Chapter 66: Three Strikes to Breach the Door, the Corpse Overlord Dies, and the Golden Thread Jade Burial Suit!
Xu Lang instructed Tong Qi and Wang Yazhi to operate the artillery platform, adjusting the angles so they could attack the Corpse King while simultaneously striking the zombies.
However, as soon as the six zombies were cleared out, the Corpse King would continue ringing its bell to summon six new ones.
This was no longer an ordinary level-four monster; it was a level-four monster powered up with a Boss template!
"The defense power of this level-four monster is insane!" exclaimed Cao Yaxuan after a moment, looking shocked.
They had been attacking it for nearly a minute, yet the Corpse King was still as fierce and vigorous as ever.
"Zombies as a species are indeed tough," Xu Lang remarked, handing the Colt over to Cao Yaxuan. "Still, the time is almost right. Get ready; it'll be your turn to step up soon."
"Mm!" Cao Yaxuan nodded firmly.
...
While the fierce battle was underway at Xu Lang's location, the Bosses on the third and sixth floors also made their appearances.
The Boss on the sixth floor was a short, dark-skinned elderly man. With a shake of his bell, a swarm of venomous bugs would rush forward to breach doors.
This Boss remained unperturbed, using this exact tactic to grind down health pools. Soon enough, someone's door was breached, and all its occupants perished beneath the venomous bugs.
This monster heavily countered dormitories relying solely on crossbows; dealing with swarms of venomous bugs required defensive installations capable of area-of-effect damage.
...
The Boss on the third floor was a warrior clad in armor, accompanied by two level-three warrior attendants.
"Please, do not come over here..." inside Dormitory 60, a player watched the three warriors and swallowed hard in terror.
During the fourth round, the third floor had featured three level-three warriors identical to the ones accompanying this Boss, boasting exceptionally strong solo combat capabilities.
Fearing to provoke this Boss, the player initially held back the crossbows from firing, waiting until all three monsters raised their long sabers.
Swish, swish!
Crossbow bolts flew through the air.
With flashes of cold light, two of the warriors swung their blades and directly cleaved the two bolts in half.
At that moment, the Boss's long saber fiercely descended!
Three strikes in a single flash!
The steel door burst open instantly!
The door was shattered in three strikes, and before the player even had time to repair the steel door, the two level-three monsters had already rushed into the room.
The Boss stood outside the door without entering, quietly watching his subordinates slaughter the players.
Precisely because of this door-blocking behavior, the three players didn't even have a chance to flee and were all hacked to death inside their dormitory.
"N... Next," the Boss tilted its head and actually uttered human speech.
The news of the third-floor Boss shattering a door in three strikes quickly spread. As the floor leader of the third floor, Li Shuwen could no longer sit still.
[Li Shuwen (49): Impossible! Normally, a level-four Boss could never be this strong. This is getting close to a level-five monster!]
...
On the other side, on the tenth floor.
Repairing the Silver Iron-Wing Crossbow and the Destroyer Heavy Crossbow only required iron materials, of which Xu Lang had plenty at home, so the durability of the defensive installations was not a concern.
The cyan steel door, however, was a different story.
This item could not be repaired using raw materials.
When the durability of the cyan steel door dropped to 43 points, the Corpse King finally ceased its attacks.
Covered in wounds, with both hands burned almost to the point of melting and one of its eye sockets pierced by a bolt, its condition was abysmal.
It was only at this juncture that it decided to retreat, which showed that its intelligence was somewhat lacking.
Just as it turned to leave, the door to Dormitory 200 suddenly swung open.
A basin of dark red liquid, emanating a foul, bloody stench and intense heat, was splashed directly toward it.
This was the beast blood dropped by the beast on the ninth floor. Using it could temporarily boost a player's status. As a level-two item, it was not cheap.
Yet, when this ultimate tonic was poured over the Corpse King, it caused its entire body to smoke and shriek in agony.
