5: Chapter 5: Assembling Together, Preparing for the Initiative!

As soon as Lin Qing's words fell,

the dormitory seemed to have been pressed with a fast-forward button.

The girls who were still dazed, scared, blushing, and gossiping just moments ago were all jolted awake by the countdown on the screen.

Ten minutes.

Not ten hours.

Much less ten days.

That line of blood-red numbers on the big screen jumped one by one, like a hand pinching everyone's throat.

Su Xixi moved first.

She raised her foot and kicked at the nearest desk.

Bang!

The table leg cracked on the spot.

"What are you looking at?"

Su Xixi picked up the broken table leg and turned back to glare at the few girls who were still in a daze.

"Waiting for the monsters to come in and help you take it apart?"

The few girls shuddered, but their hands and feet finally started moving.

Some smashed tables, some smashed chairs, and others kicked at stuck table legs.

For a moment, the entire dormitory was filled with the sound of snapping wood and rapid breathing.

Bai Nian didn't talk nonsense either.

She called over two slightly bolder girls and quickly stood by the wooden door.

"Don't panic!"

"You guys guard the door with me."

"The countdown is the countdown, but nobody can guarantee the monsters won't ram the door early."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was extremely steady.

At a time like this, steadiness was more useful than comfort.

Seeing someone guarding the door, the pale-faced girls finally felt a little more at ease amidst their panic.

Shen Zhiyi bit her lip, trembling as she bent down to move wooden boards.

An Muxi was already squatting on the ground, bringing up the forging panel.

She pressed both hands against the dismantled wooden board, and a faint white light lit up in her palms.

With a flash of white light, the wooden board disappeared.

A few seconds later.

A crude wooden armor appeared in her hands.

[Wooden Armor]

[Quality: Common]

[Defense: Weak]

[Description: Better than nothing.]

Seeing the last sentence, An Muxi's mouth twitched.

"You really know how to comfort people."

Despite saying that, her hands didn't stop at all.

As soon as she put down the first piece of wooden armor, she immediately dragged the second batch of materials in front of her.

Lin Qing wasn't idle either.

He stood in front of the big screen, his eyes frighteningly dark.

Completely different from the usual sharp-tongued, unreliable die-hard straight man.

It was as if suddenly, everyone's lives were pressed onto his shoulders.

And he accepted it.

Not just for the girls, but even more so to ensure he could keep living.

Lin Qing raised his hand and touched the electronic screen, which immediately expanded into several functional columns.

[Dormitory Information]

[Regional Chat Room]

[Trading House]

[Dormitory Upgrade]

[Member Management]

[Announcements]

Lin Qing clicked into the Trading House first.

The next second, a few scant items popped up.

[Mineral Water 500ml: 10 Coins]

[Compressed Biscuit: 10 Coins]

[Fruit Knife: 15 Coins]

[Baseball Bat: 10 Coins]

[Hemostatic Bandage: 30 Coins]

There was also a newly listed fire axe.

[Fire Axe: 100 Coins]

Just as Lin Qing saw the price, the item was gone.

Someone snatched it instantly.

He narrowed his eyes.

Everyone had just transmigrated, yet goods were already stocked in the Trading House, and someone even had coins to buy them.

Either someone awakened a production-type talent.

Or someone awakened a coin-type talent.

Whichever it was, it proved one thing.

In this survival world, from the very first second, some people were already taking the lead.

Lin Qing glanced at the dormitory resource column.

[Coins: 0]

[Wood: 0]

[Stone: 0]

[Iron Block: 0]

[Special Materials: None]

Having nothing at all, looking at it felt like a waste of time.

But their Dormitory 9001 wasn't bad either.

Among the sixteen people in the dormitory, five had Grade A or higher talents.

He and Su Mengmeng were even SSS-grade.

This was no longer just luck.

This was like being dealt a god-tier hand right at the start.

But no matter how good the cards were, playing them terribly would still result in death.

Lin Qing closed the Trading House and opened the regional chat room.

[District 91 Chat Room]

[Current Headcount: 10000]

Messages were scrolling by extremely fast.

[Building 3, Dormitory 102: What's going on? Did we all transmigrate collectively? Did you guys have a countdown too? I have eight minutes left here!]

[Building 5, Dormitory 721: Transmigrate my ass! Putting up a crappy screen to play act with me? My dad is Zhang Erhe, let me go right now! Illegal detention, I can have you guys shot. Understand!]

