"Invincible Black Tornado" said, "Here's what you do: go to the chat hall and post a message offering one Survival Coin in exchange for detailed information about the next disaster. The next disaster is acid rain—highly corrosive. Without any protection, it can cause severe damage to vehicles. If any players doubt you, you can show them a photo of your work ID without revealing personal details."
Wintergreen Tree understood immediately. Tornado Boss was actually letting her reveal her trump card—this meant he was fully backing her now! Hahaha, this was too good. It was practically the VIP treatment. If anyone dared to ambush her, she could just call in the boss for backup!
She quickly replied, "Got it! I’ll do it right away!"
Qi Xu wasn’t in a hurry to start selling the "Love Raincoats" in the chat hall. She waited a full day. One Survival Coin wasn’t much, and trading it for intel on the next disaster was a great deal.
Plus, Wintergreen Tree’s profession was highly practical. Players who talked to her were also trying to build rapport, making it easier to get advance info on future disasters and stay prepared. Even players who were stingy with their coins could pool resources—four or five people could chip in to buy the intel together. Since it wasn’t a physical item, they could just share the details afterward.
After two days of spreading the word, most players knew the next disaster would be acid rain.
But... if they couldn’t get their hands on the right gear, knowing was pointless. At best, they could make some minor preparations, but that was about it.
Qi Xu figured the timing was right and posted the stats of the Love Raincoat in the chat hall, priced at 30 Survival Coins.
However, she gave one free coat to every player who had previously gifted her a Golden Group Chat Card. She’d even formed a large group earlier, though she no longer spoke in it. Still, she offered them a discount—they could buy the raincoats for 24 coins each.
To prevent reselling and the ensuing chaos, she limited purchases to one per person. Better to cut the problem off at the root.
In Zone 88-666, only 4,278 players remained. Qi Xu listed 800 coats as a test.
They sold out instantly—and she turned a profit right away.
She immediately sent Chinese Master Chef the 20,000 Survival Coins she owed him, along with an extra 2,000 as interest.
Chinese Master Chef refused, "No, no, no interest. That makes it seem like we’re not close. Just hook me up with some special ingredients next time, and I’ll cook you something amazing."
His reply reminded Qi Xu of the spinach fibers she’d collected in the last dungeon.
Things had gotten so intense and emotional toward the end that she’d completely forgotten about them until now.
She checked her inventory—holy cow, 13,566 spinach fibers! She sent them all to Chinese Master Chef without hesitation.
Chinese Master Chef: "Boss! Did you harvest these from the Spinach Monsters in the dungeon?"
"Yep. Didn’t you guys grab any?"
"We did. Player 009 got everyone to start harvesting right away. But the dungeon reward said if we gave up the harvest, the water level wouldn’t rise. So we let it go. Broke my heart."
Now Qi Xu understood. Depending on a team’s composition and strength, the dungeon’s details could vary.
Chinese Master Chef: "Hahaha, no regrets now! This is way better than interest."
Qi Xu only exchanged a few more words with him before the chat hall exploded with hundreds of messages—all begging to buy Love Raincoats.
Once all her stock was sold, her total Survival Coins soared past 40,000. No kidding, flipping items was insanely profitable.
With the upcoming server merge, she figured there’d be more demand, so she bought another 2,000 coats from Tao Tao.
After the merge, the player count would likely hit 10,000 again. Selling 2,000 coats would be a breeze.
Then Qi Xu suddenly thought of Xie Shaoning.
Given the survival game’s style, it would definitely prioritize merging players who’d clashed before. If her zone got merged with his, another battle was inevitable. And this time... she might be able to scavenge some serious loot.
Her Heavy Blade weapon was almost ready, too—just in time for some real combat. The only downside was that the "Ghostly Chaos" event was ending soon.
Every morning at 5 a.m., Qi Xu suited up and took her two little companions out to rouse the monsters and force them to "work overtime." The monsters groaned and complained so much they were practically evolving the ability to curse.
As much as she hated to see it end, the disaster’s final day arrived. Collecting supply crates just wasn’t as fun as battling monsters. She’d miss them terribly.
So much so that as 9 p.m. approached and the monsters frantically turned to flee, Qi Xu chased after them like mad...
When she finally gave up, she turned back toward her vehicle. But just as she neared it—
A sudden, sharp dread gripped her chest. Qi Xu always trusted her instincts. Without hesitation, she pulled her two companions into the Advanced Space Stone.
Inside, the tension in her chest faded. Now she was even more certain—had monsters ambushed her? Or something else?
She clutched the little red flowers her Language and Math teachers had given her and double-checked her defensive gear before stepping back out.
Everything seemed calm. Too calm. Even as she boarded her vehicle, the dread didn’t return.
The ambush spot had been right in front of the vehicle. Qi Xu checked the dashcam footage.
Starting from when she’d chased the monsters, she quickly spotted the anomaly—two humanoid shadows, one on each side of the vehicle, barely visible in the dark mist.
The moment she turned back, the two figures moved. Whips appeared in their hands, and they lunged at her with terrifying speed, closing the distance in an instant.
The footage showed it clearly: the whips lashed out at her neck the second she entered the space stone.
If she’d been even a fraction slower, her defensive gear would’ve been shattered.
After Qi Xu vanished, the two shadows didn’t linger—they dissolved into the air.
Qi Xu frowned deeply. This... looked like the work of the Assassin Guild.
She’d only heard rumors about them. In her last playthrough, no one had ever hired assassins to target her.
She recorded a clip and sent it to Fortune God's Only Daughter with a single "?"
Fortune God's Only Daughter: "Holy crap, the Assassin Guild? And these must be S-rank assassins—their contracts start at 1,000 Survival Coins! You’ve really made it big. I’ve played for so many rounds, and even I’ve never been hunted by S-rank assassins!"
Qi Xu sighed deeply. The Assassin Guild’s rule was simple: once a contract was accepted, the target would be hunted relentlessly—unless they managed to kill ten assassins first.
She had a strong suspicion: Xie Shaoning.
Right now, he was the only one who had both a grudge against her and the resources to hire top-tier assassins.
