Qi Xu sighed and finally asked Fortune God's Only Daughter directly, "In the prisoner's water tank, is the amount of water that falls each time the same?"
Fortune God's Only Daughter was taken aback. Damn, you're not even pretending anymore, just asking outright like that? Not that I'm hiding anything, but at least give it some buildup! Otherwise, I’ll seem too easygoing and not mysterious at all. I’m not some pushover...
Whatever she thought internally, her mouth was honest, answering quickly, "No, it doubles each time."
Qi Xu did a rough calculation—three more rounds of water would still be safe. The retired magical boy was relatively short, and if there was a fourth round, the water would likely reach her mouth.
Luo Xinpan added another question, "And how long is the interval between each wave of monster attacks?"
"The first three rounds are 10 minutes each. After that, the strategist has to play chess, so the rest time depends on her. If she loses too quickly, it might just be a few minutes."
As soon as Fortune God's Only Daughter finished speaking, everyone saw the countdown for the next wave of monsters appear in the sky.
Considering that Fortune God's Only Daughter hadn’t displayed any abilities beyond an ordinary person during the fight, yet knew so many details clearly...
Qi Xu wondered—could her ability have nothing to do with combat strength? After all, she wasn’t particularly strong. Maybe foresight or dreamwalking?
But she quickly dismissed the idea. Such abilities wouldn’t make someone this irritable. The first time they met, Qi Xu had sensed an exaggerated world-weariness in this girl, more intense than most adults.
So, was it "reincarnation" or "save-scumming"? That extreme?
Qi Xu felt she needed to have a proper talk with her. But for now, the priority was clearing this dungeon.
As for the chess match, one look at Bian’s eager expression told Qi Xu it wouldn’t be a problem.
Soon, the 10-minute break ended, and the second wave of monsters closed in.
〖Round Two: 40 Unicorns〗
"Leaders and strategists, quickly discuss battle plans!"
"Boss, Fortune God's Only Daughter seems a bit weak. Maybe focus support on her for the second round? Not sure how strong these unicorns are—if they’re too tough, she might struggle."
"Then pair her up with Ballpoint Pen."
"Good call. One’s smart, the other’s... hehe."
Luo Xinpan didn’t finish, but Qi Xu understood.
Down below, Fortune God's Only Daughter planted her hands on her hips and protested loudly, "Hey, I can hear you! If you’re gonna talk trash, at least do it behind my back!"
Luo Xinpan smiled, thinking she’d taken offense at being called dumb. But Fortune God's Only Daughter immediately added, "I’m not weak! I’m plenty strong! This is just the first round—I’m saving my energy on purpose. You wouldn’t get it!"
Qi Xu played along, "Got it. Baby Fortune is the strongest!"
Fortune God's Only Daughter finally looked satisfied, but then spun around, flustered. "That’s—wait, no! Strong is fine, but why ‘baby’?!"
The group burst into laughter. Initially, they’d assumed Fortune God's Only Daughter would be hard to get along with, but after interacting, she turned out to be nothing like they’d imagined...
Qi Xu didn’t respond further. Aside from assigning Ballpoint Pen to Fortune God's Only Daughter’s side, she made no other changes.
Unicorns had a weakness—if you cut off their horns, they became fragile.
"Aim for the unicorns’ horns first!"
"Got it!"
"Roger!"
This time, the monsters were evenly distributed across four directions, 10 in each.
After the first wave, Qi Xu noticed that aside from the leader, who could move freely during battle, everyone else was locked to one direction and couldn’t provide mid-fight support.
So Qi Xu moved faster. Still, unicorns were trickier than mole rats. Even knowing their weakness, the sheer numbers made it hard to chop off their horns.
Qi Xu fared better, wielding a chair leg and boasting high strength stats. When the first unicorn charged, she met it head-on, swinging at the last moment.
She didn’t sever the horn, but the blow knocked the unicorn’s head sideways. It flopped to the ground, whimpering—effectively dead.
Unicorns had 2,500 HP. A full-power strike dealt about 2,400 damage. Qi Xu felt reassured.
She stopped obsessing over precision, hitting wherever she could. Dongfang Yuan was in a similar situation. Though the golden chair leg felt awkward, the monsters were weak.
With Ballpoint Pen’s help, Fortune God's Only Daughter finally showed her true strength. In a 1v1, she had no issues—her only drawback was her short stature making counterattacks difficult when swarmed.
Now, with someone to cover her, things were much smoother. Ballpoint Pen was highly perceptive, expertly playing to Fortune God's Only Daughter’s desire to prove herself.
Knowing she craved the spotlight, Ballpoint Pen set up perfect opportunities, making Round Two a breeze for Fortune God's Only Daughter. By the last unicorn, she was already hands-on-hips triumphant.
She even nodded at Ballpoint Pen. "You’re not bad."
"Thanks for the praise. You’re impressive too—great teamwork."
Fortune God's Only Daughter blushed and immediately turned away...
Aside from Qi Xu and Dongfang Yuan, who finished early, the other two groups took a bit longer. But there were no casualties—progress was smooth.
After two rounds, Qi Xu suddenly felt this dungeon was much easier than expected. The initial info dump had been overwhelming—was the real challenge yet to come?
〖Congratulations on successfully repelling the second wave! Leaders, please choose your reward!〗
Reward 1: All warriors gain +10 to their primary stats.
Reward 2: Water levels in the three prisoners’ tanks do not rise.
Reward 3: The strategist gains one free pass on chess.
Qi Xu didn’t decide immediately, instead asking Fortune God's Only Daughter, "A free pass on chess? What’s the upside—or downside?"
"You think being a strategist is just sitting up there chatting? Starting from Round Three, after each wave, the strategist has to play chess with Qiuqiu mid-air. Lose, and the monsters double. The strategist kicks the bucket. Hope your Bian has enough ‘dungeon death protection cards’!"
Luo Xinpan’s eyes lit up. Chess? Her favorite. Whether it was xiangqi, weiqi, aeroplane chess, Gomoku, or even less common games like snakes and ladders—she’d studied them all.
With so much time alone, chess was her only hobby. Her research had even branched into it.
So she asked eagerly, "And if we win?"
..........
