Ch.59Chapter 8. The Lives of Others (1)

# Chapter 8. Someone Else’s Life

Thanks to the sudden gunshot, Camilla’s attention was broken.

“Huh.”

I kissed the frog prince on the lips. While keeping my lips on his, I removed his remaining clothes layer by layer.

With each layer I removed, I kissed him, then kissed him again. It wasn’t because I was avoiding a difficult answer, but because I couldn’t bear it each time Camilla’s tightly wrapped body was revealed.

Camilla was embarrassed, but she didn’t pull away. In truth, she couldn’t. The CCTV blind spot was so narrow that we had to stay close together.

Even though the cameras were supposedly turned off, both of us knew they could turn on at any moment.

When I removed her top, my throat burned.

Because she had worn so many layers, Camilla’s round breasts were compressed. It seemed like they would spring out with just a slight tug.

I felt strange. Something bubbling up inside me. A desire that felt like it needed to be released to find relief.

It wasn’t this intense in the human non-protected zone. I was always hungry there.

Cassandra had taught me some techniques that were quite effective, but something was always missing. Hunger was my constant companion. When sleeping, when fighting, even when eating.

Food cravings were strongest, followed by the desire for sleep, with sexual desire trailing behind.

But now that the hunger was gone, my priorities had shifted. Especially in this situation where this woman was pulling me close and letting out sensual moans at my slightest touch.

Camilla pulled at my waist.

“Mmm.”

Each time she shrugged her shoulders, I could see her compressed breasts expand and contract. She looked up at me with expectant eyes.

If I stroke her hair, would she dislike it? I’ve heard many girls hate that sort of thing.

But my hand was already stroking Camilla’s hair. Her cheeks and lips flushed red. When I brushed her cheek with the back of my hand, she shrank slightly as if ticklish.

Camilla’s arms wrapped around my neck. We kissed and our tongues intertwined. It was much gentler than last time.

“Johan.”

“Yes?”

“Was I too rough last time?”

“Well… it was fine.”

Actually, it wasn’t fine at all.

‘What do I do? The dumbbell is leaking. It keeps coming out. What should I do with this?’ she had said, then proceeded to squeeze with both hands, block, rub, shake, and wipe.

Almost all night long.

“I’ll be gentler this time. But in return…”

Camilla took my hand and guided it to her lower abdomen.

“…you lend me a hand too. Ah, don’t look at my face.”

“Here?”

“Just… with our hands… holding each other…”

Gulp. As if we’d planned it, we swallowed simultaneously.

Ring-ring-ring.

“Ah.”

Camilla bit her lip. She glanced toward the living room with resentful eyes.

Ring-ring-ring.

“…It’s a bit uncomfortable. Here…”

I tried to soothe Camilla. Of course, I was also trying to soothe myself. The CCTV hidden behind the shower curtain kept drawing my attention.

“Yeah. You’re right.”

Ring-ring-ring.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!”

I shouted, unable to contain myself. Camilla chuckled and squeezed my thigh tightly.

“You’re really angry. I’ll shower first.”

Then she slipped into the bathroom. I couldn’t help but smile even as I stared at the closed door. Before the good mood could dissipate, I answered the phone.

– Guest. This is the front desk. We apologize. We have committed a discourtesy.

“You know what you did?”

The words shot out before I could stop them, annoyed that our carefully built atmosphere had been ruined.

But after speaking, something felt off. Didn’t these guys say they’d turn off the CCTV? Besides, we were in the blind spot. Could there be cameras we didn’t know about?

– Earplugs were included in the amount you paid, but our staff forgot to provide them.

…Fortunately, that wasn’t it. I felt deflated with relief.

– We apologize. We’ve sent someone right away. If you could open the door when they ring the doorbell, we would appreciate it.

A moment later, the desk clerk really did come. It was that fat man with the gold teeth.

“I apologize.”

The man respectfully held out four packages of earplugs and a baton. The earplugs had a clear “Military Grade” mark. “The best choice for protecting the hearing of artillery and aircraft maintenance personnel!” was written on them.

“What’s the baton for?”

“You may beat me with it until your anger subsides.”

The man answered without batting an eye. I was so dumbfounded that I didn’t even have room to be annoyed anymore.

