Qi Xu thought the suggestion was quite reasonable. After the guild gameplay was introduced, players who joined a guild would automatically have the guild name displayed before their nickname.
But it was still early now, so manually adding it would work too.
However... the name needed careful consideration—it absolutely couldn’t be as slapdash and casual as "Invincible Black Whirlwind."
After replying to everyone’s messages—whether with sweet talk, small gifts, or heartfelt conversations—Qi Xu finally felt fully awake.
Qi Xu ate a vegetable salad to cleanse the system and whet the appetite before starting breakfast.
Today, Chinese Master Chef prepared spam toast, teriyaki rice balls, and pumpkin yam porridge—a mix of sweet and savory flavors that was incredibly satisfying.
Today was the final day of the acid rain disaster event. With the end-of-month rankings approaching, Qiuqiu was becoming increasingly unpredictable—no one could guess how it would rank all the players, making it hard to prepare in advance.
In the afternoon, as supply crates became more abundant, Qi Xu opened quite a few items related to the "Four Pests Disaster."
But compared to Taotao’s three-piece set, these items fell slightly short in both effect and utility.
Qi Xu glanced worriedly at the total player count in Zone 666 of District 88—currently at 9,563.
In just one month, only a little over 400 players had been eliminated. Qi Xu could already foresee that the next round of the instance would be significant—likely another large-scale slaughterfest.
Or... the direct start of zone mergers.
Zone mergers were a brutal gameplay mechanic. Two zones would compete, with only a fixed number of survivors allowed—everyone else would be eliminated.
This round of the game was clearly progressing faster than the last, a topic Qi Xu had discussed with Zhu Fu.
Zhu Fu’s response was: "That’s normal. The speed of each round varies. The stronger the top players are, the faster the overall progression."
Originally, zone mergers weren’t supposed to happen until the end of the year, but now, who could say?
After 9 p.m., the rain finally began to taper off. Though the ground was still damp and the sour, rotting stench hadn’t completely dissipated, something strange happened—the heart suddenly felt at peace.
After tidying up, Qi Xu lifted weights while waiting for the rankings to be announced.
Pure muscle training no longer significantly boosted strength stats, but every little bit helped—accumulating effort in every spare moment would eventually pay off.
As midnight approached, the familiar 10-second countdown flashed on everyone’s screens!
Excitement surged, but when the countdown ended, the screen suddenly froze—no movement, no response to any button presses...
In the blink of an eye, the surroundings transformed. It should’ve been the dead of night, yet outside the vehicle, it was suddenly bright as day...
[Dear players, I am your beloved Qiuqiu, the excellent, adorable, and charming admin of our zone. A new month is about to begin, and I urge you all to actively participate in this Zone Qualification Competition!
The participants are all players from Zone 665 and Zone 666 of District 88. Each player must complete a 1,000 km journey as quickly as possible!
The top 10,000 will earn the right to continue on this road. For those beyond that rank, unfortunately, your survival journey ends here—whether you live or die is unknown.
Additionally, whichever zone has more players in the top 10,000 will retain its zone number.
The rules are simple: move forward! Step on the gas and race like mad. Note: No items may be used during this competition!
The competition begins in 10 seconds!]
Qi Xu had known it—with so few players eliminated this month, Qiuqiu was bound to pull something big. Sure enough, it was a zone merger, which was practically another massive elimination round.
Low-tier vehicles stood no chance against high-tier ones.
Qi Xu immediately activated the vehicle, which currently had a top speed of 340 km/h.
Completing 1,000 km would take nearly three hours, but since it was on autopilot, resting wasn’t an issue.
The chat lobby was buzzing. No one had seen such a large-scale elimination before, and while everyone was stunned, the life-or-death stakes quickly silenced idle chatter.
The golden group chat was livelier—everyone had full autopilot systems, so they took the chance to chat.
Old White Dragon in the Waves: "Our zone can win, right? 666 sounds way better than 665."
Blessed by Luck: "Don’t worry, victory is guaranteed. My sources say our zone’s overall strength is pretty solid."
Fortune God's Only Daughter: "That damn Qiuqiu is so sneaky! Pulling this right before rankings—now it only has to give rewards to one zone instead of two. So greedy!"
War Wolf Egg Seven: "I knew it! This is my chance to redeem myself—I’m making top five this time. No idea how hard I’ve grinded this month."
Golden Bell Armor Iron Shirt: "Me too!"
Chinese Master Chef: "Egg Bro, Gold Bro, saying that now is just asking for embarrassment. Let’s keep it low-key..."
War Wolf Egg Seven has retracted a message.
Golden Bell Armor Iron Shirt has retracted a message.
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Why retract? We all saw it."
After chatting for a while, Qi Xu grew sleepy and went straight to bed.
Once a vehicle reached Level 7, there was virtually no noise or bumps—especially on smooth asphalt roads.
As for this competition... if a Level 7 vehicle couldn’t secure a spot, then elimination was deserved. Game over.
So Qi Xu slept soundly, undisturbed, until 5:30 a.m.
A glance at the screen confirmed it: still Zone 666 of District 88.
There was also a string of unread messages and unclaimed rewards.
[Congratulations, player! You’ve secured first place in the Zone Qualification Competition! Reward: One Vehicle Core! Additionally, you’ve earned Qiuqiu’s sincere admiration. Boss, you’re truly mesmerizing~]
Qi Xu’s eyes lit up—a Vehicle Core drop! Cross-zone competitions always had a chance to yield one, meaning the team could now upgrade a second vehicle to Level 7!
[Everyone! The Zone Qualification Battle has officially concluded! To the brothers and sisters of former Zone 665—though you sent 3,372 "elite players" charging into the top 10,000, Zone 666 delivered a crushing 6,628-player sweep! Congratulations to Zone 666 for defending its glory and holding its ground!]
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Special thanks to reader [White Little Black] for another top-tier gift! Mwah mwah mwah! Love you so much!
