At that moment, when Baby Milk decisively chose to use the knight's hidden skill, Qi Xu truly didn’t expect it. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in her, but she couldn’t fathom how someone who had been hurt so many times could still charge forward without hesitation.
Right now, pretending to sleep was probably just Baby Milk’s way of avoiding questions about it...
But the considerate and understanding group, of course, chose not to call her out. Everyone needed time to adjust. Who knew if Baby Milk’s sharp tongue was still as venomous as before?
[Congratulations on successfully clearing the dungeon and becoming the first players in the entire server to complete the "Mountains and Rivers Are Light, But Meeting a Kindred Spirit Is Priceless" instance!]
[All players, would you like to trigger a server-wide announcement? A server-wide announcement will grant additional generous rewards!]
The moment Qiuqiu finished speaking, everyone—including Baby Milk, who was still lying on the ground pretending to sleep—simultaneously raised a finger to the sky and shouted, "Announce it!"
This infuriating dungeon, full of traps and provocations, was finally over. And they had cleared it successfully—of course they’d announce it!
Forget about being too flashy. In this survival game, strong players would always be dragged into the spotlight by leaderboards and special treatment anyway.
Just as everyone was about to be separated and teleported back to their respective vehicles, Qi Xu suddenly scooped up the "sleeping" Baby Milk and pulled everyone into a tight group hug.
"I’m so lucky to have met all of you!"
"Me too! Even though the journey was rough, we made it through together!"
"Captain Whirlwind... what do we do? I always feel so sad after team dungeons. This one was annoying, but at least we got to stick together."
"This road is too long. We have to walk it together—every single one of us! No one gets left behind!"
Qi Xu quickly pulled out a camera from her backpack. She’d originally thought this loot from a survival game chest was useless, but now it turned out to be perfect.
Flipping the screen around and raising her arm high, she called out, "Come on, everyone! Look at the camera—let’s take a group photo!"
The ten girls immediately huddled close together, flashing bright smiles.
Zhu Fu finally stopped pretending to sleep, opening her eyes and playfully throwing up a peace sign. Muzi Li rested her head gently on Ballpoint Pen’s shoulder. La La and Retired Magical Boy raised their hands above their heads, forming a heart. Luo Xinpan pouted dramatically, while Blessed by Luck grinned so wide her eyes turned into slits. Dongfang Yuan kept her cool-girl demeanor, lips quirking slightly. Finally, Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly leaped into the air, arms spread wide...
And Qi Xu, her gaze impossibly tender, watched them all, her heart melting.
In that perfect moment, she pressed the shutter button firmly. The warm sunlight turned into a golden-orange filter, softly illuminating every face, freezing this frame more radiant than the sunset itself.
They expected to be teleported back immediately, but even after chatting for ages—venting about Qiuqiu, complaining about the cruelty of the final boss—nothing happened.
Qi Xu finally asked, puzzled, "Qiuqiu, are you lagging?"
Qiuqiu: "......"
"If you’d just spared a second between all that talking to check the server-wide announcement rewards..."
Qiuqiu’s voice sounded exhausted and mournful.
This was a bittersweet moment. The sweet part? Under her brilliant leadership, Server 88, District 666 had secured yet another server-wide announcement. Her end-of-month bonus was going to be gorgeous!
The bitter part? This dungeon wasn’t supposed to trigger yet—she’d forced it open early. Which meant the rewards were coming out of her own pocket. She was losing so much she might as well be stripped down to her underwear. Life was hard for Qiuqiu!
The group froze. Oh right, the rewards. They’d been too busy savoring their last moments together—once they returned to their vehicles, they’d only have cold screens for communication.
Nothing beat face-to-face banter, so they’d completely forgotten to check the announcement rewards.
Hearing the system prompt, they hurriedly pulled up the details.
Baby Milk shrieked and jumped three meters in the air. "Holy—Qiuqiu! I take back every time I called you stingy! I’ll never insult you again—you’ve really gone all out this time!"
Sister Cut You, mid-brain-flick retraction, barely stopped herself in time.
Retired Magical Boy pressed his fingers to his temples, disbelieving. "Is this Kindred Spirit Sanctuary what I think it is?"
Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly kept rereading the description like a broken record.
"Kindred Spirit Sanctuary: As the closest companions and dearest friends, of course you should meet often! Each player may freely enter the sanctuary with their vehicle once per week."
Blessed by Luck was practically vibrating with excitement. "Does this mean we can meet up every single week if we want?!"
Zhu Fu, ever the blunt one, scoffed. "What a waste. This is an emergency escape card. If you run into an unbeatable enemy, just hide here. Got it? Don’t just waltz in for casual hangouts—are you made of money or something?"
A more sensitive person might’ve taken that as an insult, thinking Zhu Fu was calling them stupid. But this was Blessed by Luck—her brain worked differently. She’d even annoyed Qiuqiu into silence by offering to pay in survival coins!
With exaggerated delight, she cupped Baby Milk’s face. "Wow, you’re actually pretty sharp! Come here, let me kiss those smarts—you look so kissable!"
Before Baby Milk could react, Blessed by Luck planted a big smooch on her cheek, grinning smugly as Baby Milk flailed, utterly flustered. The others watched, eyes gleaming—Blessed by Luck had cracked the code to handling the tsundere Baby Milk!
"Baby Milk," Qi Xu cut in, serious now. "Who was that player who imprisoned Chinese Master Chef? I need to know—we have to eliminate all threats in advance."
She hadn’t asked earlier, mostly to avoid feeding Baby Milk’s ego.
But Baby Milk’s smugness arrived fashionably late.
"Oh, so you are curious! Couldn’t resist, huh? Want to know?"
Qi Xu nodded. "Here, I’ll give you a kiss, and you tell me!"
She lunged forward, sending Baby Milk scrambling away in panic while the others burst into laughter.
Baby Milk surrendered instantly. "Okay, okay! I’ll talk! No more kissing—what’s wrong with you people?! Have some dignity! The guy who locked up Chinese Master Chef was called ‘Happyending’!"
.........
