Chapter 138: Another player selling privately?

The air in the Dormitory instantly froze at Li Xinran's words.

Jiang Yuwan paused her inventory check. She lifted her gaze, her cool eyes settling on Li Xinran, not speaking immediately.

Yao Qingya was the first to break the silence.

She put down what she was holding, a gentle yet troubled expression on her face, and spoke softly, "Xinran, Sister Yuwan has been managing everything these past few days, doing a lot of work, and it's been hard on her... Wouldn't it be a bit unfair to say this so suddenly?"

Liu Qiaofei looked worriedly from one person to another, her mouth opening and closing, unsure of what to say.

An Lan leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching everything calmly, like an outsider.

"Tch."

Qiao Yunge was the most direct. She rolled her eyes without reservation, "I don't care either way. I can't be bothered with this kind of managerial work anyway. It's much more comfortable to save my energy for helping out."

Her tone shifted as she glanced at Li Xinran.

"But having said that, Sister Yuwan has indeed done a great job. The accounts are clear, and there haven't been any mistakes with resource allocation."

"Oh, we're all sisters here. It doesn't matter who does it," Su Meier immediately stepped in to smooth things over. With a charming smile, she walked over to Li Xinran and gently linked arms with her. "Our sister Xinran just arrived and isn't familiar with the situation yet. Don't be so serious, everyone."

Li Xinran, however, didn't appreciate the gesture. She gently freed her arm from Su Meier's hold, maintaining her innate arrogance. Her gaze passed over everyone and landed squarely on Su Ze, who was seated on the sofa.

"What do you think?"

She passed the buck to the only person in the Dormitory who had the final say.

Su Ze leaned back, shifting to a more comfortable position, a hint of amusement on his face.

"You want to be the head manager? Fine."

As soon as he said this, Yao Qingya and Qiao Yunge both instinctively furrowed their brows.

"But," Su Ze continued slowly, "what abilities do you have to prove you can do a better job than her?"

"Jiang Yuwan has been with me from the start, managing the Dormitory inside and out, handling logistics and supplies in perfect order. Even if there's no great merit, there's hard work. Her position isn't something anyone can take just by talking."

Hearing this, the always cool lines of Jiang Yuwan's face seemed to soften slightly, and the corner of her mouth lifted in an almost imperceptible curve.

This dog man finally said something decent.

Li Xinran lifted her chin even higher. "Anything she can do, I can do too! And I'll do it better!"

"Oh?"

This time, it was Jiang Yuwan who spoke.

She straightened up, meeting Li Xinran's challenging gaze, her tone flat.

"Since you're so confident, I don't mind seeing your abilities."

"If you're truly better than me, I'll hand over this position. I wouldn't mind being your assistant."

"Fine!" Li Xinran agreed crisply.

Su Ze watched the scene before him and smiled.

He liked this kind of healthy competition.

As long as it was under the premise of peaceful coexistence, he was happy to see his women use their skills and play to their strengths in their respective fields.

Li Xinran lifted her chin even higher, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Anything she can do, I can do too! I'll only do it better!"

"Oh?" Jiang Yuwan finally spoke. She put down the inventory list in her hand, stood up, and walked over to Li Xinran.

The two were similar in height. One was cool as the moon, the other proud as fire. Their auras clashed, and the air seemed to crackle with tension.

"Since you're so confident, I don't mind seeing your abilities."

Jiang Yuwan's tone was calm. "If you truly have the skill, I'll hand over this position. I wouldn't mind being your assistant."

"Fine! It's a deal!" Li Xinran agreed without hesitation.

Su Ze watched this scene, the smile on his face deepening.

Competition was a good thing.

Under the premise of peaceful coexistence, if his women could play to their strengths in their respective fields, he was absolutely happy to see it.

"Alright, that settles it," Su Ze clapped his hands, ending the topic.

"Discuss among yourselves how to compete. I'll only look at the results."

With that, he took out a pair of red couplets from his backpack.

It was the special item he had obtained earlier — the [guardian couplet].

