The Spirited Girl Pot-de-Gang: "Then I'll go to the bookstore and buy a monster guide. Might as well challenge my memorization skills—who knew my talent would still come in handy during a survival scenario?"
Wave-Riding Old White Dragon: "Go get 'em, genius. Us mere mortals won’t interfere. I’m off to the gym to grind stats."
Retired Magical Boy: "I’m heading to the kindergarten, haha! I always wanted to be a preschool teacher. Just signed up for the licensing exam when this survival game dragged me in. Finally, my dream comes true!"
Wolf Warrior 009: "I’ll share a site tip too—construction site. It’s manual labor, four-hour shifts with no breaks. For every 10 bricks stacked above 500, you earn one Survival Coin."
Iron Shirt Golden Bell: "Perfect for me. I’m in!"
Try Me, Bitch: "Same here. I’ve got a Site Selection Card too!"
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "If anyone’s short on Site Cards, go trade with Cocoon-to-Butterfly. Wolf Bro, you can exchange your construction site info with her too."
Tonsils Never Speak: "I’ve got a stash! Never used them ‘cause I didn’t know what each site held—except the monster shop. Too scared to enter the others."
After sending the message, Lucky Bian distributed one card to everyone.
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Bian, you’re a legend."
Tonsils Never Speak: "Hehe..."
Wave-Riding Old White Dragon: "Bian, hit the gym with me tomorrow? Stats this low won’t cut it. I’ll train you."
Tonsils Never Speak: "No hehe..."
Qi Xu laughed till her stomach hurt. In the end, the adorable Bian accepted her fate: school in the morning, gym with Old White Dragon in the afternoon.
The group accepted the cards without hesitation—sharing resources was their norm. No one freeloaded; their only worry was taking more than they gave.
After two meetups, their synergy had visibly improved.
The night before each disaster cycle ended was always a celebration.
Everyone hoped the next calamity would be slightly more bearable.
Tonight, they talked late into the night, noticing the temperature hadn’t dropped—if anything, it was rising. A single AC unit barely made a difference now.
Even at its lowest setting, the heat left them tossing restlessly. Those without AC? Practically roasted alive.
Qi Xu woke up refreshed.
First thing—check the screen for time and temperature: 6 AM, 50°C...
The chat lobby was a cesspool of complaints.
"What the hell is this? Endless heatwave! I’m getting sunburned through the roof!"
"Last night’s hype is today’s regret. Couldn’t we get a different disaster? Just a breather?!"
"Did the survival game glitch? This is bullshit!"
Qi Xu sighed. Two cycles of the same disaster wasn’t unheard of—she’d once endured a month of hailstorms.
Back then, she’d slept with her pillow over her head, terrified the roof would cave in.
Complaints aside, only the resilient had made it this far.
The fragile ones? Their avatars had long turned black.
After venting, the survivors moved on.
Taotao finally contacted Qi Xu after securing the first proxy item.
"Dear Qi Qi, found our first product!"
"Princess Fan: One wave = one minute of coolness.
Proxy cost: 5 Survival Coins."
It was a delicate pink tasseled fan—whimsical and well-crafted. The mental image of Wolf Warrior and Iron Shirt wielding it almost made Qi Xu laugh.
She delayed business for a moment. "Taotao, I missed you the second we parted. You’re working so hard!"
"No trouble at all! Taotao misses you too~"
"This fan’s gorgeous. Can I order 200 first?"
"Of course! Go get ‘em, Qi Qi!" Taotao didn’t mention the usual 1000-unit minimum. Rules bent for Qi Xu.
After transferring 1000 coins, Qi Xu stocked 10 fans for herself and listed the rest at 10 coins each in the trading hall.
Then she posted the fan’s specs in the chat lobby:
"Get yours now. Fixed price—no haggling."
Cocoon-to-Butterfly: "Lifesaver! My AC’s useless, and I’m hoarding crystals. This fan’s pretty AND functional!"
Player 0929: "Bought one. Five stars—instant relief!"
True Grit: "Any non-pink options? Looks ridiculous in a dude’s hands."
The 200 fans sold out instantly. At 10 coins apiece, hesitation meant missing out.
Qi Xu smirked. Players whined about poverty but splurged faster than loot dropped.
Confident in the demand, she ordered 800 more from Taotao at the same markup.
Bartering was becoming obsolete—Survival Coins streamlined everything.
At midnight, the dungeon arrived.
Earlier, players had sworn oaths:
"No matter what’s inside, we’re going! At least it’s cooler there!"
Yet some held firm: "Heat’s survivable. Dungeons? Maybe not."
Each dungeon culled nearly 1000 players. The last team-based one wiped out 2000, bumping Zone 666 into the 700s.
Debates raged—until the dungeon’s contents were revealed.
The entire player base erupted.
"Only idiots would skip this one!!!"
Amid the cheers, Qi Xu stared at the screen, her expression unreadable.
"...So it’s you."
