Chapter 23
Not only Chen Hui, many other people in the team were also fascinated to varying degrees when they saw the happy family of three.
It was getting dark and the sun was setting. The light in the restaurant was gradually dimming. Shu Mo was about to turn on the light when he suddenly heard someone scream in the corner.
"Look at the snow-capped mountains in the distance!"
Nuannuan Hot Spring is located on the plain at the foot of the snow-capped mountains. Looking out from the floor-to-ceiling windows of the restaurant, you can have a panoramic view of the endless snow-capped mountains. This was a scene that was commonplace in daily life and that people wouldn't even take a second look at during a battle in the wild. But now, sitting in this safe and warm hotel restaurant, everyone's mood changed, and the common scene became refreshing to their eyes.
After eating and drinking, many people felt more relaxed. Since there was nothing to do in their rooms or tents, they simply stayed in the restaurant to drink tea and enjoy the scenery. It really felt like they were on vacation.
It was at this moment that the shout rang out, breaking the leisurely atmosphere in the restaurant.
After hearing this, many people subconsciously turned their heads towards the window, followed by exclamations one after another.
“Oh my god!”
“So beautiful!!”
I saw the afterglow of the setting sun falling on the top of the towering snow-capped mountain in the distance, and the white snow reflected a brilliant and dazzling golden light, which was breathtakingly beautiful.
Shu Mo held his breath for a moment.
The clouds that have been surrounding the top of the mountain all year round just disperse at this time, and the entire tall mountain is visible at a glance, all bathed in golden light, showing a sacred feeling that makes people want to worship it. Shu Mo had never been so aware of his own insignificance.
Time seemed to stand still at this moment. Everyone stared at the shocking spectacle motionlessly. The setting sun cast a gentle and hazy filter over everything in the house.
It was not until the sun gradually set and the lights in the house came on that they suddenly came to their senses.
Someone subconsciously touched his chest, feeling the excitement, "I never thought I could see the golden mountain in the sun here."
Although snow-capped mountains are very common in the game, such a beautiful golden mountain in the sun is still rare due to the weather and geographical location.
Moreover, during such a long period of time, not a single flying monster passed by, allowing them to enjoy this spectacular sight without any interruption.
Until Shu Mo was about to close the shop, many people were still immersed in the shock and kept discussing it.
"Congratulations in advance to the boss. I heard that people who see the Rising Sun over the Golden Mountain will have good luck for the whole year. It looks like this restaurant is going to be very popular." A customer said with a smile.
"It's us who benefited from it."
"Boss, good luck with your business! Can you make a wish to eat braised pork tomorrow?"
People who do business are naturally happy to hear such words. Shu Mo stood at the door to see the guests off with a smile and accepted all the blessings.
When someone made a wish for tomorrow's menu, she would consider it. After all, the menu was rotated, so if it was not available tomorrow, it would be available one day. In short, the guests were all happy when they left.
——After eating delicious food and looking at beautiful scenery, how can I not be happy?
As for what to eat tomorrow, most people really don’t care that much.
Nuannuan Hot Spring has brought them endless surprises, and now the guests have 100% trust in Shu Mo.
No matter what the boss serves tomorrow, it will definitely be the most delicious!
However, many people were very satisfied with today's dishes. After hearing that the menu might be changed tomorrow, they decisively packed up a few of their favorite dishes to take away, for fear that they would have nothing to eat in the future.
This forced Shu Mo to work overtime for a while.
This was the case with Jiang Qing's family. The two of them stood in the checkout line and waited for a long time before it was their turn. They quickly ordered five servings each of cream of mushroom soup and Portuguese egg tarts.
Watching Fu Yiming pay the bill without blinking, Shu Mo beside him couldn't help but remind him: "The egg tarts can be kept for a while, but the cream of mushroom soup may not taste good after it gets cold."
"It doesn't matter!" Fu Yiming had obviously thought of a solution and looked confident.
He pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting wisdom, "Just heat it up with some of the hot spring water in the room, and you can still eat it the next day."
Anyway, as long as we are in the hot spring, everything will be easy.
"There are always more solutions than problems." Fu Yiming said optimistically while holding the packing box.
Shu Mo blinked his eyes and said, "That's right..."
She hesitated, "So you have to finish all five servings before 12 noon tomorrow?"
Not eating breakfast and lunch?
"No, how can I miss breakfast and lunch in the restaurant? Of course I still have to eat normally." Fu Yiming was very surprised why she asked this, "The cream soup should be able to be saved for tomorrow night, right?"
"Of course it won't go bad if it's only left for a day." Shu Mo felt that she was being too nosy. Maybe people just liked eating it this way, but she couldn't help but say, "But we have to check out at noon tomorrow. After we check out, we won't be able to heat it with hot spring water, right?"
Fu Yiming: “?”
Jiang Qing: “!”
Jiang Qing realized something was wrong from Shu Mo's expression, and a terrible guess came to his mind, "Boss, can't we stay longer?"
Shu Mo nodded happily: "Yes! The rooms for tomorrow have been fully booked this afternoon."
To be precise, all the rooms for the next week have been booked in advance.
Speaking of this, Shu Mo couldn't help but curl up the corners of his lips.
Booking is such a good custom, it allows her to have so much disposable money in advance!
"!!!" Fu Yiming looked like he was struck by lightning.
Careless! He was too careless!
He actually forgot to apply for renewal of stay in advance!
"What should I do, wife?" Fu Yiming wanted to cry but had no tears.
Jiang Qing also had a headache.
Come to think of it, those who didn't get a room will definitely keep an eye on the guest rooms for the next few days. Before they knew it in the afternoon, a war without gunpowder might have broken out at the front desk. On the contrary, those of them who had rooms to stay in were having so much fun that they even forgot to make reservations in advance.
They were the first guests to arrive today, yet they let someone else take their room away!
Shu Mo looked at the two people's regretful expressions and said casually, "But they have booked rooms that are currently available. If the hotel expands, there will be more empty rooms."
For a guest who is so generous, we naturally have to do everything we can to keep him.
Jiang Qing's eyes lit up, and he quickly understood what she meant, "Boss, will the hotel be expanded in the near future?"
The family of three, two adults and one child, looked at Shu Mo eagerly.
Shu Mo couldn't help laughing, "Yes, the current scale is far from my expectations! But the room prices should go up after the expansion..."
"That's not a problem!" Fu Yiming said quickly.
Jiang Qing nodded.
They originally thought that Shumo’s pricing was a bit low. And out of trust in her, Jiang Qing instinctively felt that if the price increased, it must be because of changes in the room type or supporting services, and the price would not increase for no reason.
The boss's prices are always very fair. During dinner, when they heard people chatting around them, they all spoke highly of the hot springs. If there was a rating software like Xzhongdianping in the game, Shumo would definitely get a rating of over five stars.
"As long as there is a room to stay in, it's fine, even an ordinary standard room. The price doesn't matter." Fu Yiming said sincerely.
Shu Mo secretly smacked his lips: He is indeed a rich man.
She was very envious of the two men's carefree attitude of treating money as dirt.
"Okay, I'll contact you as soon as the expansion is completed..." Shu Mo said, and paused.
But how to contact?
Jiang Qing seemed to see through her hesitation at a glance, "Boss, aren't you a summoner? You should have some flying monsters under your command, right?"
She spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, obviously certain that Shu Mo had many different kinds of monsters under his command.
Shu Mo was stunned, knowing that Jiang Qing had some misunderstandings about her strength.
God knows she is just a half-baked summoner, and the wings of her only monster are broken, so it can't fly at all!
In the lobby on the first floor, Mo Bai was sitting behind the counter with a calm expression when he suddenly sneezed loudly.
