Chapter 71 Enjoying the landlord's preferential treatment, a new day begins.

Inside Dormitory 404 on the 4th floor, the atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

Four women of different styles could only squeeze onto the single bed in the Dormitory.

The floor... no, it should be said the entire Dormitory...

Except for this bed and a narrow passage leading to the door, every bit of space was crammed full of various supplies, piled almost to the ceiling.

Food, drinking water, materials, weapons...

Sorted and arranged neatly, but the sheer quantity was truly staggering.

"Why... why hasn't he come back yet?" Liu Qiaofei mumbled softly, hugging her knees, her large eyes filled with worry.

It had been almost an hour without any new trade requests.

After all, last night, Su Ze had returned immediately after scavenging.

"Could... could something have happened?" Su Meier also, for once, dropped her coquettish demeanor, her pretty brows lightly furrowed.

Just hearing the commotion outside was enough to make their hearts pound with fear at how terrifying the midnight zombie horde was.

And yet Su Ze had been wandering outside alone all night.

Yao Qingya didn't speak, just clenched the hem of her clothes, her gentle eyes brimming with unconcealed anxiety.

Only Jiang Yuwan, arms crossed, appeared relatively calm.

But the occasional glances she stole toward the door betrayed her inner turmoil.

Right at that moment.

Click.

The door opened.

The four women jolted, their eyes snapping toward the door in unison!

The door was pushed open a crack from the outside, then it stuck.

"Move some of that, it's blocking the door."

Su Ze's voice, tinged with a hint of helplessness, came through the crack.

"Senior Su Ze!"

"Landlord!"

Their hearts finally settling, Liu Qiaofei was the first to jump off the bed, scrambling to move the supply boxes blocking the doorway.

Soon, a gap wide enough for one person to pass through was cleared at the entrance.

Su Ze slipped inside, and seeing the exaggerated scene before him, could only laugh wryly.

As soon as he entered, a fragrant scent wafted toward him.

Su Meier unceremoniously pressed right up against him, her soft body snug against his, her breath like orchid.

"Landlord~ You're finally back, I was so worried~"

On the other side, Liu Qiaofei also burrowed directly into his embrace, like a frightened little rabbit, tilting her small face up, her eyes rimmed red.

"Senior, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Su Ze smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Did you take a shower?"

Yao Qingya also walked over. She wasn't as physically affectionate as the other two, just stood to the side.

Her gentle gaze scrutinized him carefully, like a little wife worried about her husband's late return, checking if he was alright.

Su Ze smiled and nodded.

As for Jiang Yuwan, the aloof older-sister type, she still had her arms crossed.

Only, a barely perceptible relaxation had appeared on her perpetually icy face.

"There's not much time left until dawn," Su Ze sat down on the edge of the bed. "Sorting through all this stuff, you must be tired."

"Not tired at all!" Liu Qiaofei quickly shook her head, her face full of pride. "Being able to help Senior, I'm not tired at all!"

That's what she said, but Su Ze still noticed the weariness on the girls' faces.

Just then, Liu Qiaofei seemed to suddenly remember something, her eyes lighting up.

"Oh, right!"

"Senior Su Ze, you've been busy all night, you must be exhausted... I learned that Elementary Massage book, let me give you a massage, okay?"

Her simple mind held no ulterior motives.

She just felt sorry for Su Ze and wanted to use the only thing she could do to help him relax.

Hearing this, Su Ze was somewhat surprised.

Taking the initiative to massage, that's progress.

He then chuckled. "Alright."

Having received permission, Liu Qiaofei extended her two small, fair hands, somewhat clumsily yet with exceptional seriousness, and began kneading his shoulders.

Before long, she seemed quite professional.

The Just the right amount of force came through, soothing his sore, tense muscles, and it did feel much more comfortable.

It had to be said, skill books were pretty good—you learned them instantly, no need to study hard.

"Giggle, how can we let Qiao Fei have all the fun by herself?"

Su Meier let out a coquettish laugh and also glided over.