[Building 6, Dormitory 308: Appraisal complete. The guy above is an idiot, talents have already awakened, and you still don't believe in transmigration?]

[Building 9, Dormitory 101: Awaken what? Do you guys really have talents? There are eight people in our dorm, and not a single one awakened!]

[Building 7, Dormitory 606: Holy crap! Where did the items listed in the Trading House come from? You guys still have starting supplies?]

[Building 8, Dormitory 220: Help! Our dorm leader is a piece of trash, he's still crying!]

[Building 3, Dormitory 701: Anyone from Building 3? I'm Qin Yuan from Class 3!]

Lin Qing's gaze paused for a second.

Qin Yuan?

The one from the neighboring department's basketball team?

But that message was quickly scrolled away.

Lin Qing continued scrolling down.

He still didn't find any information on breaking the situation.

It was all panic, skepticism, cursing, and cries for help.

But he still caught two pieces of information.

First, not every dormitory had someone who awakened a talent.

Second, the countdown for monsters to break the door wasn't unified.

In other words, there was no absolute fairness here.

Some dormitories started with eight people, no talents, and had to face monsters head-on.

Lin Qing closed the chat room.

Only five minutes were left on the countdown.

The numbers on the screen jumped one by one, like a death warrant.

Lin Qing turned around.

"Yang Yating."

"Did you foresee anything?"

The delicate-looking bespectacled girl had her eyes closed, her hands clutching tightly at the hem of her clothes.

Her forehead was covered in sweat.

Her complexion was so pale it was almost bloodless.

Hearing Lin Qing call her, her eyelashes trembled violently, and she slowly opened her eyes.

"I... I saw it."

As those words fell, even the sound of dismantling tables in the dormitory paused for half a beat.

Lin Qing stared at her.

"Tell me the main points."

Yang Yating swallowed hard.

"Three. Short, green-skinned. Holding wooden clubs and stone knives."

Her voice shook violently.

"They smile. That kind of smile... is disgusting."

"Like Goblins."

As soon as the word Goblin came out,

quite a few girls who had previously bantered with Lin Qing and Su Mengmeng went weak in the knees on the spot.

The system's initial warning had already mentioned this kind of creature.

Dragged into the nest.

Becoming daily necessities.

Those few words were even more sickening than plain death.

Fear poured down like cold water.

The panic that had just been suppressed welled up from the depths of everyone's eyes once again.

Shen Zhiyi bit her lower lip, her fingers clutching tightly at the corner of her clothes.

Su Mengmeng's face turned pale, subconsciously looking at Lin Qing.

Su Xixi's face was cold, and she gripped the broken table leg in her hand even tighter.

Bai Nian took a deep breath.

She didn't retreat.

She just stood even closer to the door.

Lin Qing nodded.

"Three, not the worst."

As soon as these words came out, several girls were stunned.

Not the worst?

This still isn't?

Lin Qing looked toward the dormitory wooden door.

[Old Wooden Door: Durability 100 / 100]

Shabby and thin, a sliver of darkness outside could still be seen through the crack of the door.

Once three Goblins actually rammed the door, how long could this crappy door hold out?

One minute?

Or ten minutes?

Once the door was breached and the monsters came in, the dormitory would descend into complete chaos.

The timid ones would scream.

The ones who could fight wouldn't have room to maneuver.

Those without combat power might even be dragged away on the spot.

Lin Qing raised his eyes to look at everyone, "For this crisis, I plan to take the initiative."

The dormitory fell silent.

"Take the initiative?"

A girl's voice was tight.

"We're going to open the door and go out? Isn't that walking straight to our deaths?"

Lin Qing looked at her.

"Waiting for them to break through the door is what you call walking to your death."

"This door won't defend for long."

"Even if we repair it as it gets damaged, not to mention wasting materials, it'll get smashed to pieces in the end anyway."

"But outside the door, if we go out ahead of time, we can still gain the initiative."

His speaking speed wasn't fast.

But every sentence was delivered very steadily, giving people peace of mind.

Bai Nian immediately chimed in.

"I agree."

"After I activate my talent, I should be able to deal with at least one."

As she spoke, a trace of fighting spirit flashed in the depths of her eyes.

Grade A combat talent, Combat Mastery.

