"Did you guys kill any of the green-haired monsters? I noticed they move really slowly. As long as we stay in the vehicles and keep moving forward, they can’t catch up."
"I didn’t kill a single one. Figured reaching the finish line early would still give me a high score."
The person said this, but inwardly, they were already gloating—first to arrive, plus six green-haired monsters killed, 220 points. First place was pretty much in the bag.
Everyone was wary of each other, not as loose-lipped as they were in the chat lobby, so the atmosphere remained relatively harmonious.
They all chimed in, downplaying their kill counts and pretending to worry about their rankings, then offering each other hollow reassurances—just like students nervously comparing answers after an exam.
Qi Xu took down 14 more before finally deciding to leave. Combined with the six he’d run over earlier, that made 20 kills. As long as he wasn’t grouped with Warwolf 009, this score should secure him first place.
So he fought while retreating, steadily making his way back to his three-wheeled vehicle.
But just as he finished off another green-haired monster, the system announcement suddenly blared:
"Congratulations, player! You’ve earned the new title [Green-Haired Bane]. You’re so ruthless and violent~ but we love it!"
Qi Xu tapped to check the title’s attributes, and his eyes lit up. He immediately equipped it, scrapping his earlier plan to leave and deciding to farm a few more kills.
[Green-Haired Bane]: "When equipped, grants +10 to all three base stats when facing green-colored monsters!"
Qi Xu had already been feeling the ache in his arms, but with the new title, he felt like he could go another 300 rounds.
The real game-changer? The green-haired monsters no longer spawned solo.
Now they appeared in pairs. Qi Xu didn’t dare get too close—he had no healing items left, and a single punch could break bones. He had to kite them, taking them down one by one.
Luckily, the green-haired monsters were dumb as bricks. With a bit of footwork, they were easy pickings.
Qi Xu wanted to test his limits, so he stayed put, even as 17 people had already reached the finish line...
"Is anyone else even coming back? Does this game not have a time limit? If someone never returns, are we all stuck here?"
"Ugh, seriously. I still have my 60-kilometer run to do today, and it’s almost 1 PM!"
"Which three idiots are dragging this out? If you can’t handle the dungeon, why even sign up?"
"Hey, any admins around? Get over here!"
The moment those words were spoken, a black-and-white checkered minotaur burst out of the ground.
"Who? Who called me? Who dares disturb my nap?"
Instantly, everyone fell silent.
The minotaur scanned the crowd. "Is there a problem with my game? Do you have complaints about the admin?"
"N-no, nothing..."
"Then shut up! Get out of here, you annoying players!"
After roaring his frustrations, the minotaur was about to dive back underground when he paused. Something felt off.
He should’ve been off duty by now. Why hadn’t the dungeon ended?
A quick check later—oh crap. He’d forgotten to set a time limit! One player had found an exploit and was farming monsters nonstop!
Panicking, the minotaur scrambled to fix it. Meanwhile, Qi Xu, still slaughtering green-haired monsters, suddenly noticed a five-minute countdown appear on his screen.
"Failure to reach the finish line within the time limit will result in mission failure."
Qi Xu calmly finished off the last green-haired monster in reach, then pulled out a bottle of stored water to thoroughly rinse his right tire, even wiping it down with a dry cloth.
Only then did he hop onto his vehicle, twisting the throttle and speeding off!
500 meters in five minutes? Easy.
"Damn, finally, someone’s back."
"Hurry up, girl! We’ve all been waiting on you."
"Come on, sis, time’s almost up!"
With just a minute and a half left on the clock, Qi Xu crossed the finish line.
The display marked him as the 18th to arrive.
Which meant... aside from the motorcycle guy, one more person wasn’t making it back.
"What took you so long? It’s almost 2 PM!"
Qi Xu lowered her head sheepishly. "My bike broke down, and the green-haired monsters kept messing with me while I tried to fix it... Had to replace a tire. Took forever."
She didn’t want anyone connecting her to "Invincible Black Whirlwind," so she threw out a diversion.
Everyone bought it—her right tire was noticeably cleaner than the others.
The girl on the electric scooter seized the moment to say, "There are still two others missing, not just her. Anyway, only a minute left."
She gave Qi Xu a reassuring nod and whispered, "You’re probably in the bottom five. If you’ve got any food, eat it now. Otherwise, if supplies get deducted, you’ll regret it."
Qi Xu feigned sudden understanding, pulling out a caterpillar-shaped bread and devouring it in three bites.
Then she chugged a bottle of water, tilting her head back dramatically.
Others who doubted their rankings followed suit—stuffing their faces, smoking, or finding ways to consume their supplies before the deduction.
When the countdown ended, a massive, colorful screen materialized before them.
The top three names were displayed largest—with Qi Xu’s alias glaringly in first place.
"1st Place: Invincible Black Whirlwind — 1,380 points"
"Holy crap, Invincible’s in our group!!!"
"Is this human? 1,380 points? How many green-haired monsters did they kill? Or did they trigger some hidden reward?"
Who's Invincible? Add me, big shot!
The smarter players stayed quiet, eyeing each other instead. Qi Xu, meanwhile, was busy frowning over her inventory, looking every bit like a noob scrambling to avoid losing supplies.
Unfortunately, the moment didn’t last. Soon, everyone was unceremoniously booted from the dungeon.
Qi Xu landed hard on her butt.
Completely bewildered.
Since when were one-star dungeons this aggressive? Even five- and six-star ones didn’t pull this crap.
She was beyond annoyed—the fall hurt—but then the reward notification popped up, instantly grabbing her attention.
"Congratulations, player Invincible Black Whirlwind, for placing first in your group! Rewards: Plastic ×10, Iron ×10, Leather ×10, Rubber ×10, Screws ×10, Miniature Orange Tree ×1, Tiny Flowerpot ×1, Plant Nutrient Solution ×10."
Qi Xu pumped her fist. Perfect! Once the oranges grew, she’d have a steady source of vitamin C!
The basic materials were generous too. With a vehicle upgrade card, she might even be able to enhance her ride soon!
.........
