Chapter 175: Dormitory Upgrade
[Congratulations, player. Credits have exceeded 44, and gold coins have exceeded 4,444. You have been promoted to Level 1. Level 1 player privileges: spend gold coins to upgrade dormitory, upgrade game backpack, and enter the entertainment space.]
Mu Lantu almost burst into tears of joy.
He could finally upgrade his dormitory!
The lecture hadn’t started yet. Xu Huazhang sat behind the podium, his gaze fixed on Mu Lantu. Mu Lantu was calmly collecting money and flyers, yet the cheerfulness radiating from him was so strong that Xu Huazhang almost felt he could see a second soul dancing joyfully beside him.
What good thing had just happened?
A gentle, indulgent smile touched Xu Huazhang’s handsome face, captivating everyone present.
Female players stared blankly, and even some male players were dazed.
Zhao Yuanzhou sighed silently. Clarity returned to his eyes—at this moment, he gave up completely.
After the last student paid, Mu Lantu looked toward Xu Huazhang and gave him a quick, playful wink. They had struck gold—more than 300 people came today, and he collected over 13,000 gold coins!
No wonder Xu Huazhang had said they’d never lack gold coins. See? The coins were rolling in!
Xu Huazhang stood, pointed to a seat in the front row, and beckoned Mu Lantu over.
It was the seat he had saved for him.
Mu Lantu picked up the bag on the seat, hugged it to his chest, sat upright, and gazed at Xu Huazhang with fascination. Why could he never get enough of this man?
Though Xu Huazhang no longer looked his way, the faint curve of his lips gave him away. He raised his wrist—one more minute.
005 said admiringly: [Host, your man is incredible! In less than ten minutes he earned over 10,000 gold coins!] Xu Huazhang was truly a genius, coming up with such a money-making idea—indeed, a man who lived off his talents!
[Of course. Who do you think he belongs to?] Mu Lantu replied without a shred of modesty.
One minute later, the class bell rang.
Xu Huazhang closed the door, stepped onto the podium, and scanned the audience.
The lecture officially began.
“To clear dungeon missions, the first prerequisite is good physical fitness. Second, strong psychological endurance. Since you’re all university students, I won’t dwell on these.”
The players nodded eagerly, waiting for more practical knowledge.
“Today I’ll focus on the third point—maintaining good relationships with natives, in other words, raising their favorability. Take the Min’an Town dungeon as an example: my partner and I obtained fourteen items there.”
Mu Lantu’s eyes shone with pride. Xu Huazhang truly knew how to stir up excitement.
“What? Fourteen?”
Everyone was shocked, the room in an uproar.
A male student shot up. “Impossible! Even if you were Infinite University’s favored sons, that’s impossible!”
Many agreed.
“Yeah, fourteen items? Too exaggerated!”
Mu Lantu also stood up, pulling out a stack of red envelopes from his game backpack. Xu Huazhang added his own and placed them together.
Zhao Yuanzhou whispered to Song Bochao, “Do you think it’s real?”
Song Bochao smiled. “Xu Huazhang wouldn’t stoop to lying. Mu Lantu once gave me a red-envelope item—it was genuine.”
Those nearby, like Zhang Junyang and Qi Tianlu, overheard and glared enviously at the back of his head. Being close to the big shots clearly had benefits.
Xu Huazhang remained calm. “Who’d like to try? Pick one at random and see if the ‘item discovered’ prompt appears.”
Everyone knew that touching an item in a dungeon would trigger a discovery prompt—hardly a secret.
“Me!” The loudest protester leaped down the aisle and rushed to the front.
Students instinctively craned their necks to see.
Those behind protested, “Sit down! This is a tiered classroom—we can still see if you sit!”
The standing students quickly sat again, apologizing.
Xu Huazhang gestured for the boy to choose freely.
The boy drew a deep breath and picked one. His eyes widened—“It’s really an item!”
“Read the description,” Xu Huazhang said evenly.
The boy read aloud: “Consumable item, imbued with ordinary people’s heartfelt blessings, effective against regular evil spirits.”
Everyone gasped.
Still, someone shouted, “Draw another one!”
The boy clearly wanted to. Excited, he asked, “Xu—Xu Teacher, may I draw again?”
Xu Huazhang nodded, unconcerned about theft.
The boy didn’t dare try stealing anyway—no one would risk offending someone like him.
He drew another. This time, he happened to pick the one from the shopkeeper woman.
