By the time Bian had finished listening to everything, he had already paced back and forth in the vehicle dozens, if not hundreds, of times!
"Boss, you..." Qi Xu grabbed Bian's wrist and shook his head slightly. Only then did Bian snap out of it. "Sorry, I got a little carried away. It's just... so thrilling."
After calming down, he spoke again, this time composed: "Let's pretend nothing happened."
Qi Xu thought the same—and had no other choice.
Their current abilities were limited, and expecting to solve high-difficulty problems was unrealistic.
This was still a phase of accumulation. No matter what, their plans for the future had become clearer.
This survival game was far more complicated than they’d imagined. The people around them, the monsters, the NPCs—even the "professional staff" of the game like Qiuqiu and the Black Mist—all had their own secrets.
Getting a glimpse of some of it was already an achievement. Knowing too much would only leave them powerless. The most important thing was to stay focused and secure every top spot on the leaderboard!
Bian didn’t leave either. The two talked through the entire night.
From Bian, Qi Xu learned about the recent situation in their district. The good news was that War Wolf 008 had been brought back, and Bian had coincidentally run into her on a parallel highway.
She was a cheerful, resilient girl—easy to talk to and get along with.
The bad news was that nearly 3,000 people in the district had died during this time. Not everyone had the mental fortitude to resist the overwhelming negativity, especially over such a long period.
They were like firecrackers, exploding at the slightest spark, leading to endless fights and killings.
Luo Xinpan firmly believed that survival of the fittest was inevitable in any era. If some people were determined to seek death, then let them. She never once considered helping or talking sense into them.
Their stupidity left her speechless. In fact, she thought not fanning the flames was already an act of kindness—smart people simply couldn’t empathize with fools.
However, most of these 4,000 casualties were newcomers from the recent district merge. The "original residents" of District 666 in the 88th Major District had already grown "resilient."
And they had one major advantage: they listened to advice!
Whirlwind Boss had told them to speak less, avoid being ruled by emotions, stay firm, and hold steady.
So they focused on driving, looting supply crates, and even if resources were scarce, it didn’t matter. Those who had followed Qi Xu this far without being eliminated had some reserves—not exactly wealthy, but enough to cover basic needs.
Then they threw themselves into combat, rarely even opening the chat lobby, which kept them out of the chaos.
Qi Xu suspected another district merge would happen after this disaster ended. The frequency of merges was increasing, and the game’s difficulty was finally ramping up.
For three straight days, Qi Xu couldn’t sleep well. The events of District 01 in Major District 01 were too shocking. Every time he thought about it, he couldn’t truly calm down, yet he also felt powerless to do anything.
The only way to numb himself was through relentless combat.
After 9 PM, he’d fight outside the protective barrier until 3 or 4 AM, only returning when exhaustion forced him to.
Then he’d use the time after clearing out monsters to rest, adjust, and cool down. Only then could he take a shower and finally fall asleep.
Eventually, even the Black Mist chimed in:
"Dear player, hello. I’m a bit full—no more food deliveries this month, please. [shy]"
The Black Mist even thoughtfully added an emoji.
After Qi Xu told his teammates about the Black Mist’s rewards, players with golden group chat cards became extremely excited. They hunted monsters nonstop, stockpiled them, and delivered them punctually every day.
Especially Sister Cut You and Comrade Song, who turned into complete night owls, fighting all night long.
No wonder the Black Mist had had enough—it was practically force-fed.
At this point, even killing monsters started to feel dull to Qi Xu. But after days of practicing his new skill, "Scarlet Strike," he’d mastered it. Whether ambushing from the side or fighting head-on, he’d developed a smooth combo.
Master Chef became the team’s third ability user. The Porcupine Waiter helped him collect all the red fragments, and he succeeded in just one secret realm.
Zhu Fu couldn’t help but envy and sent Qi Xu a message: "I suspect District 666 is rigged. So many talented people—some insanely strong from the start, others with absurd luck, and then there’s the brainy ones who should be bald by now. How is it possible they all ended up around you? You’re not some novel protagonist..."
If Qi Xu had heard this before his trip to District 01 in Major District 01, he might’ve just laughed it off. But now, he couldn’t help but overthink it.
Qi Xu never saw himself as a protagonist, nor did he believe his luck was heaven-defying. Was it really a coincidence that so many like-minded, strong, and complementary teammates were all assigned to District 666?
How many cycles had he gone through on this survival highway? Had he, like collecting War Wolf fragments, slowly gathered everyone together in past iterations?
So... what was the goal of this round?
Qi Xu had no answer yet, but there was no rush. He’d take it step by step. Getting stronger was always the right move.
As for Master Chef’s newly awakened ability... it fit his character perfectly. Another shield. Yet another shield.
"Fat Shield (Level 1): Upon activation, the user’s weight increases to 240 pounds. The skill lasts for 240 seconds, covering a 30-meter radius around the user. During this time, melee damage taken is reduced by 90%, and ranged damage by 80%."
It was a group shield skill, and Master Chef was so thrilled he immediately cooked a feast big enough for 50 people to celebrate.
After all, Master Chef loved nothing more than stacking shields upon shields!
This month’s leaderboard was boring—another golden group chat card competition. With the team’s expansion, they nearly monopolized the top 50 spots.
The undisputed number one remained Invincible Black Whirlwind.
War Wolf 009 rose like a phoenix, breaking into the top three, but only because Master Chef had been off the highway for over 20 days, leaving a vacancy.
Brother Jin finally cracked the top 5 and was so excited he sent a red envelope in the golden group chat. His calm, composed persona was utterly shattered.
Qi Xu enjoyed the lively atmosphere, joking around with everyone. There was no denying it—after "Heart Demon’s Escape from Heaven," his mood had lightened considerably.
At the same time, another piece of good news arrived: the little goblin said the new weapon shields were ready!
.........
