The players found Lu Qingjia’s actions baffling and somewhat foolish, and the two receptionists looked equally confused.
But to be fair, Lu Qingjia’s demeanor was indeed intimidating.
If it were someone else saying such things, they might be thought of as a lunatic looking for trouble. However, with a tall, handsome figure exuding a strong presence and a determined expression standing before them, the two receptionists, though still puzzled, steeled themselves to call the manager.
The quality of the reception desk’s landline was poor, and the speaker was a bit loud; Lu Qingjia could even hear a man’s voice on the other end, sounding irritated as if just waking up.
Looking at the clock in the lobby, it was already four in the afternoon. The other party was still asleep after a nap, which showed how leisurely they were.
Fortunately, the staff dormitory was at the end of the first floor, and it didn’t take long for a man in a uniform suit, in his thirties and slightly overweight, to walk over.
Although this man seemed lazy at work, he greeted people with a smile, exuding a slick demeanor. He introduced himself as Manager Hao.
He lowered his tone and said, “I’m sorry, I was just counting inventory in the kitchen and didn’t come out to greet you.”
“This gentleman—Mr. Lu, is there something the staff did poorly? Please feel free to point it out.”
Lu Qingjia smiled faintly, “Given the current weather, it takes at least four hours to drive up from the foot of the mountain.”
“I didn’t see any other cars passing by during that time, the parking spots in the back kitchen are all empty, and the chefs and helpers are outside smoking. What exactly were you, Manager Hao, ordering by yourself?”
Seeing his casual lie exposed, Manager Hao couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.
Before he could explain, Lu Qingjia continued, “Take off your manager’s nameplate; you’re fired.”
Manager Hao was as bewildered as anyone else. He had seen picky and overbearing customers causing trouble, but he had never encountered a customer who directly fired an employee. Did he really think this place was his family business?
The smile on his face began to falter, and Manager Hao said, “Mr. Lu, if our service is lacking, you can point it out or file a complaint, but isn’t it a bit—”
Isn’t it meddling in someone else’s business?
Lu Qingjia glanced at him and scoffed, “As the special manager here, your superior, I believe I have that right.”
“Special manager?” Manager Hao’s expression was a mix of mockery and absurdity, as if he were looking at a lunatic spinning a poorly crafted lie. “I’m sorry, Mr. Lu, but I haven’t received any notification about that.”
“You—haven’t received?” Lu Qingjia took a step forward, his towering height creating an overwhelming pressure.
Manager Hao looked at the man before him, whose expression showed no hint of guilt, but rather seemed to regard him like a pig living off the fat of the land.
There was a hint of disdain in his expression, typical of the elite looking down on the mediocre, but he restrained himself due to his upbringing, making this rudeness seem somewhat cultured, while the target felt awkward enough to want to sink into the ground.
Even someone as seasoned as Manager Hao found it hard to withstand this pressure, and while he was angry, self-doubt began to creep in.
Lu Qingjia said, “The business here has not been doing well in recent years. I didn’t mean to blame you.”
“After all, being relatively unknown locally indicates more of a planning and marketing issue. The higher-ups have not accurately positioned this place, nor have they arranged for a fixed sales department.”
“Sparse clientele and poor business lead to low performance and inadequate treatment, which naturally affects work enthusiasm. I had some mental preparation before coming here.”
“However, I didn’t expect you, Manager Hao, as the temporary head, to genuinely treat your job like a paid vacation. You didn’t even know about such an important personnel appointment?”
Lu Qingjia chuckled lightly and picked up the receiver from the front desk, handing it to Manager Hao.
“Now, call Minister Cui and ask him what’s going on. I’m also curious about which step in the process went wrong.”
Manager Hao was sweating profusely. Listening to Mr. Lu, he realized he didn’t sound like an outsider at all. His resolute attitude and the mention of the area’s big boss, Minister Cui, indicated that this was serious and not just some lunatic playing around.
Manager Hao recalled the past few days and indeed found no mention of a special appointment, but he knew very well what he was doing here.
Aside from handling routine inquiries from above and attending a monthly summary meeting in the city, he had really been treating this as a paid vacation, just as Mr. Lu said.
If the staff had overlooked a message or if a fax had not reached him, it was certainly possible.
At this moment, Mr. Lu was urging him with his eyes: “What’s the matter? It’s getting late; in another hour or so, we’ll need to prepare dinner for the guests.”
“If Manager Hao has doubts, it’s better to confirm things sooner. There are quite a few guests today, and I don’t have time to spend hours explaining the onboarding situation to you.”
“It would be better if Minister Cui explained it personally.”
But the more Lu Qingjia urged, the less Manager Hao dared to touch that phone.
He was already doubting whether he had missed important information due to negligence, and now he felt a deep-seated aversion, even fear, about contacting the outside world. This escalating sense of retreat only confirmed his suspicions about his own oversight.
He thought to himself that this time he might have really made a big mistake, so he forced a smile and said, “You see, we certainly welcome Manager Lu’s arrival.”
“I was just joking! We did receive the notification, but we didn’t expect you to come on the same bus. Please forgive us.”
He added, “Your room has already been prepared, with an excellent view. Why don’t you take a look and see if you’re satisfied? If you are, you can drop off your luggage and rest for a while?”
