The people who had fled into the stairwell were dumbfounded, still processing what happened when big shot Liu Quan was already dead!
The entire thing took less than ten fucking seconds—how did the tables turn so fast!
One second it was 10V1 with the big shot leading, how could they lose? The next second, teammates were lying dead and the big shot was on the ground!
Liu Quan's name dimmed in the interface, the ultimate proof of death.
Meanwhile, Xu Lang had already reloaded and was aiming his gun toward the stairwell.
After killing, he wasn't flushed or panting, calmly changing magazines with clear-headed precision, as steady as a professional hitman.
After getting money, Xu Lang had asked Wu Huihui to purchase some No. 6 bullets for him.
Now he had plenty of ammunition and could shoot whenever he wanted!
As the saying goes, when you hold a hammer, everything looks like a nail!
Revenge.
This was a rational choice—the more logical someone is, the more they understand the importance of retaliation.
Because if others can offend you without consequences, the offenses will only keep coming!
Just as Xu Lang was about to open fire, a woman's voice suddenly came from behind him.
"I advise you not to do that."
Xu Lang instantly spun around, aiming his gun at the masked woman ten meters down the right corridor.
Simultaneously, he took a small step back, hiding behind the steel door to eliminate any possibility of ambush from the left stairwell.
A flicker of appreciation showed in the masked woman's eyes: "Impressive reflexes. Hard to believe you're a first-cycle player."
"Who are you?" Xu Lang asked while his gaze remained fixed on the masked woman.
The masked woman had a tall, slender figure with exceptionally curvaceous proportions that could make anyone's blood boil. She wore dark green leather, and the black mask on her face changed patterns with her breathing, looking utterly bizarre.
Of course, Xu Lang wasn't staring at her body—he was checking her basic information.
【Name: Xu Ruyan】
【Experience: Three Cycles】
【Room Number: 180 (Owner)】
【Comfort Level: 80 (Can increase Nightmare Coin conversion rate by 80%)】
Xu Ruyan's voice was pleasant, and from her visible eyes and brows, one could guess she was a striking beauty with sharp facial features beneath the mask.
Yet her Comfort Level was very low.
Because Xu Lang didn't want to sleep with a venomous snake!
That's right—this woman gave Xu Lang the impression of a snake, and a highly poisonous one at that!
Due to the tenth floor's unique layout, Room 180 also belonged to the tenth floor area.
"Me? An old player, though I'm probably different from trash like him." Xu Ruyan seemed to be smiling, her gaze seemingly piercing through the iron door to the corpse of Liu Quan behind it, acting completely unconcerned about the gun in Xu Lang's hands: "I guarantee this garbage made it into the top ten at most once, while in all three of my game experiences, I've always been in the top ten!"
Xu Lang's eyes flashed as he calmly asked, "Then why did you stop me from killing the others just now?"
"To preserve our tenth floor's fighting strength, of course." Xu Ruyan wasn't one for beating around the bush, stating directly: "You already have Blood Grudge on you. If you keep killing, the Blood Grudge will only accumulate. When the game starts, all the monsters will head straight to your door."
Hearing this, Xu Lang immediately felt a sense of foreboding, though he still asked calmly: "What is Blood Grudge?"
Seeing that Xu Lang wasn't frightened, the appreciation in Xu Ruyan's jade-green eyes deepened as she smiled:
"Killing other players during rest periods will attach Blood Grudge to you. When the next game cycle begins, you'll attract monster aggression more easily than others."
"Even hiding in your dorm won't help, and the more you kill, the more extreme the Blood Grudge becomes."
"Blood Grudge is what we players call it, and it's also a hidden mechanism of the Dorm Survival Game!"
Xu Lang fell silent.
Such crucial information, and the game gave no hints at all.
How sneaky!
"So if I kill one person, how intense would the Blood Grudge be?" Xu Lang asked.
"Technically it's four... but since you didn't personally kill all of them, the Blood Grudge should be somewhat less." Xu Ruyan smiled.
