ebookland Chapter 217: Who else wants to buy?
Chapter 217: Who else wants to buy?
When Rover and the others descended to the ground floor, the apartment complex lobby was much more crowded than usual.
After the third round, the system had supplemented a new batch of Survivors. A few still carried the weariness of having just passed through other dangerous areas. Several groups were gathered in corners exchanging information, looking for teammates, or trading items. Near the main entrance, quite a few people stood looking at the fog outside with eyes that held both wariness and greed, like they were gazing at a treasure chest sitting just behind an impenetrable wall.
The appearance of Rover’s group immediately drew attention.
Not because of Rover.
At least, most of the newcomers didn’t yet know who he was.
Only a small number of Survivors who had gone through the recent rounds recognized him as the owner of room 2705. The moment those people saw Rover they immediately went quiet, their gazes unconsciously falling on Rilia walking at the back, then quickly moving elsewhere.
But the rest only saw a man walking among a group of beautiful women.
Nanoe walked beside Rover. She wore a long dark dress. Her figure’s curves were soft. Her aura was gentle but not easy to approach. Selina walked on the other side, her figure alluring, every step light and easy like a large cat leisurely passing through its own territory. Elith was as cold as usual. A few small spiders crawled on her wrist then disappeared under her sleeve. Sunako wore her maid dress, holding the lantern tightly, trying to keep a serious expression while her eyes still kept scanning around. Rilia walked at the back, her body concealed beneath a wide cloak, only her pale neck visible.
Many people’s expressions immediately changed.
Greed.
Jealousy.
Then a very unpleasant kind of smile, like they were watching a fool carrying far too many spoils but without enough strength to keep them.
However, the level 5 and level 6 Survivors didn’t act.
They only watched.
A middle-aged man carrying a large sword on his back slightly narrowed his eyes, then quietly pulled his companion backward. A level 5 woman standing near a trading counter also looked at Nanoe and Selina for a few seconds before immediately lowering her head, pretending to continue checking the items in her hand.
They weren’t stupid.
A man who could bring along so many notable women in this chaotic world, yet none of them appeared frightened, reluctant, or unsettled, was certainly no ordinary Survivor.
Fools only saw the women.
Smart people looked at their expressions.
Nanoe showed no wariness toward the crowded lobby.
Selina even less so let the surrounding people enter her awareness.
Elith seemed not to care at all.
Even Sunako, who appeared the weakest, didn’t look as if she was under duress. She only quietly moved a little closer to Rover, as if her instincts had already determined this was the safest position.
But the lobby always had people who didn’t know how to read a situation.
A group of five stepped forward.
The one leading was tall with a scar running from the corner of his eye down to his chin. He wore old leather armor. A long saber hung at his side. His aura was only around Survivor level 3, but his eyes carried a confidence far exceeding what was necessary.
Perhaps he had just been newly added to the apartment complex.
Perhaps he had never seen what room 2705 had done.
Or perhaps he was simply stupid.
He looked at Nanoe first.
Then at Selina.
Finally his gaze swept past Sunako and the one hiding her body under the cloak.
"Hey, brother."
Rover didn’t stop walking.
The scarred man still smiled.
"Don’t be so cold. We’re all Survivors. Talking for a bit won’t hurt anyone."
Rover still didn’t react.
Nanoe gently spoke up.
"What do you want?"
The scarred man turned to look at her, his smile becoming even more pronounced.
"I just want to negotiate."
He raised his hand and pointed toward Nanoe and Selina, his voice carrying an arrogance as if he were talking about merchandise on a shelf.
"These two following him are only doing so to survive, right? I can pay in gold. Weapons work too. If you’d like, I can even offer you a spot in my room."
Sunako blinked.
Then quietly looked at Rover.
Rover remained calm.
No anger.
No reaction.
Not even the slightest change in expression, as if he had just heard a few dogs barking along the roadside.
Nanoe smiled.
Her voice was still soft.
"You’re misunderstanding something."
The scarred man raised an eyebrow.
"What thing?"
Nanoe looked at him.
"It’s not that we need Rover’s protection."
She paused for a moment.
"It’s that you should pray he doesn’t feel troubled."
The lobby went quiet for a beat.
Then a few laughs rang out.
The scarred man also burst out laughing.
"Hahaha... that does sound frightening."
He looked Rover up and down, then shook his head as if he had just heard a joke.
"But I’m still speaking politely. I haven’t even decided to take anyone by force yet. If the price isn’t enough, we can negotiate slowly."
One of the men standing beside him looked toward Rilia.
