Dongfang Yuan’s first instinct upon getting something good was to send it to Qi Xu. After all, she was used to being poor. These random items didn’t make much difference whether she kept them or not. But constantly owing favors made her uncomfortable—it was this nagging feeling of unease no matter what she did.
Why had everyone in the small group sent her Vehicle Upgrade Card fragments yesterday? Most likely, it was out of respect for the big shot "Invincible Black Whirlwind." After all, she hadn’t interacted much with most of them. Or maybe it was just their group’s friendly habit of helping each other out. And since she’d joined the group thanks to Qi Xu, of course she had to send the items to Qi Xu first.
When Qi Xu saw the line "chewed so many people to death," she almost laughed out loud. "Watch Me Slice You" was seriously adorable. But "chewed to death"? Probably just the first major elimination round... and those who’d argued with her happened to get kicked out.
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Take the stuff. It’s food that reduces fatigue and boosts health. Eat it now."
Only then did Watch Me Slice You accept it. Both her fatigue and health stats were flashing red, though honestly, those stats hadn’t been normal for ages... As long as she wasn’t dead, why bother overthinking it?
Qi Xu hesitated before taking all eight gifts. She was worried... If she refused, Dongfang Yuan might get so mad she’d even curse her out.
"Weapon Enhancement Card ×1," "Energy Stone ×1," "Vehicle Expansion Card ×1," "Energy Stone ×1," "Energy Stone ×1," "Smart AI Chip," "Vehicle Upgrade Card Fragment ×1," "Sleeping Pill ×1."
Qi Xu was stunned. "Smart AI Chip"?!
Holy crap, the most crucial—and rarest—item needed to upgrade her vehicle to Level 5, just like that?!
Who said Watch Me Slice You had bad luck? This was insane!
Qi Xu had thought it would take forever to gather all the upgrade materials... But now, suddenly, there was hope. She might even hit Level 5 before the end-of-month rewards dropped!
Maybe she could even set a new record.
Qi Xu glanced over the items Watch Me Slice You had sent again and returned the "Vehicle Expansion Card."
"My vehicle’s about to level up again. I don’t really need this—you take it. Otherwise, you won’t even have a place to sleep tonight."
Watch Me Slice You: "Huh? What the—already? Didn’t Little Chef say you needed 1,000 fragments?"
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Yep. I’m only about 100 short now."
Watch Me Slice You: "..."
Just listen to her. "Only about 100 short."
The chosen ones really had the audacity. A hundred fragments? Dongfang Yuan hadn’t even saved that many since she started playing this damn game. She suddenly felt like cursing the stupid system again.
With a clear goal, Qi Xu was fired up.
Just then, Little Chef teleported over a breakfast delivery—scrambled egg pancakes, boiled eggs, and millet porridge.
These ordinary, everyday foods were incredibly rare in a survival game, and they happened to be Qi Xu’s favorites.
That reminded her of the "dough balls" she’d "worked hard" to collect by getting beaten up the past couple of days.
Day one: 666 balls. Day two: 922 balls.
Since she had to focus on combat training, she could only mess around with the dough during the last half-hour on the fighting stage.
She had no use for the dough herself, so she sent 1,000 to Little Chef.
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "These should be special-effect dough balls. Make me some good stuff."
Little Chef: "!!!!!"
"Whirlwind, I freaking love you! I’ve been struggling to find special ingredients every day. There’s a quest—complete 10 dishes made with special ingredients, and you get a permanent stat boost!"
Qi Xu was shocked too. Damn, Little Chef was about to level up hard.
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Use these first. I’ve got more."
Little Chef: "Hah! Perfect! What do you want?"
Qi Xu answered immediately: "Lamb noodle soup."
Little Chef: "No problem. I’ll make it today and send it by noon."
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Make it dinner. I’m pushing ahead today—close to leveling up. Want to grab more supply crates for materials."
Little Chef: "What do you need? I’m nowhere near upgrading yet. Take my stuff, level up first, then pay me back. If you miss out on being server-first, it’d be such a waste."
Qi Xu didn’t bother being polite.
"Alright. I need 136 Vehicle Upgrade Fragments."
Little Chef sent them over instantly.
"I’ve got 141, so this works. Check what else you’re missing. I’m basic—I just wanna hear that server-wide announcement!"
Qi Xu pulled up the upgrade requirements.
"Iron (1888/4213), Glass (1888/5318), Battery (988/1123), Rubber (888/1485), Wire (188/2231), Copper (666/781), Silver (333/543), Gold (122/108), Energy Stone (99/69), Smart AI Chip (1/1)."
Most materials were already covered. She was only short 14 Gold and 30 Energy Stones.
Gold was easy—plenty of people would trade for it.
Energy Stones were trickier. Most players weren’t willing to part with them.
Qi Xu went straight to the group chats.
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Need Gold and Energy Stones, urgent. Who’s got some? Will pay in Survival Coins or borrow at double return."
Wave-Riding Old White Dragon: "Who needs borrowing? I’ve got you covered. How much? Is your vehicle about to level up?"
Warwolf 009: "I’ve got both."
Iron Shirt, Iron Pants: "Only 9 Energy Stones here, but plenty of Gold."
Spirit Girl Pot Gang: "Got both. Name your numbers—let’s all pitch in. I’m a noob with limited stuff, but I wanna be part of this. Whirlwind, give me a chance to contribute."
For the first time, Qi Xu truly felt the power of teamwork. Well, if everyone was offering, she wouldn’t hold back. With so many players worldwide, if some lucky soul snatched the server-first title, she’d be crying her eyes out.
The rewards for server-first? Absolutely insane.
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Gold ×14, Energy Stones ×30."
Wave-Riding Old White Dragon sent both in one go.
Wave-Riding Old White Dragon: "I’ll handle it all! Damn, you’re lucky—I’ve got exactly what you need. Hurry up and upgrade. I can’t wait to hear that announcement!"
Retired Magical Boy: "Aaaah, me too! And Old White Dragon, you’re unfair. So what if you’ve got extra Energy Stones? Let the rest of us have some fun."
Wave-Riding Old White Dragon: "Next time. Let Whirlwind level up first! Haha, I’m hyped! Feels like I’m the one upgrading."
Iron Shirt, Iron Pants: "Legendary."
Warwolf 009: "Let’s get some Whirlwind-style shock and awe!"
........
