Chapter 209 Detailed Arrangements, Midnight Approaching

The night was as dark as ink, shrouding the entire Jinghai University in a deathly silence.

Below the high platform, over forty thousand players stood in a dense, dark mass. Everyone held their breath, and a tense atmosphere of an impending storm permeated the air.

Zheng Siyuan, his inner circle, and the thirty-odd Research Personnel were arranged to stand at the front flank of the crowd. Looking at the solemn formation before them, their hearts were in their throats, completely unable to grasp the situation.

Su Ze's gaze swept across everyone's faces. Finally, he spoke; his voice wasn't loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.

“Let me emphasize once more: after midnight, the enemies we will face are ‘Supernatural Entities’.”

“These are monsters completely different from zombies.”

At the mention of ‘Supernatural Entities’, a slight commotion rippled through the crowd, and unease surfaced on many faces.

“All physical attacks will have their effectiveness significantly reduced against them.” Su Ze's voice remained steady as he continued to drop bombshells. “intelligence and spirit will be the keys to determining whether you can survive.”

“Besides that, during the game, a special type of Supernatural Entity called an ‘Inner Demon’ will appear.”

“It cannot be harmed by physical attacks or conventional skills.”

“It will infiltrate a player's heart, amplifying their deepest fears, greed, jealousy, and other negative emotions, causing them to fall into hallucinations and kill one another.”

“The way to counter an ‘Inner Demon’ is to maintain absolute rationality and a firm will, or to use special spiritual items for dispersal.”

“Of course, I suspect that the Spirit Guarding Incantation might assist us in resisting this Inner Demon.”

“Naturally, it's not guaranteed that this kind of entity will appear tonight, but you must not let your guard down.”

As soon as he said this, the entire field erupted in an uproar!

“What? There's such a thing?”

“Creating illusions? How the hell do we defend against that?”

The hearts of the Jinghai University players sank. Fortunately, Su Ze had told them in advance; otherwise, when midnight fell and they actually encountered such a thing, they might have fallen victim at the first encounter!

Meanwhile, Zheng Siyuan and the group of Research Personnel felt something entirely different.

Their eyes widened one by one, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.

intelligence!

This was top-secret intelligence they had never even heard of!

How did Su Ze know this?

Why was he able to know the types of monsters in the next round in advance, and even be so clear about their specific abilities?

The woman called Qin Yue's pupils contracted slightly. Looking at the back of the young man on the high platform, a hint of curiosity grew in her gaze.

“Therefore, the following unified arrangements are in place for tonight.”

Su Ze discarded all nonsense and went straight to the point.

“First, three types of basic supplies will be distributed to each Dormitory shortly: willow branches, ox gall tears, and Pot Bottom Ash.”

He succinctly explained the functions of the three items.

“willow branches can deal damage to Supernatural Entities. ox gall tears, when applied, allow you to see them. Pot Bottom Ash, when applied, can mask your presence.”

“These three items will be kept by the person with the highest combined spirit and intelligence in each Dormitory, to be used at critical moments.”

“Second!” Su Ze's tone grew heavier. “On each floor of the Dormitory buildings, the two dormitories closest to both ends of the corridor will be our sentries.”

“Once midnight strikes, the observers in these two dormitories must apply the ox gall tears immediately and observe the situation in the corridor through the peepholes!”

This arrangement made everyone's hearts tighten.

In the previous round, the zombies had spawned from the black mist at both ends of the corridors.

Su Ze's arrangement was clearly the fastest response based on previous experience.

“Your task is to provide first-hand intelligence for everyone! This includes the spawning method of the Supernatural Entities, their specific forms, and their movement patterns!”

“At the same time, I need you to perform a comparison. What do those with the highest spirit and intelligence see after applying the ox gall tears? And what can ordinary players see with just the naked eye? Report these data immediately!”

After this speech, with its clear logic and defined division of labor, the originally panicked hearts of the people quickly settled down.

