Ding Longyun had already prepared breakfast. Gong Xiao hummed a little tune, clearly in a good mood after successfully leveling up to four last night and gaining a new ability, "Mantis Fist."
"What do we do during the day if we hunt at night?" Gong Xiao asked Ding Longyun and Su Li at the table.
She had only arrived yesterday and wasn't yet familiar with their daily routine.
Su Li finished a piece of bread, took a sip of water, and said, "The main task during the day is to modify the raft."
"Modify the raft?" Gong Xiao looked at Su Li.
Su Li hummed in acknowledgment. "I want to build a raft big enough to carry all of us and the supplies here, then leave this place and find somewhere new. This building has had its walls damaged quite a bit by the Nightmare Beast, and it's soaked in water. Who knows how long it'll hold? It wouldn't surprise me if it collapsed right now."
Ding Longyun was startled. "Isn't that a bit much? I think this building is still pretty sturdy. Sure, the Nightmare Beast wrecked some spots, but the main structure isn't damaged. It should be fine."
Su Li said, "I'm just giving an example. We can't stay here forever. The only reason we didn't leave before was that we were too weak. Now, except for Xuehui, the three of us have reached level four. We can start planning to leave."
Gong Xiao nodded thoughtfully, her phoenix eyes sparkling. "That's right. We could go to higher floors. There might be more survivors there."
Su Li gave a faint smile. "So, our main task during the day is to modify and expand the raft."
Gong Xiao said, "Got it. Let's eat quickly and get to work right after."
The four finished breakfast and decided to head down to the thirtieth floor to work on the raft. Xu Xuehui was the first to step out. As soon as she reached the hallway, she suddenly called out, "Someone's there!"
Hearing this, Su Li and Ding Longyun's hearts tightened, and they immediately stepped out. Gong Xiao, a bit surprised, asked, "Someone? Who?" and followed.
Su Li went to Xu Xuehui's side and looked into the distance. He quickly spotted a raft made of ten wooden doors tied together, floating on the water about a hundred meters away. Five people stood on it—two were paddling hard with oars, while the other three were observing the building, as if searching for their tracks.
Seeing five people suddenly appear, Gong Xiao raised an eyebrow slightly and let out a soft breath. "Another five survivors." Then she noticed the grim expressions on Su Li and Ding Longyun's faces.
"What's wrong? Is there something off about these five?" Gong Xiao, seeing their expressions, immediately sensed trouble.
Ding Longyun gave a bitter smile. "Yeah, these guys are probably here for revenge."
The raft drew closer, and they could clearly make out the five people on it. Among them, one was familiar—someone they had fought with yesterday. It was Ni Jianrong, whom they suspected was from "Purple Wind Building."
Yesterday, Ni Jianrong, Fang You, and Wang Kaikang had shown up and launched a sudden attack. Ding Longyun had nearly been killed, but Su Li managed to turn the tables, killing Fang You and Wang Kaikang while Ni Jianrong escaped by diving into the water, vowing revenge.
The three had thought it unlikely Ni Jianrong would reappear. In this dangerous, waterlogged area, swimming away without a boat made it nearly impossible to survive the journey back to Purple Wind Building, let alone return with reinforcements.
But to their surprise, Ni Jianrong had indeed come back, bringing four others with him.
Just moments ago, Su Li and the others were eating and hadn't been watching the outside. By the time Xu Xuehui noticed, the five on the raft were already within a hundred meters, and they were speeding up, as if afraid their targets might escape.
"Su Li, what do you say? Do we fight them head-on or avoid them?" Ding Longyun looked at Su Li, still seething from nearly being killed by Ni Jianrong yesterday. But the enemy had five people, and while they had four, Xu Xuehui was practically useless in a fight. That left only three who could actually fight. Three against five—odds weren't good.
"Are you willing to just hand over all these supplies?" Su Li glanced at Ding Longyun. "Let's wait and see what they have to say. If it really comes down to it and we can't win, we'll just dive into the water and escape."
Having reached level four and mastered "Spider Walk," Su Li had some confidence in his abilities.
Even if the enemy had five people, numbers didn't guarantee victory. If Ni Jianrong's strength was still the same as yesterday, Su Li believed that with "Spider Walk" and his enhanced power, he could take him out in one move.
"Alright, I'll follow your lead. Damn it, if they're really here for revenge, we'll fight them to the death. I'm not afraid of a fair fight." Ding Longyun gritted his teeth, clearly still bitter about Ni Jianrong's sneak attack.
Su Li thought to himself, *We killed two of their people yesterday. If they're not here for revenge, are they here to make friends?*
"Come on, let's go down and face them." Seeing the raft was now within fifty meters and closing in fast on the building, Ding Longyun picked up his short axe and prepared to head downstairs.
"No." Su Li grabbed him and shook his head. "You all go to the rooftop. Draw their attention from up there. Leave the rest to me."
Ding Longyun was stunned. "What about you?"
"Hurry, listen to me. They're almost here." Su Li urged Ding Longyun and the others, a note of urgency in his voice.
"Alright, I trust you." Ding Longyun said no more, gripping his short axe as he dashed toward the stairs.
Gong Xiao gave Su Li a long, meaningful look but said nothing. She simply took Xu Xuehui's hand and followed Ding Longyun.
The three climbed the stairs to the rooftop and moved to the edge. Ding Longyun looked down.
The raft was now just ten meters from the building, its speed slowing.
"Haha, Ni Jianrong—" Ding Longyun remembered Su Li's instruction to draw their attention and let out a loud laugh from the rooftop.
The five on the raft were drawn by his laughter and looked up. As soon as Ni Jianrong saw Ding Longyun, he let out a cold snort. "You're lucky to be alive. I didn't kill you yesterday. Let's see if you're still that fortunate today."
Hearing this, Ding Longyun knew the guy was indeed here for revenge. The last shred of hope vanished—today, it would come down to a fight. He shouted back mockingly, "Yesterday, you abandoned your buddies and fled like a beaten dog. I can't believe you have the nerve to come back! And you're still spouting nonsense here. I've never seen anyone with such thick skin!"
At these words, Ni Jianrong's face darkened, turning ugly.