Soon, everyone's screens uniformly displayed a large firecracker shooting into the sky, followed by a leaderboard descending from above... The sense of ceremony was absolutely maxed out.
【Monthly Leaderboard of Hua Nation, Zone 88, District 666】
【1st Place: Invincible Black Whirlwind (Distance: 5,724 km) (Asset Value Score: 51.2)】
【2nd Place: Old White Dragon of the Waves (Distance: 4,121 km) (Asset Value Score: 26.1)】
【3rd Place: War Wolf 009 (Distance: 3,988 km) (Asset Value Score: 25.3)】
【4th Place: Swimming & Fitness Coach Chen (Distance: 3,689 km) (Asset Value Score: 24.1)】
【5th Place: Golden Bell Iron Shirt (Distance: 3,888 km) (Asset Value Score: 22.3)】
【6th Place: Little Master Chef】
【7th Place: Spirited Girl Pot Breaker】
【8th Place: Stay Low-Key】
【9th Place: Blessed by Luck】
【10th Place: Breaking the Cocoon】
【16th Place: Retired Magical Boy】
【18th Place: Watch Me Slap You】
Overall, the rankings were pretty decent. For Slap You Sis to make it to 18th was already quite an achievement. Though no one expected Old White Dragon to rank higher than War Wolf.
In the last round of the game, Old White Dragon of the Waves had managed to break into the top ten without any tavern resources. This round, he had been soaring from the very start.
Every member of the small team had their own unique flair.
Qi Xu had just claimed his rewards and hadn’t even had time to check their contents when he noticed the chat room erupting into a frenzy of discussion—so lively it was almost overwhelming.
Some were comparing rewards from the top 100, while others were drowning in envy.
Until...
Max-Level Fruit Fan: "Who is Stay Low-Key? Never heard of this name in any previous leaderboards or rankings. How did they snag 8th place out of nowhere?"
Stay Low-Key had been staring at the screen and tensed up the moment someone mentioned them.
But they didn’t reply immediately. If no one kept talking about it, it might just blow over—after all, staying low-key was the best way to quietly reap benefits.
But... of course, everyone suddenly remembered the Luck-Siphoning Card incident.
Cursed by Misfortune: "That makes sense. Who’s the jerk who did it? My rank dropped past 2,000..."
Old White Dragon of the Waves: "@Stay Low-Key, bro? Sis? Care to explain?"
Seeing that even the 2nd-ranked player had stepped in, Stay Low-Key couldn’t stay silent anymore.
Stay Low-Key: "Don’t misunderstand, everyone. I just happened to get a diamond supply crate this afternoon with some great items, so my rank shot up a bit. Of course, I’m nowhere near as strong as you top players! [fist bump][fist bump][fist bump]"
Old White Dragon immediately lost interest. What a thorny issue—if they had just stayed quiet, he might’ve gone after them, but now that they’d given an explanation, he couldn’t be bothered.
Stay Low-Key: "I’m sure everyone’s had their own lucky breaks. Retired Magical Boy and Spirited Girl Pot Breaker weren’t on any leaderboards before either, right? Now they’re ranked too.
Not that I’m implying anything—just giving examples. Our district’s atmosphere has always been great, and Boss Whirlwind has worked hard to maintain it. Let’s not stir up trouble over small things and upset the big shots."
Qi Xu smirked. This person was really something. Without that last addition, it wouldn’t have been clear whether they’d taken the Luck-Siphoning Card. But now, their desperate attempt to redirect blame was practically a confession.
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Right before the rankings locked, I happened to trade some rare items with those two."
Qi Xu, never one to miss a chance to stir the pot, posted screenshots of sending survival coins to the two players.
Player 1030: "Well, that clears things up."
Watch Me Slap You: "I just wanna know—did siphoning my luck get you anything good, kid?"
Cursed by Misfortune: "Damn, @Stay Low-Key, you really played yourself with that ‘low-key’ act."
Old White Dragon of the Waves: "You better send compensation supplies tonight to every player you siphoned luck from. Otherwise, meet me at Parallel Highway at 10 AM tomorrow. I’ll swallow anything except losses—otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep."
War Wolf 009: "Same here."
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Agreed. Fair’s fair."
They couldn’t just let Old White Dragon fight this battle alone.
It wasn’t really about the supplies—it was about making a statement. If they let this slide, anyone who got their hands on a Luck-Siphoning Card would target them next. How disgusting would that be?
Using the Luck-Siphoning Card wasn’t the problem. The issue was either doing it quietly—without getting caught—or, if exposed, being prepared to pay the price.
This would make the next person think twice before using one.
Stay Low-Key didn’t reply in the group anymore. Instead, they threw a tantrum in their carriage, jumping and screaming, before finally resigning themselves to sending compensation supplies to all 16 players they’d siphoned luck from.
Of course, the compensation varied.
Top players like Invincible Black Whirlwind, Old White Dragon of the Waves, and War Wolf 009—who were strong and made their stance clear—received the most.
Each of them got 30 Vehicle Upgrade Card fragments and two Weapon Enhancement Cards.
As for the others? Just three Vehicle Upgrade Card fragments each, paired with assorted daily supplies—food, drinks, miscellaneous items. The piles looked impressive, but in reality, they were worthless.
When it came to Watch Me Slap You, Stay Low-Key vaguely recalled that this player was notoriously unlucky and probably hadn’t seen anything good in a while. So they tossed them two packs of instant noodles and two moldy, expired bread.
All things considered, Stay Low-Key still came out ahead—but they were absolutely fuming.
With so many fragments given away, upgrading to Level 5 anytime soon was now impossible.
Qi Xu, lacking an omniscient perspective, had no idea Stay Low-Key was connected to that ridiculous couple, Chief Beauty Officer. Otherwise, he would’ve wiped them out. But since they’d apologized and the compensation seemed sincere, he let it go.
Only then did he finally check the rewards for ranking first on the monthly leaderboard.
"Energy Stones ×50, Survival Coins ×100, Vehicle Upgrade Fragments ×100, Weapon Enhancement Cards ×2, Special Dungeon Summoning Card ×1, 3D Attribute Boost Pill ×1, Full BBQ Set ×1."
The monthly rewards were all practical for the current stage. But when Qi Xu saw no Plunder Card at the end, he clicked his tongue.
Of course they wouldn’t hand out something that good. And that little note was practically an invitation for whoever got the Plunder Card to come after him.
A shortcut to the top—just take down the current #1.
The rest of the group had performed well too. They immediately returned the survival coins they’d borrowed, then shared their rewards in their private chat.
Retired Magical Boy: "Stay Low-Key really bled this time. I got five Vehicle Upgrade Card fragments and a ton of food and supplies!"
Warwolf 009: "Talk about favoritism. I got 30 vehicle upgrade card fragments and two weapon enhancement cards here."
Old White Dragon of the Waves: "Same here."
Dongfang Yuan stared at the moldy bread in his hand, lost in thought. What the hell is this supposed to mean?!
"???"
.........
