Chapter 59: The Fourth Round Begins, Artillery Upgrade!

"Could the final bosses possibly be these ten people? There happen to be ten floors."

A sudden realization struck Xu Lang, causing him to involuntarily draw in a sharp breath.

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

Among these ten individuals, some controlled ghosts, some manipulated corpses, and others practiced the arts of poisonous insects and sorcery. These traits matched the elements appearing in this round of the game point for point!

At this thought, Xu Lang cast aside his distractions and dedicated himself entirely to reading the book.

It recorded the causes of death for the Ten Wicked Adepts, and within these pages lay the weaknesses that could be used to subdue them.

After finishing it, Xu Lang furrowed his brow.

With three extra days of preparation time, the players' situation looked exceptionally promising, yet a deep sense of unease lingered in his mind.

The ten individuals described in the book were simply terrifying, each of their past deeds more absurd and monstrous than the last.

Originally, he had intended to upgrade his Meditation Technique, but on second thought, skills of that nature were best reserved for periods of rest.

After all, meditation did not translate into immediate combat power. Should the other floors eventually collapse entirely and all the monsters flood toward his side, relying solely on the cyan steel door would certainly not be enough to hold them back.

This was not a question of whether his defense was sufficient; rather, he currently lacked adequate firepower!

Firepower was just as important as defense; otherwise, no matter how sturdy the gate was, it was nothing more than a turtle hiding in a shell!

"I need to scrape together enough Nightmare Coins to upgrade the two turrets to level four first. The door can wait a little; after all, the cyan steel door is already overpowered enough."

Xu Lang made his decision without hesitation.

Skills that increased attribute points were certainly tempting, but preserving his own life was far more important.

He had promised himself to play it safe and develop steadily, not to recklessly transform himself into a suicidal berserker.

——Congratulations on successfully breaching the dormitory door. Now, you must face a dormitory owner ten times stronger than the room itself.

The thought sounded rather pleasant, but putting it into practice was overwhelmingly difficult.

After daydreaming for a while, Xu Lang climbed into bed and went to sleep.

……

[Basic Nightmare Coins: 80, Conversion Rate: 330%, Total output over eight hours: 344 Nightmare Coins]

[Total Nightmare Coins: 743]

……

No pain, no gain; every bit of effort brought its reward. These thousand-plus Nightmare Coins were thoroughly deserved by Xu Lang!

Tong Qi had finally found her exclusive "outfit," raising her comfort level to 96 points.

The outfit consisted of a cute-style yellow T-shirt, jeans, and white canvas shoes.

She had hunted these down all by herself.

Moreover, the effect produced by that T-shirt in particular was strikingly obvious.

How should he put it?

It was a T-shirt featuring a Pikachu pattern. When worn by a busty girl, the two cartoon eyes of Pikachu came to life vividly, as if adorned with high-end designer makeup, doubling her cuteness.

At first, Tong Qi had felt rather shy, but under Xu Lang's strong insistence, she ended up wearing it anyway.

It was worth noting that even when stripping off their clothes for sleep, the comfort levels of the three women would not drop.

The exact reason remained a mystery to Xu Lang, who could only guess that it was because their images had already been deeply engraved in his mind.

Today marked the final day before the start of the game, and the players were fully equipped and brimming with confidence.

The supplies refreshed by the game time were exceptionally abundant, and nearly every player harvested something.

Inside the chat room:

[32 Ye Fan: Woohoo, this Daoist has succeeded! I finally grinded my iron door into a steel door!]

[49 Li Shuwen: Hahaha, congratulations, Protagonist-brother.]

[32 Ye Fan: Laughing so happily, Floor Leader, did you get some good loot too?]

[49 Li Shuwen: Just a wee bit.]

[40 Zhao Shuang: Floor Leader's turret has already been upgraded to level three. Now, even if level-three monsters come over, they'll have to think twice.]

[49 Li Shuwen: That level-three water dragon gun pretty much exhausted all my resources, and firing a single shot costs a fortune, so I wouldn't dare trigger it lightly.]

[44 Wang Ao: @Li Shuwen, Brother Li, I noticed the veteran players have all sorts of turrets. What kind of turret is actually the strongest?]

[49 Li Shuwen: There's no definitive answer to that. Some turrets have high attack speed, while others are slow; some deal area-of-effect damage, while others specialize in single-target sniping. However, among players, our main turrets are divided into two categories: physical attack and magical attack. Magical attacks usually deal area damage and have a restraining effect on ghost-type monsters.]

[186 Wu Huihui: Aren't there any turrets that combine both types of damage?]

