Recently, life has been relatively leisurely for Qi Xu, so it hasn't been all about endless hustling. A few days ago, he got his hands on a Huawei ecosystem bundle, so he’s been spending some evenings writing fiction on his computer. He documented everything that happened on the Survival Highway and even gave his new book a title: Highway Survival: The Top Ranker Says She’ll Walk to the End of the Road. Though it’s just sitting in the drafts folder, he feels satisfied just looking at it—after all, the editors have all gone off to survive, so there’s no one to approve it.
After chatting with the Golden Seed on the top floor, he suddenly heard the broadcast from the light screen:
["Wow! Let me take a look—some of you are still alive, huh? Your resilience is downright cockroach-level! Empty backpacks, pitiful skills, yet you still refuse to kick the bucket?
Congratulations on surviving for two months and seven days in the Highway Survival Game! Today marks the grand moment of the monthly rankings for the second month! Get excited! Throw some confetti!
This world only belongs to the brave who dare to fight. Sometimes, when pushed to the brink, you have to bet everything for a sliver of hope. If you won’t even gamble, how is that any different from a slow death?
But I’m relieved to see there are still some clear-headed players out there. So! Your efforts have been richly rewarded! The top 100 on the leaderboard will receive prizes—the higher your rank, the better the rewards!
Additionally! Three Plunder Cards are about to be unlocked, and they’ll be awarded to any brave soul daring enough to challenge the unknown!
Starting this month, whenever the monthly rankings are announced, we’ll also reveal the three players with the biggest mismatch between their supplies and stats. If you’re this weak, do you really sleep soundly at night?
This month’s three players are: Tonsils Never Speak, Retired Magical Boy, and Chinese Master Chef.
Come on, comrades! If you can’t even take down Black Whirlwind, Warwolf, or Old White Dragon, fine—but if you can’t handle these three noobs, you might as well go slam your head into a wall! Here’s a little secret: these three are super weak… and super rich~"]
It wasn’t that there weren’t weaker players than these three, but in terms of combined resources, the "Three Noobs" were both weak and loaded...
After hearing the broadcast, Qi Xu’s frown could’ve crushed a fly, but he quickly shrugged it off.
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang had some special opportunities lately, boosting her stats significantly and successfully exiting the "Three Noobs" lineup—Bian took her place.
The result? All three noobs made it onto the list... Qi Xu looked at it and felt an odd sense of pride.
To say these three had no self-defense skills would be a joke. Bian, for instance, had once lived so boldly under the God of Light’s nose that it proved just how many survival tools she had stashed away. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared to meet Qi Xu alone without any prior trust between them.
Retired Magical Boy had his pet butterfly by his side. Though just a support-type pet, it had awakened a special attribute—hallucinogenic effects. A sneaky ambush might just work wonders. After all, not many players had pets yet, and the butterfly’s small size made it easy to slip in unnoticed.
As for Chinese Master Chef...
That shield of his alone could hold out long enough for Qi Xu, Warwolf, and Old White Dragon to arrive. By then, it wouldn’t be clear who was plundering whom.
On the surface, these three seemed defenseless, but in reality, they were all ridiculously hard to kill.
While Qi Xu was lost in thought, the light screen suddenly delivered a gift:
[Plunder Card × 1]
Well, well—looks like he’s officially a "brave soul" now!
Qi Xu didn’t think this card was handed out by the system’s whims. If it were, the system would know he’d never target the Three Noobs on the leaderboard, making the card pointless.
So it was more likely triggered by certain conditions—maybe the fastest, most determined, or those who gambled big on supply chests?
If that were the case... the other two players with Plunder Cards were probably high-risk takers who’d scored big from gambling. Qi Xu analyzed it habitually.
If so, Heroic True Colors probably had one too. The question was whether he’d dare to go after the Three Noobs—or if Qi Xu should just take him out first.
All threats should be nipped in the bud.
The chat room finally shifted topics.
Blessed by Luck: "The light screen’s obvious provocation is clear, right? I’ll just say this—nobody touches our Chinese Master Chef! Or I’ll hunt you down even if it kills me!"
Swim & Fitness Coach Chen: "Exactly. Life’s hard enough. The only thing keeping me going is the hope of good food. Try it, and you’ll regret it."
Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly: "Same here. Tracking card ready to go."
Panda Panda: "Didn’t expect Bian to make the list. I’m just a small fry, but I’ll say this—if any of the original 896 district players have a shred of decency left, you won’t lay a finger on Bian."
Chinese Specialty 196: "Without Bian, the God of Light would’ve crushed us all by now. If you don’t even have basic gratitude, you’re no better than a walking corpse."
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang: "Since everyone’s speaking up, I’ll say it too—Retired Magical Boy and I are bound by an Association Card. Try us, and we’ll fight back."
Player 0726: "Uh... let’s all calm down. These three are kinda close with Whirlwind Boss. Like... who’d even dare?"
Seeing his name mentioned, Qi Xu chimed in: "That’s right. @Chinese Master Chef, @Retired Magical Boy, @Tonsils Never Speak—they’re all under my protection. If any of them gets a tracking alert, I’ll be there in a flash.
Then we’ll see who’s plundering whom. Make your move, and don’t expect to see tomorrow. The second you use a tracking card, I’ll assume you’re looking for trouble—so don’t come crying to me later."
Heroic True Colors: "Big talk from the big shot, huh? But there’s three of them and only one of you—no clones, right? Just saying, young folks should stay humble."
Warwolf 009: "Whirlwind Boss and I share the same stance. We’re ready to move at any moment."
Watch Me Cut You Down: "@Heroic True Colors Don’t make me come for you."
Old White Dragon in the Waves: "Heroic True Colors makes a fair point. Why not test it? Let’s see what happens when we track them."
Warwolf 007: "Heh. I’m no expert, but I’ll lend a hand too."
Lala the Fierce: "Lala’s not just pretty—she’s deadly."
.........
