Qi Xu didn’t even finish listening to the broadcast before immediately announcing in the small group chat, "Hold off on signing up for now."
Invincible Black Tornado: "I’ve got a dungeon team-up card. Let me figure out how to use it first."
Little Master Chef: "Uh... I think I’ll sit this one out. I’ve got almost no combat skills—I’d just drag you all down. Plus, I’m not great at puzzles or decoding either."
Wave-Riding Old White Dragon: "Dude, we’re finally meeting in person! So cool!"
Iron Shirt Golden Bell: "I’ll protect you. Let’s go together. @Little Master Chef."
Retired Magical Boy: "I’m trash too... Almost got wrecked by a purple-furred sheep yesterday..."
Try Me, Bitch: "Leave the monster-slaying to me! Quit whining!"
Wolf Warrior 009: "This is a rare opportunity. Let’s go together."
Little Master Chef: "Hahaha, as long as you guys don’t mind me being useless. Thanks for carrying me, legends!"
Qi Xu opened the dungeon team-up card.
[Applicable to any team-based dungeon. Input the names of players you wish to team up with, and they will automatically be grouped together. If the player hasn’t signed up, they will be automatically registered.]
After reading the rules, Qi Xu suddenly realized—this card could double as a murder weapon. If you had a grudge against someone, you could just drag them into your team and let your high-DPS teammates finish them off.
Qi Xu pondered further. If he had this card, others probably did too. If he ever got ganged up on by other players, how could he maximize his chances of survival? He’d need to prepare in advance.
But this time, he wasn’t planning to kill anyone. He just wanted to meet the friends he’d been chatting with for so long. Sometimes, text conversations were too one-dimensional—you needed face-to-face interaction to really understand someone.
He wanted to see if they were the kind of teammates he could trust in the long run. Eye contact and real-life chemistry mattered.
Oh, and maybe set a new server record for the dungeon. With Wolf Warrior 009 and Try Me, Bitch on the team, their firepower was maxed out. Wave-Riding Old White Dragon and Iron Shirt Golden Bell were no slouches either. If they didn’t take first place, it’d be a disgrace.
Qi Xu entered the names: "Invincible Black Tornado, Little Master Chef, Wave-Riding Old White Dragon, Pot-Smashing Maiden, Wolf Warrior 009, Retired Magical Boy, Iron Shirt Golden Bell, Try Me, Bitch"—exactly eight people.
The moment Qi Xu confirmed the selection, the others received the dungeon team notification.
Wave-Riding Old White Dragon: "Hahaha, I’m kinda hyped! Meeting up tomorrow morning! Feels like a blind date or something."
Pot-Smashing Maiden: "Right? First thing tomorrow, we’re playing ‘guess who’s who’!"
Little Master Chef: "I bet you’ll all recognize me the second you see me..."
Iron Shirt Golden Bell: "What’s there to guess? I already posted my photo in the group. [Smirk]"
Wolf Warrior 009: "Honestly, everyone’s got such distinct vibes. We probably won’t even need introductions—just look at each other and know."
Qi Xu smirked. Maybe, maybe not.
Even though it was late, the excitement of meeting up the next day kept everyone awake. They couldn’t sleep—no way!
The group chat exploded with 99+ messages in no time.
Invincible Black Tornado didn’t even remember when he dozed off. One moment he was typing, the next, his eyes just... shut.
The next morning, Little Master Chef woke up early to steam a huge batch of buns and prepare a variety of rice balls—both sweet and savory.
Considering the hot weather, he also whipped up several servings of cold-skin noodles, sliced and packed into containers with separate seasoning packets for easy eating on the go.
He even packed breakfast for everyone.
By the time the others woke up, the food was already shared in the group chat.
Little Master Chef: "I’m counting on you guys today—I’m seriously useless! Please go easy on me! I’ll handle all the logistics, promise!"
Wave-Riding Old White Dragon: "Keep being this polite, and I’ll spank you when we meet."
Little Master Chef: "[Pouting]"
At exactly 6 AM, Qi Xu started the car, cruising at 60 mph. With the supply boxes, the vehicle automatically pulled over when needed, requiring zero extra effort.
Ever since adopting Xiao Qi, Qi Xu’s first task every morning had become feeding the little furball.
When Xiao Qi stood up, Qi Xu suddenly noticed.
"Did you... grow overnight?"
The pup seemed noticeably taller.
Xiao Qi barked happily twice in response.
Qi Xu glanced at its bed—one energy stone was already gone.
His smile turned bittersweet. It was good that the little one had an appetite, but one stone a day?
He checked the pet stats.
Still Level 0, still in its infancy, but the progress bar had jumped to 67%. One more energy stone, and it’d level up.
That made Qi Xu feel a little better.
He took out another stone and placed it in Xiao Qi’s bed.
"Good boy. Eat up so you can grow big and strong. Today, I’m going hunting, so Xiao Qi has to guard our home, okay?"
Xiao Qi’s expression instantly turned dejected.
Qi Xu quickly added, "I know you’re the best. You’ll protect our home and keep the monsters out."
As long as Xiao Qi didn’t jump out of the car, it’d be safe. Even if players showed up, a Level 5 vehicle couldn’t be breached without Level 5 weapons.
Qi Xu just wanted to give the pup a sense of purpose—something to ease its disappointment.
Sure enough, Xiao Qi puffed out its chest and let out a few proud, booming barks.
Qi Xu gave a thumbs-up, showering the pup with praise.
Even with the vehicle storage box, Xiao Qi couldn’t be shrunk or stored away. Right now, it was too small to bring into battle, but once it hit Level 1, Qi Xu could start taking it out for training.
Then, Qi Xu hurried to wash up, eat breakfast, and gather all his usable weapons.
His main loadout was still the pink chainsaw, pistol, and longsword—rotating between the three as needed.
The assault rifle he’d gotten from the God of Light could be temporarily loaned to Little Master Chef for self-defense.
Aim didn’t matter—just spray into the monster hordes.
The "Unity is Strength" dungeon was a gauntlet-style challenge, featuring endless interconnected spaces.
To advance, the team had to wipe out all monsters in each space and solve the puzzle on the door to proceed.
Qi Xu couldn’t remember what the door puzzles were exactly, but they couldn’t be too hard—probably just mini-games or riddles. With eight people... surely someone would figure them out?
He’d been disconnected from the real world for so long that basic knowledge and academic memories had faded.
But the thought of meeting everyone soon sent a little thrill through him. Aside from Dongfang Yuan, no one had ever seen his face...
........