He rubbed his nose, looked puzzled, and then returned to his serious look as he watched the store.
…
Shu Mo didn't want to expose his strength, so he asked without comment, "What's wrong?"
"Since we are with children, we can't camp in the wild for too long. If the hotel is not expanded before we return home, you can also arrange for a free summoned beast to come to the town to deliver a message to us. We will rush over as soon as we receive the message."
After thinking they had guessed Shu Mo's strength, Jiang Qing and Fu Yiming always spoke to Shu Mo with a hint of awe. She explained very patiently.
"The summoned beasts can come and go as they please. I'll leave you the address and pay some travel expenses—"
Jiang Qing was halfway through his words when he thought of Shu Mo's strength and hurriedly changed his words, "It doesn't matter if it's inconvenient. We can hire a flying monster. There's a summoner we know in Guangming Town who provides such a service."
The two looked sincere and it seemed that they really wanted to live there.
Jiang Qing even secretly began to think that it would be a good idea to go back to town once, so that she could pack up some commonly used items at home and bring them with her next time - they were seriously considering taking their children to stay in a hotel for a long time.
Although game backpacks are very convenient, most people still maintain their old habits after buying a house. They like to keep non-prop items at home, hang clothes in the closet, etc., in order to maintain some sense of life that is left after the game starts.
Shu Mo keenly grasped a key piece of information from this passage, "There are actually summoners in this town who provide such services?"
Her surprise was not without reason.
Shu Mo had only heard from the system before that many summoners would bring their summoned beasts to do logistical work, but he had never heard that summoned beasts could go out to work on their own.
If they can travel such long distances on their own like carrier pigeons, then humans can completely rely on summoned beasts to establish a message delivery network. How come the information is still so blocked even after the tenth year of the game?
When she went to Guangming Town before, she didn't find any connection between it and other towns.
"Of course there are! But there are very few of them. Our friend is also one of the most powerful summoners in the town." Fu Yiming was very active because he had something to ask of Shu Mo. "Not every summoned beast can withstand such a long journey."
"There is a very cruel food chain among monsters. Low-level monsters that stray into the territory of high-level monsters will be devoured and annihilated without mercy. If the summoned beast is not strong enough, it is likely to lose the important information being transmitted halfway, so the monsters used to deliver messages must be at least A-level monsters. And the summoners of A-level monsters generally don't covet such a small amount of money..."
"This results in very few summoners who are capable and willing to provide long-distance message delivery services. It's normal that you haven't heard of it, boss."
Fu Yiming finished explaining in one breath.
Shu Mo suddenly realized and his eyes lit up.
Why didn't she think of this method before!
The movement speed of many summoned beasts is much higher than that of human players. It takes players seven or eight hours to walk from Guangming Town to Nuannuan Hot Spring, but with summoned beasts, the round trip may only take two or three hours, greatly shortening the time spent.
This way, you don't have to go to Guangming Town in person to hire employees or do business, and the hotel doesn't have to close, saving a lot of expenses!
Shu Mo couldn't hide his excitement, and when he raised his eyes, he met the anxious gazes of Jiang Qing and his wife.
Since she had already asked them so much, she might as well ask all the remaining questions in one breath, "I don't know much about Guangming Town. If I want to recruit workers in the town, is there any way to spread the news quickly?"
"Notice board." Jiang Qing answered without thinking.
Fu Yiming: "This board is right at the entrance of the market. Boss, you should have passed by it when you set up your stall last time. It's the place with the most traffic in the town. The news posted on it can spread throughout the town within a few days."
Shu Mo raised her eyebrows and thought carefully. It seemed that she had seen such a big board before, but she was busy at the time and did not pay attention to it.
Jiang Qing also said: "It's not that exaggerated. Not every player has the habit of checking the bulletin board, but it's much more efficient than word of mouth. Residents need to pay a certain fee to post messages on the bulletin board, which is generally charged per day based on the area of the paper. For example, the wealthy Senior Pastor Association posts advertisements on it all year round."
