"Ke ke ke!"

Tulu was not polite; he swung his spiked club and walked up to Cheng Tian.

"Wait, don't do anything!"

A large group hurriedly arrived on the scene.

Everyone turned to look and saw Zheng Kai leading them.

Zheng Kai was the number one figure of Mad King Building. The others quickly cleared a path, eager to watch the show.

"Brother, let's settle this here. I'm willing to make compensation." The moment Zheng Kai arrived, he put the foul-mouthed player behind him.

He was inwardly annoyed, thinking the foul-mouthed player had been stupid, but he couldn't watch him get beaten.

"Four hundred thousand Copper Coins. My brother and I both need a set of gear," Sword Saint said with a smile.

Tulu had been ready to strike, but hearing that he could only suppress his killing intent.

Seeing the foul-mouthed player practically about to soil himself had already taken most of the wind out of his anger.

"Alright!" Zheng Kai winced, then paid on the spot.

"Brother Kai!" The foul-mouthed player immediately brightened.

"I'll deal with you when we get back!" Zheng Kai cursed.

After redeeming the player, Zheng Kai left. On the way back he explained himself to avoid resentment from his underlings, so they wouldn't think he was cowardly.

"This isn't just about whether our Eighteenth Floor players can do it!"

"This kind of thing should never be stirred up inside the building!"

"And of all places, right in front of the Inspection Department and the Patrol Department!"

Hearing that, the foul-mouthed player quickly replied, "Well, once they leave the dorm—"

Before he finished, Zheng Kai slapped his head.

"Are you fucking stupid?"

"Do you really think you're safe? Do you even understand the Dorm Survival Game? Stirring up trouble like that, even if those two idiots got killed, what profit would there be?!"

Zheng Kai was furious, practically seething; his SAN value dropped a few points.

After such a verbal dressing-down, the foul-mouthed player came to his senses like someone woken up.

"Sorry, Brother Kai. I'll go take some 'happy cotton candy' when I get back. I've been manipulating my SAN value a lot recently, and my mental state's been off!"

...

"Greetings."

Sword Saint and Tulu were about to go downstairs when a middle-aged man blocked them at the corridor corner.

The man had a calm, authoritative bearing, and a few robust male players trailed behind him.

"Hello, Floor Leader Li." Sword Saint replied.

Li Shuwen and his tenants were somewhat surprised.

This beast-headed stranger seemed clever; in just one night he'd even learned to recognize Li Shuwen.

Don't underestimate that. Many vigorous humans lack such intelligence and information-gathering ability.

Sword Saint simply looked at Li Shuwen with a smile and didn't ask his purpose.

Li Shuwen felt a bit awkward. He gestured to Zhu Yan and, wearing a genial smile, said, "This is the Mad King Building's move-in gift, for the two of you."

Zhu Yan took out two packages.

"Are you someone from the Dorm Owner's side?" Sword Saint mused, rubbing his chin.

"I'm a committee member. The one who gave the move-in gifts was Zhou Ye. I was just going to visit you both, and when I saw him come by, I helped bring the gifts over," Li Shuwen said with a smile.

"Do you have business?" Sword Saint asked, then added, "We can talk in my dorm."

He had learned last night that going to someone else's dorm carries extreme risk.

To his surprise, Li Shuwen nodded and agreed without hesitation.

"Alright. Let's not take the stairs. We'll use the elevator." Li Shuwen looked sincere.

He'd come to form an alliance with Sword Saint and Tulu.

A Floor Leader personally intervening should raise the alliance's success rate.

Exactly how much trust there would be between them would be tested in practice.

Most importantly, players recruited through the Gate of Ten Thousand Lies were beginning to coalesce. If he made some connections now, when they struck at other forces, the Thirteenth Floor wouldn't be the first target.

That was enough.

It reminded him of the time he felt Xu Lang's momentum and went to make friendly gestures.

Ding dong~

The group stood at the elevator. Li Shuwen was still smiling when the elevator doors opened and Xu Lang stood inside.

Holy hell! Seeing a ghost in broad daylight!

Li Shuwen's smile stiffened. He looked first at Xu Lang, then at Tong Qi.

Tong Qi had a lot of Charm points, but Xu Lang simply drew more attention.

"Uh... you go first." Li Shuwen sounded embarrassed.

"That's fine, come in." Xu Lang smiled.

Although he could teleport via the Taleblade Demon Box, he didn't use it every time he needed to get somewhere.

"Alright then..." Li Shuwen entered the elevator somewhat awkwardly.

Sword Saint and Tulu also got in, then noticed others not following and that Li Shuwen was pressing the door-close button.

As the elevator doors shut, Li Shuwen felt each second drag.

Wenwen is my daughter; I can't cross that line!

After watching Xu Lang fight several times, he had grown fearful.

From their team analysis, Xu Lang likely had an ability that could extract from others.

Sequence might be involved too...

So he had once considered sending Li Wenwen to Demon King Castle—an idea shameful to an old father.

Young people's momentum made old men bow!

"Xu Lang, I heard your dorm leveled to Level Ten." Li Shuwen made small talk with a tinge of deliberate envy.

Dorm names appear after the door plate. Xu Lang's dorm was True·Demon King Castle — the name alone set it apart, and with that prefix it was probably a high-tier dorm.

Fitting the name, indeed.

A Demon King lived in Demon King Castle.

Xu Lang already had seven crowns and no sign of decline; his control only grew stronger.

Battle requires absolute crushing force, and ruling Mad King Building is the same—absolute dominance.

Xu Lang rarely set strict rules.

Chaos is a ladder upward.

Order nurtures pests and doesn't fit Mad King Building's player temperament.

Xu Lang not creating chaos was already a huge favor.

Asking him to micromanage every player would be absurd.

Forming a committee was just to prevent players from wrecking themselves.

As a veteran and with his daughter connection, Li Shuwen understood some of Xu Lang's character, which made him more respectful.

If the situation stayed tense, players would eventually riot. Xu Lang's measured style made him look like a true ruler.

"Mm, maybe I'll take you in sometime," Xu Lang said with a smile.

"Heh, sure. Wenwen's always saying you haven't visited her in ages." Li Shuwen chuckled.

Damn! 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The old man's bent back finally snapped!

You can't stop a grown woman; if Li Wenwen could truly go with Xu Lang, that would be a blessing.

"How is her Sequence development?" Xu Lang asked.

Li Wenwen's Sequence development was low, and Xu Lang's gear tier was so high that her equipment couldn't be reinforced effectively by him.

"She should be able to advance to the next stage soon," Li Shuwen replied.

Ding dong~

The elevator descended to the ground floor.

Finally over. Luckily no one else had taken the elevator... Li Shuwen watched Xu Lang and Tong Qi's backs and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wait!" Sword Saint suddenly called, stopping Xu Lang.

"What's up?" Xu Lang turned back.

"If I beat you in a duel, will you really let the victor become the Dorm Owner?" Sword Saint asked.

There had long been rumors in Mad King Building, and Xu Lang had never given a direct answer.

"Train and produce one hundred players with Excellent skills, and I'll give you a shot." Xu Lang strode off.

Sword Saint was stunned that Xu Lang seemed to know everything. "I look forward to facing you. I'll fight as a swordsman!"

The three stood in the elevator watching Xu Lang leave.

Tulu, who had earlier shouted for blood, dared not move after seeing Xu Lang.

Li Shuwen said quietly, "You don't need to ask. If you have real confidence, book the Coliseum."

"What's that?" Tulu asked.

"I'll explain on the way to your dorm. Not knowing about it, you'd easily get tricked to death," Li Shuwen replied.