Everyone strained their eyes wide open, their gazes locked onto the Invincible Black Whirlwind on stage, hearts pounding with an excitement that was hard to put into words.
Qi Xu’s mind felt like it was about to explode, bombarded by hundreds, even thousands, of affection notifications. All the animals’ affection levels were skyrocketing wildly...
“Qiuqiu, Qiuqiu, my Qiu, shield it, shield it!”
“Boss, you’re so cool!”
But the unreliable Qiuqiu didn’t block the messages immediately—instead, it let out an even sharper roar, nearly sending Qi Xu straight to meet his great-grandma...
Luckily, Little Black and the tiger quickly pulled the curtain closed. Qi Xu, no longer able to hold on, fell backward. The imagined searing pain never came; instead, the remaining animals caught him steadily and gently laid him down.
Then, the dungeon broadcast sounded!
【Congratulations to District 88, Subdivision 666! The Invincible Black Whirlwind’s performance has scored a perfect score—congratulations on 10 bonus points!】
【Congratulations to the Invincible Black Whirlwind for earning an SSS rating and flawlessly clearing this dungeon!】
【Dungeon "Animal Asylum" is hereby... disbanded!】
The broadcast repeated endlessly, the word “disbanded” echoing through the wreckage of the theater. Above the stage, countless colorful confetti rained down like a silent fireworks display under the spotlight.
At last, the animals’ eyes regained their usual sparkle, no longer vacant. They shouted and screamed wildly...
Though still noisy, Qi Xu suddenly didn’t find it unpleasant. He even crawled to the edge of the curtain, peeled back a corner, and sneakily peeked outside with a sense of satisfaction.
Seeing all the animals so happy, he suddenly felt... it was worth it. Meaningful. Joyful.
His arms were sore, barely holding on. Qi Xu collapsed again, aching and exhausted. Why did it feel like every dungeon drained more than half his life away?
Qi Xu waited eagerly for the announcement of the server’s first-ever SSS dungeon completion, but... nothing came?
“Qiuqiu, has someone else also completed it with an SSS perfect rating?”
“Yes, actually. Someone had cleared it before, so there was no server-wide announcement.”
Qi Xu instantly caught the key word: “before.”
He recalled the dungeons “Unity is Strength” and “Mountains and Rivers Are Not Enough, Meeting a Kindred Spirit” — both had triggered server-wide announcements.
It seemed those had the phrase “all players cleared this round,” but “Animal Asylum,” being a solo dungeon, didn’t factor into the rankings for this game cycle.
That made things very clear: regardless of what happened with the money god’s only daughter’s rollback, this highway survival game was a cycle of endless repetition! Many previously confusing points suddenly had perfect explanations.
“Boss, you’ve already done amazing!”
“I know. I’m amazing.”
Looking at the circle of animals gathered around him, Qi Xu wanted to get up and chat with everyone, but he just couldn’t. The past few days had taken too much out of him.
But then he noticed—this entire group’s affection levels had jumped straight past 90! Twenty animals, all above that mark. The black three-tailed fox’s affection had even hit 100!
Wow, a full 100! This was the true charm of fighting side by side!
Xiao Hei pulled out a small doll—it was a perfect likeness of himself. "Here, take this. You might find it useful."
Qi Xu took it and immediately recognized it as an essential material for leveling up by eight ranks—the 【Monster Doll】. Just a few days ago, this item had seemed completely out of reach, yet now it was in his hands!
Fearing he’d be instantly teleported back to the vehicle, Qi Xu hurriedly added everyone’s contact info.
"The zoo is disbanding. You’ll all be assigned to new jobs soon, so it’s best to get ahead of the game. If you’re short on survival coins, just ask me—I’ve got your back. We’re friends, so don’t be shy. And please, don’t take on such grueling work again!"
When it came to networking, Qi Xu was in his comfort zone. Especially now that he’d laid a solid foundation, his popularity was skyrocketing...
Despite his injuries, Qi Xu’s mouth never stopped moving. Crawling on the ground or not, he chatted away nonstop, making sure no animal around him was left out of the conversation!
Even Qiuqiu couldn’t stand it anymore. If he didn’t pull Qi Xu back soon, that monster doll collection might end up overflowing! Progress was moving too fast—it was a headache!
A sudden flash of white light blinded Qi Xu’s eyes, and when he opened them again, he was already back on the vehicle.
【Congratulations to the Invincible Black Whirlwind from District 666, Area 88, for achieving the highest score and becoming the only player to clear the SSS rank in the District 10 Dungeon Joint Ranking Competition! A true master among masters. It’s a pity there weren’t more competitors, or else you’d have had even more to outshine!】
Qi Xu had just returned when he saw Qiuqiu waxing poetic again. Although the words were a bit awkward, Qi Xu was used to it and accepted it without complaint.
Curious about the overall results, Qi Xu opened the dungeon rankings.
【Animal Asylum Dungeon Rankings】
1st Place: Invincible Black Whirlwind, District 666, Area 88
2nd Place: Tonsillitis Never Speaks, District 666, Area 88
3rd Place: Retired Magic Boy, District 666, Area 88
4th Place: Muzi Li, District 666, Area 88
5th Place: Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly, District 666, Area 88
...
Qi Xu thought he’d opened the wrong leaderboard, mistaking it for the district rankings instead of the joint results for District 10. Otherwise, how could every top player be from the same Area 666 in District 88? What was the point of having a dungeon hosted by multiple districts?
Scrolling down to 16th place, he spotted Jin Li from District 700, Area 88.
Only then did Qi Xu realize the leaderboard was correct. The problem was that the players from Area 666 were just too strong. As for Jin Li… well, he’d try to recruit him if the chance arose!
Especially in Area 666, where the members of the golden group chat lived, Qi Xu had been constantly exposed to the way the Black Whirlwind boss dealt with various monster NPCs—and he’d picked up a thing or two.
Sweet talk came first, followed by monetary temptations, and since everyone was basically good-natured, they managed to breeze through this dungeon and rack up excellent scores.
Just then, the screen broadcast sounded again.
【Latest full district results are out! District 565, Area 88, pulled off a stunning "reverse god mode"—claiming the bottom spot with a massive gap! Congratulations on unlocking a brand-new achievement: Receiving the Mega Supply Pack (×), but having one-third of your supplies forcibly cleared (✓)!】
These "flesh-cutting" supplies will be joyfully divided among all players from District 666 of Region 88 who participate in the dungeon challenges, with the strongest getting first pick—everyone else just scraps for whatever’s left. As for everyone in District 565, it’s time to put on a show called “How to Gracefully Accept Punishment”!
Here’s the key point! From now on, every dungeon will be a massive regional free-for-all. The player who ranks last automatically becomes the “mobile power bank” and “walking ATM” of Region One! So what are you waiting for? Get moving and keep grinding, or next time Qiuqiu might even confiscate your underwear!
Qi Xu felt like Qiuqiu was talking more and more. Looking at everyone in District 565, who wouldn’t be on edge?
..........