Su Ze walked to the door of Dormitory 404 and neatly pasted the couplets, which emitted a faint red glow, on either side of the doorframe.

The moment the couplets were pasted, a nearly imperceptible glimmer of light flowed across the door before fading away.

They looked like ordinary, unremarkable couplets.

Yet, an invisible barrier enveloped the turret and surveillance equipment by the door.

After finishing this, Su Ze turned to the women and said,

"I'm heading out for a bit. Stay in the Dormitory. Decide among yourselves how to arrange things."

...

At this moment, everywhere in Jinghai University except the Teaching Building was a scene of bustling activity.

Organized by the ten great leaders, tens of thousands of players were divided into countless small teams.

They still employed the tactics of long-range throwing and narrow corridors to clear the zombies.

Now, there were even players specifically holding up various shields, door planks, and the like at the front lines for an extra layer of insurance.

The efficiency of clearing zombies was extremely high.

Su Ze saw that even ordinary Level 3 Zombies couldn't withstand more than a few rounds of concentrated fire under this human-wave tactic and were quickly eliminated.

The forces under his command were now completely on track.

Confirming that everything was under control, Su Ze no longer interfered excessively.

He found a hidden, safe spot, closed the door, and began to rest.

To this day, he still maintained a degree of vigilance towards everyone, including the women in his Dormitory.

Time passed, and soon it was afternoon.

The ten great leaders reported today's achievements to Su Ze one by one via private chat.

Thanks to the incentive of the bonuses distributed yesterday, the ten great leaders were all pumped up like they'd been given a shot of adrenaline. Their efficiency in clearing zombies was significantly higher than yesterday's.

At the same time, today, over several thousand more solo players, crying and pleading, joined Su Ze's forces.

Thus, the number of people under Su Ze's command had exceeded thirty thousand, occupying half of the total survivors in the entire Jinghai University!

As for their respective management and reward/punishment systems, Su Ze didn't inquire too much.

Just as Su Ze was looking over these reports, a private chat message from Jiang Yuwan popped up.

[Private Chat · Jiang Yuwan: Su Ze, there's a new development.]

[Private Chat · Jiang Yuwan: This afternoon, more and more people have unlocked their personal stores.]

[Private Chat · Jiang Yuwan: I asked the leaders like Wang Meng and did a preliminary check. Most of these people are not part of our group.]

Su Ze looked at the messages, not surprised.

This was reasonable.

Players who joined his forces had to participate in collective actions daily.

Most of the copper coins obtained from clearing zombies had to be handed over, so the speed of accumulating personal wealth naturally slowed down.

As for those solo players who hadn't joined, although their survival pressure was greater,

all the gains they made were their own. With a conscious effort to save up, accumulating enough copper coins to unlock the store wasn't too difficult.

[Private Chat · Jiang Yuwan: Now, some of those solo players who have unlocked their stores have already started selling supplies privately.]

[Private Chat · Jiang Yuwan: Although their prices are slightly higher than ours, almost just making a profit of one copper coin.]

[Private Chat · Jiang Yuwan: Our 'internal original price purchase' benefit is only effective for our own people. A small number of solo players would rather pay a tiny bit more than join us.]

[Private Chat · Jiang Yuwan: So, should we have Wang Meng and the others deal with these emerging individuals?]

Looking at Jiang Yuwan's suggestion, Su Ze lightly tapped his fingertips on the panel.

Deal with them?

Unnecessary.

Moreover, he had a better, permanent solution.

[Private Chat · Su Ze: No need.]

[Private Chat · Su Ze: Right now, immediately notify all the leaders.]

[Private Chat · Su Ze: Have them spread a message throughout the entire building for me — ]

[Private Chat · Su Ze: Say that according to my intelligence, tonight, the final night of the novice period, a LV5 commander-level zombie and a considerable number of LV4 Zombies will appear!]

[Private Chat · Su Ze: Therefore, to ensure more players survive, we will implement an emergency tactical plan. Only those who join us will be qualified to participate!]