The High-Rise

Lu Ren opened his eyes and looked at the door barricaded with furniture.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"What's going on? Why won't it open?!"

"There's something blocking it from inside. Let's find somewhere else!"

"No, we can't change locations. This middle room is relatively well-preserved. If its layout matches the diagram displayed in the lobby, then it's the most suitable place for us. If anything goes wrong, we can escape through the other exits!"

Lu Ren raised his brows slightly. The one who had spoken was a woman, and her voice was remarkably calm—far steadier than most of the six others. Most of them sounded frightened, but this woman remained composed.

As for opening the door, Lu Ren shifted his gaze to the sliding window beside it, then closed his eyes and lay back down.

This place did not belong to him. If they found a way in, Lu Ren would not stop them. It was not his home, after all.

"There's a window over there. Let's go in through it and take a look."

"Alright, I'll go in first and check it out!"

A young-sounding male voice spoke up.

After a burst of movement, the window was pulled open and a head poked in. A pair of eyes met Lu Ren's in a wide-eyed stare.

"Holy shit, there's someone inside!"

"Huh?"

The people behind him stirred into a commotion, talking over one another.

"Is that really a person?"

"Could it be a monster?"

"Then why didn't he open the door for us?"

Once he confirmed that Lu Ren was not moving at all, the high-school-looking boy flashed an embarrassed smile, quickly climbed inside, and turned toward the door.

"It's blocked by furniture from the inside."

The boy called out, then turned to Lu Ren and asked, "Big brother, can I let them in and then barricade the door again with the furniture?"

Seeing Lu Ren remain silent, which he took as consent, the boy hurriedly strained to move two pieces of furniture aside before shouting, "Quick, two more people come help move this!"

The people outside answered, and two men climbed in through the window. They glared at Lu Ren a few times before hurrying over to help.

Lu Ren remained lying on the sofa, expressionless. Were they trying to condemn his indifference on some moral level?

After the remaining three entered, they once again gathered furniture and sealed the door tightly.

Lu Ren watched without making any move.

There were four men and two women. Two looked like high school students. One was a slightly overweight middle-aged man with an authoritative air about him. He was clearly someone in a high position, and his refined clothes suggested he was probably an executive at some company.

Beside him stood a man in his thirties wearing work clothes. Of the other two women, one appeared to be in her thirties or forties. She had high cheekbones and narrow eyes. Her overall appearance was not bad, but she gave off a sharp, mean-spirited impression.

The other woman was around twenty-five or twenty-six, with delicate makeup and office attire. The heels of her shoes had been snapped off, clearly so she could run more easily.

A rather good approach.

They did not seem stupid.

Lu Ren was observing them, and they were observing him as well.

His near-forgetful dedication to training over this period had made his body strong. Under the system's stat-based enhancements, the definition of his muscles had become quite pronounced. He was still nowhere near Zhang Kui's level, but he could already be considered powerfully built.

With the instant feedback system, every increase in attribute proficiency from training immediately showed on his body. The continuous growth of that power felt even better than sex.

Now, seeing the powerfully built Lu Ren—especially the sharp iron shard clenched tightly in his hand—these people found him extremely dangerous.

Then the middle-aged man strode angrily toward Lu Ren.

"Why did you ignore us after hearing us outside?!"

When Lu Ren remained silent, the man sneered. "A selfish person like you will never survive here. I absolutely won't let you join my team..."

Human adaptability truly was powerful. In just a few hours, they had begun changing their mindset and seeking ways to survive. The moment they entered, they had already assumed this safe area for themselves and sought to eliminate every potentially dangerous factor.

As the man advanced aggressively again, Lu Ren raised the iron shard in his hand and said calmly, "Take one more step, and I'll kill you."

Seeing the sharp iron shard less than twenty centimeters from his throat, the man froze. Shock and anger flashed across his face as he said, "How dare you act like this? Now that we're all here, shouldn't we unite and get through this hardship together..."

"Ding. The other party harbors resentment and has remembered you for life, burying it deep within his heart."

Lu Ren stood up. His nearly one-meter-eighty height and powerful build gave him an imposing presence, forcing the middle-aged man to shut his mouth.

He said coldly, "Someone like you might be able to scheme your way to a high position in a peaceful world, but here, your own strength is everything."

He pushed the iron shard forward slightly. The man was so frightened that he staggered back several steps before steadying himself. Seeing Lu Ren's cold, expressionless face, the man seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he could only glare fiercely at Lu Ren and retreat.

He seemed to feel that his authority within the group had been damaged, greatly weakening his influence. The two high school students, however, seemed to think Lu Ren was pretty cool.

The white-collar woman glanced at Lu Ren before saying softly, "If you're hungry, we have food here."

"Li Shu, why are you giving food to someone like him? We don't have much food to begin with!"

The middle-aged man was extremely dissatisfied.

Li Shu turned back and said, "Sorry, but this food is mine. How I distribute it is my business."

"You..."

"Alright, alright, everyone stop arguing. We're all in the same boat now. It wouldn't be good if we started fighting among ourselves!"

The man in work clothes hurriedly tried to mediate.

The middle-aged man snorted and said nothing more. Lu Ren's sudden appearance had clearly made him feel threatened.

When Lu Ren gave no response and merely watched them coldly while maintaining a certain distance, Li Shu shook her head slightly and said nothing further.

"I think that guy's definitely got a death wish. We should stay farther away from him, in case he drags us down with him..."

The sharp-tongued woman could not help but remark.

Only after watching them settle down to rest roughly fifteen meters away did Lu Ren slowly sit up.

Ever since his previous experience in that alternate-space instance, he had remained highly vigilant and wary of anyone who entered such spaces.

Zhang Qingya had been manipulative, but she was not truly bad at heart. She merely wanted to fight for her own interests and had not done anything especially malicious.

Wang Gang had also been straightforward and easygoing.

As a rich second-generation heir, Luo Zixuan spent money freely. Though arrogant, he was very generous.

But in a desperate situation without food, the extent to which human nature could twist became terrifying. Not to mention that what they had done before even touching the altar had chilled Lu Ren to the bone.

Perhaps even a high school student could turn into a demon and commit acts horrifying enough to make people shudder.

Lu Ren maintained even breathing, conserving his strength.