“Am I still dreaming?” Wei Yi asked as he opened the door to the hotel room on the eighth floor. It was not some measly one bedroom like he had expected but instead turned out to be an enormous suite.
“Don’t get too happy now. I’m beginning to suspect there must be a serious caveat for such a luxurious stay. General Hou Fei wouldn’t just book us something as fancy otherwise.” Zhang Min replied as he opened another door which revealed an individual room with a personal toilet. On further inspection, it felt more like a well-furnished five-room apartment with accessories attached to it.
The living room was equipped with air conditioning, a 55″ 8K HDR Television with a modest surround sound system at the centre of it all. From the looks of it, the brand of the sofa was just as expensive as everything that was placed alongside it. Even the carpet and tiles they were standing had a different feel. It felt like their feet did not deserve any of this.
And hell, there was even a Playbox 720 in the living room ready for them on the top shelf of a cabinet filled with the latest games for them to try out. If they wanted party games, the Nentendo Switch Pro was also available but they had to prebook it at the front counter.
It was mainly because of the limited quantity the hotel have in stock. (The hotel could not possibly cater to each and every guest with a set of Switch Pro) Aside from gaming, it also had the latest streaming premium services on demand. Sports, movies, dramas and even salacious programmes were available.
Of course, the last one was a definite pay per view with the use of Pandamonium App and the users were reminded to keep it a secret since censorship controls were still rather tight about it. (On the side note, the System ensured that no such programmes were available for families with kids around.)
Separately, the bathroom was filled with a large bathtub enough for two to enjoy a jacuzzi session. A somewhat smaller TV with anti-fogging and water-resistant technology was also placed within the room for a person to simultaneously enjoy their soapy bath and remain up to date with any show of their choosing.
Talking about baths, the soap selection would put many five and even six star hotels to shame as there was a touch screen to select the kind of soap for dispensing. If there was no time to enjoy the tub, the occupants could always use the shower area right beside it. The most unique thing was, that it was a virtually simulated room which meant that it could simulate any environment the occupant wished to bathe in.
Zhang Min tried it out by pressing the ‘random’ button, and the shower room simulated the surroundings of a traffic cross junction. It was the most hilarious and ‘voyeur-icious’ way of taking a shower, but the soldiers understood that this was more than fulfilling quirky desires. In a way, they got where the designs were coming from.
It was really an escape from reality.
The individual bedrooms were another example of such a design. Similar to the shower portion of the bathroom, those bedrooms had the exact same function only this time, it was even more extravaganza. The bedroom virtual simulations scenes were able to portray different well-known movie sets and allow the occupants to live in the moment. And if the guests did not like such fanciful scenes, there was the option to sleep beside a waterfall or waking up on a cliff. Else, the guest could simply turn it all off. The possibilities were numerous (although limited to 100 virtual scenes at the moment) made the soldiers already agree that this was the best decision that their General had taken for them.
“After all the shit we’ve gone through, General really kept his promise of giving us a decent vacation!” Meng Ruo was crazily taking photos and uploading to his Mechat group.
“Don’t forget we’ll still have to survive the North? This is probably a teaser since we have a joint dungeon exercise to do with the other Royal Snake Battalions.” Wei Yi reminded his buddy, but he couldn’t be happier that they would all get to stay in such a crazy hotel room like this.
Last but least, Zhang Min opened the curtains and doors right beside the living room. It revealed a spacious balcony enough to fit a BBQ pit, dining table and a few chairs for suntanning. If needed, the balcony could be covered and be converted into an extension of the living room. Two full-body massage chairs were also present in the balcony overseeing the beach from a distance. Zhang Min took a broad scan of the area and found several other similar hotels like the one that they were staying in. (Though most of the hotels he saw were blurred out with the some presence of fog except for the one right opposite them.)
However, the most mystical thing of all was that they were currently in a dome. Outside it was covered with water and fish instead of space and stars.
“Holy shit, either this is some big ass virtual simulation in the works, or we’re really in a dome deep under the sea.” Zhang Min said as he took more pictures to send to their Mechat group. Obviously, people were responding faster than usual, most of it claiming how jealous they were.
Suddenly, the bell rang. Meng Ruo opened the door, only to see Mr Patsu and a pair of Croc waiters ready to serve their dinner. The soldiers graciously allowed them to enter, and the Crocs professionally arranged the dishes on the dining table on the balcony for them to partake in.
“Today’s menu consists of boneless chicken chop, served with Portobello mushroom sauce with a dash of pepper. Sides include freshly cut chips and a pinch of salad, enough for a healthy meal and I believe fulfilling for hungry soldiers like you three.” Unlike waiters who loved to exaggerate, what Mr Patsu had described was more of an understatement.
The portion for the chicken chop was humongous, and the fries were aplenty. Not to mention, the salad was mixed with a variety of vegetables that the soldiers swore they could still smell the freshness from them, unlike the ones they purchase in supermarkets.
“Wine, champagne or any other drinks?” Mr Patsu asked. The trio was chuckling at how sumptuous the spread of food was, and they decided to go for a classic, beer.
“Ah, my apologies. Yes, some icy chill beer should certainly go well with a meal like this.” Mr Patsu agreed with their choice and asked for their flavours before dishing them out magically from the dining trolley. What’s more, this wasn’t the end as Mr Patsu subsequently introduced the various amenities Hotel Pandastic had for them as advertised in their information brochure.
If this was any kind of indicator for Hou Fei’s appreciation for his troops, the soldiers believed the rest of the battalions would be dying to serve the Snake General well for the upcoming exercises and also the rest of his career.