The wide cloak concealing her body prevented him from seeing the face inside. But precisely because he couldn’t see, he was only more curious.
"What about this one?"
He stepped forward.
"Why so covered up? Let me take a look first."
Nanoe tilted her head to look at him.
"Are you certain?"
The man grinned.
"Just pulling back a cloak. What’s there to..."
The hand he had just extended froze in mid-air.
Not voluntarily.
But because the entire arm had been frozen solid.
Crack!
A layer of pale blue ice spread from fingertip to wrist, then crawled up the arm at terrifying speed. The smile on his face immediately stiffened. He wanted to pull back, but his legs had also been locked to the floor.
"Wait..."
Crack!
The frost spread past his shoulder.
Past his chest.
Past his neck.
In just one breath, his entire body had become an ice statue.
Rilia stood still.
Her cold eyes looked at him through the darkness beneath the hood.
Then she gently waved her hand.
BOOM!
The ice statue shattered.
Fragments of ice mixed with flesh and blood fell to the floor, producing sharp, cold impacts. No battle. No struggle. No chance of resistance.
A Survivor alive just seconds before had become a pile of rubble.
The scarred man’s expression instantly changed.
"You bastard!"
He immediately drew the saber at his side.
But Rilia was faster.
A sharp ice spike suddenly shot up from beneath the floor and drove straight through his abdomen. The spike continued lifting his body more than a meter, then pinned him hard against the wall behind.
Thud!
The saber dropped.
The scarred man’s eyes went wide. Both hands grabbed at the ice spike, trying to struggle, but the cold aura had already penetrated his body, freezing his blood and organs in just a few seconds.
The two remaining men immediately turned to flee.
Rilia stamped her foot.
Crack! Crack!
Frost spread across the floor surface like an enormous serpent. In an instant, both of their feet were locked solid. One fell face-first to the ground. The other panicked and beat at the ice layer with his weapon, but the more he struck, the higher the frost crept.
Past the knees.
Past the waist.
To the chest.
Then stopped.
Rilia didn’t kill them.
No need.
The two trembled, their faces paper white, not daring to move even slightly for fear of drawing Rilia’s attention.
Cold aura coiled around Rilia.
The wide cloak was blown back by the cold wind, revealing her silver-blue hair, her sharp wolf ears, and her ice-cold eyes that made people involuntarily recall the nightmare that had occurred in the third round.
A Survivor standing nearby recognized her.
His expression immediately changed.
"The... Ice Wolf General..."
His trembling voice rang out in the lobby.
Those who had experienced the previous round immediately remembered.
The ice army.
The frozen rooms.
The monsters flooding through the corridor.
Cold aura covering the entire apartment complex.
And the cold female general who had appeared in the middle of the battlefield, causing many Survivors to only be able to close their room doors, hold their breath, and pray the monsters wouldn’t notice them.
But now, Rilia stood beside Rover.
Not bound.
Not reluctant.
No apparent resentment.
Like a blade that had found the hand to wield it.
Rilia raised her head.
[Frost Battle Domain] opened.
A thin layer of ice instantly spread throughout the lobby. Temperature dropped rapidly. Everyone’s breath became white smoke. Several Survivors standing nearby unconsciously stepped back, but no one dared turn and run too fast for fear of making a sudden movement that would draw Rilia’s attention.
She looked around.
Her voice was cold and indifferent.
"Does anyone else want to buy his women?"
No one answered.
Rilia slightly tilted her head.
"Step forward."
The lobby remained silent.
Even the level 5 and level 6 Survivors standing in the distance said nothing.
A few people looked at Rover. Their expressions had completely changed.
Because from beginning to end, he hadn’t made a move.
No need to speak up.
No need to threaten.
Just one woman walking beside him was already enough to silence the entire lobby.
Rover glanced at the ice fragments on the floor, then continued walking toward the main entrance.
Nanoe walked beside him.
The gentle smile on her face still hadn’t changed.
But this time, no one dared look at her for too long.
The crowd automatically parted to either side.
A path appeared in the middle of the lobby.
Rover’s group walked through slowly.
No one obstructed them.
No one dared say another word.
Behind them, the two Survivors still half-frozen trembled like stray dogs awaiting their owner’s judgment.
Rilia didn’t turn her head.
She let them live.
Not out of pity.
But because the living could spread word.
From today, the entire apartment complex would know one thing.
Room 2705 didn’t like to cause trouble.
But if anyone wanted to try, Rilia wouldn’t mind turning this lobby into an ice-cold graveyard.