Lin Qian turned around stiffly, the beam of his hand-cranked searchlight swinging with him to reveal a terrifying... creature.
It was a giant snake rearing upright, its black scales gleaming as it flicked a pitch-black tongue.
That alone, however, would not have scared Lin Qian this badly.
What was even stranger was that it had a humanlike torso draped in a tattered gray robe. Beneath the robe, a pair of hands also covered in black scales hung limply at its sides, like those of a puppet whose strings had been cut.
The snake's human torso alone was almost as tall as Lin Qian. Its thick head rose high above its neck before drooping down toward him, giving it an overwhelming presence.
Three ridges protruded from its head. Its terrifying slit pupils stared fixedly at Lin Qian, making him feel as though the blood in his veins was beginning to freeze.
"Gulp."
Lin Qian swallowed, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.
"Hissss..."
The giant snake brought its head closer and closer, stopping only when Lin Qian could smell the bitterness on its tongue.
Lin Qian held his breath and stopped cranking the searchlight. Slowly, his hand crept toward the small of his back.
But just as he was about to draw his gun and fight for his life, a sound came from the darkness before him. Scales rasped and rustled, the noise gradually receding into the distance.
"That thing... seems to have left?"
Lin Qian hurriedly cranked the searchlight again. Its flickering beam illuminated the giant snake's retreating back.
A thick tail swayed beneath its tattered gray robe, scraping against the floor.
The creature seemed to dislike the light. When the beam swept over it, its head twisted back around. Lin Qian was so frightened that he immediately stopped cranking and stood motionless, listening as the sound faded away.
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
Lin Qian took off his suit jacket. Whether from the heat or fright, sweat had soaked his clothes all over again.
He gulped down another half bottle of water, then flopped onto the bed.
"I'm not going! Someone else can go if they want!"
He had intended to explore the building thoroughly, but less than five minutes after stepping out, he had abandoned the idea and retreated into his shell.
Judging by the direction the giant snake had gone, he guessed it was probably the Warden of the five-hundred section. Its movements suggested it had been on patrol.
By that logic, the seven-hundred section should have a similar Warden, but Lin Qian had no desire whatsoever to find out what it looked like.
For a moment back there, he had truly felt as though he had escaped death by a hair's breadth.
Judging by the giant snake's size alone, it could probably have killed him instantly if it had attacked.
And that was without considering whether the thing had any Transcendent powers.
Lin Qian clearly remembered taking a good look around when he opened the door. There had been nothing nearby.
Yet the moment he stepped out and turned around, the creature had appeared out of nowhere.
Before that, he hadn't heard the sound of its tail scraping along the floor, as he had when it left. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
That meant the thing might have already been standing there when he came out, concealing itself with some sort of ability.
"Ah... forget it. No point thinking about this!"
Lin Qian pulled the blanket over his face and stopped thinking.
The day had been far too perilous. Exhausted in both body and mind, he tossed and turned for a short while before falling into a deep sleep.
When he opened his eyes again, it was the next day.
He had slept like the dead.
Hunger had woken him. Still groggy, Lin Qian crawled out of bed and, before he was fully awake, rummaged around for the remaining half of his compressed biscuit and began crunching away.
After finishing the last of his food and drinking some water, he finally felt alert.
"I'm still hungry..."
Rubbing his stomach, Lin Qian realized his appetite seemed to have grown considerably. Yesterday, half a compressed biscuit had barely filled him halfway. Today, it felt as though he hadn't eaten at all.
"Is it because of that point I put into Strength?"
Thinking of his attributes, Lin Qian quickly opened his status panel. Sure enough, his second day's pay had arrived, giving him another Free Attribute Point.
Without hesitation, Lin Qian put the point into Constitution, raising it to 1.7.
Thump! Thump!
The instant he allocated the point, his heartbeat suddenly quickened. A wave of heat spread through his body, leaving him drenched in sweat within a few breaths.
"Huff... huff..."
After a minute or two, the heat finally subsided. In its place, Lin Qian felt so full of energy that he had the urge to run several kilometers.
"I didn't expect adding Constitution to cause an even stronger reaction than Strength..."
He opened another bottle of water and gulped down half. Looking at the last unopened bottle, he resisted the urge to drain the one in his hand.
"Supplies are running low. I'd better conserve them..."
Only a day had passed, and he had already exhausted his basic supplies. He would have to find some food and drinking water today.
He checked his watch. There were still two hours until the Safe Exploration Time. With nothing better to do, Lin Qian lay back down and opened the chat channel.
[781: Guys, the meat in my room thawed out overnight. Make me an offer, and once the safe time starts, I'll sell it all cheap.]
Lin Qian raised an eyebrow at the familiar user.
"He's all right?"
Someone else was just as surprised.
[781: Don't remind me. I regretted choosing to display my room number yesterday. I was too scared to leave my room in case someone robbed me.]
[So what, you're not scared today?]
[781: The guy next door messaged me privately last night. We're teaming up. He can protect me—he says he's got a gun!]
Lin Qian scratched his head.
Apparently, he hadn't been the only lucky one yesterday. Someone else had gotten their hands on a gun too.
781's words were like water splashed into hot oil. The channel erupted.
[A gun? Seriously?]
[You've got to be kidding! I spent all night whittling sticks and barely managed to make three wooden spears, and you guys already have firearms?]
[Boss! Let me join your team!]
[Boss!!! I'm in the seven-hundred section too! Please take me in!]
[If we work together, exploring the worlds behind the doors will be easier, and we'll have plenty more chances to open doors too!]
[781: Uh... well... the boss just told me off for running my mouth, so I won't say any more. Anyway, if you want to buy meat, come on over later. I'll trade for anything—no offer refused!]
After that, the seemingly scatterbrained 781 went silent, leaving everyone else to keep asking questions and volunteering to join the team.
Lin Qian closed the chat channel, amused by what he had seen.
"I wonder if he did that on purpose. He's made such a fuss that there's bound to be a big crowd later."
Then he looked hesitantly at the supplies piled in the corner.
"Should I go trade for some...?"
Leaving the drinks aside, the medical kit alone had to be worth something.
Lin Qian immediately dismissed the idea.
Only a fool would trade away something as lifesaving as a medical kit.
As for the drinks, some of the stronger ones could be used as alcohol.
But Lin Qian wasn't fond of crowds, and there was no telling what might happen over there. If someone tried to rob them, it could turn into a full-blown brawl.
"Forget it..."
Lin Qian let out a long breath and decided to take a chance exploring the nearby rooms.
He checked his watch. There was still over an hour to go.
"I'll wait. I don't want to run into that monster again..."
He lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and waited.