Chapter 76 -76-Ocean Hotel

Chapter 76: Chapter76-Ocean Hotel

John: "..."

The big man grinned.

"And she is my wife now."

Silence for one second.

Then both of them burst out laughing.

"That works better than getting promoted."

John commented.

"Exactly!"

The big man got up from the ground.

He brushed the grass off his sweatpants.

"I should head back."

"If I stay out any longer, my wife’s probably going to start wondering if I met some beautiful woman on my morning run."

He pointed toward the other side of the community.

"I live over there. White house near the north side."

"If you ever run into any trouble, come find me."

"People around here all have a bit of a temper."

"But overall, they’re decent enough."

John nodded.

"Sure."

The man waved.

Then turned and walked away.

John remained where he was, watching the tall figure disappear into the distance.

The more he looked...

The more similar he seemed.

But if that really was Horus...

There was no way he should have completely failed to recognize John in the game.

"Forget it."

"There are plenty of people in the world who look alike."

John tossed the empty water bottle into a recycling bin.

Then turned and headed home.

...

By the time he finished showering and came downstairs.

Breakfast had already been laid out in the dining room.

Lightly toasted bread.

Fried eggs.

Smoked salmon.

Steak.

Fruit.

Coffee.

And a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

John pulled out a chair and sat down.

Just as he was about to start eating, he suddenly remembered something.

"Alfred."

The old butler appeared at the dining room entrance almost immediately.

"Sir?"

John picked up his fork.

"Do you know any really good private investigators?"

Alfred’s movements paused for the briefest instant.

So briefly that if John’s senses hadn’t become abnormally sharp, he probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all.

"Private investigator?"

"Yes."

"The better, the better."

"Money isn’t an issue."

Alfred remained silent for two seconds.

Then gave a slight nod.

"Yes, indeed, sir."

"I do happen to know a friend."

"He is extremely experienced in that line of work and quite well known within the industry."

"The only problem is..."

"His services are expensive."

John cut off a piece of steak.

"How expensive?"

Alfred gave him a polite smile.

"For most people, perhaps very expensive."

"For you, sir, I do not believe it would be an issue."

John nodded.

"How do I contact him?"

Alfred didn’t answer.

Instead, he reached inside his suit jacket.

And took out a gold coin.

Clink.

The gold coin was gently placed on the dining table.

John picked it up.

It was surprisingly heavy in his hand.

It definitely didn’t feel like some ordinary commemorative coin.

On the front of the gold coin was an engraved round table.

Around the table.

There were exactly twelve seats.

John flipped the coin over.

There was only a simple symbol on the back.

His hand immediately stopped.

This symbol...

He knew it far too well.

A stylized white sailing ship.

Beneath the ship were three waves.

Ocean Hotel!

John looked up.

"Alfred."

"This—"

His voice stopped abruptly.

There was already no one standing at the dining room entrance.

John lowered his gaze and looked at the gold coin in his hand again.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Interesting."

He didn’t chase after Alfred.

If Alfred had only given him the gold coin without explaining how to make contact.

Then the meaning was already obvious.

Go there himself.

John quickly finished the rest of his breakfast.

Drained his coffee.

Then stood and slipped the gold coin into his pocket.

Rather than chase the old butler around the house asking questions.

He might as well go there himself.

The engine started.

A deep growl echoed through the underground garage.

The black supercar slowly pulled out of its parking space.

As he drove through the roads inside the community, John subconsciously glanced to the side.

Zoey’s villa was not far away.

The curtains in the second-floor bedroom were still tightly shut.

John eased off the accelerator slightly.

Come to think of it.

Ever since he moved here, he didn’t think he had ever seen the curtains in her house open.

Closed during the day.

Closed at night.

Even the last time he rang the doorbell, there had been no response.

"She likes sleeping in that much?"

John muttered casually.

But he quickly looked away.

Everyone had their own habits.

There were already plenty of things Zoey didn’t want to talk about.

One more habit of keeping the curtains closed didn’t seem particularly strange.

The supercar passed through the community security gate.

Then quickly disappeared down the road.

...

More than an hour later.

The car entered the old district of the city.

The number of skyscrapers gradually decreased.

In their place appeared large numbers of well-preserved historic buildings.

Finally.

John slowly stepped on the brake in front of a gray-white building.

[Ocean Hotel]

Ocean Hotel.

One of the oldest buildings in the city.

It was said to have originally been established more than three hundred years ago.

Huge sections of the surrounding city had been demolished and rebuilt countless times.

The city itself had expanded again and again.

Yet this hotel had remained standing here the entire time.

The main building was only a little over ten stories tall.

Compared to the hundreds-of-meters-high buildings common in modern cities, it even seemed somewhat short.

There were no holographic projections at the entrance.

No flashy advertisements.

There weren’t even any automated greeting robots in sight.

Only two doormen in black uniforms stood silently on either side of the revolving door.

One of them stepped forward and opened the car door for him.

"Good morning, sir."

"Welcome to the Ocean Hotel."

John nodded and handed him the car key.

Then walked into the lobby.

The interior was similarly lacking in modern technology.

Dark wooden walls.

Marble flooring.

A massive crystal chandelier.

Someone was even playing the piano in one corner.

A faint woody fragrance drifted through the air.

Behind the front desk hung an old world map that had already begun to fade with age.

Beside it.

There was a massive oil painting of a sailing ship.

It was the exact same white sailing ship engraved on the back of the gold coin.

John’s gaze paused for half a second.

Then he walked toward the front desk.

A young woman immediately gave him a professional smile.

She wore a dark blue uniform.

Her hair was neatly pinned up.

Every movement was so elegant that it was almost impossible to find a flaw.

"Good morning, sir."

"Would you like to check in?"

"No."

John reached into his pocket.

Clink.

The gold coin landed on the counter.

The woman’s smile didn’t change.

Only when her gaze fell on the gold coin.

Her fingers paused almost imperceptibly.

Then she reached out and took the coin.

Afterward, she stepped out from behind the counter.

"Please follow me, sir."

John raised an eyebrow.

Then followed her.

The two entered an elevator at the very back of the hotel.

The woman took out a completely unmarked black card.

Beep.

A new button appeared at the very top of the elevator panel.

A button that hadn’t existed before.

[Top Floor]

The elevator began rising.

The numbers continued climbing.

Until they reached the very top.

Ding.

The metal doors slid open.

There were no guest rooms outside.

Only a silent corridor covered in dark red carpet.

Old oil paintings lined the walls on both sides.

At the end of the corridor.

A dark wooden door stood quietly.

The woman stopped in front of it.

Then stepped to the side.

And gestured politely toward the door.

"Mr. Blackwood."

"The General Manager is expecting you."

John’s steps stopped.

"How do you know my—"

The woman had already turned around.

Her high heels crossed the carpet.

Almost without making a sound.

Within seconds, she disappeared around the corner of the corridor.