Chapter 21: Colt Viper, Slaying the Cat Demon!

The bloody slaughter continued!

A terrifying atmosphere permeated the dormitory building, with the air thick with chaos, cruelty, and dread. This sensation felt like a festering sore, boring its way into the bone marrow of every player. Some players realized that fleeing was better than staying inside their rooms; no matter how formidable the giant zombie was, it was only one entity. As long as it couldn't fly or tunnel through the earth, they had a chance at survival.

Inside his room, Xu Lang noticed the rate of player deaths slowing down. Combining this with the information in the chat room, he managed to piece together what was happening. He let out a silent sigh of relief.

"For the players, the enemy is only the monster threatening them, but for the monster, the enemy is the entire dormitory building!"

"The strength of all the players is, in essence, individual strength... This game still leans somewhat toward team cooperation."

"If everyone had worked together from the start... no, wait. If everyone had tried to work together to get downstairs at the beginning, they all would have died in one fell swoop."

"Better to look after myself. If it's within my power, I'll help others as I can," Xu Lang mused to himself.

While others were running for their lives, Xu Lang was already pondering the core and essence of this game. It was that "fundamental logic" that so many internet pundits loved to harp on—sometimes useful, sometimes utterly useless. Everything ultimately boiled down to strength. If Xu Lang could shatter the dormitory building with a single punch, he wouldn't need to consider any of this. Of course, that was a fantasy, so he dismissed it.

"Xu Lang, it seems to have calmed down," Cao Yaxuan said, her expression brightening.

"Mmhmm," Xu Lang nodded.

"No, Brother Lang, look at the chat room!" Tong Qi suddenly shouted.

[112 Wu Leiting: Help, brothers! I've encountered another type of special zombie!]

Seeing this message, Xu Lang felt a jolt and couldn't help but spin his pistol on his finger.

[147 Wang Yazhi: Tell us what's going on!]

[33 Zhang Dahai: Just watching from the sidelines. Anyway, I'm not going back to the dorm building. If I die, I die.]

[112 Wu Leiting: That zombie can turn invisible and has sharp claws. It killed Zhou Leilei the moment it appeared. I'm on the eighth floor now, someone open their door and save me! (Image)]

Xu Lang tapped on the image. It was a humanoid monster with features reminiscent of a feline—it looked like a cat demon. In the picture, it was hunched over, gnawing on a young man's heart.

Invisibility, sharp claws... Xu Lang had a baseline understanding now. To be honest, this kind of monster was quite troublesome. If they could swarm it, its frail frame likely wouldn't be able to take many hits, but forming a cohesive force right now was a pipe dream.

Inside the chat room, messages poured in. Some residents on the higher floors were telling players not to come up, urging them to go elsewhere to find a way to live. Others who had fled their rooms were frantically begging for shelter, hoping to become tenants for those on the higher floors in a bid for mutual survival.

"Brother Lang, what should we do? The rate of player deaths seems to be picking up again," Cao Yaxuan said anxiously. By now, everyone had grown accustomed to calling their former classmates "players," and Cao Yaxuan was no exception.

"You two should finish your hot pot first; that's what's important," Xu Lang said, gesturing toward the self-heating mini-hot pot.

Cao Yaxuan's face darkened. How could she possibly have the appetite to eat now?

Tong Qi blinked her large eyes. Wasn't this Senior Cao the campus goddess, rumored to be incredibly cold and aloof? Why did she seem so fragile and dependent now, asking Xu Lang about everything? Perhaps it was just the fear of death... that was the only conclusion Tong Qi could reach.

Tong Qi was afraid of death too, but after eating a full meal, she felt strangely calm, as if, just as she had said earlier, it wouldn't matter if she died right then and there.

Time flew by. A few minutes later, someone rushed to the tenth floor and spotted the distinctive door of Room 200.

"Damn it, Xu Lang, what's going on?! What kind of door is this?" The person outside gasped, then covered his mouth, trembling with anxiety. "Xu Lang, open the door! Let me in, that invisible monster is coming!"

