This world probably exists.
Jiang Ran could tell by observing the reactions of other long-term residents.
The others showed visibly stronger reactions to this name compared to Qin Fei and Wang Xixi earlier.
Then Murong Fu began introducing himself: "Hello everyone, my name is Murong Fu, 23 years old. I recently graduated from university and currently work at a factory."
Murong Fu's self-introduction was as brief as Qin Fei's.
After him came the fourth person.
"Hello everyone, I'm Xiao Nuo, a 19-year-old female college student. Nice to meet you all. I hope we can get along peacefully in the future."
Jiang Ran stared at the female college student Xiao Nuo standing to his front left.
He thought Xiao Nuo was a "back-view beauty."
Beautiful from behind but quite ordinary looking from the front.Despite heavy makeup, she couldn't conceal her plain features, though her speech did reveal her to be a lively girl.
Just as Jiang Ran was thinking this, he suddenly heard someone calling his name.
"Mr. Jiang Ran, Mr. Jiang Ran, it's your turn!"
It was time for his self-introduction. The manager Xiao Zhang had called him several times.
He quickly stood up and said to the others:
"Hello everyone, I'm Jiang Ran, 23 years old. I've graduated from university and started working already."
After saying this, Jiang Ran sat back down, nodding and smiling at the others.
As he sat down, someone remarked:
"Oh ho, all five new residents this time are young people?"
Another voice added: "Youth means vigor and vitality."
Following these comments came a familiar voice Jiang Ran recognized:
"Alright, now that all five new residents have introduced themselves, let's have some cake!"
Manager Xiao Zhang left the activity room and returned about five minutes later pushing a cart.
On it sat an enormous cake, like a small mountain of desserts.
The cake was magnificent and spectacular.
It had ten layers in total.
Each layer was a different flavor.
From what Jiang Ran could identify, there were chocolate, strawberry, cherry, and other layers.
Some flavors he couldn't recognize.
But one thing was certain - this cake definitely wasn't cheap.
Probably costing several thousand yuan at least.
Jiang Ran was once again amazed by the high-end services of this apartment.
Even a welcome event came with such an extravagant cake.
Simply amazing.
After the cake arrived, it was time for distribution.
Manager Xiao Zhang and two other helpful residents handled the serving.
Jiang Ran received a piece of chocolate cake. With just one taste, he knew it used real dairy cream, not that cheap, unhealthy vegetable oil cream.
The difference in texture was obvious.
His appetite immediately awakened, and he dug in heartily.
While eating, his eyes unconsciously scanned the room.
He didn't see the beautiful woman he'd encountered on the third floor - probably didn't attend the welcome event.
Also missing was that extraordinarily pale young man he'd seen outside the apartment earlier.
Seeing him pulling a large suitcase, Jiang Ran had assumed he was another new resident, but apparently not...
"There's plenty more, everyone take your time!" Manager Xiao Zhang announced loudly after everyone got their first slice.
He continued distributing, placing cake slices on paper plates and arranging them on tables like a buffet.
"Xiao Zhang, next time could we skip the cake? I'm getting sick of it."
"Yeah, Xiao Zhang, just take us out for a meal next time. Cakes are boring."
Some residents voiced their opinions while eating.
"Hey, those are terrible suggestions. I say Xiao Zhang should just divide the cake money among us all! Wouldn't that be better?"
"No way, if we split money, even those who didn't come would show up."
The activity room remained lively during the cake eating.
The familiar residents chatted cheerfully among themselves.
A very harmonious atmosphere.
The welcome event ended at 9 PM.
Afterwards, residents gradually dispersed, including Jiang Ran.
Only Xiao Zhang remained in the activity room, cleaning up leftover cake plates.
Along with new resident Wang Xixi and another resident named Zhang Le.
This Zhang Le was the one who'd mentioned being in a band before and owning several valuable guitars, including one signed by the world's top guitarist Acamellon.
After the event, Wang Xixi didn't return to his apartment.
Instead, he followed Zhang Le to see those prized guitars and the Acamellon-signed instrument.
As Wang Xixi walked off with Zhang Le,
many viewers in the live stream room who saw this through numerous cameras exploded in reaction.
Among the five participants of Round 25,
Wang Xixi had total bets placed on him amounting to: 50.98 million.
The second highest among the five.
This massive sum clearly indicated he had many backers!
Extremely many!
These were the people now panicking.
[Oh no, oh no, my 1 million is going down the drain! Brother, have some caution please! You just follow someone because they ask you to?]
[Worthless! You deserve to die!]
[Shouldn't have bet on him... he's definitely dead now]
[Hey seniors, I'm a new member who just started watching these game streams. Can someone explain why you're so sure Wang Xixi is doomed? He's just going to see guitars, right?]
[Ah, new member eh? Let me explain. It's not that simple!]
[This Zhang Le isn't normal! He's a deranged criminal! The terrifying thing is he and that old man from Room 301 both have 100% kill rates! Once they target prey, that prey absolutely dies!!! That's why we say Wang Xixi is doomed!!!]
[Really? But I watched earlier streams - Jiang Ran and Qin Fei survived fine. Even 100% can be broken, no?]
[That... that was just their good luck! How many people get that lucky!]
[Just keep watching. Damn it, I bet 500k on this guy too. If he dies, my money's gone!!!!]
......
Wang Xixi followed Zhang Le excitedly, taking the elevator to the fifth floor.
Only upon arriving did he remember the circumstances of coming to Alice Apartment.
He had arrived earlier than both Jiang Ran and Qin Fei.
Like Qin Fei, he'd initially maintained vigilance.
After all, if this were just a normal apartment, why pay 10,000 yuan per day?
There had to be something unusual here, but so far, he couldn't detect anything wrong with Alice Apartment.
Whether the units, overall environment, or other residents - everything seemed perfectly normal.
Especially after learning from the welcome party that he wasn't the only new resident, his worries had diminished further.
Even if there were something strange about this apartment, what could possibly happen to a grown man like himself?