“Sob… sis, please wake up!”
“Sis, the zombies are coming! Hurry, wake up! We can’t carry you!”
Vivian Hartwell forced her eyes open, her skull throbbing like someone had taken a hammer to it. The pain ebbed almost as fast as it came, and when her vision cleared, she found two tiny kids crouched in front of her—one boy, one girl, both around four or five. Their clothes were torn to shreds, their faces dirty and thin, and their eyes were so red from crying they looked like two little stray kittens.
By the looks of it, they were hiding inside some abandoned factory.
Not far away, a few figures staggered toward them. Their faces twisted, bodies covered in blood, movements jerky and wrong.
Not people. Zombies.
Vivian didn’t even hesitate. She grabbed one kid under each arm and bolted.
She had no clue what was going on, but only an idiot would stay put when zombies were literally shuffling straight at them.
But she had barely run a few steps before she realized—great, just great—her body felt like it had been hollowed out. She could barely move herself, let alone sprint with two kids.
Her knees gave out, and she dropped heavily onto the ground.
“Sis, we’ll hold you up! Just—”
The little boy reached for her arm, but the moment he tried to stand, he wobbled and nearly fell flat again.
More and more zombies dragged themselves toward them, at least a dozen now closing in from all sides. Vivian felt her heart sink to the bottom of the abyss.
Seriously? She laughed at one stupid hell meme and somehow her twenty years of accumulated good karma evaporated?
And now she was about to die like *this*? Way too brutal.
Just then, a crisp mechanical voice chimed inside her head. “Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have successfully bound to the Apocalypse Ultimate Hotel System. A transport channel will open for you shortly.”
A… system?
And not just any system—the strongest hotel system in the apocalypse?
The mechanical voice in her head kept counting down. “Three, two, one. Channel open.”
Right in front of Vivian Hartwell, a gate of blinding light snapped into existence.
She froze for barely two seconds before scooping up the two kids—one in each hand—and hurling herself through the gate with everything she had.
In the blink of an eye, the world around her flipped.
No abandoned factory. No snarling zombies. Instead, she found herself standing on an enormous empty plaza. In the very center, a lone building towered over the open space like it had been dropped there by mistake.
Vivian spun around to get her bearings, but the light gate had already vanished.
No survivors. No movement.
Just her… and the two little ones staring around like their brains had blue-screened.
“Vivian…” The little girl pressed tightly against her side, voice trembling. “Where are we? A-are the zombies gone?”
“Did we… actually make it?” the boy whispered, his eyes unfocused.
Vivian rubbed her temples, trying to piece things together. She gently nudged the two kids to stand in front of her and asked, “Okay, hold up. Who exactly are you two? Why are you calling me sister? And what’s this about zombies?”
The moment the words left her mouth, both kids’ expressions shifted in an instant—from confused to straight-up terrified.
“Vivian, what’s wrong? It’s me, Cola!” the boy protested, anxious and wide-eyed.
“Sis, I’m Burger! You really don’t remember us?” the girl cried, her lip trembling.
Cola… Burger…
Vivian almost blurted out a complaint about who on earth would name their kids like takeout food—then something hit her like a truck.
A book. She’d read a book a few days ago.
A book that had a Cola and a Burger in it.
And even more important… it had a total cannon-fodder character with her exact name.
In that story, the original Vivian Hartwell grew up in an orphanage. Nineteen years old. She had just gotten her university acceptance letter over a year ago and had been grinding summer jobs to save up tuition.
Cola and Burger were also from the same orphanage. Cola, a six-year-old boy. Burger, a five-year-old girl. They adored Vivian and treated her as their real older sister.
And Vivian cared for them just as much—like they were her own little brother and sister.
A little over a year ago, the world had basically gone off a cliff.
Bone‑deep cold, scorching heat, zombies everywhere, and earthquakes popping up like they were on some kind of random timer…
While running for their lives, Vivian Hartwell got separated from everyone else from the orphanage—only Cola and Hamburger were still sticking to her like little shadows.
The three of them barely scraped by for more than a year before they eventually got cornered and torn apart by zombies.
So… wait. Did she really just time‑travel? And land inside that apocalypse novel, becoming the girl who had the exact same name as her?
That scene she saw right after opening her eyes must’ve been the moment when Vivian, Cola, and Hamburger were about to get bitten for real.
But thanks to the so‑called strongest hotel system, they had been yanked out of there and dropped into this place.
“Sis! Please don’t scare us like that!” Hamburger whispered, staring at her with those watery, anxious eyes.
Vivian let out a long breath.
She’d always been the cheerful, take‑things‑as‑they‑come type. Since she was already here, fine—she’d just have to live with it and survive however she could.
The real question was… what exactly was this strongest hotel system?
Right then, that mechanical voice echoed in her head again. “Host, please bring your family members into the hotel. Follow the instructions to complete the setup and strive to open for business as soon as possible.”
Alright. In first, questions later.
Now that there were no zombies right behind them, Vivian finally felt a sliver of strength returning. She took Cola’s and Hamburger’s hands and headed toward the building.
The main door was glass, and it slid open with a push.
The first floor was an actual hotel lobby. Vivian spotted the front desk right away, with some kind of machine sitting there—no clue what it was for.
Off to the side was a small lounge area with a few sofas and a coffee table.
Further in, she saw three elevators and two staircases.
“Sis, where are we?” Cola asked, staring around with wide eyes. “There’s no one here? And no zombies?”
“Nope. You’re safe,” Vivian said gently, trying to calm him down.
She had read plenty of novels before.
Since the system was bound to her, there was no way outsiders or zombies could just walk in.
“Welcome, Host. A new task has been unlocked: please name the hotel.”
The mechanical voice chimed again.
Vivian Hartwell thought for a moment and answered in her mind, “Let’s call it Serene Hotel.”
In a world like this, just staying safe… that was probably everyone’s biggest wish.
And she really hoped she could keep Cola and Burger safe too.
“Congratulations, Host. Task completed. Reward unlocked: one main suite, Room 201, and unlimited instant noodles.”
“Okay, I get the room and the unlimited noodles part, but what’s the ‘main suite’ supposed to be?”
“The main suite is for the Host and her family. It’s on the first floor. Just walk straight ahead and turn left.”
Vivian led Cola and Burger forward, turned left, and sure enough, there was a door.
She pushed it open—and froze.
Cola and Burger were standing beside her with their mouths wide open.
The room was huge. There was a massive bed big enough for four or five people, floor‑to‑ceiling windows, curtains, a soft carpet, a couch, chairs, a table, a wardrobe, a computer, a TV, an air‑conditioner…
Basically, every piece of furniture she could imagine was right there.
And the place even had its own bathroom and kitchen!
She walked in with the two kids and checked the bathroom. There was a sink, a toilet, several clean towels, toilet paper, three sets of toiletries, and even sanitary pads.
There were all kinds of skincare and makeup products too.
The shower area had a big bathtub, a shower head, a heater lamp, bath towels—everything.
The kitchen was fully stocked as well: pots, pans, dishes, a fridge, all of it neatly arranged.
The wardrobe was packed full of clothes—some for her, some for Cola and Burger.
Everything she could think of, even the stuff she never expected, was here.
“Uh… hey, System? This whole place is really mine? And I can use everything in it? Cola and Burger too?”
