As soon as Qi Xu returned, he resumed the task of trying passwords. This kind of repetitive, mechanical labor was good for quickly calming the mind.
But when the password reached 5379, Qi Xu finally confirmed one thing: the final password was definitely 9999.
Not necessarily those exact four digits, but it was guaranteed to make you try this many times. Even if you tried inputting 9999 directly now, it would definitely be wrong. Such a pure cliché.
So, everyone continued swapping turns in the established order. Possibly influenced by Qi Xu, Kissed Ember Starlight Moon and Cheese Milk Cap Eight-Sugar no longer saw the battles as a burden or a drag.
Instead, they fought seriously, honing their combat skills.
After each battle, everyone would discuss the shortcomings and areas for improvement that appeared during the fight. The atmosphere became surprisingly harmonious.
Slowly, the earlier frustration completely vanished. They even began to feel somewhat reluctant for it all to end so quickly.
After much hesitation, Cheese Milk Cap Eight-Sugar decided to ask her teammates back home and discuss together whether they should go to Server 88, District 666 to join up with Invincible Black Whirlwind.
Strong, good character, and decisive—she must be a trustworthy leader who wouldn't abandon her teammates. Everything in this secret realm proved that.
Kissed Ember Starlight Moon thought a bit more. Invincible Black Whirlwind might be easy to get along with, but that didn't mean everyone in her team would be.
Once you lose the status of being "the boss," you also lose absolute authority within the team. Once opinions diverge, all sorts of conflicts arise.
The spark of interest she had just felt was instantly and thoroughly extinguished by Kissed Ember Starlight Moon herself.
When the final password, 9999, was finally pressed, the old-fashioned little lock directly turned to dust, and the 〖Undead Stitched Monster〗 made an elegant exit.
The four of them pushed open the bronze-colored door together and stepped into a space surrounded entirely by white nothingness.
Everyone's hearts simultaneously sank. Qi Xu was also getting a bit impatient. If this damn treasure map secret realm didn't end now and threw another curveball, he swore he'd ignore everything else and curse it out for 300 sentences first to vent!
Fortunately, a pleasant announcement sound arrived.
[Beginning settlement of Treasure Map Secret Realm points! Hope you all had fun. I heard someone say before that there's no punishment or reward for right or wrong choices? Hehehe, how could that be our Qiuqiu's style? Open your titanium alloy dog eyes wide and take a good look!]
Qiuqiu suddenly took over the announcement rights for the Treasure Map Secret Realm and, after speaking, dropped a big red scoreboard, instantly attracting the attention of all four.
[Player: Invincible Black Whirlwind - 530 points
1. Helped teammate pay the secret realm entry fee: +20 points. Did not share the harvested 〖Truth Herb〗: -20 points.
2. Bore the main offensive pressure against the vine attacks: +80 points.
3. Shared food with teammates: +20 points.
4. Chose the dangerous boat over the safe bridge: +50 points.
5. Helped an abandoned, stranded pet: +30 points.
5. Chose to face the battle alone, did not speed away leaving the monster for teammates: +50 points.
6. In battle, successfully found the monster's weak point, risked life to save a teammate, and successfully killed the monster: +100 points.
7. During choice segments, consistently trusted teammates: +40 points.
8. Earned the trust of three teammates: +60 points.
9. Actively deciphered passwords, mediated team conflicts, encouraged teammates, fought with full effort, selflessly contributed to the team: +100 points.
Total: Five hundred thirty points. May freely select desired "treasures" from the secret realm store.]
Qi Xu's earlier dissatisfaction vanished completely. He immediately thought of the "3x Stats Data Card" that Bian exchanged with points in the 〖Mountains and Rivers Are Not Heavy Enough〗 dungeon...
Bian's points were an extra reward from Qiuqiu for completing a hidden task. After the dungeon ended, he asked Zhu Fu and learned that the special exchange store only activates under certain special circumstances.
Special circumstances—here they are! Unfortunately, he couldn't start exchanging right away; he had to check the other three's scoreboards first. Qi Xu snorted coldly. No need to think about it, they'd definitely have a bunch of deductions!
[Player: Kissed Ember Starlight Moon - 0 points
1. In the first battle, deliberately concealed true strength, never fought at full capacity: -20 points.
2. While sleeping at night, released own pet to try and cast a sleep buff on teammates: -100 points.
3. Intentionally told teammates the wrong ribbon color: -80 points.
4. When crossing the bridge, chose to abandon teammates, attempted to use an item to teleport across: -50 points.
5. When falling into water and in danger, actively rescued a teammate, helping her get ashore: +100 points.
6. Facing the troublesome multi-eye monster, gave up going alone, willing to fight alongside teammates to the end: +100 points.
7. During choice segment, earned one teammate's trust: +20 points. Betrayed a teammate's trust: -20 points.
8. Final segment, turned over a new leaf, let down guard, resisted the stitched monster with teammates, deciphered passwords: +50 points.]
When Kissed Ember Starlight Moon was "doing bad things," she never imagined it would be such a public shaming! Compared to Invincible Black Whirlwind's 530 points just now, she seemed like some kind of big villain...
And zero points! Wasted several days for zero points? Came all this way for nothing, wasted a bunch of survival coins, and ruined an arrow! Kissed Ember Starlight Moon felt like crying. They never mentioned points at the beginning.
Mainly, everyone thought this Treasure Map Secret Realm would end with some treasure chest, and they'd just open it and split the loot.
Completely didn't expect it to be in this format. Otherwise, she would have faked it properly these past few days. But it was too late for regrets.
[Player: Cheese Milk Cap Eight-Sugar - 30 points
1. In the first battle, deliberately concealed true strength, never fought at full capacity: -20 points.
2. Intentionally told teammates the wrong ribbon color: -80 points.
3. In battle, helped a teammate, resolved a crisis: +40 points.
4. When crossing the bridge, chose to abandon teammates, attempted to use an item to teleport across: -50 points.
5. Facing a teammate who risked their life to save her, gave the best supplies she could offer: +50 points.
6. In the final few battles, fought with all her might, never retreated a step: +60 points.
7. During choice segment, betrayed a teammate's trust: -20 points.
8. Final segment, turned over a new leaf, let down guard, resisted the stitched monster with teammates, deciphered passwords: +50 points.]
.........
