Increased difficulty

Shao Lan froze for a moment.

He had originally thought the guaranteed payout for clearing this Instance was only five hundred yuan.

But after checking it over and over, the number on the notification really was five thousand yuan-ten times the previous amount.

Shao Lan pondered for a moment and realized that the guaranteed payout might be related to the Instance's difficulty.

In [Night of the Cannibal], there was a chance of surviving to the end simply by lying low, and there was a solution that allowed everyone to survive.

But not in [Nether God Sacrifice].

Eight players had gone in, and only three had come out-a death rate of 62.5%.

Even that death rate was inaccurate. The survivors-Shao Lan, Qin Ning, and Xu Jiawei-had all performed exceptionally well. With weaker players, the death rate would only have been higher. In the end, probably only one or two would have survived.

The elevator stopped, and the notification disappeared as its doors opened.

Shao Lan stepped out of the elevator. The floor display read "8."

Apparently, as long as a player reached an Instance's exit alive, the elevator would automatically return them to the floor where they lived.

Shao Lan entered the dimly lit corridor. Bloodstains still remained on the floor and walls from his earlier fight with Xu Nan and Zhang Fang. Both men had now died in the Instance, yet their blood remained in the building, with no one coming to clean it up.

After taking a few steps, Shao Lan immediately sensed something was wrong-unlike the earlier silence, the entire eighth floor was now bustling with noise.

Most of the commotion came from Room 804, the room assigned to Pancake Uncle.

Shao Lan walked over. The door stood slightly ajar, and inside, a young woman was shouting imperiously:

"We saved him! Shouldn't he give us some food to thank us?"

The speaker was a girl with chestnut curls, dressed in an expensive white Chanel skirt suit. All ten fingers sported long, glittering rhinestone nails. She was pointing at Pancake Uncle, her sharp nails nearly poking him in the face:

"Old man, you're hardly young anymore. Don't you even understand that you should repay a kindness?"

Pancake Uncle's voice was weak. "But you can't take all of it..."

"This is barely anything! We saved his life. If he survives, he should give us half of everything he earns from now on!" the girl rattled on. "Besides, if he doesn't survive, an old man like you will have to rely on us two young people anyway. Isn't handing over a little food now in exchange for our protection a good deal?"

"Li Yun, quit wasting your breath on him. Just take it." The young man beside her reached straight for the food in Pancake Uncle's hands.

Bam!

The door was kicked open, startling everyone in the room.

The young man grabbing the food flinched. He instinctively stopped and looked toward the doorway.

In the corridor's dim light stood a tall, handsome young man. He wore a plain white shirt and black trousers, with only the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose catching a faint glint of light.

"Who... who the fuck are you?" the young man shouted after recovering.

Shao Lan ignored him. Narrowing his eyes, he quickly surveyed the room.

Jiang Mingran lay on the bed, his bandages stained with blood. His face and lips were pale, his eyes tightly shut. At first glance, it was impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead.

Pancake Uncle's small, thin frame stood against the wall. Like a mother hen protecting her chicks, he clutched several pieces of bread tightly to his chest.

Opposite Pancake Uncle stood a young man and woman. The man wore a T-shirt bearing a luxury brand's logo, while the girl wore a little Chanel skirt suit. Their every movement suggested a pampered upbringing, but their expressions were downright aggressive.

Both of them froze when Shao Lan entered, wondering where this man had suddenly come from.

Pancake Uncle's eyes instantly reddened.

Forgetting the food, he stumbled forward and grabbed Shao Lan. "Shao, Shao! Good boy, you're actually still alive..."

When Xu Nan, Zhang Fang, and the blond thug had come to rob them, Xu Nan had knocked Pancake Uncle to the ground. He had been forced to watch Jiang Mingran suffer serious injuries and Shao Lan sacrifice himself to take Zhang Fang down with him.

Shao Lan had been shot several times and stabbed. His blood had covered the corridor floor, and beyond the elevator lay a terrifying Instance fraught with danger. Pancake Uncle had thought there was no way he could survive.

Yet, thanks to the Bodhisattva's blessing, Shao Lan had returned unscathed. Even his terrible injuries had healed.

Shao Lan patted Pancake Uncle reassuringly. "We can talk about me later-what's going on here?"

Pancake Uncle quietly explained-

After the elevator had taken Shao Lan, Zhang Fang, and Xu Nan away, only the blond thug had remained from the opposing group.

Just then, the Property Manager, who had left not long before, returned.

Terrified that she would drag him into the elevator too, the blond thug had backed away repeatedly and huddled in a corner.

But this time, the Property Manager's job was not to invite anyone into the elevator. Instead, she collected two new players from it and helped them check in.

Those two new players were this young couple. The man was Tang Zhang, and the woman was Li Yun.

Both had just cleared their screening Instances and had become the residents of the vacant Rooms 801 and 805, respectively.

The eighth floor had suddenly gained more residents. The blond thug had no idea how capable these newcomers were, and with all his accomplices gone, he was badly outnumbered on his own. He had thrown out a few threats to scare them, then quietly retreated.

Pancake Uncle had hurriedly struggled to move the injured Jiang Mingran into Room 804, then exchanged some money for bandages and medicine, managing to dress his wounds as best he could.

Neither of them had much money. Jiang Mingran, in particular, had none left-Zhang Fang and Xu Nan had already exchanged all his money for food, leaving his balance at zero.

Fortunately, the ensuing melee had kept them from carrying the food away. Dragging his bad leg, Pancake Uncle had gathered it all back up.

He had spent the whole afternoon working, and before he could even catch his breath, the young couple had come knocking.

They demanded that Pancake Uncle give them the pile of food Jiang Mingran had left behind.

Their reasoning was that, if they had not arrived in time, the blond thug would surely have killed both men. They had saved Jiang Mingran and Pancake Uncle's lives.

Therefore, Pancake Uncle should give them the food as repayment.

With Jiang Mingran unconscious and badly injured, Pancake Uncle had been helpless on his own. He thought that, since they all lived on the eighth floor, looking out for one another would be a good thing, so he had given them a few things to eat as repayment.

But Tang Zhang and Li Yun were not remotely satisfied. They demanded the rest.

"I really can't give you any more..." Pancake Uncle's lips were pale. "There are only a few pieces of bread left. I saved them for Jiang. He can't eat anything else. He can only swallow bread after it's soaked in water."

Li Yun glanced at Jiang Mingran. His wounds were already infected and giving off an unpleasant smell.

Li Yun covered her nose in disgust. "He won't last long in that state. Feeding him this food would be a complete waste. You might as well give it to us."

"Exactly," Tang Zhang agreed. "If it weren't for us, that blond guy would have killed him earlier. At least he got another ten or so hours to live."

Now, while Pancake Uncle was explaining things to Shao Lan, Li Yun picked up the bread from the floor and tried to slip away. Tang Zhang hurried after her.

The two were just about to leave.

Shao Lan spoke calmly. "Put it down."