfortable. Gradually, he could no longer speak and looked behind Wen Bei: “Do you know that person?”

　　That person had been staring at him since he had arrived. Although he was smiling, his gaze was very cold, as if he was looking at a dead thing.

　　When Wen Bei turned around, he found Qiu Tin waiting for him.

　　The weird feeling in his heart appeared once again.

　　Qiu Tin was too much like a stray dog just waiting for its owner to return home.

　　Wen Bei quickly shook off the strange thought in his mind and turned to him: “It’s my brother. I’m leaving first. I’ll see you next time.”

　　He waved to Captain Lan and then walked towards Qiu Tin who was waiting quietly.

　　Wen Bei thought Qiu Tin was going to bully him again, but unexpectedly he just raised his eyebrows and followed him.

　　From an angle that Wen Bei couldn’t see, Qiu Tin’s scarlet eyes turned into vertical pupils, and he looked back at Captain Lan, full of warning.

　　…

　　After returning to their room at the guesthouse, Wen Bei specifically looked at the opposite door.

　　The opposite room originally had six residents, but one died in just a day, and the other was arrested and sent to the Inquisition, and he probably won’t survive to see the next week.

　　It was probably the impermanence of the last days.

　　Not only were there many terrifying monsters, but one also had to face threats from his own companions at any time.

　　But humans were social creatures after all.

　　Only by living in groups can we survive.

　　After Wen Bei sighed, he closed the door, but he didn’t expect to find the table full of food.

　　They were all small stir-fry dishes cooked with good ingredients.

　　Only the two of them lived in the room, so it was obvious as to who had prepared it.

　　Feeling Wen Bei’s suspicious look, Qiu Tin said slowly: “I had someone deliver it.”

　　He sat down and took the first bite, indicating that there was nothing wrong with the food.

　　Although it was not as delicious as the food in the hotel, it was still a very rich and luxurious dinner that one could afford in the apocalypse.

　　Wen Bei sat down and ate a piece of meat that didn’t look weird in colour or smell. It was obviously in the shape of chicken, but he tasted the fishy smell. Fortunately, he could tolerate it.

　　While eating slowly, he looked at Qiu Tin: “What have you been doing these two days?”

　　Qiu Tin: “I’ll take you to see it tomorrow.”

　　Wen Bei didn’t expect that he would reply that casually, but his expression turned strange: “Oh.”

　　Since drinking that bit of his blood that night, the man had calmed down a lot, but he was still surly.

　　It would have been a good thing if he could use Qiu Tin for his purposes as long as a little of his blood was given to the latter. But, it was a pity, Wen Bei didn’t believe that a mad dog like Qiu Tin would tuck his tail honestly.

　　The inner defence against the man still dared to not lower.

　　After finishing the meal without any incident, Wen Bei went to bed to rest after a while.

　　After all, he hadn’t slept very well last night.

　　In his dream, he saw that he had provoked a cold and terrifying snake. It spit out snake bites and entangled all his limbs until he was in a posture where he couldn’t struggle. He could only let the corners of his eyes turn crimson as he watched the snake open its mouth and reveal the sharp fangs inside it.

　　Just when Wen Bei thought he was going to be bitten to death, the snake just nuzzled him, then stuck out its tongue and quickly licked his face.

　　It resembled a child who is reluctant to eat the dish, so it tries to get a taste first.

　　The taste obviously satisfied the giant python, so it suddenly tightened itself around Wen Bei, startling the latter in such a manner that he woke up from his sleep with a jerk.

　　　He turned his head and looked at Qiu Tin, who was on the bed opposite to his. The man had woken up at some point. At the moment, the black mist was swarming behind him, and there was a faint tendency to completely wrap him up.

　　After being glanced at by Wen Bei, the black fog slowly dispersed, revealing Qiu Tin’s handsome but inhuman face.

　　”Don’t you want to know what I’ve been doing these two days?” Qiu Tin closed the book he was reading and stood up, “Follow me.”

　　The pair of clothes he was wearing had changed at some point, turning into a decent suit. The tightening of the waistline highlighted his already superior wide shoulders and narrow waist, and the slightly bulging muscle lines became even more prominent…

　　Wen Bei rubbed his eyes sleepily and didn’t wake up completely until he was done washing up.

　　After washing his face, he completely forgot about the strange dream. When he vaguely recalled it, he could only describe it as a nasty dream.

　　Qiu Tin took him out, and the two of them bought soy milk to drink on the way. It really felt as if an elder brother was travelling with his younger brother.

　　It was a pity that the soy milk tasted more like old Beijing soy juice diluted with water. It was very strange. Wen Bei almost held his breath as he drank it.

　　Passing through the lively morning market, people had got up very early to sell food.

　　Occasionally, the soldiers of the Lawful Army would pass by to maintain order.

　　Some stalls sold some old clothes and children’s old toys, but the stall owners were still willing to get up early in the morning to try their luck.

　　Wen Bei had never been to the market before. He wanted to stop and watch, and Qiu Tin didn’t rush him either.

　　Wen Bei slowed down and started shopping. He had brought a lot of crystal stones with him because he knew that the hotel business would definitely pick up and he would no longer have to save crystal stones.

　　When passing by a stall with only children, Wen Bei picked up a little sheep carved from wood and asked the price.

　　It took them two days to finally see a customer. The child was so nervous that he kept blinking: “I only need one crystal. Brother, please buy one.”

　　One crystal was only enough to buy a multigrain cake.