Qi Xu asked the group, "How is everyone? Do we need to rest and adjust?"
"I don't!" Dongfang Yuan hugged her machine gun like a treasure and strode ahead without hesitation.
The others all indicated they weren’t feeling particularly tired, so Qi Xu pressed the button for the third level without delay. The gate slowly creaked open.
The monsters in Level 3 were green-haired fiends—all of them ordinary-tier, numbering around sixty in total. Though there were quite a few, their strength was pitifully weak. Even the "Three Noobs" joined in for a round of fighting.
Seeing this, Dongfang Yuan promptly sidestepped to the side. These brainless monsters were so feeble that punching them felt like bullying children.
Level 3 took a while to clear, mainly because Wolf Warrior 009 and Dongfang Yuan didn’t lift a finger.
Standing on the sidelines, offering guidance, Dongfang Yuan was pleasantly surprised to see how much Qi Xu had improved. Compared to their last dungeon run together, his progress could only be described as a complete transformation.
Pretty girls are smart too!
But when she saw Chinese Master Chef flailing around with his shield, Dongfang Yuan couldn’t help but squint in disapproval.
Still, while this guy had no clue how to attack, he was the best at self-preservation. The other two noobs had already taken several punches from the green-haired fiends, but Chinese Master Chef remained unscathed, safely tucked behind his massive iron shield.
Fat yet agile, shameless yet fiercely protective of his own life...
After clearing the level, Retired Magical Boy shouted excitedly, "The Three Noobs have officially debuted!"
The other two noobs proudly struck poses, their faces brimming with excitement.
Qi Xu gave them an encouraging round of applause. "Good progress! You three took down at least a dozen green-haired fiends!"
The Three Noobs linked arms and spun in a circle, utterly thrilled. The feeling of wielding power was intoxicating—and most importantly, they could see the possibility of improvement!
If their teammates kept growing stronger while they remained pathetically weak, they’d inevitably become the team’s weak link.
Right now, their opponents weren’t too intimidating, and there was still time to grow. But if they stayed this weak when facing tougher enemies later, the team might have no choice but to part ways.
So the Three Noobs felt a growing urgency—they had to get stronger. Noobs must strive to improve!
The challenge for Level 4’s gate was "Memory and Recitation."
Retired Magical Boy wasn’t good at this, and the others were even worse, having been out of school for years. Qi Xu was just about to volunteer when—
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang raised her hand. "Uh, maybe I should try? I was the provincial liberal arts top scorer in the college entrance exams. Not that the title means squat in a survival game, but my memory’s still pretty decent..."
The group stared at her in shock.
"A straight-A student?! Good thing we weren’t neighbors as kids, or my parents would’ve used you as a benchmark to roast me to death!"
Old White Dragon in the Waves, though a slacker himself, had an instinctive admiration for academic achievers.
Qi Xu gave her a thumbs-up. "Go for it—no pressure!"
The passage wasn’t particularly long—just a couple hundred characters—but the problem was... it was entirely in classical Chinese, dense and convoluted. The spectators in the back couldn’t even pronounce half the words correctly, let alone recite them flawlessly.
Yet, in less than a minute, Bubbly Girl hit the pause button.
Clearing her throat, she stepped forward and recited in a clear, confident voice:
"In the year 2099, the Game of Highway Survival began. All living beings aged six and above, yet not exceeding eighty, were drawn into it. To survive, one must forge ahead on this path with relentless determination, never faltering. Supply crates hold within them the seeds of hope and life. The pessimistic and the cowardly shall not endure this road. Fortune and misfortune are fickle, fate is ever-changing, and every man has the chance to defy destiny. But what, then, is the true answer to this path? Is the strength of one truly strength?"
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang had always seemed bookish, but now her image suddenly seemed towering and majestic.
The group could do nothing but clap wildly, utterly awestruck.
Qi Xu was stunned. He was absolutely certain that in the last round of the game, the recitation passage hadn’t been this one—back then, it had just been a simple scenic description.
Regardless of academic background, everyone could roughly grasp the meaning of the ancient text when taken in context. And so, they couldn’t help but ponder...
The survival game had always sought to pit players against each other. Yet now, the final line of this passage asked: "Is the strength of one truly strength?"
This was the first time the game had openly acknowledged the value and necessity of teamwork.
Qi Xu glanced around at his companions—the adorably earnest Chinese Master Chef, the carefree and unruly Sister Cut You, the fiercely loyal Old White Dragon in the Waves, the sincere and bright-eyed Magic Sister, the upright and resolute Wolf Warrior, the pure-hearted and enthusiastic Vitality Brother, the steady and dependable Brother Jin...
Suddenly, Qi Xu felt that the question—"But what, then, is the true answer to this path?"—already had its answer.
The group exchanged knowing smiles. Though nothing tangible had happened, they all felt an unspoken closeness, a newfound camaraderie. This dungeon team-up card had been worth every penny!
Having cleared three levels in a row—even the memory challenge had gone smoothly—everyone was riding high on momentum. Without even considering a break, they charged straight into Level 4.
A flash of white light filled the room, and as soon as Qi Xu saw the monsters inside, he nearly lost it.
"AAAAAH, MY BABY, MY PRECIOUS BABY!" he yelled urgently. "Don’t kill them yet! These things are perfect for training resistance—and you can even pluck dough from their bellies! Let’s focus on harvesting dough!"
The others had never seen Qi Xu this excited before, and their curiosity was instantly piqued.
"Big Bro Whirlwind, was this where you got the dough you gave me last time?" Chinese Master Chef asked eagerly.
"Yep!"
"That’s so cool!"
Chinese Master Chef was just as hyped. The dough Big Bro Whirlwind had given him last time was top-tier—chewy, with a unique wheaty aroma.
Special ingredients like this had a much higher chance of producing food with bonus effects!
Qi Xu immediately stashed his weapons and charged in bare-handed, weaving deftly between the dough monsters and reaching straight for their bellies.
His agile movements paired with the absurdly shameless action made for a bizarre sight...
Dongfang Yuan reacted the fastest. Free food? Hell yeah! If they could harvest enough dough, they wouldn’t have to worry about hunger for a while.
Even a simple dough-slice soup would keep them full. Her eyes gleamed as she zeroed in on the dough monsters’ bellies, mimicking Qi Xu’s approach.
The dough monsters had only two attacks—punching and kicking. Qi Xu dodged when he could and tanked the hits when he couldn’t, knowing each blow would toughen him up (and his HP was high enough to take it).
Seeing this, the rest of the team immediately followed suit, their eyes shining with the same fervor.
........
