Chapter 17 The Building

Lu Ren opened his eyes and looked at the door blocked by furniture. Bang bang bang! "What’s going on, why can’t it be pushed open?!" "There’s something blocking it from inside, let’s try somewhere else!" "No way, we can’t change. This middle room is relatively intact. If the layout is the same as the schematic displayed in the hall, it’s the best option for us. If anything goes wrong, there are other exits to escape from!" Lu Ren slightly raised his eyebrow. The speaker was a woman, her voice quite calm, more composed than most of the six. The others mostly sounded fearful, but this woman’s voice was steady. As for opening the door, Lu Ren turned his gaze to the sliding window and then closed his eyes, lying down again. This isn’t his place. If they could find a way in, Lu Ren wouldn’t stop them; this isn’t his home. "There’s a window over there. Let’s go in through that and take a look." "Okay, I’ll take a look first!" A slightly immature male voice spoke up. With some noise, the window was opened, a head poked out, and a pair of eyes locked with Lu Ren’s. "Damn, someone’s here!" "Huh?" The group outside erupted into a commotion, chattering noisily. "Is it really a person?" "Could it be a monster?" "Then why didn’t they let us in?" Seeing Lu Ren unmoving, the boy resembling a high school student flashed an awkward smile, quickly climbed in, and then turned to look at the door. "It’s blocked by furniture inside." The boy called out, then turned to Lu Ren and asked, "Hey, big brother, can I let them in and then block the door again with the furniture?" Seeing Lu Ren’s indifferent agreement, the boy hurriedly struggled to move two pieces of furniture and shouted, "Quick, two more people, help out." The people outside agreed, and two men climbed through the window, glancing at Lu Ren before going over to help. In response, Lu Ren lay on the couch, expressionless, undeterred by the silent accusation of his inaction. Once the remaining three entered, they sealed the door tightly with furniture again. Lu Ren watched but did not move. Four men, two women; two seemed like high school students, one was a slightly pudgy middle-aged man with an authoritative presence, clearly high-ranking and dressed in fine clothes, likely a company executive. Beside him was a man in his thirties wearing work clothes, and of the two women, one was around forty with high cheekbones and narrow eyes, her appearance not bad but exuding a sharp demeanor. The other woman was about twenty-five or six, impeccably dressed, in business attire, with heels worn down to flats, clearly for running. A smart move indeed. They didn’t look foolish. Lu Ren observed them as they observed him. During this time of relentless training, his body became robust, the muscle dimensions enhanced by the system to appear quite defined, not yet like Zhang Kui, but strong enough. With immediate feedback from the system, each moment of training showed an instant increase in attributes and skill level, far more exhilarating than a man and woman together. Now, seeing the strong Lu Ren, especially the sharp iron piece in his grip, they felt a palpable danger. Then, the middle-aged man angrily approached Lu Ren. "Why did you ignore us when you heard our noise?!" Seeing Lu Ren remain silent, the man’s face showed ridicule, "Someone as selfish as you won’t survive here. I will never let you join my team..." Humans, adaptable indeed, turned quickly within a few hours, seeking survival instincts, claiming this safe ground for themselves, and excluding dangerous factors. The man, threateningly, tried moving closer, but Lu Ren raised the iron shard, calmly saying, "One more step and I’ll kill you." Seeing the sharp iron near his neck, less than twenty centimeters away, the man’s expression froze, both shocked and angry, "How dare you act like this? We should unite to survive in this place..." "Ding, the other party remembers you and resents you deeply, burying it in their heart for life." Lu Ren stood up, his nearly 1.8-meter frame intimidating, silencing the middle-aged man. He said coldly, "In a peaceful world, you might scheme to climb high, but here, personal strength is everything." He moved the iron piece forward, frightening the man back several steps before steadying himself. Watching Lu Ren’s indifferent coldness, the man wanted to retort but ended up glaring at Lu Ren bitterly and retreating. Feeling that his authority in the group was challenged, the man lost credibility, and the two high school students seemed to find Lu Ren cool. The white-collar woman glanced at Lu Ren before quietly saying, "If you’re hungry, we have food here." "Li Shu, why offer him anything? We don’t have much food!" The middle-aged man expressed his dissatisfaction. Li Shu replied, "Sorry, but the food is mine. How to distribute it is up to me." "You..." "Alright, alright, no more quarreling. We’re all suffering the same fate; internal conflict won’t end well!" The man in work clothes quickly mediated. The middle-aged man scoffed, saying no more, evidently threatened by Lu Ren’s unexpected presence. Lu Ren gave no response, continued watching them coldly, maintaining a certain distance. Li Shu shook her head and chose not to speak further. "I bet this guy is set on dying, let’s keep our distance. Don’t drag us down..." The sharp-tongued woman added. Seeing the group resting fifteen meters away, Lu Ren slowly sat back down. After the previous experience in the Alternate Space, he remained extremely wary and alert to anyone entering such a place. Though Zhang Qingya was self-serving, her heart wasn’t bad, just intensely pursuing personal interests without being overly malicious. Wang Gang was quite forthright, not fussing over minor matters. Luo Zixuan, the wealthy second-generation, was extravagant but generous. However, in the foodless depths, human nature twists terrifyingly, not to mention actions around the altar chilling Lu Ren’s heart. Even a high school student might turn demon-like, doing horrifying things. Lu Ren maintained steady breathing, conserving his physical strength.