Chapter 562: Xu Lang: I Don’t Know, Maybe She Just Wants to Look Prettier
"Hahaha, the boss is mighty!"
"Elder Floating Life, your magic is boundless!"
"Do it again, boss, I want to see your God-Slaying Demon-Annihilating Spear fire one more time!"
Seeing Floating Life Play's single strike achieve results, the seventeenth-floor players blew their flutes and beat their drums, looking exactly like a bunch of clowns.
The seventeenth-floor players were notoriously pathological.
One reason was that while they were extremely terrified of Floating Life Play, they were also extremely devoted to him.
Moreover, the seventeenth-floor players dressed very differently from ordinary players, all flashy and colorful, as if they'd just run out of a broadcast studio.
"Hahaha!" Floating Life Play laughed as he continued using his harpoon to haul up the frog monster corpse.
As soon as Green Shadow stepped outside, she encountered this noisy bunch of creatures.
Frowning slightly, she took one step forward, and the next step brought her to the corridor's edge, where she flipped over to sit on the guardrail.
Floating Life Play glanced at her, then continued hauling the frog monster.
Half an hour passed, and Green Shadow was still watching, seemingly quite fond of observing Floating Life Play's operations.
"Do you have business with me?" Suddenly, Floating Life Play turned around, pointing the harpoon at Green Shadow as he asked with a smile.
The sharp, icy cold spearhead exuded a chill, with blood water rapidly dripping from its tip.
Floating Life Play wore a frog-skin raincoat; the blood rain drifted over but hadn't yet landed on his face before being blocked by the raincoat's effect.
Green Shadow was also wearing a frog-skin raincoat as she nodded and asked, "How does one become a Floor Leader?"
"Beat everyone on the seventh floor into submission, then make contributions to Demon King Castle," Floating Life Play replied.
"That woman over there, how dare you speak to our boss without honorifics!" A man with a frog-skin raincoat over ancient opera costume pointed at Green Shadow and shouted.
He'd just performed in a classic opera piece not long ago and still hadn't stepped out of character.
Green Shadow's face turned cold. She didn't respond, her form flickering as she vanished.
The seventeenth-floor players followed Floating Life Play with complete devotion for two reasons.
First, he was genuinely generous—when he had good things, he really shared them.
Second, he protected his own—when trouble came, he truly stepped up!
"So she wants to challenge Xu Lang? How interesting."
Withdrawing his gaze, Floating Life Play's lips curled upward, a hint of malice flickering in his eyes.
Without mind-reading ability, you couldn't survive in the Mad King Building, and since he frequently helped others control their SAN values for a high price, his mind-reading skill was top-notch.
Should he inform Xu Lang?
Every night, the Nightmare Apostle would report to Xu Lang.
Whatever the Mad King Building players said or did, Xu Lang would know; whatever they were thinking in their hearts, Xu Lang would also know.
"No need!"
"The Dorm Owner couldn't care less about this kind of thing!"
"There are countless people in this building who want to challenge him!"
Xu Lang was so far ahead that it seemed like no one was resisting.
But the moment he showed any sign of weakness, the madmen would do what madmen do.
Everyone thought they were just one step away from being a top student—all they needed was effort.
Moreover, Mad King Building players didn't exactly value reason and logic.
If they didn't stay crazy, what would they use to fight against the horrors beyond logic?
...
Nightfall.
The water level at the base of the Mad King Building had risen to two meters high, with many low-rise structures in the building submerged. The frog monsters were like fish in water inside.
The number of frog monsters had decreased, but their quality had increased, making them quite troublesome to deal with.
A white figure flashed. Wang Yazhi, like a moonlit fairy, leaped onto the twentieth-floor corridor. Her snow-white long sword reflected the moonlight, gleaming brilliantly.
Wang Yazhi raised her sword and glanced at it: "The durability has decreased. I'll have to bother Wenwen again later. I should have just switched swords."
This was a legendary-grade long sword. She'd gone down and slaughtered extensively, but the blood of high-level frog monsters had a corrosive effect.
"Sister Yazhi, why haven't you come home yet? It's cold outside." Dormitory 399's door opened, and Tao Tao looked at Wang Yazhi as she spoke.
"Hehe, I'll head back in a bit." Wang Yazhi smiled and asked, "Tao Tao, why aren't you asleep this late? Is Aunt Luo still researching?"
Tao Tao quickly made a shushing gesture: "Shh, I snuck awake!"
"You should go to sleep soon." Wang Yazhi smiled.
"Sister Yazhi, can you take me out to play?" Tao Tao asked, standing on her tiptoes.
Two bio-androids stood at the doorway, under orders from Luo Lin not to let her out.
