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"One gold coin per hour? Twenty-four hours in a day is twenty-four gold coins! The four of us worked so hard all night pulling out rat teeth, and that's how much we got?"

"This isn't collecting property management fees, this is collecting protection money!"

The fat man collapsed to the ground, on the verge of tears.

"Capitalists, absolute capitalists! This game isn't some kind of post-apocalyptic survival game, it's a massive pay-to-win scheme!"

"They'll remove the buff if we don't pay, and then they'll spawn monsters to bite us! Is there no justice? Is there no law?"

Su Bai looked at the pricing standards on the system panel and felt a headache coming on.

They spent most of their team's savings last night on instant noodles and a master key.

Just to be on the safe side, he spent another 20 gold coins to buy a [Basic Repair Hammer] in the supply station's virtual shop to maximize the axe's durability.

Now, he only has a dozen or so Source Energy Gold Coins left in his storage wristband.

If you throw them all into this broken fire, they can barely last for half a day.

What happens after half a day? Go back to work getting teeth pulled?

"This mechanism is disgusting."

Zhao Lei's face darkened

"This is clearly a way to prevent us from staying indoors and force us to go out and kill monsters to earn money."

Xia Youwei looked at the fire, her cool eyes showing no surprise.

"That's how survival games are; resources are always scarce. Since there's a tollbooth, then pay up."

She turned to look at Su Bai.

"Captain, let's pay up. Let's light the campfire first; everyone needs to rest and recover."

Su Bai sighed and walked to the virtual campfire.

He took out a faintly glowing gold coin from his storage space and reluctantly tossed it into the fire.

"Sizzle—"

The gold coin vaporized instantly upon falling into the fire.

The originally faint blue flames instantly shot up a lot and turned into a bright orange-red.

A warm current instantly swept through the entire dance studio. The muscles that had been stiff from fatigue and tension miraculously relaxed under the warmth.

[The Source Fire is now activated. Remaining burning time: 00:59:59.]

The countdown hung above the fire like a death knell, dropping second by second.

"This fire looks quite warm, but it's heartbreaking to see it burning like this." The fat man rubbed his hands together and moved closer to the fire to warm himself.

Su Bai clapped his hands and stood up.

"Alright, stop complaining. Since the rules have changed, we have to adapt. We're facing two problems now: first, we don't have enough money to pay the rent, and second, we don't have enough food and water."

He turned to look at Chen Fei.

"Third brother, you're wearing the Silent Steps shoes, so your agility is the highest. I'm giving you a task."

"Fourth Brother, you say it." Chen Fei immediately stood up straight.

"Go and search the other girls' dormitories on this second floor."

Su Bai pointed outside the door

"The girls in this building must usually stock up on snacks and drinks. Bring back everything edible and drinkable."

"If you encounter a locked door, just use the universal wire to open it. Also, look for any materials or junk equipment that you can sell for money, and take them to the supply station to exchange for gold coins to use as firewood."

Upon hearing that they were going to search the girls' dormitory, Chen Fei's eyes lit up instantly, even more excited than if he had seen the blue-grade dagger.

"Search the girls' dorm? Mission accomplished! Don't worry, Fourth Brother, I'll even find the spicy snacks the girls dropped under their beds!"

Chen Fei chuckled, gripped the dagger, and slipped out of the dance studio like a gust of wind.

"Me too! Me too!"

The fat man saw this cushy job and immediately wanted to take it.

"You come back here right now."

Zhao Lei grabbed the fat man by the back of his collar.

"What are you going to do? The sound of you walking around is like an earthquake. You think you can just walk through an iron gate and steal something? Stay here and do hard labor with me."

Zhao Lei pointed to the window of the dance studio.

"Fourth brother, even though the window is sealed, I still don't feel safe. We made such a commotion downstairs just now; the plants outside must have noticed. What if some vines climb up the wall?"

Su Bai nodded; this was also what he was worried about.

"Boss, take Fatty and remove those extra large dance mirrors from this room and use them to block the gaps in the windows."

"The glass reflects light, which might interfere with the plants' senses. Then we can use some heavy supports to prop it up."

"Okay, leave it to us."

Zhao Lei and the fat man started moving the mirror with great effort.

The dance studio suddenly became bustling with activity.

Su Bai glanced at Lin Chacha, who was still huddled in the corner.

"Lin Chacha, don't just stand around doing nothing."

"Huh? What... what am I supposed to do?"

Lin Chacha quickly stood up.

Su Bai walked to a window that was boarded up with only a crack for ventilation and pointed to the outside of the crack.

"Go sit by the window."

"From now on, every five minutes, hum a couple of lines out the window. You don't have to scream for help, just sing any popular song, as long as you maintain that unique rhythm."

"Get rid of all the mutated mosquitoes, flying insects, and vines trying to climb up this safe house."

Lin Chacha was completely stunned after hearing this.

What is this?

Human-shaped ultrasonic mosquito repellent?

She was supposed to be the most beautiful girl in the department, but now she's been reduced to sitting by the window singing to mutated plants?

"Pfft."

The fat man who was moving the mirror couldn't help but laugh.

"Cha Cha, this is a crucial air defense mission, so you'd better sing well. It would be best to sing 'Learn to Meow,' that song is definitely very effective."

Lin Chacha's eyes reddened, but seeing Su Bai's unyielding gaze, she could only reluctantly move a small stool and obediently sit by the window.

"Let's learn to meow together... let's meow together..."

An extremely sweet, tearful voice began to echo by the window of the dance studio.

Surprisingly, this trick actually works.

Just now, I could hear several fist-sized mutated mosquitoes hitting the glass outside the window. As soon as Lin Chacha opened her mouth, those mosquitoes fell down as if they were drunk.

The defense line was set up and the division of labor was clear.

Su Bai finally had a chance to find a place to sit down.

He turned his head and found Xia Youwei sitting cross-legged next to the virtual campfire.

She found a piece of sandpaper somewhere and was slowly polishing the blade of the huge meat saw.

Although the knife is a system-generated item and doesn't require a traditional whetstone, cleaning off the blood and bone fragments can slightly extend the time it takes for its durability to drop.

"Where's your heavy crossbow? I haven't seen you carrying it." Su Bai walked over and sat down opposite her across the fire.

"It's in the fourth-floor dormitory. That thing is made of bed frame, it's too heavy, I can't carry it downstairs for close combat." Xia Youwei didn't even look up, focusing on wiping the blade.

"Are we running out of materials?"

Su Bai remembered what she had said in the voice message that morning.

"Um."

Xia Youwei stopped what she was doing and looked at the knife in her hand.

"The crossbow string was made by twisting together several jump ropes and rubber bands. It wasn't strong enough, and it would break off after each arrow. There were only two steel arrows left."

She looked up at Su Bai, her eyes filled with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Have any engineering or manufacturing blueprints leaked from your guys' side?"

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