She sat down right next to Su Ze on his other side, her slender, jade-like hands expertly finding his temples, gently circling them.

She was practically plastered against Su Ze's arm.

The soft sensation of her body pressed against him, intentionally or not, and the warmth of her breath sprayed against his ear.

Seeing this, Liu Qiaofei's fair little face instantly flushed bright red.

She looked at Su Meier, then at Su Ze, hesitated for a moment.

Then, imitating Su Meier, she quietly leaned her own body a bit closer against Su Ze's back.

Although the movement was clumsy and stiff, the unique, youthful awkwardness it carried added a different kind of feeling.

Watching this scene, Yao Qingya gently bit her lower lip, an inexplicable sourness rising in her heart.

She wanted to step forward too, but couldn't bring herself to act as boldly as Su Meier.

In the end, she just silently turned and walked over to the small camping pot in the corner.

"I... I'll go check on the congee, it should be almost done."

Inside the pot, fragrant beef and vegetable congee was bubbling away.

She wanted Su Ze to have something warm to eat as soon as he returned.

"Ahem."

Jiang Yuwan gave a light cough, breaking the somewhat intimate atmosphere.

She walked over holding a small notebook, her expression returning to its usual aloofness.

"Let's get down to business. All the supplies from tonight have been tallied and stored. The detailed list is here."

She paused, then continued her report.

"I've also summarized the intel from the public channel."

"Starting from midnight, basically all Dormitory doors have been actively attacked by zombies."

"The attacks seem patternless, completely random."

Su Ze nodded while enjoying the service behind him.

"That's normal. Once the players without dormitories in the corridors were all dead, they'd naturally start attacking the dormitories."

"Mhm, so the 'rumor' you had me spread yesterday has now become fact."

"Therefore, first thing this morning, there will definitely be a large number of players rushing to buy materials." Jiang Yuwan looked at Su Ze. "Should we release that time-limited, quantity-limited sale announcement now?"

"Release it," Su Ze said without hesitation.

"Put the message out now. Say our supplies are also starting to run low. To help more people survive, we can only offer limited quantities."

"This morning, we'll sell one batch."

"But starting tomorrow, every morning, besides food and drinking water, we'll only rent or sell weapons."

"For basic materials, strictly follow what we discussed earlier: sell at noon, 5 PM, and 10 PM, for one hour each time."

Su Ze narrowed his eyes and added, "Also, from now on, add a per-person, per-purchase limit."

"Iron Material, maximum twelve per person per purchase."

"Wood material, maximum twenty-five per person per purchase."

"Only one type per purchase."

Jiang Yuwan's mind raced, instantly grasping the key point.

Su Ze's selling price to the outside was 6 copper coins for Iron Material, 3 for Wood material.

Twelve Iron Material units would cost 72 copper coins.

Twenty-five Wood material units would cost 75 copper coins.

These numbers hit a very subtle interval.

It would force players to spend most of the copper coins they had painstakingly saved.

It also prevented them from giving copper coins to others to make bulk purchases, which could unintentionally help those proxies reach the threshold to unlock the mall.

This dog man, his calculations were truly shrewd!

Jiang Yuwan sighed inwardly again, but her face remained impassive as she nodded. "Understood."

Just then, Yao Qingya walked over carrying several steaming bowls.

"The congee is ready, eat it while it's hot."

The rich, savory beef and vegetable congee dispelled the intimacy and diluted the tense business calculations, bringing a rare touch of warmth to this post-apocalyptic morning.

After they finished breakfast, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

And right at that moment, that icy mechanical notification tone sounded punctually in everyone's minds.

[Ding! Congratulations to all players for successfully surviving the second night.]

[During the daytime (6:00 AM - 12:00 AM), all zombies in the school will enter a dormant state.]

[Hint 1: Dormant zombies will not attack actively, but will awaken if attacked or disturbed.]

[Hint 2: Tonight at midnight, a number of new zombies equal to the number of dormant zombies will appear. Any dormant zombies not cleared by then will awaken together and join the wandering ranks.]

[We wish all players an enjoyable game.]