Qi Xu revoked the kill order on Happyending and firmly refused to let Ah Snake return all the Survival Coins. After some insistence, Ah Snake reluctantly agreed, deducting 10% from the 4,000 Survival Coins, leaving only 3,600 returned.
Still, it was a good deal—equivalent to spending 400 Survival Coins to obtain Xie Shaoning’s extraterrestrial meteorite.
"Ah Snake, I want to place two more orders."
"Sure, sure! Just type them in directly."
Qi Xu entered: "08 District, 438 Subdistrict—Dark River Deity" and "01 District, 01 Subdistrict—Demon Island Master."
The former was the mysterious figure who had previously controlled Player 0229, the bastard who had placed a kill order on him. The latter was the master who had taken Dongfang Yuan abroad to a den of killers since childhood.
"Ah Snake, do you think five A-rank assassins can take them out?"
"Theoretically, yes. After all, the game hasn’t even been running for half a year yet. Originally... uh, well, hehe."
Qi Xu chuckled. "No need to explain. I get it. Don’t break the rules."
The giant black snake wagged its head with a grin. Talking to smart people was so effortless.
Qi Xu genuinely wanted these two dead—no accidents, no chances of escape.
One wielded ridiculously overpowered items, while the other had no moral boundaries and was already formidable before even joining the Survival Game. Without a doubt, they would become troublesome enemies later.
If he could crush them before they grew stronger, it would save him a world of trouble. This was Qi Xu’s strong intuition.
Glancing at his Survival Coin balance, Qi Xu decided to go all out.
"Ah Snake, I want to hire an S-rank assassin for each of them."
Ah Snake’s expression turned incredulous. "What?! Did I mishear you?! You said WHAT?!?"
Qi Xu was certain—this was the right move. For him right now, Survival Coins weren’t that hard to come by, and there wasn’t anything he particularly wanted to save up for.
Spending money where it mattered most was absolutely worth it.
"You heard right. S-rank assassins. Show me the payment QR code. VIPs get an 8.8% discount, right?"
"Y-yes... but even with the discount, it’ll cost 17,600 Survival Coins!"
"No problem. Money’s not an issue."
Qi Xu scanned the code and paid without hesitation.
Only after the transaction went through did the giant black snake remember something. "Hiss... the special materials needed to create S-rank assassins haven’t even appeared yet!"
"Ah, then what do we do?"
Qi Xu had a gut feeling that A-rank assassins weren’t reliable enough. Four A-rank assassins hadn’t even managed to take down Xie Shaoning—and Xie Shaoning’s team had lost to the woman next door in the subdistrict arena challenge.
It just proved how many strong players were out there.
Qi Xu really, truly, absolutely didn’t want to leave any room for error. He wanted a single, decisive strike—no chance for these people to keep popping up like cockroaches.
The giant black snake whipped its tail excitedly and made a bold suggestion.
"How about I go myself? Here’s my stats panel—take a look! If I do it, I won’t be bound by the 30-minute limit, and I can even hide in supply crates to ambush them!"
[Killer Hall Leader: Black Frost Serpent
Attack Power: 36,584
Defense Power: 48,963
Mental Strength: 10,086]
Qi Xu’s jaw nearly dropped. "Those stats are insane! You’re definitely stronger than a standard S-rank assassin!"
"Of course! Hehe, so... can I go? That way, I can pocket some of the Survival Coins you paid."
Qi Xu agreed immediately. This was an absolute win.
"Deal. I’ll throw in an extra 200 Survival Coins as a bonus for each successful kill!"
"No need! We’re friends..."
"Nah, friendship is friendship, business is business."
"Alright! Then I’m off!"
The giant black snake, finally about to make some serious money, couldn’t wait to set out.
Qi Xu stopped it and handed over two lethal-protection items. "Can you use player items? These two are shady as hell—don’t get hurt."
The snake’s heart melted. It didn’t know how to describe the feeling.
"Don’t worry. As long as we’re in the Survival Game, we can’t die."
Qi Xu smirked, having gotten the answer he wanted.
He genuinely meant to give the items and didn’t want Ah Snake hurt—but he’d also wanted to fish for information.
So, the NPCs in the Survival Game truly were immortal. As for the less intelligent, mindless combat mobs, they were probably the same.
The realization weighed on him. If this cycle just kept repeating... how could it ever be broken?
"Alright, I’m heading out now?"
"Wait, one more thing."
The giant black snake nodded eagerly. "Go ahead! I love chatting with you."
"The assassins in Killer Hall are all made of straw, right? Their flaws are way too obvious. Once players figure out the pattern, the success rate of assassinations plummets."
"I can recommend a new material. The Peerless Weapons Master’s residence grows a lot of Purpleheart Grass—fireproof, waterproof, and impact-resistant. You should talk to the little goblin. It’s also hustling hard for Survival Coins."
The giant black snake hesitated. "But... I don’t know it."
Qi Xu replied, "If you’re interested, I can mediate."
"Deal! If it’s willing to sell, I’ll buy. If Killer Hall’s success rate drops too low, I might lose my job. Besides, I’m not short on coins now—you’ve spent so much here."
"Great. I’ll go talk to the little goblin."
"Mm! Thank you!"
"Don’t mention it. We’re friends."
Qi Xu had been planning to visit the little goblin anyway. Luo Xinpan had gone two days prior and successfully commissioned a custom weapon, but everyone else had failed without exception...
Though they hadn’t been as unlucky as Xie Shaoning—who’d had his referral letter torn up—they’d all been turned away at the door, unable to even speak to the goblin. No one knew how many more trips it would take.
Seeing this, Dongfang Yuan and Zhu Fu didn’t even bother going. As the least welcome types, they at least had that much self-awareness.
Qi Xu needed an excuse to talk to the little goblin more.
The giant black snake immediately closed Killer Hall, hung up a "Closed" sign, and bolted off. Even from a distance, Qi Xu could hear its maniacal laughter.
The kid was clearly thrilled, itching to go kill someone. The NPCs really took Survival Coins seriously. Qi Xu wondered—what did they even spend them on? Why were the coins so important?
But these weren’t questions he could ask. They’d never answer.
.........
