Chapter 23: The fortress is successfully built; poison is released late at night!

Under the complex, interwoven gazes of the three women, filled with curiosity, shock, and anticipation,

Su Ze didn't hesitate. With a single thought, he directly chose to use the blueprint.

[Ding! Consume 60 Wood material, 80 Iron Material, 1 Elastic Cord to construct a Fine Quality · Lv.1 Repeating Arrow Box?]

"Yes!"

He confirmed without hesitation.

*Hum—*

From the pile of materials on the floor, the corresponding Wood material and Iron Material instantly transformed into streams of light and vanished.

And the bundle of [Elastic Cord] in Su Ze's backpack also disappeared.

[Ding! Consumed 60 Wood material, 80 Iron Material, 1 Elastic Cord. Construction in progress...]

Following the system prompt, the scroll turned into a green light and instantly merged into the Dormitory wall.

Immediately after, a faint sound of mechanical whirring came from outside the door, as if something was quietly taking shape.

[Ding. Repeating Arrow Box construction complete. Automatically installed on the left wall outside the Dormitory door.]

"Huh? Senior Su Ze, where is it?" Liu Qiaofei blinked her big eyes, looking around curiously.

Yao Qingya and Jiang Yuwan also looked puzzled.

Su Ze didn't speak. He just walked to the door,

reached out, and pulled the Dormitory door open.

Outside, the dim corridor remained the same.

But on the left wall beside the door of Dormitory 404,

a precisely structured, square box shimmering with cold metallic light had, at some unknown time, become firmly embedded in the wall.

Facing forward from the box, a sharp crossbow bolt was ready to fire. The dark arrow slot resembled the maw of a beast selecting its prey, emanating a heart-stopping chill.

[Repeating Arrow Box]

[Quality: Fine]

[Level: Lv.1]

[Type: turret]

[Attack Power: 20]

[Fire Rate: 1 shot / 2 seconds]

[Attack Range: 2 meters]

[Special Effect: Combo (Each attack has a 15% chance to trigger a combo)]

[Ammunition Cost: 4 copper coins * 1 / arrow]

[Status: Auto-attack (Can be switched to manual mode)]

"This... what is this?!" Yao Qingya instinctively covered her mouth, her voice trembling with barely suppressed shock.

"A t... turret?!" Jiang Yuwan's breath hitched for a moment.

Her usually cool and aloof face displayed such intense astonishment for the first time.

The sound of the door opening and the faint scent of living humans leaking from inside immediately attracted the attention of several wandering zombies nearby.

"Hrr... hrr..."

The two closest zombies, with faltering steps, staggered towards the entrance of Dormitory 404.

The hearts of the three women instantly leaped into their throats. Liu Qiaofei even subconsciously grabbed the hem of Jiang Yuwan's clothes.

At the very moment the first zombie stepped into the two-meter radius in front of the door!

*Whoosh!*

The sound of something cutting through the air rang out!

A pitch-black crossbow bolt shot out like lightning, piercing through that zombie's head with pinpoint accuracy!

The zombie's forward charge stopped abruptly. Its entire body collapsed to the ground as if all strength had been drained from it.

The corpse dissolved into specks of faint light, vanishing into thin air, leaving only two yellowish copper coins on the spot.

A one-hit kill!

Before the three women could recover from the terrifying display of power, the second zombie also stepped into the attack range.

*Whoosh!*

Another bolt!

Equally clean, equally a one-hit kill!

The second zombie followed its companion's fate, dissolving into light and leaving behind two copper coins.

"Wow! So awesome!"

Liu Qiaofei could no longer contain herself. She let out an excited squeal, pointing at the arrow box on the wall, her little face flushed with excitement. "It... it fights monsters by itself!"

Yao Qingya's face was also filled with pleasant surprise and relief. With this thing, their sense of security had multiplied exponentially!

A brilliant light also flickered in Jiang Yuwan's beautiful eyes.

20 points of attack power was enough to one-hit kill all ordinary zombies at this stage.

This was simply a top-tier guard that never tired and was absolutely loyal!

However, Su Ze's brow furrowed slightly.

Just now, two system prompts that others couldn't hear had sounded clearly in his mind.

[Ding! Consumed 4 copper coins!]

[Ding! Consumed 4 copper coins!]

He glanced at the four copper coins lying quietly on the floor and calculated his recent expenditure.

Killing two zombies: income of 4 copper coins.

The turret firing two arrows: expenditure of 8 copper coins.

In the end, he was actually down by 4 copper coins!

Seeing a third zombie about to step into the attack range, Su Ze decisively turned off the [Repeating Arrow Box]'s auto-attack function in the system interface.

He swiftly picked up the copper coins, closed the door, and used [Strange Language] to disperse the zombies, all in one fluid motion.

"Hum..."

The arrow box emitted a soft sound and fell silent.

"Senior Su Ze, why... why did it stop fighting?"

Liu Qiaofei's little face was full of confusion.