Zheng Siyuan's heart pounded as he listened.

It was too comprehensive!

He had never seen such perversely meticulous arrangements from Lu Jiaming!

However, it wasn't over yet.

Su Ze shifted the topic and looked toward Wang Meng and the other nine leaders.

“Regarding supplies, these alone are not enough.”

With a thought, he directly opened the Survival Mall.

Under the gaze of tens of thousands, he clicked directly on the items in the limited-time, limited-quantity section.

【fine Quality · peach wood sword】

【Price: 1,000 copper coins per sword】

【Quantity: 1,000】

Su Ze's finger tapped directly on the purchase quantity and entered '1000'.

Then, he confirmed.

【Ding! Consumed 1,000,000 copper coins to purchase 【fine Quality · peach wood sword】 x1000!】

One million!

Su Ze had intentionally made his virtual screen public, making the purchase in front of everyone, so everyone could see it.

When this number popped up in Su Ze's mind, the eyelids of Jiang Yuwan and the others behind him couldn't help but twitch.

And those newly arrived Research Personnel were completely stunned upon seeing Su Ze's actions.

Their mouths hung open as if they had witnessed some kind of miracle.

One million copper coins... just like that... spent without even blinking?

Just to buy a thousand swords?

One researcher pinched his thigh hard, grimacing in pain, only then believing he wasn't dreaming.

He thought back to how they had been deeply grateful for Lu Jiaming's 'charity' of five loaves of bread a day, and then looked at this scene of spending a million gold in one go...

A massive sense of absurdity and shame instantly overwhelmed him.

How could the gap between people be this vast!

“Wang Meng, Xu Feng, you nine, plus Li Tie from the First Floor—you will temporarily serve as the leader for the First Floor.” Su Ze's voice rang out again.

The burly man named Li Tie was stunned for a moment, then his face flushed with excitement as he snapped his chest straight: “Yes! Boss!”

“The ten of you, come up and collect a hundred peach wood swords each.”

“Remember, for these peach wood swords, each Dormitory can be assigned at most one! Prioritize giving them to the person with the highest combat power and the most courage in the strongest dormitories!”

“Yes!”

Wang Meng and the other ten roared in unison, strode onto the high platform, and traded for bundles of peach wood swords from Su Ze that emitted a faint Yang energy.

The players below stared with wide eyes at those fine quality weapons, their breathing becoming heavy.

“One last point.”

Su Ze's voice reached the whole field. “The ‘kite-looping’ tactic from the last round might be equally applicable this round. If you encounter a Supernatural Entity you cannot defeat, do not fight it head-on. Use the terrain and time differences to hold out until my rescue!!”

After explaining all the details, he waved his hand.

“Now, dismiss! Everyone return to your dormitories and make your final preparations!”

“Yes!”

Over forty thousand people followed orders strictly, returning to their respective Dormitory buildings quickly and orderly.

Zheng Siyuan and the group of Research Personnel were also led back to the ninth floor.

Looking at the bundle of willow branches, the bottle of ox gall tears, and the heavy peach wood sword they had been given, their emotions were complex to the extreme.

Shock, envy, relief...

They were even a bit jealous.

Because they knew clearly that these 'old employees' of Jinghai University had also learned two rare skills they had never even heard of.

The gap had been widened right from the start.

...

Top floor Dormitory.

Everyone had returned to their rooms, and the entire Dormitory building fell into a calm before the storm.

Su Ze sat at the table, his fingers lightly tapping the surface.

His gaze fell on a special item he had just confiscated from Zheng Siyuan.

【Cross-District Communicator】

Looking at the bound target name in the item description—Global Financial Center - Lu Jiaming.

An inscrutable expression appeared on Su Ze's face.

He picked up the communicator and, without the slightest hesitation, directly initiated communication.

Beep— Beep—

【Contacting Lu Jiaming!】