Facing the Abyss as a Demon Cultivator

Facing Chu Xiu's questions, Wang Long grinned and replied without hesitation, "I've been thinking about this issue for a while, but now that we have Yun Lu, it’s much easier."

"I plan to divide us into three parts: you and I will be the attackers, one person will act as bait, and one will handle closing the door."

"When we were searching on the eleventh floor, we found an apartment with a large iron door. The soundproofing looks excellent. Once the door is closed, it will significantly muffle our combat sounds. Even if other monsters come, they’ll be blocked outside, giving us enough time to react."

"My plan is to have Yun Lu scout the nearby monsters' positions. When the time is right, we’ll have the bait make some noise to attract the monster, and then the rest of us will work together to kill it."

"As for the loot, since you and I are doing the fighting, we’ll take the lion's share—70% split evenly between us."

"What do you think of this plan?"

Wang Long's words made Chu Xiu look at him with some surprise.

His plan was nearly identical to Chu Xiu’s own thoughts and even took notice of the resident on the eleventh floor, just as Chu Xiu had.

Moreover, Wang Long’s proposed loot distribution clearly disregarded Li Shan and Yun Lu's opinions, focusing solely on recruiting Chu Xiu. It was evident he realized that the other two had no say in the matter.

This guy was not a brainless brute after all.

Thinking this, a faint smile appeared on Chu Xiu’s face. "I think your plan is good."

"Then, there’s only one last question."

"Who will be the bait?"

As soon as he spoke, the room fell into a deathly silence. Yun Lu’s face showed fear, while Li Shan forced a smile and said, "Do we really have to fight those monsters? Maybe we should reconsider. Didn’t the teacher say not to take risks unless we have B-grade talents or professions?"

"You have to look at the specific situation!"

Wang Long interrupted, glaring at Li Shan. "This matter is already decided! Who are you to interrupt?"

Li Shan was clearly afraid of Wang Long, lowering his head without daring to argue. After a while, he said, "Then, I’ll close the door. With my Breath Holding talent, I’m less likely to be discovered."

As soon as he spoke, Yun Lu's face turned pale, while Wang Long sneered disdainfully.

But Li Shan seemed unconcerned, cautiously looking at Chu Xiu with a pleading expression.

Yun Lu also looked to Chu Xiu for help.

Wang Long crossed his arms, waiting for Chu Xiu’s response.

Under the gaze of the three, Chu Xiu remained expressionless and said lightly, "Yun Lu will close the door."

As soon as he spoke, Yun Lu breathed a sigh of relief, while Li Shan’s eyes widened in anger, clenching his fists. "Chu Xiu! We’re classmates! How could you do this?"

"Shut up!"

Wang Long slapped Li Shan across the face, cursing, "You do as you're told! If you listen and behave, I’ll keep you safe. But if you keep talking, I’ll kill you and use you as bait!"

Wang Long was obviously used to bullying people in school. The slap left Li Shan dazed, clutching his face in despair. "You won’t give me my share of the loot either, will you?"

"What are you talking about?" Wang Long said unhappily. "As long as you do your job, you’ll get your share!"

Li Shan fell silent, but Chu Xiu noticed the resentment in his eyes—not just towards Wang Long, but also towards him.

This made Chu Xiu sigh lightly.

He had long known that such things would happen in the Abyss. No matter how much the school emphasized not fighting among themselves, it was useless.

An experiment conducted abroad involved ordinary participants randomly assigned the roles of “guards” and “prisoners.” Initially, everything was harmonious, but within days, bullying, oppression, and conflicts began to emerge.

As long as there are differences in identity, status, and power, people will quickly form hierarchies, leading to oppression and resistance.

In the Abyss, the allure of extraordinary power, the dangerous environment, the lack of legal constraints—all these factors accelerated this process.

Could you expect those troublemakers in school, given extraordinary power and no rules, not to become even more tyrannical?

Someone had to do the dangerous work. Compared to Yun Lu, Li Shan’s value was lower, so he was chosen.

Chu Xiu knew that in such a chaotic place where primitive jungle laws prevailed, if he didn't maintain order, he might one day be in Li Shan’s position, under the control of someone stronger.

But he had no intention of intervening.

Because the current situation suited his interests, that’s all.

"Then it’s settled," Wang Long grinned. "We’ll rest well tonight and set off tomorrow morning."

"As long as we follow the plan, there’ll be no problems. We’ll all earn Karma Points and level up!"

He laughed, using a belt he found somewhere to tie himself and Li Shan together. Li Shan looked like a tethered dog beside him.

Wang Long led him into one of the bedrooms and closed the door.

Clearly, he still didn’t fully trust Chu Xiu.

As Chu Xiu watched Wang Long leave, a faint voice like a mosquito sounded in his ear:

"Th-thank you."

Chu Xiu turned to see Yun Lu still nervous and uneasy. He didn’t say much, only replying lightly:

"Sleep."

The nights in the apocalypse were harsh, colder than expected.

Cold wind blew in through the broken window frames. Even though Chu Xiu and Yun Lu huddled in a corner, the wind still cut across their faces like small knives, freezing their ears.

There were some tattered quilts in the room, but they were mostly moldy, hard, and covered in heavy dust.

They had to eat the gray mushrooms raw. The taste was disgusting, like chewing on a piece of resilient sponge.

But to maintain strength and replenish water, Chu Xiu forced himself to eat quite a bit.

"There aren’t many mushrooms in the building. We need to find a stable water source."

"There should be a river nearby. The school taught us how to make simple filters. If that fails, we can check the building’s water tanks for water."

While Chu Xiu was pondering, a piercing scream suddenly echoed from upstairs!

"Ah!!!"

The scream shattered the night's silence, followed by the rapid sound of footsteps, like numerous predators swarming a dying deer.

It was the third scream Chu Xiu heard that night.

More terrifying than the cold and hunger was the increased activity of the monsters wandering the apartment building at night.

The monsters in the building were far more numerous than they had imagined. Judging from the footsteps, their numbers increased significantly at night, and their senses seemed more acute.

Dark shadows flickered across the walls. Yun Lu, terrified, huddled closer to Chu Xiu.

He could feel Yun Lu’s cold hands, sometimes hearing her chattering teeth despite her attempts to suppress it.

Clearly, the clothes that had been sitting for over thirty years didn’t offer much warmth. The blankets they found were hard, the cotton inside oxidized.

"Wear this."

Chu Xiu removed his old cotton clothes. Without the process of taking them off, a thought made the clothes appear on the ground.

Yun Lu gasped, her face turning red. She instinctively wanted to refuse but hesitated before putting on Chu Xiu’s clothes.

She then quickly took off her oversized coat and handed it to Chu Xiu, stammering, "Th-this is for you."

Chu Xiu calmly put it on. With his increased physique after leveling up, he wasn’t as afraid of the cold. He didn’t want Yun Lu to get sick, as he needed her to find food later.

After putting on Chu Xiu's clothes, perhaps feeling his residual warmth, Yun Lu’s face turned even redder, all the way to her ears, but at least she stopped shivering.

After a while, she fell asleep, leaning on Chu Xiu’s shoulder.

Chu Xiu closed his eyes, seizing the chance to rest and regain his strength.

When the sun rose, Yun Lu was fast asleep in Chu Xiu’s arms, looking peaceful.

Chu Xiu gently moved her aside and found a set of short, combat-appropriate clothes in the bedroom wardrobe.

It was time to hunt.