Wang Yazhi glanced at the two bio-androids and smiled faintly: "I can't help either."
Getting into the habit of going out to play wasn't good—the Mad King Building wasn't a playground.
"Alright..." Tao Tao lowered her head, looking very dejected.
"What's wrong, Tao Tao? Is there somewhere you want to go play?" Wang Yazhi softened easily when it came to children, her gaze becoming gentle.
Tao Tao was the only child in the Mad King Building, and everyone adored her.
"It's been so long since I've seen Brother Xu Lang." Tao Tao's little body wriggled around. The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she became, with a hint of glistening appearing in her eyes.
Wang Yazhi had originally wanted to give Tao Tao some snacks, but seeing her like this, she knew snacks probably wouldn't help.
"Uh... well, let me see if I can get Xu Lang to come out." Wang Yazhi felt it wasn't appropriate for Tao Tao to go to Demon King Castle right now—she might see something not so pleasant.
"Great! I love Sister Yazhi the most!" Tao Tao beamed with joy.
Wang Yazhi sent a private message to Xu Lang. Not long after, Xu Lang came out.
"Brother Xu Lang, Brother Xu Lang!" Tao Tao was like a fan meeting their idol in person, frantically trying to rush out but stopped by the bio-androids.
"Haha, Tao Tao, long time no see." Xu Lang stepped forward and picked up Tao Tao. His identity level was equal to Luo Lin's, so the two bio-androids didn't stop him. "Last time, weren't you calling me uncle? Why'd you switch back to brother?"
"I feel like Uncle Xu Lang has gotten younger!" Tao Tao replied.
Kids would call someone uncle one minute and brother the next, with no consistency—who knows, maybe someday she'd be calling him daddy.
"Alright then." Xu Lang nodded.
Since he had nothing to do right now anyway, Xu Lang followed Wang Yazhi into Dormitory 399.
Luo Lin came out upon hearing the noise, wearing her iconic white lab coat.
This lab coat was no ordinary garment—it provided bonuses to both energy and intelligence.
"Aunt Luo." Wang Yazhi greeted her.
Luo Lin usually had to do experiments while also taking care of Tao Tao; it wasn't easy.
"It's Xu Lang and Yazhi. I happen to have something I need to discuss with you both." Luo Lin smiled as she spoke.
"What is it?" Wang Yazhi asked.
Luo Lin hung her white lab coat on the drying rack, revealing her figure in a wool-neck sweater. It instantly added a touch of domestic warmth as she said, "I want to recruit two roommates to help take care of Tao Tao and assist with my research."
Back when Cao Yaxuan and the others would drop by whenever they had time, Tao Tao had plenty of company. But after the Neighborhood Committee's affairs had expanded, Tao Tao had grown somewhat lonely.
Wang Yazhi's gaze sharpened slightly as she looked at Xu Lang.
"Sure, do you already have someone in mind?" Xu Lang nodded, secretly sending a private message to Wang Yazhi.
[Xu Lang: Is there something wrong with Aunt Luo?]
Given Demon King Castle's current level of control, there was no need for Luo Lin to be so guarded about recruiting two roommates.
[Wang Yazhi: What's up with Aunt Luo? She never used to wear clothes like this before.]
Luo Lin's turtleneck sweater was very figure-flattering, accentuating her full and alluring feminine curves.
[Xu Lang: I don't know, maybe she just wants to look prettier.]
Gotta hand it to women—their sixth sense was truly sharp.
And women understood women's thoughts best.
If a woman suddenly started caring about her appearance, there was absolutely a secret reason for it.
"Yes, Yan Xiaoli from Dorm 395 and Jiang Xiaowen." Luo Lin said with a smile.
"What made the two of them suddenly want to switch rooms?" Xu Lang asked curiously.
"Because someone wants to buy their dormitory, and neither of them likes fighting anyway, so I simply invited them to move into mine," Luo Lin explained. "The tenant slots were just sitting empty anyway."
"Fine." Xu Lang had no objections.
If someone was moving into Dorm 399, he definitely needed to vet them.
But since it was Jiang Xiaowen and Yan Xiaoli, there was no problem.
Come to think of it, that dormitory of theirs was pretty interesting.
Once a monster was locked in the dungeon, it was considered as good as dead. If there were any game bosses they couldn't handle, they could just stuff them straight in.
Just then, the three of them heard the soft sound of breathing.
Xu Lang looked down and found that Tao Tao had already fallen asleep in his arms. Her porcelain-white face had delicate pink lips gently parting, looking absolutely adorable.
After a few minutes, Tao Tao had fully entered dreamland. Xu Lang carried her into the bedroom, then said goodbye to Luo Lin.