Qi Xu clicked the confirmation button after saying to Luo Xinpan, "Take a quick look at which side is struggling more, so we can make adjustments later."
"I get it. Stay safe, boss. 'Morning clouds and evening rain are common sights, yet the underwater dragon remains unseen.' This dungeon is so interesting—Ballpoint Pen is really impressive."
Qi Xu raised an eyebrow slightly. She certainly didn’t think Bian had randomly recited a line of poetry—she wasn’t like Vitality Brother, after all. But... what was she trying to imply?
Almost instantly, Qi Xu connected it to the rule exclusive to the leader earlier. "The underwater dragon remains unseen"? Could it be that each role had hidden rules?
Qi Xu nodded to show she understood, then pressed the confirm button without hesitation. The first wave of monster attacks officially began.
Aside from that, her screen now displayed a mini-map and three control buttons corresponding to the three puppets. She could command them to advance, retreat, attack, or defend.
If she chose to have them advance and attack without allowing retreat, they would fight to the death. But if she left them on auto-pilot, all three puppets would have the freedom to act independently in battle.
Qi Xu let out a sharp sigh of relief. Autonomous combat was perfect—now she didn’t have to worry about the puppets failing on their end!
Though she wasn’t sure about Ballpoint Pen’s strength, Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly and La La were pulling their weight. If the monsters grew stronger later, she’d have more flexibility in assigning roles.
Everyone quickly moved to their assigned positions according to Qi Xu’s earlier layout. The battle was about to erupt...
Qi Xu herself leaped down from the rubble, gripping a chair leg. Her three stats surged by 20 points—she desperately needed a fight to test her newfound strength.
Soon, the mole monsters came charging in, their legs trembling with eerie "ying ying" cries... Oh no, it’s that human who slaughters rats with extreme cruelty...
At least the human who couldn’t even pierce rat hide was still standing on the rubble, so he didn’t have to join the fray.
The mini-map clearly showed 80 red dots closing in from all directions.
Without hesitation, Qi Xu charged forward, swinging her chair leg like it was some divine weapon. The sheer momentum made it seem no less deadly.
The mole monsters’ bodies gleamed with a metallic sheen, making them slightly tougher than the one Bian had encountered before.
But only slightly.
Qi Xu swept her weapon horizontally, sending four or five flying into the air. Before they even hit the ground, their red dots on the map had already vanished.
Absolutely zero challenge.
After swiftly eliminating her 20 mole monsters, Qi Xu didn’t rush to assist the others. Instead, she climbed back to the central rubble pile to observe the other three fronts from above.
She needed to quickly assess everyone’s combat capabilities. The first wave of monsters was practically a freebie.
The difficulty would ramp up soon, so she had to allocate roles more strategically. As the leader, she had to shoulder the responsibility.
Over at Sister Cut You’s side, the mole monsters were already wiped out—in fact, she’d cleared them even faster than Qi Xu.
She’d wanted to go support another direction but was forcibly locked to the east side, unable to move freely. Cursing under her breath, she sat down to rest and adjust.
Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly, La La, and Ballpoint Pen were also handling things with relative ease. What surprised Qi Xu the most was Ballpoint Pen—not because she was overwhelmingly strong, but because she used her brain.
In such a short time, she’d already coordinated teamwork between Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly and La La, taking on the role of "interception and distribution."
Her own killing power was weaker, leaving the finishing blows to the other two. The 20 mole monsters posed no threat to them at all.
La La, meanwhile, swung the throne’s backrest with a wild, almost dance-like ferocity. Combined with her habit of screaming to hype herself up, the whole scene was bizarrely exhilarating!
Once she confirmed this front was secure, Qi Xu turned her attention to Fortune God’s Only Daughter, curious to see where her so-called "special abilities" came into play.
To her surprise, this side had the most mole monsters left. Even more shocking—Fortune God’s Only Daughter showed no extraordinary capabilities whatsoever.
In fact, her short stature and limbs made fighting with a chair leg somewhat... awkward. Still, she handled herself competently, her movements crisp and efficient.
Her combat experience was evident, but after observing for a while, Qi Xu estimated her three stats hovered around 100. Not bad, but... she was supposed to be a superhuman.
This was it?
Qi Xu wondered if she was holding back, unwilling to reveal her full strength. Based on current performance, without firearms, Fortune God’s Only Daughter’s combat prowess paled in comparison to Qi Xu and Sister Cut You.
Still, taking down 20 mole monsters wasn’t an issue. As Fortune God’s Only Daughter leaped to smash the last one, the system announcement played:
"〖Congratulations on successfully repelling the first wave of monster attacks! The leader must now choose a reward.〗
Reward 1: All players’ fatigue reset to zero, health fully restored.
Reward 2: The water level in the three prisoners’ tanks will not rise.
Reward 3: The three puppet players’ stats increase by 5 points each."
Seeing the rewards, Qi Xu realized the prisoners’ tanks were filled after each wave. Reward 1 wasn’t necessary right now.
The real dilemma was between Reward 2 and Reward 3.
She wanted to discuss it with her team, but the system had no such function. Aside from Qi Xu, no one else could speak.
Ah. So this was the game forcing the "leader" to act unilaterally—no discussions, no reassurances.
Well played. Absolutely ruthless.
After some hesitation, Qi Xu chose Reward 3. She needed to see how much water filled the prisoners’ tanks per wave to plan for future rounds.
The moment she confirmed, the three puppets immediately felt stronger and more agile. Meanwhile, water began gushing into the prisoners’ tanks from all four corners.
But it stopped at ankle depth—a perfectly manageable level. She’d made the right call.
Qi Xu clearly saw the three "prisoners" panic as the water poured in. When communication was finally possible, she tried explaining, but her voice was completely blocked.
Even the leader couldn’t directly speak to the prisoners. What a devious setup!
Once the three retired magical boys processed the situation, they nodded and smiled, signaling they were fine and to proceed as planned.
.........
