novelraw Chapter 53: Exploring the Orleans Hotel, Encountering a Safe Again
Chapter 53: Exploring the Orleans Hotel, Encountering a Safe Again
No matter how you looked at it, the person who had killed the scavengers was a safety hazard.
Luckily, judging from the last message the killer left, his targets seemed to have been scavengers, but from now on Yu Yuan would have to be more careful when going into District 11.
He rubbed his temples in annoyance. No wonder other players were so fearful whenever city areas came up.
This place was genuinely troublesome!
Large thug factions had deeply rooted networks, dividing up the city blocks; under them were various scavenger gangs joining together to pillage and wreak havoc. At the very bottom were the luckier picks—scavengers and survivors.
And those people were often just reserve members for scavengers or thugs; they could snap at any moment. Or maybe the wasteland world simply had no real good people.
Purely good people didn’t survive to this point.
Pulling his thoughts back, Yu Yuan looked at the first item.
Unconsciously he had already pulled out a cigarette and put it to his lips as he sorted his thoughts.
With smoke curling up, Yu Yuan’s gaze sharpened as he checked the time.It was 5:13 p.m. The Aurora Animal Assistance Association was clearing District 12 tonight and would take away more than thirty thugs, which meant tonight the Johnck Zoo would have the fewest thugs.
It was also the best time to explore the Orleans Hotel.
The only thing he had to be careful about was not exposing Mie Mie’s presence—he couldn’t even let anyone catch a glimpse.
“Good thing Mie Mie didn’t expose itself in front of Carmen yesterday!” Yu Yuan felt a little relieved.
The Black Shield Police Department controlled the entire East District, while the Aurora Animal Assistance Association could securely occupy the Johnck Zoo in District 11—there was no relation between the two, Yu Yuan was absolutely sure.
In short, tonight’s exploration of the Orleans Hotel required combat preparations.
As for the Fate Card, Yu Yuan decided to draw it tomorrow; his right wrist needed more time to recover.
By 7:30 p.m., Yu Yuan had already appeared on a street near the Johnck Zoo in District 11. This time he had stayed away from District 15 and instead entered District 11 via District 12.
Tonight’s exploration mission was important, and with his wrist still recovering, he wasn’t going to tangle with the mutant rats.
In the pitch-black sewer passage, the virtual map zoomed in and out under Yu Yuan’s control.
He had already unlocked the manhole covers nearest the Orleans Hotel in advance—three in total—corresponding to the hotel’s east, north, and west streets; to the south was a cluster of buildings. He kept confirming his route for the operation and escape routes in case of emergencies.
Through the manhole opening he could see the sun dipping west and the sky turning dim. His position was a necessary pathway from the zoo to District 12; as soon as the Aurora Animal Assistance Association people left the zoo, he’d know immediately.
Yu Yuan also understood why Masier had advised against him exploring this area—because it was just too dangerous!
The Orleans Hotel sat on the west side of the Johnck Zoo, separated by only a single street, with a straight-line distance under 300 meters. Any movement at the Orleans Hotel would be noticed by the zoo.
Correspondingly, inside the Orleans Hotel, one could easily observe the zoo’s situation.
At 7:45 p.m., through the manhole, Yu Yuan heard the roar of car engines coming from the direction of the zoo.
Not long after, he heard cars drive overhead and quickly fade away, heading toward District 12.
After waiting in place for another two minutes to ensure nothing else happened, Yu Yuan ran toward the Orleans Hotel.
By the time he entered the Orleans Hotel, the sky had turned completely dark.
He found the stairwell and headed up to the eighth floor.
When he passed the front desk earlier, he had also seen the hotel emblem on the background wall—the same emblem that had been on Biao Ge’s room card.
Since he hadn’t gone to the wrong place, Yu Yuan started looking forward to Room 0813.
“Hope it’s not a wasted trip!”
Soon Yu Yuan reached the eighth floor. Furniture was overturned everywhere, doors were smashed, luggage and belongings were scattered, and a few corpses and skeletons lay among a faint stench.
Yu Yuan skimmed past it all. He quietly hid in a corner near the floor entrance, curling his body into the shadow.
He carefully observed the hidden nooks, not missing even the faintest sound with his ears.
A minute later he slowly stepped forward and moved deeper into the corridor.
“0837—0839, wrong way, should be this side...”
Yu Yuan followed the room numbers and found Room 0813. But when he saw the door violently broken open...
Although he had expected this possibility and wasn’t overly disappointed, he couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed.
Since he was already here, Yu Yuan reluctantly entered the room and began a careful search. As always, he first drew the curtains and switched on his flashlight in low-light mode to examine the whole room.
But looking at the empty wardrobe, the open suitcase, the trash strewn across the floor, and the black footprints, he suddenly felt there might be no point searching here anymore.
“Huh...”
What was that?
Yu Yuan was suddenly drawn to something behind the bedside table.
He shone his flashlight over and his eyes lit up.
“How is there a safe here?!”
A black safe embedded in the wall stood before Yu Yuan.
Seeing the scratched marks and the pitted dents on the safe, it was obvious people had found it before but simply couldn’t open it—nor could they carry it away.
In the end, it had been left like this.
Yu Yuan thought of the key that had been with Biao Ge, the one that had been with the room card.
He pulled the key from his backpack and carefully inserted it into the safe. As the key slid in bit by bit and meshed into place, the corner of Yu Yuan’s mouth involuntarily curled.
“Wonder what I can pull out of this safe—let’s hope for something good!”
Click!
With the safe key, picking the lock became surprisingly simple.
The door opened, revealing the contents. Yu Yuan frowned slightly.
One laptop, one USB drive, one phone, and a file folder.
Just this?
Although the laptop was somewhat valuable, none of the four items triggered any system prompts, so Yu Yuan was a bit disappointed.
Still, things kept in a safe shouldn’t be worthless.
He shelved the laptop on Taotao Hole. After all this time its battery was probably drained; he’d have to charge it before seeing its contents.
He put the phone and USB drive into his backpack.
Then he looked at the file folder.
Whoa—
Yu Yuan’s eyes narrowed when he saw the sealing strip on the back of the folder.
Without hesitating, he tore off the seal and pulled out the contents. At first glance at what was inside,
Yu Yuan’s pupils constricted and his heartbeat seemed to pause.
“Holy shit...”