Originally, "Cursed by Misfortune" wanted to retort, "Why would I curse Whirlwind Boss over our personal conflict?" But there was a concern that Blue Little Flower might actually be close to Whirlwind Boss. During the toughest times, it was Whirlwind Boss's low-priced supplies that had kept them alive, so they didn’t want to stir up unnecessary trouble or put anyone in an awkward position.
But Blue Little Flower was relentless, like a rabid dog.
She kept biting.
"Some men are just disgusting—sexist pigs who think they can bully us just because we’re girls. Now we know Whirlwind Boss is a girl too! Girls are the most adorable creatures, so of course we should stick together. From now on, if anyone dares to mess with us, we’ll have Whirlwind Boss back us up!"
Qi Xu had a vague impression of Blue Little Flower—she seemed like a troublemaker. To avoid misjudging her, Qi Xu even asked Qiuqiu to dig up her past messages.
The conflict between her and "Cursed by Misfortune" had started in a recently cleared dungeon, and they’d already gone at it in the chat room before.
"Invincible Black Whirlwind: @Blue Little Flower, do we know each other?"
Qi Xu didn’t believe gender determined everything—like whether someone was strong or whether one side in an argument was automatically right just because they were female.
Most importantly... Why should your squabble concern me? Just because we share the same gender, I’m supposed to take your side? That’s just emotional blackmail.
When "Cursed by Misfortune" saw this, they were thrilled.
They immediately unleashed a barrage of 30 messages, tearing into Blue Little Flower. So she was just a fraud hiding behind a banner! No wonder Whirlwind Boss wouldn’t associate with someone like her.
Blue Little Flower, afraid of truly angering Invincible Black Whirlwind, didn’t dare continue in the public chat. But she did manage to rally two "sisters" to whisper behind the scenes.
"She’s a top player, yet she still panders to men. I don’t get it."
"So disappointed. I thought as a fellow girl, she’d stand up for us."
"Just look at her name—it’s gross. She couldn’t even bother to pick a feminine one, instinctively wanting people to think she’s a man. Born to simp for males and hate women."
Qi Xu couldn’t care less about these clowns. If they dared jump in front of her, she’d kill them. If they lacked the guts, then they couldn’t ruin her mood.
She spent almost the entire day in bed, only waking up because she was starving. If not for that, she might’ve slept through the night.
On the way, she even crossed paths with Parallel Highway, but the moment people spotted the pink monstrosity, they bolted.
No one dared even greet her. What if the big shot was in a bad mood?
Qi Xu only learned about the Parallel Highway incident after waking up, but it didn’t matter. As long as others didn’t provoke her, she had no interest in using violent or underhanded means to gather supplies.
The only downside was that once her vehicle’s appearance was exposed, future gains on Parallel Highway would be slim.
Anyone with half a brain or working eyes would steer clear.
But looking back at everything that had happened in this round of the game with a clear mind, Qi Xu grew increasingly convinced that cooperation was key. Humanity’s infighting, the bloodshed…
It almost seemed like the survival game thrived on it. But… why?
Her strength was still too lacking—it was too early to dwell on this.
For now, getting stronger was the top priority.
Qi Xu stretched lazily and noticed Little Seven curled up by her feet.
The moment she moved, Little Seven woke up too.
The pup snatched a piece of jerky in its mouth and trotted over, pointing at Qi Xu’s stomach with a paw while trying to shove the jerky into her mouth.
Then it mimicked the sound of a growling stomach—"Grrr grrr."
Qi Xu chuckled. Being cared for felt… nice.
A glance at her private messages showed two meals sent by "Chinese Master Chef." She’d been asleep and hadn’t noticed.
She hugged Little Seven.
"Good boy, you eat it. I hunted a lot yesterday—we’ve got plenty."
Little Seven bounced excitedly.
Only then did Qi Xu realize the pup had grown taller.
She checked the pet panel.
[Combat Hound]
Nickname: Little Seven
Level: 1 (16%)
Combat Power: 21
Special Traits: Efficient Digestion, Iron Jaws
Qi Xu hadn’t expected Little Seven to hit Level 1 so fast. And that special trait—"Efficient Digestion"? Hilarious.
"Qiuqiu, you’ve worked hard these past few days. Here’s 10 survival coins."
"Huh? Thank you!"
"My pet, Little Seven—what does ‘Efficient Digestion’ mean in its traits?"
Qiuqiu answered promptly and respectfully, "Your Little Seven is amazing! It awakened this ability to ease your burden. Essentially, if you feed it one energy stone, it’ll absorb the equivalent of two."
Qi Xu sucked in a sharp breath. What a good kid.
She’d heard veterans say that raising pets became increasingly resource-heavy later on.
For unlucky players, a single pet could bankrupt them.
As a result, there are quite a few cases of pets being resold.
What a good dog!
Qi Xu hugged Little Seven and gave him a big sniff.
Then she got up, washed her face, brushed her teeth, and suddenly felt refreshed.
Both her health and fatigue levels had dropped to reasonable ranges, though her whole body still ached terribly.
Her damage resistance, however, had increased by another 5 points. This dungeon run had been quite rewarding—not only had she successfully met up with many online friends, but the experience had been pretty good too.
She’d also gotten so many great items.
At this thought, Qi Xu suddenly remembered that she hadn’t claimed the first-place reward for the dungeon yet.
She hurriedly opened the notification on the holographic screen.
[Congratulations! Your team has secured first place in this dungeon mission. Would you like to claim your reward?]
Qi Xu tapped "Yes."
Survival Coins ×100, Energy Stones ×100, Vehicle Upgrade Card Fragments ×100, Luxury Hot Pot Set ×10, Weapon Enhancement Card ×2, Three-Dimensional Attribute Boost Pill ×1, Backpack Static Slots ×50.
Perfect timing—she’d been running low on backpack static slots lately, sometimes even having to entrust her food to Chinese Master Chef for storage. Now, with these 50 additional slots, she could stock up on delicious treats again.
Qi Xu had initially planned to take out the hot pot set right away, but then Chinese Master Chef sent over a meal.
Instantly, the hot pot didn’t seem quite as appealing anymore.
Before, Qi Xu had been a huge fan of hot pot—it might’ve even ranked as her top favorite food.
But now... everything Chinese Master Chef made was even better than hot pot.
For lunch, Chinese Master Chef had sent braised noodles, and for dinner, it was spicy stir-fry.
Qi Xu stored the braised noodles in her backpack and decided to eat the spicy stir-fry first. The dish was packed with a variety of ingredients, topped with a sprinkle of white sesame seeds—it looked absolutely mouthwatering!
Little Seven pawed at the ground impatiently beside her, drooling—slurp—
..........
