The entire school embarks on a survival journey, starting from a primeval rainforest.

On one side were the aggressive girls on the fourth floor blocking the door, and on the other side were the whispers of the crowd behind them.

Lin Feng and Ding Hang blushed and wanted to refute, but Jiang Fan raised his hand to stop them.

His gaze swept over his companions whose eyes were wandering, finally landing on Qi Ran's smug face, and he suddenly smiled.

There was no anger in that smile; instead, there was a kind of calm that sent a chill down Qi Ran's spine.

"The key, I risked my life to retrieve it from the bottom of the water," Jiang Fan's voice wasn't loud, but it overwhelmed all the noise and clearly reached everyone's ears. "The snake meat was obtained by more than a dozen people, including myself, who almost had their bones broken. Ding Rui, you on the fourth floor neither contributed nor took any risks."

How can I just give you the meat for free? Even dividing the meat took us most of the day, and where were you all?

Jiang Fan's words struck a chord with everyone.

Putting everything else aside, at least when it came to distributing the meat, everyone on the third floor truly put in a lot of hard work.

After a pause, Jiang Fan took the small knife, which he had sharpened from a clothes hanger and was stained with snake blood, from his waist.

"Now, whoever thinks the key and the meat should be separated," Jiang Fan flicked his wrist, and the tip of the knife fell to the cold tile with a soft "clink," "whoever picks up this knife."

His gaze was sharp as a knife, slicing across every face.

"Then, go find Ding Rui yourself and tell her that your share belongs to her."

"Kindness is fine, kindness is fine, but don't be generous with other people's money! Don't fucking try to morally blackmail me!"

Time seemed to stand still.

The small knife, sharpened from a clothes hanger and stained with snake blood, lay quietly on the cold tiles.

Jiang Fan's words were like a cold lock, locking everyone's throats.

Everyone was looking at the knife.

Qi Ran's smile froze on his face, like a mask that wasn't properly fastened.

He was just basking in the smug satisfaction of his successful incitement, but now he felt everyone's gaze sweeping over him, seemingly casually.

He moved his throat, as if trying to say something, but found that he couldn't utter a single word.

Go pick up that knife?

That would be tantamount to saying in front of everyone: I, Qi Ran, am going to give away what everyone worked so hard for to those people on the fourth floor who won't even open the door.

How could he possibly stay on the third floor?

You don't have to pick it up...

You've already said what you were going to say, how can you back down now?

Ding Rui's expression also changed.

She originally thought that with her position as the fourth floor manager, Qi Ran's inside help, and the moral banner of "waste is shameful," she could make Jiang Fan back down.

After all, wasn't he just a freshman who had just entered university and was still shy?

How can I stand being told I'm "inhuman"?

But Jiang Fan's reaction completely exceeded her expectations.

He didn't fall into the trap of moral debate; instead, he threw the choice back to him in the most direct way.

Jiang Fan didn't argue or explain; he simply threw out a knife.

A knife that forces people to choose sides.

"Jiang Fan, you..." Ding Rui had just opened her mouth when Jiang Fan raised his hand to interrupt her.

"wait."

Jiang Fan only said one word.

His gaze swept over the crowd behind him. Those who had been whispering and looking around just moments before all lowered their heads, none daring to meet his eyes.

Lin Feng clenched his fists, his palms sweating profusely.

He stared intently at the knife, with only one thought in his mind: Whoever dares to touch that knife, I'll fight them to the death today.

Ding Hang, the bald man whom Jiang Fan had saved from the jaws of the crocodile, now had bloodshot eyes.

He took half a step forward, his burly body forming a wall in front of Jiang Fan, staring fiercely at anyone who might move.

Nangong Yue stood on the other side of Jiang Fan, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed.

She glanced at the knife on the ground, then at Jiang Fan's calm profile, and suddenly understood something.

He wasn't forcing people to betray him.

He was telling everyone: You can't afford the price.

The deathly silence in the stairwell lasted for a full minute.

Only the murky water below occasionally rippled with eerie waves.

Finally, Jiang Fan made a move.

He bent down and picked up the knife.

"No one picked it up." Jiang Fan's voice was soft, yet it struck everyone's heart like a hammer blow. "The meaning is very clear."

He sheathed the knife and turned to Ding Rui: "We can pass through. But we won't agree to your conditions."

Ding Rui bit her lip, as if she wanted to say something.

Jiang Fan didn't give her a chance.

"You said the meat will spoil, that's true." Jiang Fan's tone remained calm. "So, if the fourth floor wants meat, fine. But like I said, they'll have to trade something for it."

He paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately:

"Medicines, tools, clean clothes, anything is fine, valued according to its worth."

"Or, next time we do something together, you guys on the fourth floor can contribute your time and effort and earn credit in return."

"As for the key..."

Jiang Fan's voice turned cold:

"Those are the spare keys to all the empty dorm rooms on the third and fourth floors. They are public resources, not your private property, Ding Rui."

"Want it? Let all the residents on the fourth floor come and discuss it themselves. We will keep it safe, distribute it according to need, and be fair and transparent."

"But now, we're going to cook on the rooftop."

After he finished speaking, he stopped looking at Ding Rui and turned to his back: "Lin Feng, clear the way."

"Alright!" Lin Feng couldn't wait any longer and stepped forward to push through the crowd.

"Wait!" A short-haired girl behind Ding Rui suddenly spoke up, her voice somewhat timid, "Sister Rui...why don't we just let them go up? We don't need the rooftop anyway..."

"Shut up!" Ding Rui turned around and glared at her.

But the girl's eyes betrayed her thoughts.

Not only her, but the other girls who were blocking the door on the fourth floor also looked hesitant at this moment.

Don't they have enough food?

Perhaps we don't lack it now.

But everyone knows that sitting around and spending money will eventually lead to ruin.

The anaconda meat is right in front of us. We can trade it for some unused supplies. Why not trade it?

Ding Rui clearly noticed the wavering of the people behind her.

Her expression changed several times, and finally she took a deep breath:

"Okay, let's change it."

She stared intently at Jiang Fan: "We have some cold medicine and anti-inflammatory drugs, and a few extra pieces of clothing. How much meat can we exchange for?"

"Look at the value of these things." Jiang Fan looked at Nangong Yue. "Sister Yue, you understand these things, you should take a look."

Hearing Jiang Fan's somewhat deliberate attempt to build rapport, Nangong Yue couldn't help but glance at him with her beautiful eyes, but ultimately nodded and took a step forward.

Over the next ten minutes, a girl from the fourth floor brought over a small cardboard box containing two boxes of cold medicine, a strip of anti-inflammatory medicine, and several thick autumn and winter coats.

It's really not useful in this sweltering environment.

After counting, Nangong Yue nodded to Jiang Fan: "That's about enough to exchange for... twenty catties of meat."

Twenty catties.

For the few hundred kilograms of meat produced by anaconda, this is not a lot.

But for the twenty-odd girls on the fourth floor, it was enough to last them a day or two.

"Okay." Jiang Fan looked at Ding Rui. "Weigh the meat for you after it's taken upstairs. Now, make way."

Ding Rui gritted her teeth and finally turned her body to the side.

The girls on the fourth floor also made way for them.

The wind blowing from the rooftop carries the dampness and the pungent smell of vegetation unique to tropical rainforests.

The moment Jiang Fan stepped onto the rooftop platform, his pupils contracted slightly.

The scene before him was even more bizarre than he had imagined.