With uncertain shouts, a slightly slender man stepped out.
Upon seeing him, the tall man's expression changed, and he angrily cursed: "Li Shan! Didn't I tell you to hide there? Why did you come out on your own?"
Li Shan shrank his neck and weakly said, "Wang, Wang Long, I know this person, he's our classmate, he's a good guy."
Hearing this, Wang Long coldly snorted, clearly displeased with Li Shan's disobedience but said nothing more.
Chu Xiu, on the other hand, was a bit surprised, not expecting to run into someone he knew.
This Li Shan was someone he remembered, and like Chu Xiu, his Energy Level was in the middle-lower tier of the class, usually not very present, and they only occasionally exchanged a few words, not real friends.
At this moment, he looked at Chu Xiu's armor with a face full of envy: "Chu Xiu, did your family buy this for you?"
Chu Xiu neither confirmed nor denied, not answering.
Seeing the recently eased relationship tightening again, Yun Lu quickly intervened to mediate: "We're all Trial Takers here, sticking together is the best way to pass the Trial!"
Li Shan also said: "That's right, Wang Long, don't you want to kill those monsters outside? Having additional Power makes it a bit safer."
With those two mediating, Wang Long's expression eased a little, but he still kept a safe distance from Chu Xiu, while Chu Xiu remained expressionless and simply sat by himself.
Then, the group gently pushed the wooden door closed again and began to exchange information and intelligence softly.
Wang Long's awakened Talent was [Power Burst (D)], capable of unleashing three times the Power in a short time, and his Profession was [Barbarian Race (C)].
Wang Long didn't elaborate much about Professional Skills, but it's certainly melee type.
Due to his high compatibility between his Talent and Profession, despite not having an outstanding Grade, Wang Long still possessed substantial early combat Power.
As for Li Shan, he fell far short, with a Talent of [Hold Breath (E)], and his Profession was [Poacher (D)], a type meant for stealthy attacks and survival, as evident from how Chu Xiu didn't notice him hiding by the door earlier.
Between the two, Wang Long was the leader. Chu Xiu surmised that Wang Long probably intended to use Li Shan as cannon fodder at crucial moments.
"So, what's your Profession and Talent?"
After introducing himself, Wang Long's probing gaze fell on Chu Xiu.
"I can compose Equipment using corpses," Chu Xiu calmly said.
Wang Long was taken aback, glanced at the armor on Chu Xiu, and snorted: "I see why so many mummies disappeared outside, it's your doing. So, what's your Profession?"
"This is my Profession, [Bone Assembler (D)]."
Wang Long: "...Isn't this something you just made up."
Chu Xiu chuckled lightly, showing no intention of explaining.
"You..." Wang Long's temple twitched, but he managed to suppress his anger and said no more.
Upon first seeing Chu Xiu, he knew this guy was the type who would never reveal any trump cards unless necessary.
"Forget it, let's talk about serious matters," Wang Long suppressed his anger, "As Li Shan mentioned earlier, I plan to hunt those monsters outside."
"My Profession is [Barbarian Race], and only [Combat] and [Killing Enemies] can earn a lot of Professional Experience; regular [Training] brings limited benefits, so I'm not going to hide in this broken building for seven days."
"After all, who knows what changes might occur in the future? I don't believe that just hiding in one place will get me through the Trial easily!"
"If you share my thoughts, then we can discuss cooperation. Otherwise, you might as well leave."
As his words fell, the remaining three fell silent, Li Shan hung his head with an unpleasant expression, while Yun Lu directed his eyes at Chu Xiu.
Chu Xiu gently stroked his chin; he actually agreed with Wang Long's line of thought, it's just...
"I won't rashly attack without knowing who the enemies are," Chu Xiu said calmly.
"Don't worry, even though my Profession is [Barbarian Race], I'm not some brainless brute," Wang Long smiled and patted Li Shan beside him, "This guy has seen those monsters, go ahead and tell them."
Li Shan was reluctant to speak but, after a fearful glance at Wang Long, recounted his experience to Chu Xiu.
It turns out Li Shan had briefly cooperated with the man who caused the commotion and was killed on the eighteenth floor.
At the time, they were exploring separately in the hallway, his companion spotted a mutant rat and was shouting for Li Shan to surround from the other side as he chased it.
Maybe the quietness of the apartment building made him lower his guard, resulting in considerable noise during the chase.
When Li Shan appeared on the other side, he only saw his companion being brutally killed.
"That creature was nearly two meters tall, covered in jet-black fur, walked upright like a human, but its fingers had claws over a dozen centimeters long! Like five sharp blades!"
"It lunged like a beast, and with just a claw, it tore open Mao Shan's entire back! Then it snapped his spine with a stomp! I didn't dare to watch anymore, in short, in short..."
Li Shan's face was pale, his lips quivering and at a loss for words.
"It's essentially a humanoid mutant creature."
Wang Long took over his words, casually waving the metal baseball bat in his hand: "No matter how scary, it's just a carbon-based lifeform. With my three-time Power, even a grizzly bear! I could smash its skull!"
"But, but, this is a creature from the Otherworld!" Li Shan stammered, clearly not over it, "How can you compare it with creatures from Blue Star?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Long's face darkened, and he grabbed Li Shan by the collar, hissing low: "Do you doubt my judgment, you coward, afraid of dying?"
Li Shan looked to Chu Xiu for help, but seeing the latter completely indifferent, he could only lower his head and apologize: "Sorry, I'm just a little worried."
"Nothing to worry about!" Wang Long snorted coldly, releasing Li Shan and casting a sidelong glance at Chu Xiu: "What do you say?"
Chu Xiu glanced at the two, deep in thought.
Clearly, Li Shan just wanted to turtle up and get through these seven days, but Wang Long intended to hunt monsters and pursue fortune.
Truthfully, he inclined towards Wang Long. He too believed that surviving seven days under the monsters' hunt wasn't realistic, too many variables existed, and with insufficient Power, any unexpected event could mean death.
Moreover, the food in the apartment was scarce. Even with Yun Lu, the two of them worked all afternoon only to gather a few dozen mushrooms, far from enough, and their state would only worsen.
In that case, it'd be better to go on the offensive while still in the best condition on the first day.
When he was alone, Chu Xiu had his doubts, but with a strong ally like Wang Long, safety would greatly be enhanced.
Yet, he did not agree immediately, instead, he held up three fingers:
"Three questions; first, how do you plan to kill those monsters? Second, how do you ensure other monsters aren't attracted during combat? Third, how will the spoils be distributed?"