Shu Mo suddenly realized.
In an era without the Internet or printing presses, this was indeed the best channel for publishing job information.
Shu Mo had a basic idea in his mind.
Fu Yiming spoke carefully, "So, Boss, do you have any free monsters?"
In their eyes, Shu Mo's strength was unfathomable. Fu Yiming couldn't help but feel uneasy, always feeling that it was a bit rude to let such a powerful monster deliver a letter for them.
But when he thought about the unlimited private hot spring, the 24-hour hot water supply, the warm and soft bed, the braised pork ribs, fried pork with peppers, Portuguese egg tarts that he could eat just downstairs... Fu Yiming took a deep breath and went ahead anyway.
Shu Mo didn't know about the confusion in his heart, and coughed lightly, "Not yet, but I think it will be available in a few days. You can leave the address at the front desk, and I will notify you one by one when the time comes."
Fu Yiming: “!!”
Jiang Qing: “!”
Looking at the couple's overjoyed expressions, Shu Mo smiled, but in his heart he was secretly thinking about how to subdue an A-level monster.
Go talk to Mo Bai, there should be a solution.
——————
After seeing off the last batch of customers who came to pack up their food, Shu Mo closed the restaurant and went back downstairs.
The front desk was packed with players who wanted to take another hot spring bath after dinner. Mo Bai was so busy that he wished he could grow two more hands (claws?). Seeing this, Shu Mo put aside the matter of taming monsters and quickly squeezed in to help.
Too good business is also a kind of trouble...
After nine o'clock, the sky was completely dark. Occasionally, the creepy cries of unknown monsters could be heard, shrouding the entire game world in a gloomy and terrifying atmosphere, but the cabin isolated by the barrier was not affected at all.
The blazing fireplace was sending out sparks, making the room warm. There were several different groups of people sitting scattered on the two rows of benches. Some of them even took out a deck of cards from somewhere and started playing cards lively while waiting.
Most of them, like Chen Hui's team before, set up their tents on the snowfield outside Nuannuan Hot Spring, so they were not afraid of the dark.
They are all advanced players, so they would not be afraid to walk a few hundred meters at night.
Besides, it’s so warm in the hot spring hotel, who would want to go back to a dark and cold tent? So everyone stayed and refused to leave.
Shu Mo had no choice but to add a line of words below the price list:
[Business hours: 8:00~23:00]
She finished writing quickly, and as she put down the last stroke, the font glowed, and then it looked no different from ordinary text.
But a line of reminder suddenly appeared in front of everyone in the hall.
[Warm reminder from the store: There are 46 minutes and 23 seconds left before the end of business hours. 】
[After closing, non-guests are not allowed to stay in the hotel. We look forward to your next visit! 】
They tried to close the reminder, but the pop-up window could not be closed. Instead, it shrank into a clock-like countdown screen and stayed in the upper right corner of the player's field of vision.
The countdown numbers ticked slowly, and when there were only five minutes left, the ticking of the second hand rang directly in their minds at a tiny but noticeable volume.
The urging voice made the players speed up their actions involuntarily.
Shu Mo observed the changes in the players and was amazed.
...Is this the legendary saying that what you say will come true?
At eleven o'clock, the door opened automatically. Everyone felt a gentle breeze blowing past, and their eyes blurred. When they could see clearly again, they were already standing a few meters outside the store.
Someone couldn't help but reach out his hand, and the invisible barrier surrounding the hotel became real at this moment. Ripples flashed where the fingertips touched, like waves washing over the beach, gently pushing him away.
The man's companion shook his head and said, "Forget it, come back tomorrow morning."
He glanced at the cabin reluctantly and nodded.
"The shop owner is really resourceful. Where did he buy this protective shield?" the companion asked, hugging his arms and shivering. "Why is it so cold?"
