"Tonsils Never Speak Up" said sheepishly, "This makes me feel a bit embarrassed. If anyone needs supplies, just ask me—my wishes have a high chance of coming true."
"Wolf Warrior Egg Seven" chuckled, "No need to be polite! Heh, I’ve got 3kg of extraterrestrial meteorite iron, just pulled from a diamond supply crate today. You can have it first."
"Chinese Master Chef" added, "I’ve got extra metal too."
"Muzi Li" chimed in, "I’ve got plenty of energy stones and weapon upgrade cards. Just take whatever you’re missing from me."
"Blessed by Luck" said, "What else do you need, A-Bian? Let’s pool our resources. I’ve got everything here. I’m currently negotiating for more extraterrestrial meteorite iron—if it goes well, I’ll be able to buy it in bulk soon."
At times like this, Dongfang Yuan, Song Peifeng, and a few others who were "Cursed by Misfortune" didn’t dare make a sound.
They were truly penniless, with no confidence to even speak up...
Qi Xu had enough supplies too, but he didn’t join the scramble with the others. The lively mutual aid was good for the team’s morale.
Most importantly, there were many new players who had just joined the golden group chat. This was a chance for them to experience the team’s camaraderie.
Seeing everyone’s enthusiasm, Luo Xinpan didn’t stand on ceremony. She borrowed a portion of supplies from each person, successfully gathering all the materials needed to upgrade to Level 7, then pressed the upgrade button!
Immediately after, she sent Qi Xu 1,000 energy stones and a lightweight weapon armor in the group chat.
"Boss, take this quickly! I can’t bear to take such a precious vehicle core for free! As for the rest of you, I’ll repay your supplies once I get the full system rewards! Love you all!"
Qi Xu knew A-Bian was doing this on purpose.
With more people in the golden group chat now, she didn’t want to foster the idea that "Boss Whirlwind should selflessly help everyone upgrade."
If that mentality took root, problems would arise in the team over time. So Qi Xu accepted without hesitation. After wrapping things up, he went to rest—he needed to recover his stamina and prepare mentally.
Every dungeon run left him exhausted. Sure, there was no direct combat or slaughter, but when it came to "Ball Ball," those in the know understood. If you took its words at face value, you might as well believe A-Bian could punch through Wolverine’s skull with one hit.
The next day, Qi Xu even woke up early to finish his daily mileage. This month’s quota had increased to 500km, putting immense pressure on most ordinary players. Falling behind meant elimination—or worse, erasure.
After eating his fill, Qi Xu lounged on the sofa, waiting for the dungeon to begin.
At exactly 8 o’clock, a familiar wave of dizziness hit him, and the scenery before him shifted completely.
Qi Xu quickly assessed his surroundings—he was now standing in an open square outside a [Zoo].
The place was packed with people, a sight Qi Xu hadn’t seen in a long time. There had to be at least a thousand players here.
Since this was a cross-district dungeon combining 10 zones, the number of participants had multiplied tenfold. With randomized grouping on top of that, the chances of running into familiar faces were slim.
After scanning the crowd, Qi Xu confirmed none of his teammates were nearby and cautiously moved toward the zoo entrance, keeping a low profile.
Soon, 20 owls flew out from the zoo, lining up in a row before announcing in unison: "Form a line, humans! Quick, line up for asset verification!"
Though Qi Xu had deliberately moved forward, his starting position was too far back, so he only managed to secure a spot in the middle-front of the line, with plenty of people still ahead.
The owls were notoriously short-tempered. Any player who dared ask an extra question was immediately smacked to the back of the line with a wing.
When one player loudly protested, an owl straight-up killed him with a single wing slap.
That shut everyone up fast.
Efficiency skyrocketed—no one dared speak out of turn now.
Players who passed the asset check were allowed into the zoo. Those who failed were escorted to a separate line at the edge, handed janitor uniforms, and presumably sent inside to work.
Soon, it was Qi Xu’s turn. He composed himself and put on a warm, friendly smile. "Handsome owl boss, hello! How does the asset verification work? Wow, your eyes are stunning—I’m so envious."
Unfortunately, his flattery fell on deaf ears. The owl acted like it hadn’t heard him, rolling its eyes and sizing Qi Xu up with clear disdain, its wings twitching in irritation.
[The Owl Gatekeeper’s favorability toward you has decreased by 5 points. Current favorability: -15.]
Qi Xu was taken aback. Was a simple greeting really that offensive?
"Asset verification begins now," the owl snapped. "State how many Survival Coins you’re bringing into this dungeon and scan the payment code immediately. No more wasting time with nonsense!"
Qi Xu wondered if he’d run into another "blunt" NPC. Deciding not to push his luck, he scanned the code and paid 50,000 Survival Coins.
If this dungeon required Survival Coins to proceed smoothly, then the players with golden group chat cards had already won.
None of them were short on funds—even "Sister Cut You" and "Comrade Song" had climbed out of poverty after the recent cross-district challenge.
The owl finally changed its expression, using its wing to tap at the screen one digit at a time as it counted carefully. When it confirmed that the amount was indeed 50,000 survival coins, it let out a sharp screech.
Instantly, all the owls turned to face Qi Xu, spread their wings, and bowed in unison—graceful, gentle, and oddly gentlemanly. "Welcome, esteemed VIP!" they chorused.
Then, to his utter bewilderment, they raised their wings, swayed their hips, and squinted their eyes as they performed an indescribably bizarre dance.
Qi Xu’s face flushed with secondhand embarrassment. Who on earth designed such a ridiculous routine?
What was interesting was that despite the animals’ smiling faces and flattering words, their eyes betrayed something strange—even unsettling. In fact, his favorability with them dropped another five points.
"Such impressive wealth! Noble human player, please proceed. Our staff will escort you to the VIP High-Class Animal Zone!"
The owl produced a black card and handed it to Qi Xu. "This is your prepaid consumption card, now activated. Feel free to spend freely within the zone. May your... rehearsals go smoothly and your performance succeed!"
Out of habit, Qi Xu tossed five coins as a tip before walking inside. But when no favorability increase followed, his suspicions deepened—this "Animal Madhouse" was definitely not as simple as it seemed.
A pumpkin carriage stood waiting behind the owl, with a small bird perched atop the pumpkin head. "Esteemed VIP, please board!"
The other players watched in stunned silence. Money really could make ghosts open doors—most of them had been roughly herded around by the owls’ wings like trash. Yet here was Qi Xu, getting a whole carriage!
Even after escaping the real world and landing in this survival highway game, the age-old script of "money talks" still played out.
..........
