The Amazon Resort Siege
I followed the coastline along the path where I expected the second party to be, and soon spotted them resting beneath a large rock. Folding my wings, I landed on the sandy beach.
“There you are.”
At my appearance, Baengnae came running over with something in her hands. It was a seashell from the shore.
“Baengnae found it.”
She wasn’t the type to brag about playing around, so there had to be a reason. I took the shell and examined it. Nothing unusual on the outside, but the flesh inside was completely cooked.
“You didn’t grill this yourselves, did you?”
Baengnae shook her head. Judging by the hotel, the native civilization here might have cooked the clams to eat them. But that didn’t explain why they’d leave the meat behind. I looked toward the large rock. Piles of the same shells Baengnae had brought were stacked there. Not leftovers, either.
Something else is going on…
I considered several hypotheses, but ultimately lacked enough information. It wasn’t something I needed to worry about right now anyway. Once we seized the hotel and turned the sea creatures into zombies, the mystery would unravel naturally.
“We’ll set it aside for now. Let me tell you what I’ve found.”
I shared the situation I’d just encountered and explained my plan to occupy their hotel today. Park Seona clapped her hands in delight.
“Wow! Then we’ll have plenty of clean water and fluffy beds too? Oh my gosh, hurray!”
“Yeah, probably.”
Honestly, I didn’t know. It looked like a hotel from the outside, but there could be something entirely different inside. Still, if nothing went wrong, that’s how it would be.
“Get ready to move out. It’ll be easier to strike before that manager shows up.”
We returned to the ship. Since we couldn’t bring the vessel onto the island, we needed to assign forces to guard it. Mingming and No. 100 were chosen as commanders.
New Mission: Protect the Ship.
When no users were present, floating objects lost their item functions and became ordinary items. The ship would turn into a genuine, massive vessel requiring manual operation instead of the [Activate] item function. Accordingly, No. 100, who possessed knowledge of its operation, was placed in command of the defense force. Several other troops would remain stationed there as well—octopus zombies with higher combat effectiveness at sea, leopard artillerymen who could operate the ship’s gun emplacements, and so on.
After selecting an appropriate force, we departed.
“Well then, take good care of the place.”
[Orders will be carried out faithfully.]
“It won’t take long. Still, just in case, I’ll leave these here.”
I placed three batteries in front of him. Since Mingming and No. 100 were also treated as items, they needed periodic recharging. After one final check to ensure nothing had been overlooked, I turned away. It was time to claim the Amazon Resort.
***
Ring ring— Ring ring—
[Hello?]
“Good day, Manager. This is the General Gardener.”
The manager rustled about, checking the date, then replied in an irritated voice.
[There’s still a long time until opening… What is it?]
“My apologies. However, we have guests.”
[Guests? At this time?]
“Yes, VIPs. They’ve arrived at the Amazon Resort and said they’ll return with their party in three hours.”
A brief silence followed. Then the one called the manager let out a wheezing laugh, cackling like a madman. He laughed for a long while before answering.
[Well now, what kind of idiots are these? I don’t know how they found this place, but that’s delightful news.]
“Since they came to the Amazon Resort first, I contacted you before anyone else. The others don’t know yet.”
[Excellent, very good. Well done. No need to wake the other brothers when it’s not even peak season. I’ll head down right away, so prepare to receive the VIPs.]
“Yes, we’ll prepare the festival.”
Click—
The crocodile-headed General Gardener had already gathered the gardeners scattered across the hotel grounds. They carried pruning shears twice the size of their usual ones, drooling in anticipation of the festival about to begin.
“The manager has given permission. Contact the guests and procure ingredients. And any small byproducts that arise during the process—you know what to do, right?”
The gardeners cheered and scattered.
“Finally, I can escape being a gardener too!”
He began making calls to ensure the event went smoothly. He would invite every customer he could reach.
***
We walked along the palm-lined forest path. Having already confirmed the location of the stone path, finding our way wasn’t difficult. As we strolled along the trail, we encountered a sign.
“A map… huh?”
“It’s not strange for a resort to have a map.”
The map itself wasn’t the problem. But according to the information marked on it, there were a total of five hotels on this island. And the [Amazon Resort] we were heading toward had the smallest grounds among them.
I took it positively.
“That means more potential zombies.”
It wasn’t particularly threatening information. Hadn’t we already expected there to be quite a few enemies?
“Let’s pick up the pace a bit. It’ll be more convenient in every way if we occupy the hotel before the guests arrive.”