"Oh no, it's too warm in the store. I took off my winter clothes and forgot to put them on. Put them on quickly."
"I will lose blood if I get frostbitten soon..."
There was a flurry of activity.
The people wearing winter clothes looked at the dark sky, their hearts trembling unconsciously, and fear gradually crept into their hearts. I didn’t feel anything just now in the hotel, but now standing in the wild, I suddenly felt completely unsafe.
Looking up at the bright light coming through the windows of the guest rooms on the third and fourth floors, several people gritted their teeth unwillingly.
"Damn it, I'll definitely grab a room next time."
"Stop talking. Go back to the tent..."
*
There was a flash of white light in the room, and the guests disappeared one after another, and screams were heard outside the room.
I didn't expect that the hotel had such a convenient function to kick out guests. Shu Mo breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down in the chair in a very ungraceful manner.
What a long day.
Thinking of the matter of taming monsters, Shu Mo pulled himself together and stood up, "Mo Bai, let me ask you, do you know what is the fastest flying monster?"
Although these questions could be answered by asking the system, the system she was bound to was like a cold search engine, no different from Baidu. It was not as interesting as chatting with Mo Bai.
And when it comes to questions about monsters, it is naturally quickest to ask the monster himself.
Mo Bai gave the answer without thinking: "Wind Dragon."
Shu Mo: “…”
Is it really the dragon clan?
She rolled her eyes and asked cautiously, "Which one has the strongest attack power?"
Mo Bai's tone remained unchanged, but he puffed out his chest slightly: "Fire Dragon."
"Oh..." Shu Mo wanted to ask, how did Mo Bai come up with this answer when he was the only fire dragon in the world and his magic power was limited and he couldn't spit fire.
But looking at his confident look, he probably has his own way of making judgments.
She couldn't possibly ask Mo Bai to find a wind dragon to help deliver the message, so Shu Mo changed the question: "Do you know if there is any monster nearby that is suitable for me to subdue? It needs to be fast enough, strong enough individually, and suitable for long-distance travel. I need it to help me bring the message to Guangming Town."
Mo Bai took a little longer to think this time.
After a while, he hesitantly gave a name, "Perhaps, you can consider Bai Rongrong?"
White fluff?
What Shu Mo imagined in his mind was actually a majestic falcon-like monster - the kind of bird that could flap its wings and soar into the sky for 90,000 miles. When he suddenly heard such a cute name with a double character, he was a little overwhelmed.
"What is that?" Shu Mo had too little knowledge, so he asked humbly.
Mo Bai scratched the back of his head. "White Fluffy is a light-type elf that usually moves in groups... As for what it looks like..."
He took out a notebook and a pen from somewhere, and sketched on the paper for a while, "About this."
Shu Mo: “…”
It’s strange, not only can her summoned beast transform into a human, it can also draw.
After Mo Bai put down his pen, Shu Mo grabbed the notebook and took a curious look at it.
All I saw on the paper was a crooked...circle?
There are a few scribbled black lines running up the ball, which might be its hair.
If I had to make an analogy, it's very much like the little black coal briquettes in one of Ghibli's world-famous animations, except that they are snow-white in color.
Shu Mo was silent for two seconds.
Considering that claws are not as sensitive as hands, Shu Mo was embarrassed to ask too much of the little black dragon's painting skills. She hesitated for a long time and asked, "Is this white fluff?"
"Yes." Mo Bai answered with an inexplicable confidence.
"Is it really good at flying?" Shu Mo expressed doubt, "And it looks very weak."
It seemed like nothing met the requirements she had given.
But Mo Bai showed his sharp side when he first appeared. Shu Mo always felt that the little black dragon had wisdom far beyond that of ordinary monsters and should not speak nonsense.
"There is a group of white furries living on the nearby mountain." Mo Bai obviously felt that it was too troublesome to explain, "When I have time, I will take you to see it directly."
