Just then, Gong Xiao also leaned her head out downward. The few people on the raft suddenly spotted her, their eyes lighting up. One of them, a bald man, immediately stared with gleaming eyes and shouted, "There's actually a stunning beauty here! Ni Jianrong, didn't you say it was just a little girl? You call this a little girl?"
Ni Jianrong's eyes also struggled to hide his excitement as he said, "The little girl I mentioned isn't her. I don't know how another woman ended up here—maybe she came later."
"Ni Jianrong, you've done quite a favor this time." Among the five, a short, stocky man with a dark face, standing only about 1.65 meters tall but built thickly, suddenly spoke up, lifting his head to stare at Gong Xiao from afar.
His eyes revealed an undisguised hunger, a predatory look that made Gong Xiao uncomfortable. She immediately pulled back, a trace of anger flickering in her phoenix-like eyes.
She could tell that the way these men below had looked at her was like a pack of wolves, starving for days, suddenly spotting a sheep.
"These filthy bastards," Gong Xiao muttered, biting her cherry-red lips.
The raft had fully docked beside the thirty-story building. Ni Jianrong, pleased by the dark-faced man's praise, grinned and said, "Brother Xiang, after you've had your fill, can we get a share too?"
The dark-faced man, called Xiang, chuckled and replied, "You sure know how to think ahead. She's still on the rooftop—let's catch her first. Don't let her escape."
Talking among themselves, the group jumped off the raft one by one and entered the thirtieth floor of the building.
"By the way, the numbers don't add up. Didn't you say there were two adult men and a little girl? We only saw one adult man and that woman just now. Where are the other two?" Among the five, a skinny young man with narrow, squinty eyes suddenly spoke up.
Ni Jianrong said, "Right, the guy on the rooftop is called Ding Longyun—a reckless brute, nothing to fear. There's also one named Su Li. Fang You and Wang Kaikang were both killed by him. This guy's a bit cunning, so we need to watch out for him."
"So that means Su Li hasn't shown himself. Could he be hiding somewhere, planning to ambush us?" The skinny young man shrugged his shoulders, showing a cautious demeanor.
"Xu Haishui, you're such a coward! With Brother Xiang here, what the hell are you afraid of? I told Brother Xiang not to bring you—what good are you anyway!" The bald man among the five started cursing angrily.
Xu Haishui's face reddened at the scolding, a look of embarrassment crossing his features.
Brother Xiang smiled and said, "Don't underestimate Xu Haishui. He might be timid, but he got quite a few gains following me yesterday and has already leveled up to four." As he spoke, he reached out and patted Xu Haishui's head, like an elder treating a junior.
Xu Haishui's face was full of awkwardness. Having his head patted by Brother Xiang, who was much shorter than him, stirred anger inside, but he dared not show it.
At that moment, Su Li had quietly made his way to the thirtieth floor, two rooms away from them. He silently tucked himself into a corner near the stairwell, motionless, eavesdropping on the conversation among the five.
"Among these five, that Brother Xiang is the leader. I need to focus on him..."
As Su Li thought this, he listened closely to their movements. If they wanted to reach the rooftop, they'd have to come up the stairs. He decided to ambush them when they entered the stairwell.
In a life-or-death battle with no retreat, there was no room for morality or ethics.
"Alright, let's go up. Whether that Su Li is hiding in some corner or has already fled, our priority is to get to the rooftop and grab that girl."
Brother Xiang raised his voice and then gestured to the other four, suddenly lowering his tone: "You guys take the stairs. I'll climb up the outer wall. Move fast—aim to reach the top at the same time."
As he spoke, he stepped back, then suddenly extended his right hand. A visible liquid secreted from his palm, and a layer of webbing appeared between his five spread fingers. Like a gecko, his right palm stuck to the outer wall. He then reached up with his left hand, doing the same—secreting liquid, forming webbing between his fingers—and alternated hands, his entire body dangling from the wall as he began to climb slowly upward.
Brother Xiang was scaling the outer wall, but the other four lacked his ability. They immediately rushed toward the stairwell entrance, understanding his plan: make the enemy think they were all coming up the stairs, while Brother Xiang secretly climbed up. One in the open, one in the shadows, a pincer attack to catch the opponent off guard.
The four charged toward the stairwell on the thirtieth floor. Ni Jianrong deliberately positioned himself in the middle of the group. He was somewhat wary of Su Li, and since he hadn't seen Su Li on the rooftop earlier, he felt uneasy. But thinking of Brother Xiang, his courage quickly swelled.
Because Brother Xiang was strong—the four of them combined might not even be a match for him. No matter how tough Su Li was, against Brother Xiang, he'd be nothing.
Just as the four reached the stairwell entrance, Su Li, hidden in the corner, struck. He activated "Spider Walk," his body seeming to sprout extra limbs, moving like a ghost as he suddenly lunged forward.
These four were no weaklings. Though they appeared casual, they were inwardly cautious, each gripping their weapons tightly, ready to counterattack.
But Su Li's attack was too fast. Even fully alert, they couldn't withstand it.
The bald man at the front saw a blur before his eyes and knew something was wrong. He raised the steel rod in his right hand, opened his mouth to shout, when suddenly his neck went cold. He felt the world spin, everything revolving before his eyes.
He didn't know what had happened until, in the spinning, he saw his own body standing motionless—but without a head, blood gushing from the neck like a fountain. Then he understood.
His head had been cut off.
Su Li, hidden in the shadows, had struck with full force, using "Spider Walk" and swinging his cleaver horizontally. Even if the bald man had been stronger, he couldn't have blocked it. The blade sliced clean through his neck, sending his head flying.
A spirit source appeared and merged into Su Li's forehead. A message flashed in his mind.
"Level 4 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 17/50"
Xu Haishui, right behind the bald man, saw the horrific scene, his pupils contracting. He couldn't help but scream and instinctively stepped back.
"Damn it—" Ni Jianrong roared, extending his right hand as bone spurs shot out from his palm.
Another man with a tattoo on his right arm followed suit, attacking immediately.