“Excuse me?”

“Please accept my humble apology.”

Then he bowed deeply, pressing his forehead to the floor. Well, the mood was ruined… but since it wasn’t intentional, I could let it slide.

Forgetting the earplugs was a mistake, but… telling me to beat someone until my anger subsides? Something felt off about this.

“Please get up.”

The man rose and calmly straightened his clothes.

“If you prefer, I will take the beating while standing.”

“No, you’re telling me to beat someone with a baton? This thing is solid metal! It feels heavy too. One hit with this could kill someone!”

The man blinked a couple of times, then answered in an emotionless tone.

“Guest. Our hotel operates on trust and faith. Since even a small mistake can lead to a customer’s inconvenience or death, our staff must be prepared for such consequences.

While forgetting to provide earplugs may not be a matter of life and death, we did fail in our duty, so please punish me accordingly.”

“Are rules that important to you?”

Between giving us that long manual and this, this criminal organization seems quite strict about regulations.

“As I mentioned, trust and credibility are our greatest assets. Values difficult to find in this era. That’s why we’ve created rules that can be trusted and followed. Rules are the force that maintains this hotel.”

“What if someone betrays you?”

“Betrayal is met with betrayal. Trust with trust. Faith with faith. If someone betrays us ninety-nine times and trusts us once, we too will betray them ninety-nine times and trust them once. There is no eternal betrayal, nor eternal cooperation. What matters most is what was done just before.”

As if urging me to hit him already, the man pointed to the baton. But I didn’t want to hit him. If I hit him now, I’d never see this man again.

But if I hold back? The man would remain indebted to me.

Whether big or small, it doesn’t matter. A small favor that can be called upon anytime is sometimes better than a large stroke of luck when you don’t need it. Just as you’d choose a sip of water when thirsty over a chunk of diamond.

“Let’s say you owe me one. I don’t want to hit you.”

The man didn’t take the baton I offered. Instead, he asked:

“Why won’t you hit me?”

“Do you enjoy being hit?”

– Ah! Ah! Master, more! Ahaaah!

Smack, smack. The sound of leather being struck and a middle-aged man’s plaintive moans echoed through the corridor. It was more chilling than any decent horror movie. The man shook his head with an extremely disgusted expression. So he wasn’t completely cold-blooded.

“…Not particularly.”

“Then just do me a favor when I ask later. I can’t think of anything right now.”

Only then did the man’s face relax. His eyes sparkled. It was the look a shopkeeper gets when hearing “I’d like to buy something.”

“So, that means you’ll continue to use our establishment?”

“That’s right.”

“Please ask for Fernando at the desk. Your name is Caesar, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you for your consideration, guest.”

I stopped him as he was about to leave.

“…By the way, I’m just curious, what did you do before this?”

“I was a financial manager at a power company.”

Fernando bowed politely and walked down the corridor. The middle-aged man’s moans continued to echo unfiltered. Just then, someone opened a door and pointed a gun at Fernando.

“Which fucking bastard is moaning like a bitch…! This is disgusting, seriously!”

He was clearly drunk. Fernando calmly kicked the man’s shin, struck the gun with his baton, then shattered his jaw with an elbow.

“Ugh!”

“Unjustified attacks on staff are prohibited, sir. You may kill other guests, but not staff.”

Fernando brought down his baton. The man’s fingers were smashed one by one. When the man wailed and tried to hide his hands between his legs, Fernando struck his elbow. His arm dangled like rubber.

“Aaaaargh!”

The man pulled his hand back. Fernando methodically, diligently, broke every single one of the man’s fingers.

“This belongs to you, so I’ll return it.”

He was a gentleman who didn’t forget the courtesy of placing the gun on the man’s chest before leaving.

When I returned to the room, Camilla poked her head out.

“Johan. What happened?”

“Nothing happened.”

* * * * *

The next day.

Sunlight piercing through my eyelids revealed an orange glow. The warmth gently heated my face. The touch of the dried blanket felt soft and cozy.

“Nice.”

How long has it been since I slept deeply without standing guard?

The day we hijacked the cash transport van comes to mind first. But it wasn’t a comfortable bed. I was on edge, worried zombies might bang on the car, and above all, I was just lying on a blanket spread out in the van’s cargo area.

