Facing Chu Xiu’s inquiry, Wang Long grinned and said without hesitation: "I have been thinking about this question too, but now that we have Yun Lu, it’s easier."
"I plan to divide us into three parts, you and I will be the attack team, while one person will act as bait, and another will be responsible for closing the door."
"When searching on the eleventh floor, we found an apartment with a large iron door. The soundproofing looks great; once the door is closed, it can greatly cover up the noise of our battle. Even if other monsters come, they will be blocked outside, giving us ample time to react."
"My plan is to rely on Yun Lu to find out the position of nearby monsters first. Then, at the right time, the bait will make noise to attract the monsters, while others cooperate to complete the kill."
"As for the spoils of war, you and I will take the main share since we are fighting, and we’ll split seventy percent equally."
"What do you think about this plan?"
Wang Long’s words made Chu Xiu look at him with a bit of surprise.
His plan was very close to Chu Xiu’s own thoughts, even to the point that he noticed the apartment on the eleventh floor just like Chu Xiu did.
Moreover, Wang Long’s allocation plan obviously didn’t care about Li Shan and Yun Lu’s opinions, focusing solely on winning Chu Xiu over, clearly seeing that those two had no say.
This guy is not brainless.
Thinking of this, Chu Xiu showed a slight smile: "I think your plan is very good."
"Then, there’s only one last question left."
"Who will be the bait?"
After the words fell, the room suddenly went deathly quiet, Yun Lu’s face showed fear, and Li Shan forced a smile, saying: "Really, really going to fight those monsters? Maybe we shouldn’t; the teacher said don’t take risks without extraordinary Talent or Profession above B-level, we..."
"It depends on the specific situation!"
Before the words were finished, Wang Long interrupted him, glaring: "This is settled! Do you have a say?"
Li Shan was obviously afraid of Wang Long, lowering his head and not daring to object. After a while, he said: "Then, I will close the door, I have the Hold Breath Talent, less likely to be discovered."
As the words fell, Yun Lu’s face became pale, while Wang Long sneered disdainfully.
But Li Shan didn’t mind; he just carefully looked at Chu Xiu with a pleading look.
Yun Lu also reacted, casting a pleading look at Chu Xiu.
Wang Long folded his arms, waiting for his answer.
Under the gaze of these three, Chu Xiu remained expressionless, merely saying indifferently: "Yun Lu will close the door."
With the words, Yun Lu let out a sigh of relief, while Li Shan’s eyes went wide, clenching his fists with anger: "Chu Xiu! We are classmates! How could you!"
"Shut up!"
Wang Long slapped Li Shan directly on the face, cursed: "If I say go, you go! If you obediently do as told, I’ll ensure your safety. If you dare to talk more, I’ll kill you and use you as bait!"
Wang Long, accustomed to bullying in school, slapped Li Shan, leaving him dizzy. He held his face, desperate: "You won’t give my share either, will you?"
"What are you talking about?" Wang Long complained, "You just have to work well, you won’t be short of your share!"
Li Shan stopped making a sound, but Chu Xiu caught the venomous look in his eyes.
Not just towards Wang Long, but also towards him.
This made Chu Xiu sigh softly.
He knew such things would happen in the Abyss, no matter how often the school emphasized not to internal strife, it was useless.
Experiments were conducted abroad, where a group of ordinary testers were locked together and randomly assigned identities of [Guard] and [Prisoner].
Initially peaceful, but within days, bullying, oppression, and fighting emerged one after another.
As long as differences in identity, status, and power exist, people quickly alienate into classes, followed by oppression and resistance.
And in the Abyss, the temptation of Extraordinary Power, the dangerous environment, and the lack of legal constraints, all became catalysts for the acceleration of this process.
Can you expect those goofy punks at school, having gained Extraordinary Power without rules, not to go overboard?
Someone always needs to do dangerous tasks; compared to Yun Lu, Li Shan’s value is lower, so he was chosen.
Chu Xiu also understood that in such a chaotic place following primitive jungle laws, if he didn’t maintain order, one day he might be in Li Shan’s position, controlled by someone stronger.
But he didn’t intend to intervene.
Because the current situation aligns with his interests, that’s all.
"Then it’s settled," seeing no more opposition, Wang Long grinned, "Let’s rest well tonight and set off tomorrow morning."
"As long as we follow the plan, there will be no problems, and we can explode [Cause and Effect Points], upgrade!"
He laughed, using a belt found from somewhere to tie himself and Li Shan together, with Li Shan beside him like a tethered dog.
Wang Long led him into one of the bedrooms, closing the door.
Clearly, he didn’t completely trust Chu Xiu.
While Chu Xiu watched Wang Long’s departing figure, a faint voice sounded beside him:
"Thank you."
Chu Xiu turned to see Yun Lu still tense and anxious, not saying much more.
He simply said lightly:
"Sleep."
...
The post-apocalyptic night wasn’t easy; the weather turned colder than expected.
The cold wind poured in through the broken window frames. Even though Chu Xiu and Yun Lu huddled in the corner, icy wind occasionally hit their faces like small knives, making their ears cold.
There were some worn-out bedding in the room, but they were mostly moldy, stiff, covered in thick dust.
Food could only be eaten raw, those gray mushrooms, disgusting in taste, feeling like chewing elastic sponge.
But to maintain physical strength and replenish water, Chu Xiu ate a considerable amount despite the revulsion.
"There aren’t many mushrooms in the building, we must find a stable water source."
"There should be a river nearby; the school taught simple filtration devices. If that doesn’t work, we can check if there’s water in the building’s water tanks."
While Chu Xiu was thinking, a chilling scream suddenly came from upstairs!
"Ah!!!"
This scream pierced the silent night, soon followed by dense, urgent running sounds, like countless hunters besieging a dying deer.
This was the third scream Chu Xiu had heard tonight.
Compared to cold and hunger, the greater fear was the heightened activity of monsters roaming the building at night.
The monsters in the apartment building were far more numerous than they imagined, judging from the footsteps; at night, their numbers somehow seemed to swell and their senses seemed to become sharper.
Flickering shadows streaked across walls, Yun Lu fearfully huddled closer to Chu Xiu.
He could feel Yun Lu’s hands were very cold, occasionally hearing the uncontrollable clattering of teeth.
Evidently, those clothes worn for over thirty years lacked good insulation, and the bedding they found were stiff, with the fiber all oxidized.
"Wear this."
Chu Xiu removed his worn cotton clothes, the equipment didn’t undergo a wear-to-remove process; as his thoughts moved, the clothes appeared on the ground.
Yun Lu gasped lightly, her face flushed, instinctively wanting to refuse, but hesitated and wore Chu Xiu’s clothing.
Then she took off her coat swiftly and handed it to Chu Xiu, stammering: "Th-this is for you."
Chu Xiu casually put on the coat; having upgraded, his Constitution was strong, not as afraid of cold. He did not want Yun Lu to get cold and sick, as finding food depended on her later.
Wearing Chu Xiu’s clothes, probably due to feeling his residual warmth, Yun Lu’s face reddened further, all the way to the ears, but at least she stopped trembling.
After a while, she leaned against Chu Xiu’s shoulder and fell asleep.
Chu Xiu also closed his eyes, seized the time to rest and recover Physical Strength.
When the sun rose, Yun Lu was already completely snuggled in Chu Xiu’s arms, sleeping sweetly.
Chu Xiu gently pushed her aside, found a suit from the wardrobe in the bedroom more suitable for combat.
The time for hunting had arrived.