The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 409 Simple Business Warfare

After leaving the second floor, Qin Lang and his group immediately checked the other floors, including the fourth floor, which served as a restaurant, and the seventh floor, which was used for entertainment.

Except for a few guests who did not return to the hotel last night for various reasons and, like the female guest on the second floor, escaped the ordeal, all other guests checked out because of the terrible nightmare they had last night.

When Qin Lang entered the rooms that had been vacated, the Azure Silver Pearls all developed varying degrees of fever.

As for the fourth and seventh floors, since there weren't many people around at night, the Azure Silver Pearl didn't sense anything unusual.

After some investigation, everyone returned to the first floor.

"Gentlemen, is there any way to solve this?" The middle-aged boss looked at Qin Lang and the other two with an expectant expression.

For ordinary people like them, a Spirit Chef with extraordinary powers like Food Spirits is undoubtedly a more reliable existence.

Upon hearing the boss's question, Cao Dongdong and Zhao Qian tacitly turned their gazes to Qin Lang, who was standing to the side.

Although they both helped with the search, they didn't sense anything unusual.

However, they could probably guess that Qin Lang, who lingered in each room for a while, had likely discovered some clues.

Noticing Cao Dongdong and Zhao Qian's gazes, the middle-aged boss's eager eyes also fell on Qin Lang.

Even Pang Heng, who had been watching the spectacle the whole time, was no different.

"Wait a moment." Qin Lang sighed helplessly, then looked down at the fish tank he was holding. "Can you fix this?"

Xiao Cai glanced at the spot where the Azure Silver Pearl was hidden in Qin Lang's clothes, then blew a bubble and closed her eyes again.

"I see." Qin Lang looked enlightened.

The reason the Azure Silver Pearl was hot just now was because it eliminated the remaining nightmare power in those rooms.

So after he walked through it, the room had returned to normal.

However, this is only a temporary solution.

When night falls, the power of nightmares may strike again.

"The nightmare-inducing evil spirits left behind have been dealt with," Qin Lang explained to the middle-aged shopkeeper. "But the root cause hasn't been found, so there's a possibility that the problem could recur."

"I suggest that the hotel temporarily stop accepting guests until the problem is completely resolved. It would be best to persuade the few guests who are still staying to leave before tonight."

"Otherwise, if something really happens, it will be very troublesome."

“I understand,” the middle-aged boss sighed, “but… is there any way to find the root cause and solve it completely?”

"This..." Qin Lang paused for a moment.

The current situation almost certainly confirms that it is related to the legendary evil nightingale.

The evidence presented by Xu Guang cast doubt on the existence of the Evil Nightingale, so we will tentatively define it as some kind of nightmare-inducing force.

But regardless of the situation, at this point, it seems appropriate to seek help from the Spirit Chef Association.

While this might give the hunting team a chance to escape, it's insignificant compared to the safety of the residents of Rancho.

Thinking of this, Qin Lang picked up his phone.

But before he could make the call, a panicked voice came from the doorway.

Xiao Zhang, the receptionist, ran in from outside the hotel looking panicked.

"Boss, something terrible has happened!"

"The night-blooming jasmine flowers near the hotel have all withered!"

"what?!"

The middle-aged boss's eyes widened, and he dashed out. Seeing that he seemed to have made a new discovery, Qin Lang temporarily put aside his idea of ​​contacting Zhong Tu and followed him out.

Sure enough, the night-blooming jasmine flowers in the area surrounding the hotel showed varying degrees of wilting.

But there were no problems in places further away from the hotel.

"What's going on?" The middle-aged boss squatted down in shock and anger, looking at the sickly night-blooming cereus flowers that seemed about to die.

“Boss, when you were checking the rooms just now, I checked the security footage inside and outside the hotel. I discovered that these past few nights, Mr. Li from the hotel next door has been secretly coming over here and watering these night-blooming cereus flowers with something.” Xiao Zhang said with a straight face. “Then I found out that Mr. Li from the hotel next door has been secretly coming over here in the middle of the night and watering these night-blooming cereus flowers with something.”

"I have a feeling this might be related to him?"

"That bastard surnamed Li, how could he use such despicable methods in a business war?!" The middle-aged boss was so angry that he jumped up and down.

If the night-blooming cereus flowers in the vicinity wither, their calming fragrance will naturally fade, thus reducing the quality of sleep for guests.

This naturally leads to more guests choosing the other party's hotel.

"Take the surveillance footage and come with me!" he roared, angrily dragging Xiao Zhang toward the hotel owned by Boss Li.

Pang Heng, with a look of smug satisfaction, followed after them.

"Looks like we've found the reason?" Cao Dongdong shrugged, looking at the departing group, and spoke with some uncertainty.

“No, this is not the source.” Qin Lang shook his head.

With no one else around, he took the Azure Silver Pearl from his pocket and gently placed it on the withered night-blooming jasmine, but the sensation of heat did not appear.

This shows that night-blooming cereus does not possess the power to cause nightmares.

"The fragrance of night-blooming cereus has a calming effect at night, soothing the mind and helping people sleep better." Qin Lang paused slightly, "But without night-blooming cereus, normal sleep wouldn't produce such nightmares."

"What's more, it's a nightmare that everyone has together."

"Therefore, Mr. Li's act of secretly watering the night-blooming cereus to death was likely just a coincidental trigger."

As he spoke, Qin Lang looked around and gazed at the night-blooming cereus covering the mountains and fields in the distance. "The calming effect of the night-blooming cereus can obviously restrain the power of nightmares."

"These night-blooming orchids covering the mountains and plains are the best barrier against the power of nightmares, but now, a hole has appeared in the barrier."

"So the power of nightmares took advantage of the situation and entered."

"But the very existence of the power of nightmares speaks volumes."

At this point, Qin Lang picked up his phone again, "We can't delay any longer; we must inform the security management team as soon as possible."

Without hesitation, he dialed Zhong Tu's number.

After a few beeps, Zhong Tu's voice came from the other end of the phone, "Qin Lang, what's wrong?"

"Captain Zhong, we've discovered some problems here." Qin Lang took a deep breath and began by recounting how Fei Nan missed the performance due to a nightmare, and then how they found the night-blooming cereus withered near the hotel.

Of course, Qin Lang didn't tell Zhong Tu about their speculations and the Azure Silver Pearl; he simply described it objectively.

After listening to Qin Lang's description, there was silence on the other end of the phone.

Qin Lang vaguely heard Zhong Tu say "So fast," but he didn't hear it clearly.

"Captain Zhong, what did you say?"

“…It’s nothing.” Zhong Tu paused for a moment, then said, “I already know what happened. For now, you should stay where you are and not wander around to avoid any other dangers.”

"I'm setting off now, heading this way."

(End of this chapter)