Xu Lang watched through the peephole, unmoved. Since outsiders had no hierarchical standing over the room owner, they could attack the owner once inside. For that reason alone, Xu Lang would never let anyone in.

"Xu Lang, did you hear me?"

The person outside spoke again, then tried to contact Xu Lang through the chat room.

[200 Xu Lang: Go away. I'm not hosting outsiders here.]

Xu Lang didn't want to waste his time and rejected him outright.

[15 Shi Hang: Are you joking with me? Why shouldn't you let me in? Is this dorm building yours?]

Xu Lang was taken aback. If it isn't mine, is it yours?

"Xu Lang, open the door!" Shi Hang pounded on the door, frantic with terror. The slick, thick metallic texture of the door made him incredibly jealous; if he had a door like this, he wouldn't have had to flee his room. "Don't you know this dorm belongs to the school?!"

"You're being so selfish! No one will help you later!"

"Brother Lang, just let me in! I'll only stay for an hour!"

Xu Lang shook his head, deciding not to reason with him anymore. Let him knock; at least it wasn't wasting his own survival time.

"Damn you!" Shi Hang exploded in rage and slammed his fist against the steel door. A flash of light erupted from the door, followed by a sickening, bone-crunching crack.

Xu Lang winced, yet felt a spark of gratitude toward the guy. *Thanks for testing the door; otherwise, I wouldn't have known how sturdy it was!* Perhaps he had underestimated the steel door's defense. Maybe even two zombies attacking at once wouldn't be able to break its durability.

Shi Hang gasped in pain, pleading, "Please, for the sake of us being classmates! I still have a blueprint for an iron door and some iron materials. Don't you want copper coins? You can have the copper coins I have too! Just let me in, I'll agree to anything!"

Xu Lang remained expressionless and silent.

Tong Qi and Cao Yaxuan were also silent. At this point, neither of them spouted any naive, saintly nonsense. After all, this was already the fifth day of the game; anyone who hadn't grasped the reality of the situation was already dead.

Seeing that begging was useless and having no strength left to curse, Shi Hang turned to leave. But just then, a shadow of claws flashed out of thin air!

Because Shi Hang had been shielding his arm, his neck was tucked in, and the blow only caused the skin on his face to peel away rather than killing him instantly. With a scream, he turned to run. A gray shadow pounced on him, frantically digging into his chest. It was the monster from Wu Leiting's photo—part cat, part human.

[Cat Demon]
[Level: 3]
[Skills: Camouflage, Sharp Claws]
[Description: Give me your heart—the one that isn't beating!]

Seeing the zombie's back turned toward him, Xu Lang realized this was a golden opportunity and immediately upgraded his pistol.

[Consume 200 Nightmare Coins to upgrade "Colt Automatic Pistol"?]
"Yes!" Xu Lang didn't expect this, and he shouted the confirmation in his mind.

[Please select an upgrade path within one minute.]
[1. Colt Viper: Significantly increases accuracy and lethality; 17-round capacity.]
[2. Colt Silver Wheel: Converted into a high-powered revolver; aiming difficulty increased; 5-round capacity.]

"Viper!" The Silver Wheel had too few rounds; the margin for error was too low!

In the next instant, a flash of light washed over his black-gray pistol, leaving a tint of green. Without hesitation, Xu Lang reached out, and the unlocked door swung open. The outside air rushed in, bone-chillingly cold!

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Three shots in a row, three headshots! Xu Lang felt the pistol's handling was superb—it hit exactly where he aimed. He quickly retreated two steps, keeping the gun trained on the Cat Demon until he confirmed the 100 points were credited to his account. Only then did he step forward to loot the drop.

Shi Hang was already dead, his intestines spilled across the floor. From start to finish, Xu Lang only had eyes for the Cat Demon; he didn't spare the man a single glance. After looting the items, he returned to his dorm without wasting another second.