"Watch Me Slice You Up": "No problem, I have a Location Card. Just DM me if you need help."
"Old White Dragon in the Waves": "Huh? Stronger than you?! Damn, our group is full of badasses."
"Bubbly Girl Pot-de-Gang": "Dragon Bro, did you forget about me and Magic Dude?"
"Golden Bell Iron Shirt": "@Bubbly Girl Pot-de-Gang Don’t sell yourself short. You two have the best luck—almost all the weird stuff I want comes from trades with you."
"Invincible Black Whirlwind": "Yeah, everyone’s strong! The monthly rankings should drop at midnight. Night owls can stay up and check."
"Old White Dragon in the Waves": "I’m waiting for those rankings. Gotta see who’s been flying under the radar but suddenly shot up this month. That Luck-Draining Card wasted two whole days of my time! Tomorrow, I’m hunting them down with a Location Card. Two days of opening crates with zero loot—what a waste."
"Warwolf 009": "I got two pistols from a golden supply crate today. Anyone need one? I only need one, so the other’s up for grabs."
"Chinese Master Chef": "I’ll take it! I can trade you vehicle upgrade fragments!"
"Warwolf 009": "Nah, keep ‘em. If you insist on trading, next time you offer me food, I won’t take it."
"Chinese Master Chef": "Hahaha, alright then, I’ll shamelessly take it."
Qi Xu also chimed in, "I have a Universal Bullet Blueprint. Free crafting service."
He then posted the required materials in the group chat.
"Chinese Master Chef": "Hell yeah! Make me 100!"
"Old White Dragon in the Waves": "200 for me."
"Warwolf 009": "Same, 200!"
After everyone sent over the materials, Qi Xu crafted 1,000 bullets and distributed them in the group.
"Invincible Black Whirlwind": "Take what you need."
He then sent 100 Survival Coins each to "Bubbly Girl Pot-de-Gang" and "Retired Magic Boy."
Both were stunned.
Just as they were about to decline, a new message from "Invincible Black Whirlwind" popped up.
Qi Xu replied uniformly, "Return them to me after the rankings drop at midnight."
"Bubbly Girl Pot-de-Gang": "Huh? You can do that?"
"Invincible Black Whirlwind": "Who said you can’t?"
"Retired Magic Boy": "Damn, this is what they call riding the coattails of a legend."
Qi Xu also sent 200 Survival Coins to "Watch Me Slice You Up" with the same reasoning.
Dongfang Yuan sighed before responding, "Leaderboards based on resources have never been my thing."
"Invincible Black Whirlwind": "Then I’ll send you another 200."
After lending out 600 Survival Coins, Qi Xu still had over 300 left...
Plenty to spare. He’d missed the Parallel Highway the past couple of days because of the gym, but if he’d run into any reckless players, he could’ve squeezed out even more coins.
Suddenly, he missed the garbage dump. Going there felt like coming home—always a profitable trip with good fortune. If boosting his stats wasn’t so urgent, he wouldn’t have spent both his Dungeon Selection Cards on the gym.
Closing the holographic screen, Qi Xu fed Energy Stones to his pet egg.
It was a painful process, but also thrilling...
He fed the egg one Energy Stone at a time—each stone increasing the incubation progress by 1% until it hit 100%...
The shell cracked. Qi Xu leaned in eagerly, wondering what kind of pet would emerge. He really wanted a...
Nope, no wishing. If the Survival Game heard, it’d do the opposite.
Soon, he was staring into a pair of big, dewy eyes.
Qi Xu’s expression faltered...
A puppy? Even though this was the Survival Game world, where logic didn’t always apply, watching a puppy hatch from an egg was still surreal.
Its fur was sparse, a pale yellowish-white. Hard to tell the breed—looked more like a Chinese village dog.
Unlike newborn pups, it seemed about three or four months old. When it opened its mouth, Qi Xu could even see tiny white teeth.
"Awoo..."
Qi Xu solemnly extended a hand. "Hello, I’m Qi Xu."
The puppy tilted its head in confusion, then lifted its right paw and placed it in Qi Xu’s palm.
Qi Xu had never had a pet before.
But the moment he felt the soft pads of its paw, his heart melted. He wanted to give it everything.
His eyes stung a little.
After walking this path alone for so long... it seemed he’d finally have a companion.
Now he understood why so many players in the last round scraped by just to buy a pet egg, even when they could barely feed themselves.
Being alone for too long was exhausting. Coming home to something this adorable felt like shedding all the built-up stress.
Qi Xu asked softly, "Do you like beef jerky?"
He pulled out a strip made by "Chinese Master Chef" and set it in front of the pup.
The puppy sniffed eagerly, nodding as it grabbed the jerky with its front paws and licked at it.
Worried it might get thirsty, Qi Xu washed an unused bowl and filled it with lukewarm water.
Then, thinking a newborn might need milk, he traded for a bucket of goat milk powder in the group chat.
Sure enough, the puppy abandoned the water for the milk, lapping it up with its pink tongue.
Qi Xu felt utterly healed—until he glanced at the holographic screen. Wait, this was a Combat Hound?
Pets came in several types: Functional, Combat, Support...
All provided significant benefits, but Combat Hounds were the most coveted. They could lure enemies, tank damage, letting their owners attack from a safe distance.
If they died... the player faced no penalties. That’s why, later on, some players sold pre-hatched pets—especially large, battle-ready ones—for sky-high prices.
But pets obtained this way had low loyalty.
With consistent care and bonding, though, loyalty could grow.
A loyal pet would die for its owner. And since survival was everything, top-tier combat pets fetched insane prices.
Some treated pets as companions. Others saw them as tools. Qi Xu had witnessed plenty of brutal, bloody examples in the last game.
Sometimes... humans seemed crueler than any Survival Game, capable of the most twisted, horrifying ideas.
..........