[49 Li Shuwen: There are, but they're extremely expensive and rare. Blueprint prices are at least twenty percent higher than same-tier turrets, not to mention the material costs, and the copper coins required to fire them are also exorbitant... Hybrid-damage turrets are jokingly called aristocratic-style gameplay, something ordinary people can't afford to play.]

[40 Zhao Shuang: So our repeating crossbows belong to the fast-attack single-target sniping type then?]

[49 Li Shuwen: Correct. You guys have good luck; crossbow-type turrets have strong single-target sniping capabilities and an advantage in attack speed, making them suitable for newcomers.]

Li Shuwen was considered the most kind-natured among all the floor leaders. Many newcomers loved asking him questions, and whenever he saw them, he would answer patiently and tirelessly.

Xu Lang had seen his photo—he was a middle-aged man wearing a Zhongshan suit, possessing the dignified bearing of an "elder scholar" from the early modern period.

"Hybrid-damage aristocratic style?"

This was the first time Xu Lang had heard such a term, and he couldn't help but feel a spark of interest. He wondered if upgrading his turrets to level three would unlock the option for hybrid-damage turrets.

After a moment of contemplation, Xu Lang sought out Xu Ruyan to ask a few questions regarding hybrid-damage turrets.

Wallet: -1000 copper coins.

This woman—ever since Xu Lang had replied to her with a casual "hehe," she charged money for answering anything.

Inside the chat room, amidst everyone's chatter and laughter, the fourth round quickly arrived.

As soon as six o'clock in the evening struck, the dormitory broadcast sounded right on time.

[Dormitory Broadcast: Over the past three days, presumably everyone has found the supplies they desired and achieved their own little moments of contentment.]

[After eating and drinking your fill, it's time to slay some monsters!]

[In three minutes, a monster wave lasting ten minutes will arrive. Please prepare yourselves!]

[The fourth round of "Fierce Ghost Soul Return" officially begins!]

"The fourth round is this short?" Cao Yaxuan asked in surprise.

Wang Yazhi gripped her long sword and said, "A monster wave—it sounds like it's going to be tough."

In normal rounds, a single room door would only be besieged by one or two monsters, but a monster wave would likely bring many more.

"I have a feeling that's the case," Tong Qi nodded, the little yellow Pikachu on her chest nodding along bit by bit.

The compatibility between person and outfit was MAX!

Too bewitching!

Xu Lang glanced sideways, judging that there could never be a more powerful combination than this, and said aloud, "I feel like it's starting. Let me go see if I can upgrade the turret."

"Alright," Cao Yaxuan nodded.

Xu Lang walked over to the turret, while Cao Yaxuan and the other two women watched with undivided attention, their eyes filled with curiosity.

At this very moment, a trace of tension flickered in Xu Lang's heart.

Originally, he had wanted to wait until the turret's durability dropped before upgrading it, but that would inevitably damage the door's durability as well. Therefore, making a swift kill of the monsters would be the better choice.

[Nightmare Coins: -210]

[Please select from the following upgrade paths and make your choice within one minute:]

[One: Serrated Iron Crossbow: A standard level-three turret with barbed arrowheads, inflicting 34 damage with fast attack speed. Each crossbow bolt costs 80 copper coins.]

[Two: Swiftwind Crossbow: Capable of firing three crossbow bolts simultaneously after a brief charge-up, inflicting 17 damage with extremely fast attack speed. Each crossbow bolt costs 38 copper coins.]

[Three: Silver Iron-Wing Crossbow: Crossbow bolts deal demon-breaking damage, inflicting 37 damage with fast attack speed. Each crossbow bolt costs 120 copper coins.]

[Four: Army-Breaker Heavy Crossbow: A heavy crossbow featuring high self-durability and penetrating arrow effects, inflicting 60 damage with slow attack speed. Each crossbow bolt costs 180 copper coins.]

"Tsk~ How is anyone supposed to choose this!" The moment Xu Lang's eyes swept over the stats of the four turrets, a tangle of hesitation gripped his heart.

It wasn't that he didn't know how to choose; it was that he wanted to pick all of them!

The first one was immediately ruled out—it had no distinctive features.

The hallmark of crossbow-type turrets was speed, and the Swiftwind Crossbow pushed this characteristic to the absolute limit!

The Silver Iron-Wing Crossbow must be the legendary hybrid-damage crossbow, belonging to the aristocratic playstyle, costing 120 copper coins per bolt—truly expensive!

As for the Army-Breaker Heavy Crossbow, little needed to be said; its base attributes were formidable, and it was likewise a hybrid-damage weapon!

Put anyone in this position, and hesitation would be inevitable.

These attributes were simply too top-tier!