Chapter 99: Gu Mingchi Really Knows How to Solve Problems with Money
After climbing the mountain, Su Tao walked around the entire inn before deciding to build her little home at the back of the building.
She made a simple plan: there would be a double door leading through the first-floor restaurant, opening into a short hallway. On the left would be her small home, and on the right, extending upward, would be the staff dormitories.
She wanted a small space, so she only built a one-bedroom, one-living-room, one-bathroom setup.
Turning left from the short hallway, the living room was the first space, decorated with warm-toned wooden furniture. It was fully equipped with a TV, coffee table, soft sofa, and storage shelves.
Deeper inside was her bedroom, featuring a double bed against two walls and a small wardrobe.
The bathroom was opposite the bed, accessible via a sliding door, with all necessary amenities.
The total cost of this one-bedroom unit? Only 5,000 Federation credits.
Su Tao threw herself onto the bed for a moment before getting up to pull back the living room curtains. From her window, she had a breathtaking view of the valley below.
She decided to add air conditioning. Since the upgraded home store now offered central AC, as well as small floor-standing and wall-mounted units, she had more choices.
Opting for a wall-mounted AC in the living room for 3,000 Federation credits, she set it to cooling mode, ensuring that both the living room and bedroom stayed comfortable.
Once the inn opened, she could relax in this cozy home, enjoying the air conditioning while watching surveillance footage of travelers coming and going—like a true behind-the-scenes boss.
By the time she finished setting up, it was past 7 PM. Feeling too lazy to return to Taoyang for dinner, she went to the inn’s back kitchen and cooked herself a bowl of instant noodles.
Sitting in the empty restaurant, she imagined a lively future where guests would be ordering food, checking in, and spending money every day.
Once the fifth floor was built, she’d start hiring staff and officially open for business!
Feeling reinvigorated, Su Tao started working on the fourth floor of the inn, managing to complete it just before Gu Mingchi’s people arrived.
She also built a two-person dormitory for the reception staff, ensuring a place for them to rest between shifts.
Checking the surveillance feed, she saw that the workers had arrived at the front gate, so she took the elevator down to meet them.
The night was pitch dark. At the foot of the mountain, Ma Dapao and his four men stood in stunned silence, staring at the tall walls and electric fences before them.
They clearly remembered this place being nothing but barren land before.
And now?
It looked like some kind of fortress.
Then they recalled the job they were hired for—cleaning up corpses.
The more they thought about it, the creepier it felt.
Ma Dapao swallowed hard and was just about to press the doorbell when the iron gate clicked open.
A familiar figure approached.
Su Tao asked, “You’re the ones sent by Boss Gu, right?”
Ma Dapao’s eyes widened. “You… aren’t you the one Sister Guan brought that day?”
The night was too dark. Su Tao squinted before finally recognizing him—he was that pushy hustler from the supply station who had tried to scam her.
Mental note: install streetlights tomorrow—it was too hard to see people in the dark.
She responded, “Oh, it’s you. Yeah, come in. What’s with the change? Not hustling at the supply station anymore?”
Ma Dapao, ever the talkative type, scratched his head and chuckled.
“Boss Gu pays well! Moving corpses for one night earns me 2,000 credits—way more than I make hustling travelers. I jumped at the chance.”
Hearing that, Su Tao was impressed.
Damn, Gu Mingchi really knows how to throw money at problems.
She covered her nose and opened the garage doors. “Alright, get to it. Let me know if you need anything.”
Ma Dapao, completely unfazed by the stench, gave a cheerful “Got it!” before leading his team inside.
Checking the system surveillance, Su Tao saw everything inside the garage clearly, so she didn’t need to stay and supervise.
Instead, she teleported back to Taoyang.
When Lin Fangzhi saw her coming back, he put down the book and ran over. He stood in front of her without saying a word, just staring at her, as if they hadn’t seen each other for hundreds of years.
Even Xuedao, Black Sesame, and White Sesame ran over, circling her excitedly.
Su Tao held her forehead.
She had basically raised a bunch of clingy kids.
Fine, might as well test something out.
She held out her hand to Lin Fangzhi.
He grabbed it, but instead of holding on, he instinctively opened his space storage for her to see.
Su Tao laughed. “Not that! Just close your eyes.”
In the next second, she and Lin Fangzhi teleported to the foot of Panliu Mountain.
The sounds of five people cleaning up corpses echoed from the garage.
Lin Fangzhi stood frozen, stunned.
He recognized this place—he had been here just a while ago.
Seeing that the teleportation was successful, Su Tao was thrilled.
Now she could bring Lin Fangzhi with her instead of leaving him behind like a lonely kid.
Then she had another thought.
If Lin Fangzhi could come…
Didn’t that mean he could bring everything inside his space storage, too?
“Fangzhi, take out a bottle of water for me.”
Lin Fangzhi obediently retrieved a bottle of water, twisted off the cap, and handed it to her.
Su Tao beamed. It worked!
She happily took a big gulp.
Once Taoyang’s plantation production increased, she could store fresh vegetables in Fangzhi’s space and sell them at Panliu Mountain—at twice the price!
Using the same method, Su Tao teleported: Xuedao, Black Sesame and White Sesame.
One by one.
But there was a problem—she could only bring one at a time.
And all the back-and-forth teleportation was starting to give her a headache.
Since Lin Fangzhi would be staying here often, Su Tao decided to build him a little room—right above her living room.
She added a small ladder leading up to it.
The setup is a bunk bed—the top bunk for sleeping, the bottom for his desk and study area, a space where he could read, write, and complete assignments from his new tutor.
Now, he had his own personal space in Panliu Mountain.
It also had a private bathroom, with a design similar to hers.
Su Tao led Lin Fangzhi up the ladder, introducing everything to him one by one. Finally, she earnestly warned him:
“My room is just downstairs, really close. Don’t sneak over to sleep outside my door again at night! Otherwise, I’ll move your room to the staff dormitory across the hall. Then if you want to find me, you’ll have to walk through the entire corridor.”
Lin Fangzhi pursed his lips. Under her firm gaze, he nodded obediently.
Su Tao praised him: “Good boy! So tonight, we’re sleeping here, okay?”
Lin Fangzhi nodded again.
Su Tao then called for Xuedao and Black Sesame.
Xuedao had been digging holes on the mountainside, but the moment she called, it raced back immediately.
Black Sesame, on the other hand, had a habit of patrolling any new environment first. It refused to return until it had thoroughly inspected every corner.
Su Tao didn’t bother chasing after it and instead carried the clingy and well-behaved White Sesame back to her room.
*
The Next Morning
When Su Tao opened her door, she saw Lin Fangzhi already sitting in the living room, reading a book.
The book was from Zhuang Wan, a collection of picture books from Chen Xi and Chen Yang’s childhood, almost completely wordless.
Meanwhile, Ma Dapao had sent her a message from the foot of the mountain:
“Everything was taken care of.”
Su Tao gave Lin Fangzhi a few instructions before hurriedly heading down the mountain.
To her surprise, Ma Dapao had actually done a pretty decent job.
Not only had he removed all the corpses, but he had also taken them far away for proper cremation and burial.
Even the garage no longer smelled—he had aired it out completely.
Then, he handed her a large burlap sack.
“Boss Su, these are the belongings of the dead. Some of these things still seem valuable, and I felt bad just throwing them away. You can decide what to do with them.”
Su Tao opened the bag and found wallets, communicators, and various personal belongings.
The most eye-catching item was a small locket-style picture frame, about the size of her palm.
Inside the frame was a photograph of a mother and her child.