[Corpse King: Refined corpses into madness, turned oneself into a corpse, and hid the treasures plundered throughout a lifetime inside a coffin. Its Vajra body was shattered by "Lang Man", one of the Ten Evil Masters, using beast blood. Its journey was cut short midway, dying between the jaws of a wolf, losing both life and treasure.]
Bang, bang, bang!
Cao Yaxuan pulled the trigger, rapidly emptying the magazine.
Bullets rained out, every single one sinking into the Corpse King's softened flesh.
Even so, the Corpse King did not simply perish; instead, it spun around and glared fiercely at Xu Lang and the others, appearing ready to launch a desperate final counterattack.
Xu Lang had already prepared to cast a fireball spell.
At that critical moment, Cao Yaxuan drew the hand crossbow Xu Lang had given her and struck a direct hit to the Corpse King's head.
With a heavy thud, the Corpse King collapsed to the ground, and three dropped items materialized beside it.
Cao Yaxuan's score surged dramatically, rocketing her straight into fourth place!
The four of them did not stop to converse; instead, they swiftly gathered the dropped items from the three monsters and retreated back into their dormitory.
"I did it!" Cao Yaxuan cheered excitedly, her stunning cheeks flushed red.
Without lingering long on celebrations, the four of them quickly took stock of the supplies. Aside from five silver coins and ten thousand copper coins, there were several prime items.
[Gold-Thread and Jade Burial Suit (Imitation)]
[Type: Equipment]
[Level: 4]
[Effect 1 (Reinforced): Physique +1, Spirit +1, Defense +3, Mobility -1]
[Effect 2 (Jade Armor): Physical damage received will be fully negated by durability]
[Durability: 40/40]
[Disassembly yields: Gold Thread x9, Jade Shards x43]
[Upgrade requirement: 700 Nightmare Coins]
[Description: A high-spec set of burial goods; placed in modern times, it would be a national treasure.]
[Gentle Reminder: Equipment can be set to invisible.]
[Gentle Reminder: Only one piece of equipment and one piece of clothing per slot can be worn at a time.]
...
"God-tier gear!" Xu Lang gasped in astonishment as he read the attributes of the Gold-Thread and Jade Burial Suit.
With this equipment equipped, jumping down from the upper floors might actually be completely safe!
"Level-four gear is just too overpowered," Wang Yazhi exclaimed in awe.
Adding direct attributes was one thing, but it also added defense—an attribute usually exclusive to doors!
Tong Qi's eyes sparkled with brilliant light, and she said with a beaming smile, "This Gold-Thread and Jade Burial Suit is a proper piece of equipment; its effects are separate from clothing. Big Brother Lang, if you wear this, your bonus attributes will total four points."
"Right, one is the outer layer, the other is the inner layer. Sometimes the value of high-tier clothing exceeds that of equipment because of its rarity," Xu Lang said, gently pinching Tong Qi's cheek.
Wang Yazhi looked slightly bewildered, prompting Cao Yaxuan to recount the story of Tong Qi's lucky draw.
Xu Lang picked up the Gold-Thread and Jade Burial Suit and clicked to equip it.
In an instant, he felt a heaviness settle over his body. The tactile sensation against his skin remained largely unchanged, feeling identical to wearing the Survivor Suit.
He hopped up and down in place; although his body felt heavier, his sense of security had increased exponentially.
Closing his eyes, he touched the garment with his mental awareness, and a prompt popped up.
[Show/Hide "Gold-Thread and Jade Burial Suit"?]
Xu Lang chose to show it.
The next second, a set of archaic jade armor materialized on the outside, layered over his Survivor Suit.
Tong Qi startled and took a step back.
Xu Lang hurriedly canceled the display.
"That looks a bit creepy," Cao Yaxuan exhaled softly.
"Well, it was worn by a dead person after all," Xu Lang said without evasion, then added, "Let's check out the rest of the loot."
His gaze shifted toward a dark bronze bell imbued with an ancient aura.