Important Things

Although Xu Nan and Zhang Fang were dead, there had to be plenty more robbery gangs like theirs in this building.

Under these circumstances, weapons were certainly important, but defense mattered just as much.

A locked iron door could keep a lot of danger out.

The Vending Machine was like an online store, offering several versions of each item at different prices. A security door cost two thousand yuan, while a basic Stainless Steel Entry Door cost just over three hundred.

The rooms themselves only had wooden doors, which a grown man could kick open in a few tries. They offered no security or privacy whatsoever.

Shao Lan had already grasped the building's rule-whatever you wanted, you had to earn it yourself.

He bought three Stainless Steel Entry Doors.

Pancake Uncle winced at the expense. "Shao Lan, one door would've been enough."

The three of them spent most of their time in the same room anyway. They only needed to install one there.

Shao Lan shook his head. "Pancake Uncle, if we only install one, that door becomes a signal."

"Any outsiders who reach this floor and see that only this room has a door installed will immediately know there are valuables inside."

After all, only jewels needed a safe.

If someone was willing to spend several hundred yuan on a door, the food and resources inside had to be worth more than that.

That door would become a sitting target. If robbers like Zhang Fang and Xu Nan came again, they would attack it directly.

Although the Stainless Steel Entry Door was sturdy, the Vending Machine offered all kinds of weapons too. If the intruders had tools such as power drills or chainsaws, even the most expensive security door wouldn't be safe.

"A cunning rabbit keeps several bolt-holes. Three doors will reduce the chance of our actual room being attacked first, while also deterring outsiders."

"When they see three identical doors, they'll realize the residents on this floor have formed an alliance and taken thorough precautions-nobody likes tackling a tough opponent. Under those circumstances, there's a good chance they'll give up."

When they had bought food before, it had all dropped through a single dispensing slot.

The doors they bought this time were enormous. After Shao Lan completed payment on the Vending Machine, the wall slid aside like a mechanical panel. A conveyor belt carried the three doors out as though from an assembly line, and then the wall closed again without a seam.

When the wall opened, it was pitch-black inside, as though it led into an endless abyss.

By now, Shao Lan knew that nothing in the building could be explained by ordinary physics, so he stopped trying to investigate and installed the doors with Pancake Uncle.

Once he had made sure they were secure, he went over to the bed. Jiang Mingran happened to wake up just then.

Jiang Mingran's eyes widened at the sight of Shao Lan.

"Holy shit..."

Jiang Mingran burst into tears.

"Is this the afterlife?" he asked through his tears. "Did we meet again in the afterlife?"

As he cried, Jiang Mingran grimaced in pain. "Don't they say you stop suffering once you die? Why does it still hurt so much...?"

Shao Lan pressed a hand to his forehead.

"You're not dead," he said. "This is still our old room."

Jiang Mingran said, "Then you..."

Shao Lan said, "I'm not dead either."

"Holy shit!"

Jiang Mingran's eyes widened again.

Shao Lan's injuries had been worse than his, yet he now looked completely healed.

How had he managed that?

Shao Lan explained to Jiang Mingran and Pancake Uncle what Xu Jiawei had explained to him earlier.

"If you're injured in the building, then as long as you aren't dead, entering an instance will automatically heal you, no matter how bad the injuries are. Likewise, if you're injured inside an instance, you'll heal when you return to the building, as long as you don't die on the spot."

Jiang Mingran and Pancake Uncle both understood.

Shao Lan had healed by entering an instance.

Seeing that they understood, Shao Lan laid out his plan for Jiang Mingran:

"Your injuries are serious enough that you'd probably need surgery in the real world. That's impossible here in the building. Even if we can buy medicine and equipment from the Vending Machine, we don't have a doctor who can perform surgery."

"The only option is to enter an instance," Shao Lan said. "You suffered half your injuries covering for me. I won't forget that, and I can go in with you."

"But game instances have an extremely high death rate. I estimate that at least half the people in every instance will die."

"And most importantly, players can be assigned to different factions inside a game instance. If we end up in different factions, it could come down to one of us having to die for the other to live."

Shao Lan briefly explained the situation between the Xu Family Village faction and the Sacrifice Faction in [Nether God Sacrifice].

"Jiang Mingran, I'll be honest with you. I'm willing to help you as much as I can, but I'm no saint. If we really end up in a situation where only one side can survive, I won't sacrifice myself."

"So whether you participate is up to you," Shao Lan said. "If you don't want to, I'll buy medicine from the Vending Machine and treat you as best I can."

Jiang Mingran listened quietly.

After Shao Lan finished, Jiang Mingran gave him a weak, strained smile.

"Bro, I understand. I'm in."

"I've already spent all my money. I'll have to enter an instance sooner or later, so I might as well go now and spare myself some suffering."

"Bro, if you're willing to help me through it, please do. If you can't, that's fine too. I'm an adult. I can take responsibility for my own choices."

Shao Lan nodded.

"Rest for a while," Shao Lan said. "I have a few things to do. Once I'm done, I'll come get you, and we'll head to the elevator together."

Jiang Mingran nodded.

When Shao Lan went out, he ran into the young couple again.

Li Yun was angrily questioning the Property Manager. "Where did their doors come from?! Answer me!"

The two still hadn't given up on demanding food, but they had discovered a Stainless Steel Entry Door installed outside the wooden door. They couldn't get in anymore.

"Why do they get stainless steel doors while we have a wooden one?" Li Yun demanded imperiously. "You have half an hour. We want everything they have!"

The Property Manager still wore the same practiced professional smile. "You can purchase the items you need from the Vending Machine."

"Do you fucking understand human speech?" Tang Zhang shouted. "We're asking why their doors are different from ours!"

The Property Manager smiled. "You can purchase the items you need from the Vending Machine."

Furious, Tang Zhang stepped forward and grabbed the Property Manager by her collar. "Can you do anything besides repeat yourself like a fucking broken record?"

The Property Manager looked at Tang Zhang, her smile unchanged.

But she reached out and slowly pulled Tang Zhang's hand away from her collar. "Resident rules-please refrain from physical altercations with Property Management staff, or you will bear the consequences."

Tang Zhang was about to say something else when he suddenly heard a series of cracks and pops coming from his entire arm, followed by unimaginable agony.

His arm had been twisted until it broke.

"Aah!!"

Tang Zhang collapsed to the floor in pain, his face contorted. "You... you..."

Li Yun, standing beside him, was petrified too.

"Property Management is not responsible for renovating or constructing residences. Residents may modify their homes themselves, and all materials can be purchased from the Vending Machine." The Property Manager bowed with a cheerful smile. "Have a pleasant day."

Li Yun helped Tang Zhang up. Both of them were deathly pale.

"What? They bought those iron doors from the Vending Machine..." Li Yun murmured in surprise.

"Bought them?"

Tang Zhang's arm was already hurting so badly it felt like the pain was piercing his heart. Hearing that only made him angrier.

"Fuck, one of those doors must cost at least several hundred yuan, right? They have money to buy doors, but they won't even give us a few loaves of bread?"