Five times physical fitness.

This was her confidence.

Su Xixi flicked the table leg in her hand.

"I can fight too."

Lin Qing glanced at her.

"Just don't get carried away."

Su Xixi clicked her tongue, her tone sarcastic.

"Got it, Big Dorm Leader."

Soon.

Over at An Muxi's side, white light lit up once more.

Her forehead was covered in sweat, and her complexion was also a bit pale.

Continuous forging took a heavy toll on her.

"Five pieces of wooden armor."

"Three short knives."

"One baseball bat."

"And two thick wooden sticks, temporarily not enough to synthesize, so they can only be used as ordinary sticks."

Lin Yawei frowned, her eyes carrying a hint of disdain, "Can you only make these?"

An Muxi raised her head and glanced at her.

That look wasn't fierce, but carried obvious exhaustion.

"This is already very fast."

"If it weren't for the talent coming with a few common blueprints, in just a few minutes, I wouldn't even be able to carve out a knife handle."

She looked down at the remaining materials at hand and wiped the sweat off her chin.

"Keep dismantling. Give me materials, and I can keep making them."

Lin Qing walked over.

"Let's distribute the equipment first."

He picked up a piece of wooden armor and a short knife.

"Bai Nian."

"The wooden armor and short knife are for you. You'll take the lead in combat."

Bai Nian didn't decline.

She quickly put on the wooden armor and took the short knife.

"Understood."

Lin Qing picked up the second piece of wooden armor and looked at Su Xixi.

"Su Xixi."

"Combat alongside the team, any issues?"

Su Xixi reached out to take it, the corners of her mouth twitching upward.

"You asking that is like asking if I'll scold you."

Lin Qing: "..."

Fine.

That was very Su Xixi.

He also handed her the short knife.

"Remember, you are responsible for follow-up attacks and diversion, no reckless charging."

Su Xixi rolled her eyes.

"Such a nag."

Despite complaining verbally, she still gripped the weapon in the most comfortable position.

The third piece of wooden armor was handed by Lin Qing in front of Yang Yating.

"You're coming out with us, no need to participate in combat."

Yang Yating was stunned.

Her lips moved, her voice weak.

"I... I'm going out?"

Lin Qing looked at her.

"Your foresight might save lives at a critical moment."

"But I won't force you. You can refuse."

Yang Yating looked down at the wooden armor.

Her hand trembled slightly.

Before transmigration, her biggest pressure was just exams and homework.

But now she had to stand outside the door and face monsters that ate people.

But she also knew.

If she wanted to survive, her talent couldn't just be treated as a decoration.

She was silent for a moment, then reached out to catch the wooden armor.

"I'll go."

This sentence was very soft.

Yet it made several girls in the dormitory look at her.

Bai Nian also glanced at her and nodded gently.

Lin Qing didn't say much more.

"Good."

An Muxi, who was busy crafting equipment, suddenly spoke up: "I'm going out too."

Lin Qing turned his head.

An Muxi wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at him seriously, "My Builder talent has a small strength bonus, I can fight."

Lin Qing shook his head directly.

"No."

An Muxi was taken aback.

"Why?"

Lin Qing pointed to the materials on the ground.

"The value of you striking a single blow outside isn't even as good as making one more piece of wooden armor inside."

"You are our only source of equipment, keep manufacturing."

An Muxi opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something more.

But seeing Lin Qing's gaze, she swallowed her words back down.

Finally, she nodded, "I understand."

Lin Qing picked up the last remaining short knife and didn't distribute it.

The knife was very short, very rough, and couldn't be called sharp. But it was still better than being empty-handed.

He raised his eyes to scan the remaining people.

"We need one more person."

"Who is willing to go out with the team?"

No one spoke in the dormitory, and the air suddenly grew heavy.

It wasn't that they didn't want to help.

It was because they were afraid.

When truly facing the unknown monsters outside the door, not many people could immediately step forward and say they weren't afraid.

Lin Qing didn't rush them.

Shouting was useless for this kind of thing.

Forcibly taking someone who was on the verge of a breakdown outside would only get everyone killed.

Just at this moment, a small, sharp, strange screeching sound drifted in through the crack of the door.

"Gaga——!"

Sounding like a beast, and also like a person chuckling evilly.

The countdown on the screen had three minutes left.

Yet the monsters had already arrived.