"Invincible Black Tornado": "Got it, no more sadness. Hugs."
"Watch Me Cut You Down": "Of course I'm not sad anymore. That was 800 years ago—I'm not some sentimental kid like Blessing."
The wave of melancholy in Dongfang Yuan's heart had barely begun to rise when Qi Xu's simple "hugs" melted it all away. It must be that the first 20-something years of his life had been so miserable that all his luck had been spent the moment he met Qi Xu. Not bad. Worth it.
Qi Xu was always a woman of action. As soon as she got the information, she pulled out the Magic Mirror.
"Mirror, mirror, I need to find a player named Chen Ronghua—male, 63 years old, with a mole on his right eyelid, half of his left ear missing, a dragon tattoo on his neck, and the phrase 'God Pities Mortals' tattooed in Latin on his back. Can you tell me his server and username?"
Magic Mirror: "......"
Why does this human always ask me such impossible questions? Is it my lack of ability or her... No, no—how could I doubt such a sincere and kind player!
[Yes, please wait.]
Though the voice was a cold, mechanical tone, Qi Xu could somehow sense its hesitation...
So she quickly added, "Thank you! I'm already feeling much better. Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without you, Magic Mirror. You’re the most useful game item I’ve ever seen—you’re amazing!"
[Hehe, you’re welcome! Based on the clues provided, a player matching 99% of your description has been found. His details: Server 01-01, Username: Lord of Demon Island.]
"Got it. Thanks, Little Mo."
Alright, Server 01-01. As someone from Server 88-666, Qi Xu felt a twinge of envy for the first time.
And Server 01-01—was there some special meaning behind it?
"Little Mo, I’ve got my next question ready."
[Ah... s-so soon? Well, go ahead.]
The little mirror tensed up, terrified of failing again.
"Is there any special significance to how players are initially assigned to servers?"
[Waaah... Little Mo doesn’t know... sobbing...]
Qi Xu cleared her throat and softened her voice. "Alright, baby, don’t cry. Go rest—it’s fine. I’ll find the answer myself. I’ll come back to you with other questions later."
[Sniff... Okay!]
She still had two questions left, but Qi Xu decided to save them—at least one for when she reached Level 10 with her vehicle, to ask about upgrade paths.
And the other? Just in case.
Right on time, the noontime rewards for winning the Cross-Server Arena Challenge arrived—the "Glory Feast BBQ Bonanza!"
It was a menu where she could pick any barbecue ingredients. Regardless of how scarce supplies were, this was a rare opportunity. Qi Xu ordered everything available and even invited Dongfang Yuan and Luo Xinpan for a feast, stuffing themselves silly.
After the meal, Qi Xu turned to Bian. "Lend me your lucky hands to crack some blind boxes?"
Bian blinked her big eyes. "Sure! You mean those color fragments?"
"Exactly!"
"Let’s do it!"
To make it official, Luo Xinpan even washed her hands and dabbed on some scented lotion...
Fragment Blind Boxes—or more accurately, Fragment Blind Eggs—had to be smashed open with a fist.
Luo Xinpan, brimming with confidence, placed two on the table and hammered them simultaneously with both fists, feeling like a superhuman strongman.
But when Qi Xu checked the fragments, her jaw dropped.
"Congratulations! Obtained Blush Map Fragment ×1 (1/200)"
"Congratulations! Obtained Celadon Map Fragment ×1 (1/100)"
Oh no. Qi Xu had expected Bian’s luck to be good—but not this good. The pink map fragments only needed 20 to complete, but now she had ones requiring 100 and 200... Suddenly, the pink ones didn’t seem so appealing anymore.
Bian looked just as stunned. "Am I... not the right person for this?"
Qi Xu nodded. "Maybe I should find someone with divine luck or a magic touch?"
Dongfang Yuan cut in, "Why not ask me to do it?"
Qi Xu, never one to leave a friend hanging, immediately handed him two eggs. "Go ahead, then!"
Dongfang Yuan chuckled, taking them and placing them back on the table. "I was joking. You should do it yourself—your luck isn’t bad either. Plus, pink seems to be your color."
After a moment’s thought, Qi Xu decided "Watch Me Cut You Down" was right. Under the watchful eyes of her two friends, she smashed all the remaining blind eggs!
Results:
"Pink Map Fragment ×7, Celadon Map Fragment ×2, Black Map Fragment ×3, Yellow Map Fragment ×1, Blush Map Fragment ×1, Glazed Map Fragment ×2, Blue Map Fragment ×1, Orange Map Fragment ×1"
Originally, she had nine pink fragments—now she only needed four more to complete the set!
As for the others... The glazed fragments required a whopping 500... Qi Xu was starting to wonder if she’d even live long enough to collect them. No trading or gifting allowed—ridiculous.
Once they were done, Bian went back to gaming.
Dongfang Yuan, not ready to leave, stuck around and joined Qi Xu in hunting down the remaining six assassins. Only after finishing them all did they feel satisfied.
"When I’m rich, I’m hiring assassins from the Assassin Hall just for fun. This is way too entertaining."
Qi Xu, exhausted, didn’t quite catch it at first. "Huh? Who are you killing?"
"Myself, obviously!"
Qi Xu: "......6"
Soon, she had another brilliant idea. "Go trade with 'Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly' for a Site Selection Card. Visit the Assassin Hall more often and play with the big black snake—you two would get along great.
You’re already a member there. Once your friendship level’s high enough, you can drop by anytime to spar with their assassins! Maybe even get them to craft you an A-rank or S-rank toy!"
Dongfang Yuan’s eyes lit up. "Deal. I’m out!"
For once, Qi Xu had some downtime. Outside, the acid rain poured endlessly. Combined with the back-to-back fights against six assassins, she was thoroughly drained.
A hot shower later, she burrowed into bed, pulled out her phone, and fired up Tomato Novel, looking for some mental junk food to unwind.
She stumbled upon an author named Zhang Paopao—funny name, but every book was a banger, right up her alley.
Before she knew it, her eyelids grew heavy, and she drifted into a dreamless sleep. Nothing beats a night of pure, uninterrupted rest.