"Firing one arrow consumes four copper coins. Killing one zombie only yields two copper coins."

Liu Qiaofei immediately understood, sticking out her tongue a little sheepishly.

Yao Qingya looked at Su Ze, a strange brilliance flickering in her beautiful eyes.

This man was always so calm, always calculating gains and losses at the first moment.

"Although it's a losing trade, its value far exceeds what copper coins can measure."

Jiang Yuwan's cool voice sounded. She looked at Su Ze, a trace of barely concealed joy on her face.

"With it, we have the most fundamental guarantee of safety. At critical moments, forget losing two copper coins—even if we lost twenty, two hundred, as long as it saves our lives, it's worth it!"

"Moreover..." she paused, continuing her analysis,

"This thing can not only kill zombies to save lives in emergencies but also serve as a deterrent! A deterrent against other survivors!"

Su Ze gave her an appreciative glance. This woman was indeed clever, always able to see the core of a problem.

An auto-attacking turret was absolutely a Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of any players with ill intentions.

With this thing, he could feel more at ease leaving the three women in the Dormitory.

"Wow! Sister Jiang is right! We have a turret now! Let's see who dares bully us in the future!" Liu Qiaofei excitedly waved her little fist.

Yao Qingya looked at Su Ze's slightly weary expression and thought of his running around all night, the earth-shattering changes he had brought to this Dormitory. Her heart softened, and her voice unconsciously became gentle.

"You... you've been busy all night. You must be hungry, right? How about... I make you some noodles?"

Su Ze did feel an emptiness in his stomach. The night of high-intensity scavenging and mental focus had consumed a huge amount of his Stamina.

He pointed at the mountain-like pile of food, a hint of teasing in his tone,

"Just boil some instant noodles. Our Dormitory is probably the only place in the entire Jinghai University that can start a fire and cook hot food now."

Hearing this, Liu Qiaofei immediately perked up. Like a little rabbit injected with adrenaline, she started rummaging through the pile of supplies.

"Let's add some ham sausage and eggs too!"

In the cramped Dormitory, the three stunning beauties busied themselves with nimble hands and feet.

Jiang Yuwan boiled water in a camping pot. Yao Qingya carefully washed several green broccoli florets.

And Liu Qiaofei, like a happy little squirrel, hugged a few buckets of braised beef-flavored instant noodles and dug out ham sausages from the snack pile.

Soon, a small flame rose in the corner of the Dormitory. Charcoal burned, emitting soft crackling sounds.

When the water boiled, the instant noodle blocks and seasoning packets were tossed into the pot.

An intense, rich aroma instantly exploded within the less than ten-square-meter space!

Next, golden eggs were cracked into the pot. Sliced ham sausage and green broccoli followed.

*Gurgle... gurgle...*

The pot bubbled with golden broth. The aromas of the food mixed together, creating a temptation strong enough to drive any hungry person mad.

In contrast to the endless darkness outside the door, the zombie roars, and the hunger and despair other survivors were enduring,

the scene inside Dormitory 404 was warm, as if from another world.

Soon, three steaming, generously topped, richly brothed deluxe instant noodle bowls were ready.

The three women carefully held their bowls, sitting in a row on the edge of the bed, eating in small bites.

Liu Qiaofei felt the springy noodles and delicious hot soup slide down her throat. The happiness was so intense she felt like she might melt.

She ate while contentedly swaying her little head, her big eyes narrowed into crescents.

Yao Qingya's eating manner was much more elegant. She picked up noodles in small mouthfuls with her chopsticks, her movements gentle.

But her eyes, gazing at Su Ze, were filled with a tenderness and warmth she herself hadn't even noticed.

Even the usually aloof Jiang Yuwan had completely let her guard down.

Holding her bowl, she slowly blew on it. The rising steam blurred her beautiful face, lending a rare layer of soft light to her always rational eyes.

So blissful...

In an apocalypse where death could come at any moment,

to have a sturdy door, an auto-defense turret, a mountain of supplies, and to be able to eat a bowl of steaming hot instant noodles...

All of this felt like a beautiful, unreal dream.

But Su Ze didn't start eating immediately.

Instead, he called up his virtual screen and meticulously adjusted the angle, aiming it at his own bowl—the one with the most toppings.

Ham sausage cut into flower shapes, green broccoli florets dotting the surface, springy noodles and eggs soaking in the bright red broth...

*Click! Click!*

He took several high-definition close-up photos in a row.

Su Ze uploaded the freshly taken photos to the public channel. Then, in the input box, he slowly typed out a line of text.

He didn't even glance at the confused looks the three women gave him. He simply pressed the send button.

[Floor 4 - 404 - Su Ze: Starving. Nothing much to eat in the apocalypse, just making do with some instant noodles.]

After doing all this, he contentedly slurped a mouthful of noodles, quietly waiting for the show to begin.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

The already chaotic public channel, after this eerie three-second silence,

exploded!