This isn’t really a comfortable bed either.

The mattress is hard as a board with a vinyl cover over it. A warning that reads “This is a sanitary measure; damage will be severely punished” is attached with a skull emoticon. On top of the cover, there’s just a military blanket, a comforter, and a pillow.

And then there’s the CCTV.

Cameras are openly attached to the wall and ceiling. A notice reads, “The lens glowing red means recording is in progress, so rest assured.”

Even the bathroom had a waterproof camera installed. The only blind spot was a very narrow space in the corridor between the bathroom and the room.

It was barely enough for the two of us to stand in, which made it difficult to do anything with Camilla.

If there was one fortunate thing, it was that the noise issue had been resolved. The earplugs worked well.

I wonder what Camilla is doing? I got up and opened the door. No one was in the living room. I thought about opening her door and checking on her, but it seemed too sudden, and I figured she needed her rest too…

Slam.

The door suddenly opened. I stepped back in surprise.

“Johan.”

Camilla was crying.

* * * * *

I ended up sitting on her bed, comforting her. This room had as many CCTVs as mine. So we sat on the bed with our backs to the cameras as much as possible.

“I’m sorry. I startled you. I had a bad dream.”

Camilla mumbled as she wiped her tears.

“That happens.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. If you’re not feeling well, go back to sleep. You probably got overheated yesterday from wearing too many layers.”

Camilla’s forehead was a bit hot. It was what you’d call a low-grade fever. I thought it might be accumulated fatigue catching up with her. But Camilla shook her head.

“No, no. I need to get up. Thanks to you, I’m fine now. Really.”

“Want to take some medicine? We brought cold medicine, right?”

“…Yeah. I’ll take some.”

I’m glad we didn’t do anything last night.

* * * * *

I came out looking clean after washing up. Camilla also seemed brighter. However, the slight trembling in her hands and legs worried me. It looked more like anxiety than cold symptoms.

Even so, she was her usual self as we sat facing each other, making plans.

“It should be somewhere around here. Ah, found it.”

We spotted a cable protruding from the living room wall. When connected to the laptop, a screen appeared saying “Connected to network.”

Opening the search bar, we were immediately connected to a page called <Continental Hotel Exchange Page>. But this page looked familiar.

It had exactly the same structure as the black market interface I’d seen in games. On the left were categories classified by item type in a tree format, and at the top was a filter bar sorted by name and price.

“More intuitive than I expected.”

I clicked on <Cybele Canned Tuna> at the very top. It was a post from Room 201 in Building 4 wanting to exchange canned tuna for batteries or “Continental Credits.”

“What are Continental Credits?”

Fortunately, there was a help window in the upper right. Continental Credits were, well, like casino chips. They’re useless outside the casino, but useful inside as an internal currency. There was a distinctive warning that forgery was absolutely prohibited, with anti-forgery QR codes.

The method itself was similar to what I knew. To list an item for sale, select the item from the search bar, enter the quantity, input your room number, and set your desired price.

If you want to find a buyer, click on the product and schedule a visit. Conveniently, if you offer the highest price, you’re automatically set to meet at the earliest time.

There was also a section for purchase requests. It read, “I wish to purchase such and such item at this price. Please contact me if interested.” If a deal is made, the person who posted the offer visits the seller.

Both curious and pleased, Camilla and I browsed through various items. We noticed one common pattern: everyday necessities and household appliances with large quantities and easy availability were actively traded.

“Look at this.”

Perhaps to prevent price gouging, the exchange even provided average market prices. It was perfect down to the note that read, “After 10 searches, this becomes a paid service. Please inquire at the desk.”

On the other hand, luxury items had few buyers or sellers. This included the alcohol, cigars, and jewelry that Camilla and I had brought. Cheap, inexpensive jewelry could be sold, but the market wasn’t well-established due to low trading volume.

“I didn’t realize Minsk alcohol was that rare. Not even showing up in searches.”

Even Camilla hadn’t anticipated this situation. Her eyes seemed to ask, “What should we do?” Suddenly, I remembered the small commotion from last night.

It’s time for that man to repay his debt.