Level up to 1?!

WTF??!

How did she do it?!

Jiang Ye, who was lounging on the apartment sofa, suddenly flipped up in shock and quickly checked the chat group.

Sure enough, the whole chat exploded in an instant!

[Holy sh*t!!! Wang Lingling from Class 2? She leveled up to 1!]

[I heard it! Damn, I just got out of the elevator, and the announcement nearly scared me to death!]

[Wait, what? How did Wang Lingling level up?! Killing monsters? Doesn't that mean the apartment is dangerous?]

[Am I the only one curious about what's inside Wang Lingling's Black Iron Treasure Chest?]

[@Wang Lingling, come on, share with us! How did you level up?!]

[@Wang Lingling! We're all classmates. Important information should be shared!]

[I bet she won’t say a word! If there's an announcement and a reward for the first to reach Level 1, then there must be something for the first to reach Level 2 too!]

[As long as she keeps this secret, she could stay ahead and keep raking in the rewards!]

[@Wang Lingling, don’t be naive! We have so many classmates here, we’ll figure out the secret sooner or later! When that happens, S-tier ability user Chang-ge will definitely outlevel you! If you keep hiding it now, don’t blame him for not taking you along later!]

[Yeah, Chang-ge, say something! I think you should be the one to make Wang Lingling share the secret. Let’s see if she still dares to keep it to herself then!]

For a moment, Wang Lingling, the first to level up but remaining silent in the group, had suddenly become the public enemy of all.

From the messages, it was clear that almost all the students were desperate to level up.

They wanted to use Gao Chang’s influence to pressure Wang Lingling into revealing the secret.

And Gao Chang himself was surely just as eager to level up.

So, following the crowd’s wishes, he quickly tagged Wang Lingling:

[@Wang Lingling, where are you? Why don’t you come to the first floor? I think it’s fate that so many of us got transported here together. We should stick together—our chances of survival will be much higher.]

Soon, other classmates chimed in:

[Yeah, yeah! Don’t forget, the announcement mentioned veteran players entering the apartment! If we newbie players don’t stick together, how are we supposed to compete with them later?]

[Exactly! Wang Lingling, don’t be selfish. Key information should be shared with everyone!]

[That’s right! If I had discovered some crucial information, I’d definitely share it with everyone!]

This moral coercion was coming in strong, one after another.

Jiang Ye watched the drama unfold, secretly hoping Wang Lingling would share the leveling secret.

After all, leveling up had to come with some benefits.

In this kind of survival scenario, even the slightest increase in strength could mean a greater chance of staying alive!

That’s why these classmates were throwing away all sense of camaraderie and resorting to guilt-tripping—they were simply too eager to become stronger!

And so, under the relentless pressure of her classmates, Wang Lingling finally spoke up!

But her first message was—

[Wang Lingling]

[Level: 1]

[Stamina: 6.8]

[Energy: 8.4]

[Combat Power: 68]

[Survival Points: 0]

[Ability: Dark Element Affinity (S)]

[Skills: Shadow Replica (A), Summon Undead (B), Black Whirlwind (B)]

…

This…

Was this Wang Lingling’s player panel??!

All the classmates, including Jiang Ye, were completely dumbfounded by the message!

Her panel was way too damn OP!

She had an S-tier ability, yet she had also unlocked one A-tier skill and two B-tier skills!

And both Shadow Replica and Summon Undead looked like seriously powerful skills!

Even crazier—her combat power was 68!

That was 20 points higher than Gao Chang, who also had an S-tier ability!

…

The chat group fell into complete silence, as if the entire world had gone still.

A moment later, Wang Lingling sent another message:

[The skills one unlocks seem to depend on both ability rank and individual comprehension.]

[The higher your comprehension, the more skills you unlock, and the stronger their rank.]

[But skills acquired through comprehension shouldn’t exceed the rank of one’s ability.]

[Now, let me ask—does anyone here have an ability ranked higher than S-tier?]

Higher than S-tier?

Jiang Ye’s X-tier ability should be exactly that.

But his ability was a growth-type one.

Right now, at its weakest stage, there was no way he was dumb enough to expose it in the chat.

So, no one responded.

Wang Lingling continued:

[OK, from what we can see, out of the 80 people here, I should currently be the strongest.]

[Now, if you all want me to share the leveling secret, I have a condition.]

[You keep saying we’re a team, that we need to be united and help each other.]

[But I know very well that some people have their own selfish interests and don’t actually want to be united.]

[And if I have valuable information, there’s no reason for me to share it with those who refuse to cooperate.]

[So, here’s my proposal—]

[Just like Gao Chang suggested, everyone willing to work together should gather on the first floor.]

[Once we’re all there, I’ll publicly reveal the secret to leveling up.]

[In other words, those who refuse to gather—those who choose to act alone—will have no right to access my information.]

As soon as she said this, classmates quickly agreed:

[I’m in! There’s nothing wrong with teamwork! I’m already on the first floor. Wang Lingling, when will you be here?]

[Ohhh, so that’s what you meant! Sorry for misunderstanding you earlier, Sister Ling !]

[Yeah, I apologize too! I didn’t expect you to be so generous, Sister Ling !]

[With Sister Ling and Chang-ge leading us, our class will definitely survive this newbie apartment!]

[Yes! When the veteran players arrive, we can’t let them beat us!]

Clearly, after seeing Wang Lingling’s player panel, their attitude toward her had shifted dramatically.

Some even seemed more respectful toward her than toward Gao Chang.

But as Jiang Ye processed Wang Lingling’s words, a thought formed in his mind.

Sure enough, while waiting for the elevator, he saw Wang Lingling’s latest message pop up.

[Guys, don’t start sucking up just yet—I’m not finished talking.]

[When I say “unity and cooperation,” I mean that everyone must gather together, share information, share resources, and act as one unit.]

[I will take you all through the leveling process, help you earn rent, and ensure that every single member of our team survives this newbie apartment challenge.]

[But in return, I expect complete transparency from everyone who joins the team.]

[So, once we gather, everyone must voluntarily display their player panel to the team.]

[From then on, any actions taken must be reported to me and Gao Chang.]

[And any gains from those actions will be shared among everyone!]

Now this… this was basically dropping all pretenses.

Before, when the classmates talked about “unity,” they just meant sticking together for safety in numbers.

But Wang Lingling’s version of “unity and cooperation” was clearly about establishing strict, military-style control over everyone.

She was obviously worried that some people might have awakened powerful abilities and were hiding them.

So she wanted complete control over all the students.

And sure enough, after her announcement, the group’s reaction wasn’t as eager as before.

Still, a few people quickly spoke up:

[That’s fine with me! As long as Sister Ling and Chang-ge lead us to victory, I’ll do whatever you say! Showing my player panel is no big deal!]

[I don’t mind either, but… after we form a team, you’re not going to assign weaker members to dangerous tasks on purpose, right?]

Gao Chang: [Of course not! Our group is called the Unity and Cooperation Team—our entire purpose is to unite and help each other. Don’t overthink it!]

[Sister Ling has already joined us on the first floor! And everyone who’s gathered here has agreed to her plan!]

[If you want to join the team, come to the first-floor gathering spot now!]

[But if you choose to act alone, then don’t come crying to us for help later, trying to guilt-trip us with classmate loyalty when you get into trouble!]

With that message, the few students who wanted to be independent immediately felt pressured.

And those who were still undecided started leaning toward joining the group.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ye’s replica finally got to the elevator.

With a ding, the elevator doors slid open.