Lu Qingjia scrutinized him, as if considering whether to let it slide, and finally softened his expression, showing he didn’t want to push things too far.
He nodded, “Then please take me to the dormitory, Manager Hao.”
This hot spring hotel was not small, and the staff dormitory was quite spacious, with higher floors even having individual rooms.
Though not as large as the guest rooms, they were kept clean and tidy, which made Lu Qingjia quite satisfied.
Meanwhile, the players who had been watching Lu Qingjia’s entire con job in the lobby were dumbfounded. How on earth did he manage that?
From their perspective, they hadn’t seen any particularly sophisticated tricks; he simply took a lie to its extreme, waiting for others to waver, and then he won.
They hadn’t expected him to so easily infiltrate the management of the resort.
It must be said that this move indeed gave them more leverage. The players who had previously criticized him for being lecherous quickly changed their opinions.
Perhaps he really had some skills, and naturally, they would want to bring him into their player group.
However, he was also playing the part thoroughly; after resting for a bit in his room, he truly came out to start working.
It seemed he was also in this line of work in reality, as he adapted quickly and worked efficiently, noticeably improving the hotel staff’s work efficiency.
As mealtime approached, due to a shortage of waitstaff in the restaurant, the front desk employees usually had to help out at this time.
Lu Qingjia gently told the two receptionists, “You two go to the restaurant first; I’ll handle the rest.”
Once they left, the other players in the lobby could no longer sit still. They approached the front desk and saw Lu Qingjia reviewing employee records and recent purchase orders.
One bespectacled male player asked, “Dude, you’ve got a knack for this. How did you know that guy would back down?”
Lu Qingjia glanced at the five players—two women and three men—who seemed to have accumulated some experience, as each of their expressions lacked the previous bewilderment seen on the chubby guy.
They must have had some experience with clearing levels.
Lu Qingjia looked around and didn’t find anyone truly useful among them, but one’s energy was always limited, and having more sources of information might help uncover the still-dubious areas sooner.
So he took out his phone and waved it, “You all know that everyone here, except for us, is trapped in a three-day cycle, right?”
“Such a major incident, even though it happened over ten years ago, is still easy to find online.”
“With so many people dead, there must be more than one person responsible, from the hotel brand to the regional manager, all clearly listed.”
“Moreover, everyone here, except for us, is no longer alive—a group of ignorant souls repeating their last moments. Do you think they have any awareness of contacting the outside world?”
Of course not; otherwise, this cycle would easily be broken.
Whether it was the game rules or the world’s constraints preventing the souls from realizing they were dead during the day, those ghosts would avoid contact with the outside world; otherwise, this cycle couldn’t have repeated for over a decade.
So when Manager Hao was forced by Lu Qingjia to call and verify with his superior, it was more difficult than going to a grave.
Because Lu Qingjia was already certain that the other party subconsciously didn’t dare to contact the outside world, not even for the most basic verification, combined with Lu Qingjia’s calm and confident demeanor and his seemingly flawless words and actions.
It was no wonder Manager Hao ended up doubting himself and being led by the nose.
After a moment of silence, the players realized this wasn’t just a matter of luck or bluffing.
At the very least, it showed that Lu Qingjia was on a different level compared to them, whether in detail management, information processing, or even in being proactive and bold.
Recalling Lu Qingjia’s previous flattery towards Mrs. Li, they immediately realized that there might be important clues from her.
The final evaluation rewards of the game were based on each person’s performance in the instance. While clever players could be polite and friendly, competition still existed.
So the few of them politely introduced themselves to Lu Qingjia, shared some of their findings, and agreed to exchange clues if they found any, before hurriedly heading to the restaurant.
At this point, all the guests had already come downstairs to dine.
The entire lobby was left with only Lu Qingjia, who browsed quickly, had a good memory, and soon matched the people in the employee files with those he had seen along the way, occasionally searching for information on his phone.
Basically, everyone was accounted for, except for one person—
Lu Qingjia pulled out that page—Wang Lingli, hired on October 9, 200X, just over a month before the hotel fire.
It was during this period that the hotel had changed the brand of cleaning agents they used, likely switching suppliers.
While this wasn’t too unusual, the fact that the new brand mixed with the one Mrs. Li always carried could produce toxic gases was just too coincidental.
Moreover, Lu Qingjia also saw in the maintenance memo that the toilet door lock in Mrs. Li’s luxury suite was broken and often got stuck inside.
Repairs had been reported, but in such places, one could imagine the efficiency?
With the cause and method of the entire incident now clear to him, Lu Qingjia felt he had it all figured out.
At that moment, he received a reply to the text message he had sent earlier—
[Who are you?]
Lu Qingjia revealed a satisfied smile, typing a line of text: [I’m just someone who appreciates your couple’s taste in cleaning agents.]
[Your two wives have quite a strong chemical reaction in this regard.]
No need to reveal too much; just hearing these few keywords was enough for those in the know.
Sure enough, she panicked: [What do you want?]
Lu Qingjia replied, [Ten million, to be delivered at XX Hot Spring Resort three days later at eight o’clock. One second late, and the deal is off.]
Love smart MC!