While running, we spotted two hippo-headed gardeners ahead. They each carried strange-looking fruits at their waists, apparently returning to the hotel. At the sound of our approach, they turned their heads.
“Huh? What?!”
The gardeners froze upon seeing us. Our gazes met in the air, and I gave a short laugh.
“Has the news already spread?”
These were ones I’d never seen before. Yet they wore expressions as if they knew me, their eyes filled with hostility. The crocodile-headed one must have already relayed our existence and attack orders to the staff here.
One second of silence.
Then they immediately drew the shears hanging from their pants and lunged at me. But Park Seona’s twin blades were already drawn.
Thud— Thud—
The slender blades pierced their necks precisely before being withdrawn. Perhaps because they were hippos, they didn’t die instantly. Bleeding, they still radiated strong hostility toward us.
“Leave them and move on.”
We had no time to finish them off. If the creatures here had decided to attack us without questions, then war had already begun. It was better to reach the hotel quickly and seize the terrain advantage.
We sprinted at maximum speed. Soon, the resort’s main gate came into view at the end of the path. Though they’d decided to be hostile, it stood wide open—apparently they hadn’t yet prepared for a full-scale siege. I rushed inside and began summoning.
Hum— Hum— Hum—
“Kill them all! Seize this space!”
Park Seona summoned her forces as well, and the hotel grounds were instantly filled with our troops. Staff members—gardeners, chefs, security guards, and others—came rushing out with weapons, but they posed no threat. They weren’t combat personnel to begin with. Their physical abilities seemed decent, but there was a vast gap in skill and experience.
The hotel was quickly secured. Zombies went inside to inspect the building, while leopards set up makeshift emplacements along the walls. Those emplacements were zombies themselves. Since the cannons on pirate ships or warships were treated as floating objects, they couldn’t be stored. This was what Mingming had been researching before she left—modifying zombies into cannons. Since the office worker zombies could be stored as items, turning them into cannons made them easy to carry as portable emplacements. Though few in number, the difference between having cannons on the walls and not having them would be enormous.
The [Amazon Resort] was quickly fortified. Its relatively small grounds made the process even faster. After checking the emplacements, Park Seona returned and spoke.
“That was easier than I thought.”
“That’s the charm of a surprise attack. But don’t let your guard down. From what I saw, there wasn’t a single proper combatant among them.”
“You’re right. Still, I feel relieved. And I confirmed there are shower facilities and beds inside the hotel too!”
I chuckled. Just as snacks were important to the cat, these things seemed important to Park Seona.
“Rest for now. The guests will come find us on their own.”
“Yes!”
I’d told Park Seona to stay alert, but even I felt we were halfway to success. We held the terrain advantage, and the enemies were weak. With emplacements already set up, unless they summoned some colossal monster like at El Dorado, we couldn’t lose.
The Golden Lord was honestly an exception…
They were called the Three Sea Kings, after all. The Equator couldn’t possibly possess that kind of power. I felt the plan proceeding smoothly. Just like the island’s appearance, peace and leisure filled the air.
***
News that the Amazon Resort had fallen.
The General Gardener, who had been discussing the festival’s direction with the manager, stood with his mouth agape in disbelief. It was simply too sudden.
“Pardon…?”
Beside him, the manager laughed as if amused. Though one resort had been occupied, he showed no concern whatsoever.
“Heh heh! It seems their arrival here wasn’t purely by luck. No, considering they attacked when you were pulled away and only the lower ranks remained… It’s possible their target was the resort from the very beginning.”
“We’ve been had. It was my oversight. I’m sorry.”
The crocodile-headed General Gardener honestly didn’t think so, but bowed his head anyway. Contradicting a superior was like kicking away one’s chance for promotion. He was someone who knew how to navigate social life.
“Heh heh. They’re trapped there anyway. All we need to do is guide them when the guests arrive. Actually, this is good! It would’ve been more troublesome if they’d run away, wouldn’t it?”
The hotel staff’s role was to act as hosts for the guests’ “festival” in the first place. There was no reason for them to personally capture the VIPs. If the hotel caught all the prey, what would the guests who came for entertainment do? On the contrary, if they occupied a space and continued their siege, it would attract even more guests.
“This festival is going to be quite special. Heh heh heh.”
Word spread that a VIP had visited the Equator directly, and countless guests seeking a novel event flocked to the resort. More people expressed their desire to participate than in any previous “festival.”
The Equator was experiencing unprecedented prosperity.
But what they didn’t know was that this novel event would include chemical weapons. A thrilling, fresh experience—one they could feel only once in their lives, something they had never felt before—was waiting for them.