I Built an Inn at the End of the World

She coughed awkwardly. "A Miao, stop playing."

A Miao immediately stopped and walked over, taking the heavy board from her.

This was a display board Qian Zhenzhen had just bought—magnetic material with elegant patterns, a soft orange-red surface with golden edges. It could be used with markers for writing and drawing, could take push pins and tape, and could hold paper notes with magnets. It had cost 15 Koi Vouchers—not cheap at all.

A Miao compared the height and position, following her instructions to nail it to the wall and hang up the display board.

Qian Zhenzhen went back to the counter and took out the note tucked in the account book, which she had smoothed out and covered with protective film on both sides.

The magnets came with the display board. She chose a spot and stood on tiptoe to clip up the note.

Guest Message Wall - Complete √

Song Ziyi curiously came closer, saw the messages in two different handwritings on the note, and asked as if suddenly awakening: "This really is an inn?!"

You just realized? We said that earlier! ￣□￣||

#

Qian Zhenzhen smiled and introduced again, "This is indeed an inn that provides lodging, meals, and hot water. If needed, we also sell other goods like vegetables, medicine..."

Before she could finish, Song Ziyi cheerfully called out, "Then I want noodles!"

Xia Chang abruptly stood up. "Little Song!"

Song Ziyi ignored the captain's stern face and waved at Lu Qin. "Oh, really! Sister Qin, come look! I told you this sister looks like a good person!"

Lu Qin bit her lip, glanced at the captain beside her, and seeing his displeased expression, simply pushed him toward the wall. "Brother Xia, look."

Xia Chang reluctantly stood in front of the display board.

The notes showed different handwriting styles, seemingly left by a mother and daughter who had been previous guests.

But who could guarantee they weren't forced to write those?

Though that seemed unlikely...

If the owner truly wanted to deceive people, surely they would use more effective methods.

Conflicting thoughts swirled in Xia Chang's mind as he hesitated.

Meanwhile, Song Ziyi had already found his excuse to eat noodles and walked straight to the counter with his small bag. "Sister boss, do you accept vouchers here? Can you give me a discount?"

He had gauze taped to the left side of his forehead, covering his left eye, leaving only his right eye visible—which was now welling up with pitiful tears.

Calling her "sister" repeatedly, he unhurriedly produced various vouchers, appearing quite sincere.

Qian Zhenzhen asked A Miao to put away the tools in the loft and approached the counter herself.

The vouchers were made of waterproof cloth, cut into palm-sized triangles, with yellowish-brown patterns burned into them by heated iron tools. Each pattern showed a circle containing "HEI" and three numbers—5, 10, and 50.

The system's recycling function could identify items. Qian Zhenzhen picked up a "10" voucher, and sure enough, a prompt appeared:

[From [Black Glory Mountain Base] (destroyed), can be exchanged for Koi vouchers at a ratio of 100:1]

[Do you want to recycle this voucher?]

In other words, this "10" voucher was worth only 0.1 Koi vouchers in the system—about the value of a spool of thin cotton thread.

Qian Zhenzhen wasn't a philanthropist. She set down the voucher and smiled while examining the young man before her. "Black Glory Mountain Base is already gone. Where would I use these?"

She spoke softly and gently, her fishtail braid hanging over one shoulder, emanating a faint soap fragrance like a gentle sister from next door.

But Song Ziyi still felt an inexplicable pressure from those bright eyes, which sparkled with intelligence as if they could see through his thoughts.

The sixteen-year-old boy scratched his head. "Ah, these are Black Glory Mountain Base vouchers? I just picked them up on the road, thought they might be useful... wait a minute!"

He pulled out a shell from his bag. "This one's from Lian City—it must be good here!"

[From [Lian City], can be exchanged for Koi vouchers at a ratio of 2:1]

[Do you want to recycle this voucher?]

The shell had many tiny holes drilled into it, like sesame seeds, forming the character "ten."

Qian Zhenzhen rubbed the shell thoughtfully. "Lian City is too far from here. Although this voucher is valid, it's not easy for me to use, so I'll only count it as half."

"Do you have any more? Give me another Lian City voucher, and I'll make a whole pot of chicken noodle soup—enough for your whole team to eat."

Since she put it that way, Song Ziyi naturally had to consider his teammates. He took out more vouchers and laid them on the counter, sorting through for suitable denominations.

The vouchers came in various styles. Among them was a polished, shiny metal plate marked with the large denomination "50." Qian Zhenzhen picked it up curiously to examine it.

[From [Anxi Base], can be exchanged for Koi vouchers at par value, ratio 1:1]

[Do you want to recycle this voucher?]

A one-to-one exchange rate? Clearly, Anxi Base's comprehensive strength was indeed formidable.

Xia Chang and Lu Qin came over and, after learning the situation, pooled their vouchers together.

"We want to rest here for three days—no need for rooms, we'll sleep in the lobby. Besides tonight's noodles, we only need the simplest hot meals and hot water... these vouchers should be enough, right?"

As Xia Chang spoke, he discreetly took back the Anxi Base metal voucher and slipped it into his pocket.

"Also, please notify us before you start cooking."

"No problem." Qian Zhenzhen noticed his subtle movement but maintained her expression as she nodded and called to A Miao nearby. "Go boil water for the guests." She then gathered up the worthless Black Glory Mountain vouchers. "I'll take these too. I'll brew some ginger tea and bring it to you shortly."

The wandering team didn't object and followed A Miao into the kitchen.

Qian Zhenzhen walked last, secretly recycling the vouchers she had received.

[You recycled [Black Glory Mountain Base] vouchers*5]

[You recycled [Wild Dragon Base] vouchers*10]

[You recycled [Lian City] vouchers*10]

[You recycled...

...

After recycling stopped, half a minute later, the system displayed the total:

[You received Koi vouchers*65]

[You received Koi vouchers*6.5—[United We Stand]]

Σ(⊙▽⊙" Is the employee bonus this useful? If she had 10 employees with a 100% bonus, wouldn't that double everything? Just thinking about it feels amazing...

Just as she closed the prompt message, the system panel suddenly burst with golden fireworks, making her stumble and nearly bump into Xia Chang walking ahead.

[Lucky manager, congratulations on triggering the adventure quest "Wandering Vouchers [Time-Limited]"!]

[Please note, you only have one chance. Once failed, the quest cannot be triggered again!]

[Adventure Quest: Wandering Vouchers [Time-Limited]

With the apocalypse's arrival and order's collapse, the former alliance's legal currency lost its value, buried beneath time and death.

Various new vouchers have emerged, trading between cities/bases, becoming wandering boats on the apocalyptic ocean, allowing people on distant shores to exchange goods of equivalent value.

They have witnessed laughter and tears, killing and bloodshed, loyalty and betrayal... if they were speaking spirits, they could surely tell many fascinating stories.