"Flying monsters like to live in the mountains. If you are not satisfied with the white fluff, there are many other options." He thought for a moment and explained, "The A-level monster Golden Thread Sculpture is also a very good choice."
This sounded much more reliable now. Shu Mo nodded, "Alright. Let's go back to the dormitory first."
The two left the cabin. There is no need to lock the door. No one can break in without Shu Mo's permission.
It was pitch dark outside the house, and half of the road leading to the dormitory building overlapped with the gravel road leading to the foot bath. Shu Mo squinted his eyes with great effort, trying to discern the boundary between the pebbles and the snow in the blur.
It seems that we need to add a few lights on the roadside tomorrow.
As soon as the thought came to her mind, she stepped into the snow and her shoes were immediately wet.
Shu Mo frowned and suddenly heard a soft sound. A warm yellow light lit up from behind her, gently enveloping the area in front of her, and the gravel road under her feet instantly became clearly visible.
Shu Mo was stunned, turned around, and met Mo Bai's stunned expression.
A small leaping flame hung in his palm, continuously supplying heat and light to the surroundings.
"Can you release fire?" Shu Mo asked in surprise.
Mo Bai stared at the flames, feeling somewhat helpless. "I don't know either. I just thought..."
He suddenly shut up.
Monsters can see clearly even in the dark. He had just watched Shu Mo walking with great difficulty from behind, and was worried that she would fall, so he wanted to light a way for her... Who knew that a flame would jump out from his palm, scaring him as well.
Shu Mo looked around, grabbed Mo Bai's free hand, and quickly pulled him into the dormitory. As soon as the door was closed, he excitedly said, "Then try again, can you spit fire?"
If Mo Bai regained her flame ability, wouldn't it be like she had a gas stove, lighter, kettle that she could carry with her... Even if she left the hot spring, she could still eat hot food and drink boiled water.
Shu Mo felt happy just thinking about it.
Mo Bai had no idea that he was being treated as a mobile gas stove and kettle. He was a little excited and obediently turned back into his original form.
In addition to having a human form, super S-level monsters can also change their size within a certain range to adapt to the surrounding environment. But if they shrink too much, they will feel uncomfortable and their strength will be limited.
The corridor was limited in size, so Mo Bai tried very hard to squeeze himself into this small room, with his back against the ceiling and his giant dragon head lowered, looking directly into Shu Mo's sparkling eyes.
There was light flowing in the disc-like golden pupils, and the black scales were cold. Shu Mo looked at his summoned beast and became more and more satisfied.
So cool!
Shu Mo: "Just try it here, just don't burn the whole house down."
She didn't want to play with fire indoors unless it was absolutely necessary, but the flames were too conspicuous in the dark night. There are so many tents outside that if you are not careful you might be noticed by someone who gets up at night.
She didn't want to reveal Mo Bai's identity for the time being, so she had to sacrifice her dormitory building.
The little black dragon used its huge claws to hug Shu Mo towards itself, then stopped there, posing like a cat with its hands in its pockets.
Shu Mo was protected tightly, with only a curious head showing.
She tilted her head to look. The little black dragon's claws were long and sharp, curving inward. Each claw was like a sharp, snow-white scimitar that could easily pierce a human's body, but it carefully avoided her.
"I'm starting." Mo Bai's voice revealed a hint of barely perceptible nervousness.
Shu Mo clenched his fist and encouraged him, "Come on!"
The little black dragon suddenly became quiet.
It tried hard to think about the process of spitting fire, then opened its mouth and, with full force, spit out a stream of black smoke like a car exhaust.
"..." The man and the dragon looked up at the black smoke rising up and dispersing in the air. The color gradually faded, and finally left an inconspicuous trace of ash on the ceiling.
Shu Mo stared at the gray mark, as if he heard the sound of his dream being shattered.
Mo Bai: “QAQ!”
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