"Any specific examples?" Xu Lang pressed further.
At times like this, he didn't want to play games—every question went straight to the point.
Besides, since Xu Ruyan was in the mood to explain, he naturally wanted to ask everything he could.
Information advantage was still an advantage—gaining any was pure profit.
"Well, in my last game cycle, the player with Blood Grudge was the first to die, and he'd only killed one person." Xu Ruyan teased: "That's why I stopped you from killing more. If all the monsters came to the tenth floor, I'd genuinely have a headache."
Xu Lang fell silent again, mentally cursing the creators of the Dorm Survival Game.
Seeing Xu Lang's dejected expression, Xu Ruyan laughed, her voice magnetic: "Relax, the Dorm Survival Game has its own judgment system. Since your killing was defensive retaliation this time, the Blood Grudge probably won't be too outrageous. Otherwise, I'd already be changing floors by now."
"Thank you. When necessary, I'll help you once." Xu Lang said solemnly.
Xu Ruyan definitely had ulterior motives for sharing this. Rather than waiting for her to make demands, it was better to offer first, keeping the cost within acceptable limits.
Plus, this was essentially a blank check—it wouldn't cost him a single copper coin.
"Heh, if you want to repay me, just survive a couple more days in the next game cycle." Xu Ruyan said, turning to leave.
Her hips were quite shapely.
But Xu Lang felt that even if he checked Xu Ruyan's information again, her Comfort Level wouldn't be any higher.
Although she'd given him some intelligence, his impression of her hadn't changed.
She was a venomous snake.
Everyone in the stairwell had fled. After looting Liu Quan's body, Xu Lang returned to his room.
In the entryway, Cao Yaxuan was holding the crossbow, tears welling up in her eyes the moment she saw Xu Lang enter.
"Xu Lang, I thought something might happen to you." she whimpered.
"Hold it steady, don't shoot me by accident." Xu Lang shrugged.
This crossbow was his final contingency, entrusted to Cao Yaxuan.
This woman had relatively stable nerves—she could handle pressure when it mattered, and she'd been with him the longest.
"Xu Lang, was what that woman said true?" Wang Yazhi stepped forward, checking if Xu Lang was injured while asking.
"Most likely. She had no reason to lie to me just to save a few strangers." Xu Lang's expression darkened slightly.
Hearing this, all three women felt somewhat worried.
...
【9 Sun Heng: Fuck, what a stupid veteran player, almost got me killed!】
【181 Li Yu: Sun Heng, you went to the tenth floor too?】
【9 Sun Heng: Don't slander me, I just went to check things out】
【32 Ye Fan: What veteran player? I knew Brother Lang was more reliable. If Liu Quan was really that good, he wouldn't have brought you all along. I even tipped off Brother Lang earlier, not sure if he saw it】
【84 Li Wang: I didn't go either. That veteran player was obviously using us as cannon fodder】
【186 Wang Tingting: Everyone hold on, let me explain this Blood Grudge situation...】
【9 Sun Heng: Fuck, that bastard was definitely trying to screw us over. Without thinking, they'd have made us kill Xu Lang while hiding safely behind us】
【32 Ye Fan: Bro, could you stop self-reporting? Not afraid Brother Lang will come for you?】
【9 Sun Heng: It's fine, there's Blood Grudge anyway】
【181 Li Yu: That apparently only works during rest periods】
【9 Sun Heng: Actually, I have great respect for Brother Lang. If not for him, we might have all died in the first game cycle】
The clown's performance sparked a wave of amused laughter.
【32 Ye Fan: @Xu Ruyan, Big Sis, could you mentor us?】
【180 Xu Ruyan: Finished worshipping big brothers, now coming to worship big sisters? Not afraid of dying?】
【32 Ye Fan: Hehe, you don't seem like a bad person】
【180 Xu Ruyan: I don't have time for that, and there should be new residents coming soon anyway. Ask them】