His voice shot up in excitement: “Red Envelope: permanent item, imbued with a merchant’s heartfelt blessings, effective against all evil spirits! Duration: 24 hours; cooldown: 24 hours! This one’s even stronger than the last!”
The classroom boiled over like a pot of water!
Xu Huazhang gestured him back to his seat, then pressed down with his right hand. Instantly, the room fell silent.
It was his first true display of authority at Infinite University.
Mu Lantu snapped pictures like an adoring fanboy.
“Now, let’s go over Min’an Town’s details, so those who haven’t experienced it won’t be lost. The dungeon task was to survive twenty days in town. My partner and I spawned in Guotai Town. Our first step was observing the surroundings—it was just before the New Year. Asking for directions, we met a shopkeeper woman…”
For forty-five minutes, Xu Huazhang delivered nothing but valuable knowledge. Not one person left, not one daydreamed. Some even scribbled notes feverishly, as if in a real class.
When the bell rang, the spell broke.
Xu Huazhang said calmly, “That’s all for today. Class dismissed.”
Students surged forward but dared not come too close, leaving a two-meter circle around him.
“Teacher Xu, when’s your next lecture?”
“Please tell us in advance! More people will come next time, and I don’t want to miss out!”
“Please, Teacher Xu!”
Du Niannian couldn’t hold back tears. Not to win his sympathy, but because Xu Huazhang had given her hope to live.
She had never dared enter a dungeon, too terrified of death. She’d survived only thanks to a boy supporting her with gold coins. She called it borrowing, but deep down, she knew it was self-deception. He was kind, never demanding anything from her—but such a life had no security. Now, with real survival skills, she could finally stand on her own.
Xu Huazhang glanced at the schedule. “Next Monday. Time and location will be announced. Don’t worry about seats—it will be in a larger classroom.”
Relieved, the crowd dispersed.
Xu Huazhang took Mu Lantu’s hand, and they left together.
Behind them, students lingered, buzzing with excitement.
“Best fifty gold I ever spent!”
“Yeah, everything Xu Huazhang said was practical! I did Min’an Town too, but found nothing and survived fifteen days by hiding.”
“Don’t call him ‘classmate’ Xu anymore—Teacher Xu!”
“Right! Teacher Xu! I can’t wait for his next lecture!”
“Doesn’t matter the topic, as long as it’s useful!”
…
Outside the building, Mu Lantu hugged Xu Huazhang tightly.
“Congrats, Teacher Xu, on a perfect first lecture!”
“Naughty,” Xu Huazhang chuckled, holding him close. “Feeling happier now?”
Mu Lantu’s heart softened. He nodded. “Happy. The timing was perfect—last night was the third self-study, and since it wasn’t exam-related, it shattered students’ illusions. To survive, they’ll cling to any lifeline. That’s why so many came, even to a student’s lecture.”
Xu Huazhang nodded. That had been his plan.
“Today builds your reputation. Next time, even more people will come—and then you can charge again.”
Mu Lantu’s eyes curved into crescent moons. “Wait—I’ll transfer half to you. Surprise!”
“Oh? You leveled up?” Xu Huazhang guessed immediately.
Mu Lantu rolled his eyes at him. This man!
Xu Huazhang smiled. A moment later, after receiving the transfer, his watch displayed the same system notification.
Clicking “Level 1” opened a page with three options: upgrade dormitory, upgrade backpack, entertainment space.
Without hesitation, Xu Huazhang tapped “Upgrade Dormitory.”
Ten-person dorm: shared dormitory, cost 500 gold.
Four-person dorm: 4 bedrooms (4 baths), 2 living rooms, 1 kitchen, cost 1,000 gold.
Two-person dorm: 2 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, 1 kitchen, 2 baths, cost 1,500 gold.
Single dorm: 2 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, 1 kitchen, 1 bath, cost 2,000 gold.
And more luxurious apartments listed below…
Mu Lantu quickly stopped his hand. “Big baby, upgrade your backpack first.”
Xu Huazhang clasped both his hands, gazing silently at him with an inexplicable hint of grievance.
Mu Lantu coaxed gently, cupping his face and kissing his lips. “Be good. Expand your backpack first. Whatever dorm you want after, I’ll agree.”
A smile flashed in Xu Huazhang’s eyes. “Alright. Thank you, baby.”
He tapped “Upgrade Backpack.” The system prompted:
[Each 1 cubic meter expansion of backpack costs 200 gold.]
“Expand to 8 cubic meters first,” Mu Lantu suggested. “That’ll be 2 meters in length, width, and height.”
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