New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Chapter 1077: Stopping For A Good Night's Rest



With a little over half of their drive completed before the incident with the syndicate, Kujaku estimated their arrival time at Huayin village to be around three in the morning.

It didn't help that point delta had been off their regular route by dozens of miles just so they could lose their tail if needed, but such was the current situation. With the added detour, the already long thirty-one-hour drive had now extended to closer to thirty-five.

Adding to that, the waiting time they expended at the belvedere, and it quickly turned to thirty-six.

Kujaku clicked her tongue at the situation, pissed that they had wasted so much time. Her original plan was to have them rest in Huayin village for the night before bringing the group to Huashan mountains the following day.

Now, they would have to stop somewhere before that, if they wanted to find a hotel, motel, or inn that wouldn't ask questions about their renters. Looking at the paper map in her hands, which each car had prepared in advance, she looked for a more secluded region on their way up to the Shaanxi province.

They were close to Anhua County, heading eastbound to get back on the northbound highway, so she trailed her fingers across the map, looking for a small village near the highway.

Looking at her multiple travel options, she veered off the big highway before reaching Xi'An and stopping in Ankang. There was bound to be a place there that was less stringent on who they lodged if she was willing to grease the wheels of bargain.

Since they were the lead vehicle, she knew the two others would follow them, so she instructed Sakura on what road to take. The woman had woken up not long after they left the rest area, and they had already stopped on the side of the road to swap places.

It wasn't that Kujaku was against driving, but she couldn't focus on making a new plan if she was, and Sakura had insisted on taking the wheel from her boss.

With their new route selected, the three vehicles slowly made their way east, then north, toward their ultimate destination. They had to stop somewhere around dinner time so the drivers could swap again, fatigue starting to build up, but they made a swift change and resumed their drive.

Fortunately for everyone, the trip was uneventful, and those who could, used the downtime to rest, even though Kujaku had ensured everyone knew they would be sleeping in actual rooms that night.

Making it to Ankang without issues, Kujaku looked for a part of town that was a bit on the downside and eventually found an old-style inn that pleased her conditions.

Rooms with doors in front and in back, a parking lot to the side, easily accessible, and fences to hide the yard from nosy neighbours. She was happy with her luck.

Now, she only needed to convince the owners to look away from all the white people she would bring in, even though the country was in lockdown.

She made her new driver park near the inn, signalling the other two cars to stay put with a balled fist motion.

Kujaku made her way to the inn, walking in and taking off her shoes at the entrance.

There was an old lady at the counter, and she looked at the young Japanese woman with a smile and a nod.

"Hello, Ma'am," Kujaku said, in perfect Mandarin.

The woman looked at her; her smile stretching a bit wider.

"How can I help you, young lady? Do you need a room for the night?" she asked, looking at the clock on the desk below her and seeing it was almost nine PM.

Kujaku nodded, presenting her passport, as it was customary when you were obviously not a local in China.

But Kujaku had a Chinese passport in hand, making the older woman raise an eyebrow.

"Resident? You don't look Chinese," she commented, a tinge of doubt in her voice.

"My mother was from Shanghai, my father is from Okinawa, and I was born in Shanghai- double residency. Is that a problem?" Kujaku asked, making a worried face.

"Was? Past tense?" the old lady asked.

Kujaku gave her a sad smile and a nod.

"Yes, was. She died while giving birth to me."

The woman's face turned to an apologetic expression.

"Sorry for prying, young lady. My doors are wide open for you, of course. One room, and are you alone, or is there a mister..." her voice trailed off, looking back at the passport, "Aoi."

"Well, there are more, yes. I have friends with me, all with passports, evidently, but very few are locals. Is there a problem with hosting them for the night? I know the people are a bit on the alert from foreigners lately, but they have been living here for a long time," she lied.

The woman frowned.

"How many friends are we talking?" she asked.

Kujaku gave her a wry smile.

"We are eighteen in total. Is that an issue? We can go somewhere else if it's too much, or pay any premium for the large group that is necessary. Money is no object," Kujaku said, pushing a thick wad of cash across the counter.

Seeing the wad of hundred Yuan notes pushed toward her, the woman's eyes grew slightly surprised, but she quickly regained her composure and pulled out a calculator.

"A group of eighteen. That is a large group premium indeed. How many rooms will that be?" she asked, already tapping a few numbers on her calculator.

Kujaku did a mental countdown and gave her an answer quickly.

"Seven rooms in total. Is that okay?"

The old lady looked at her vacancies, seeing that she had eight left, and grinned. She could ask for an extra premium since they were practically booking the rest of her inn for them alone.

"That is not a problem at all," she smiled, tapping away joyously.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Once she was done calculating her total, she slid the calculator to Kujaku.

Knowing these were all inflated numbers, Kujaku almost scoffed at the ridiculous price. But she didn't argue the number at all, smiling back at the old lady.

"I will need to return to my vehicle since I don't keep that kind of money directly on me; I hope that is okay. But I accept your price."

The old woman almost jumped in joy, but contained herself, knowing she had to keep the facade of professionalism and that jumping might be a bad idea at her advanced age.

"I see no problem with that. Once the amount is paid, I will hand you your keys. I threw an extra room on the house if you want to eat together," she lied, the room calculated in her

estimate.

Kujaku smiled at her warmly.

"Thank you so much, Ma'am. We appreciate your generosity."

Walking out with a satisfied grin, Kujaku sauntered back to the SUV, pulling open the door and the glove box in two swift motions.

In there, she grabbed another four wads of hundred Yuan bills and grinned at her driver.

"Pull over to the parking lot in the back. Park as close to the gate as you can, in case we need to bolt in the middle of the night, but keep the trucks separated," she ordered, the man responding with a silent nod.

Then she closed the door and walked back inside.

Greeting her with the same warm but slightly greedy smile, the old woman saw the wads of money, and her teeth went on full display.

Kujaku gently rested the money on the counter and smiled amicably at the old lady.

"I put in an extra stack for your generosity, discretion, and great service. Thank you kindly, Ma'am," she said, bowing slightly.

The woman licked her lips with a flash of greed, grabbing the money and looking at it to ensure all the stacks were complete with bills, not just layered. She was glad everything seemed legitimate and stowed the money away under the counter before the woman could

change her mind.

Pulling out her last eight keys, she slid them across the counter before pointing to the west corner of her building.

"The last subdivision is all yours-four rooms at floor level, and four on the first floor. You have access to the small terrace since you booked all the rooms in the subdivision, but try to keep the noise to a minimum.

"We have elderly guests, currently, and don't want to incommode them. Other than that, please have a pleasant stay," the old woman said, giving a bow in return to the young lady.

It wasn't every day she could overcharge her rooms as much as she just did, and with the 'tip' that the woman left her, she had made a little over six times as much as what she would usually make for the eight rooms.

With this money, she could pay her monthly bills in a single night, meaning she was making free money from the start of the month and the rest of it, too. She wanted to dance in joy, but waited for the young lady to be gone before letting her joy take her body. Kujaku still heard her happy foot taps as she walked toward the western subdivision and

giggled to herself.

'If that woman knew that I had five more wads like that in the glove box, she would have

extorted me for so much more,' she mused, shaking her head at the woman's gullibility.

Reaching the parking lot, she looked at the people filling out of the vehicles and started

giving out orders.

"Before the night ends, I need everyone to have a phone again. Takagi. Haruto. You're on it. Make it swift and try to stay as discreet as you can. The others, come with me."

She walked over to the first-floor room at the far left, everyone filling behind her, and

unlocked the door with the keycard.

"We have a few things to discuss before we rest."