After seeing An Ke and the others off, Lu Liran noticed that the suite they had checked into seemed both larger and more luxurious than the one he'd originally booked.
A huge sunroom occupied most of the sunny side, and there was a massage room, swimming pool, and cub's room as well.
An almost transparent wall of glass encircled the suite. A hundred meters above the ground, Lu Liran had an unobstructed view of most of the city's buildings.
While unpacking everyone's belongings, Jin Fei winced at how extravagantly his young master had spent this time. A suite like this had to cost at least five thousand star coins a night.
“Mm. Actually, the suite I booked was two thousand a night,” Lu Liran said as he reset the suite's access code.
Jin Fei blinked. “Then this is…?”
Before he could finish, a notification from the hotel's system interrupted him.
As soon as Lu Liran successfully changed the access code, the Star City Central Hotel system registered their official check-in. The room's built-in speakers delivered the hotel's standard announcement—
“Dear guest, welcome to Star City Central Hotel. I am Siri, your intelligent suite concierge.”
“Our records indicate that one of your registered guests is a precious cub. We have therefore upgraded your suite free of charge and specially reinforced the security and child-protection systems. The room contains food and toys prepared specifically for precious cubs, all of which meet the safety standards of the Federal Cub Protection Association. We hope you enjoy your stay.”
“If you require room service of any kind, simply call Siri. Star City Central Hotel is delighted to be of service.”
Lu Liran was somewhat surprised. He looked down at his little cub.
The little fellow lifted his head in bewilderment and blinked his beautiful steel-blue eyes twice. “Papa?”
Lu Liran ruffled the boy's soft golden-brown curls and pointed toward the room filled with toys for cubs. “Go play.”
The little boy's eyes curved with delight, and he immediately scampered inside on his short legs.
Jin Fei had never imagined that simply having the cub with them would earn them a complimentary room upgrade. That saved a considerable sum.
Smiling as he put the clothes away, the housekeeper said, “Our little young master is so well-behaved and considerate. Not only can he save you money, Young Master, he can even earn you perks. What a wonderful little cub.”
Lu Liran knew that birth rates among cubs throughout the star systems had been falling, which made children ever more precious. Still, he had never expected the mere presence of a cub to make such an extraordinarily luxurious hotel bend its rules so thoroughly.
He shook his head helplessly. He could already imagine how his two fathers and older brother would spoil the boy rotten once they returned home. Even if the little rascal demanded an entire planet, those three would probably buy him one without blinking.
Lu Liran spent the next two days resting at the hotel, dedicating every moment to his cub. The little fellow was so happy that he wished he could stay glued to Lu Liran at all times.
On the third day, Lu Liran switched on his optical computer. Several unread messages appeared in his contacts, most of them from Xiao Hei, the black-market dealer, asking whether Lu Liran had any more specialties from the snowy mountains to sell. He'd sent over a list of materials fetching high purchase prices.
Lu Liran looked through it, rummaged around in his storage inventory, found two corresponding medicinal herbs he'd dug up earlier, and sent them to the dealer.
[Whoa, you really do have them, big shot! These two herbs can only be gathered near the mountain peaks. You're amazing!]
[I've listed them for auction. I'll settle up with you as soon as they sell!]
[Oh, right, big shot, has anyone else contacted you? I heard these past couple of days that someone's gotten lost in the snowy mountains. They're organizing a big search party, and the bounty is enormous. I don't know whether you got the news?]
Xiao Hei had fired off several messages in quick succession. Lu Liran skimmed them, simultaneously noticing several messages in his contact list from the same unfamiliar sender.
He narrowed his eyes and tapped open the chat window.
