Going back to sleep was naturally out of the question; that would be too extravagant. So, I simply got up, tidied myself, and planned to go find Bian.
The pets were already up. Nowadays, everyone rested in their own separate spaces, so there was no worry about being disturbed.
When Qi Xu went to wake up the little ones, she found they had already been up and about, lively and active for quite a while. A pile of large bones was scattered on the floor, clearly showing they had already had breakfast.
The Mountain-Dominating Tiger was a bit dazed the whole morning. Good grief, are you the pet or the boss? You actually have a spatial item around your neck, don't need to wait for the owner to distribute meals, can eat whatever you want whenever, and even chew on energy stones one after another.
With this comparison, the Mountain-Dominating Tiger realized, what kind of hard life had it been living before?
If all owners were like this, what pet would ever want to leave!
"Perfect timing, since you're all full. Let's go, we're going to find Bian, and take the Mountain-Dominating Tiger to see its new owner."
Little Seven's eyes lit up, immediately calling the Mountain-Dominating Tiger aside. After a lot of hemming and hawing for a good while, it took less than five minutes for the tiger to go from looking completely resistant to somewhat intrigued.
Qi Xu was stunned. Little Seven seemed to be becoming more and more well-rounded.
Bian was having breakfast and, seeing Qi Xu arrive, excitedly hurried to open the vehicle door.
"When did you get back? You must be exhausted from all that running around, why didn't you sleep a bit more?" While asking, Bian had already brought out Qi Xu's favorite steamed chicken feet with fermented black beans.
Qi Xu didn't stand on ceremony either, eating while answering, "Just got back. Where's your Cloud?"
"In its den, gnawing on a carrot. Got it some special ingredients yesterday, probably tastes good. It started gnawing on it as soon as it woke up this morning."
"Want to take in another pet? How about that big cat behind me? Its previous owner was also unreliable; it was abandoned. It's been hanging out with Little Seven for a few days, so I brought it back along the way."
As Qi Xu spoke, she pointed at the Mountain-Dominating Tiger behind her, only now realizing this tiger was quite the actor too.
Originally, it always had a cocky, unrivaled air about it, but now it was pitifully hanging its head, stealing glances from time to time.
When Bian reached out to pat its head, it even teared up and cautiously revealed an ingratiating smile. It was just too good at this.
"Alright, you'll be with me from now on."
Qi Xu's guess was right; Bian truly had no resistance to fluffy creatures. Coupled with the Mountain-Dominating Tiger's special circumstances, Bian simply couldn't bear to refuse.
As for the tiger's recent acting and scheming, Qi Xu wasn't worried at all. If it could outsmart Bian, it wouldn't have ended up in its current state. Bian would subdue it effortlessly.
Having successfully found a new home for the Mountain-Dominating Tiger, Qi Xu hurriedly began her journey.
She casually opened the light screen panel to check on the situation over the past half month or so.
First, she sent a message in the golden group chat.
"I just got 6 vehicle cores. Anyone need them? If you've saved up enough Vehicle Upgrade Cards, hurry up."
Warwolf EggEggSeven: "Whoa, boss, did you raid a vehicle core nest? How'd you suddenly bring back so many?"
Warwolf009: "I've saved enough. ✌︎(ᐛ)✌︎"
After saying that, Warwolf009 directly sent a 〖Heart of the Mushroom〗 to the group chat, along with an additional 2000 Vehicle Upgrade Cards.
Qi Xu accepted the 〖Heart of the Mushroom〗 but sent the Vehicle Upgrade Cards back.
"I don't lack Vehicle Upgrade Cards, and it's still early for my own upgrade. You use them for your upgrade first. No need to calculate so clearly among our own people.
This Heart of the Mushroom is fantastic. My colored egg is only missing the last Five Elements Spirit Source before it hatches. If anyone encounters a monster merchant, be sure to call me immediately."
Everyone replied with acknowledgments.
Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly: "Boss, save a vehicle core for me too! Check your private messages, I'm sending you something good!"
Right after saying that, Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly privately messaged Qi Xu, sending over a Service Area Fragment.
"Thought it'd be better to send it to you privately since there are many people in the group."
Qi Xu's eyes lit up. She had been wondering if she might encounter a Service Area Fragment in the treasure map secret realm. She did encounter one, but couldn't afford it—it was grayed out, requiring 600 points.
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Where did you get this? I need this so much! You're amazing, Butterfly."
Qi Xu had developed a habit now: no matter who she chatted with or what about, she always wanted to add a couple of words of praise at the end.
Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly: "Haha, I finally finished my profession quest and became the station administrator for District 666. It was really tough. From the first day the game started, I've been going to all sorts of stations. Finally, today, I've visited enough—99 of them! That's how I successfully got the job. The Service Area Fragment was my onboarding reward from the District 88 administrator."
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Wow, that sounds really impressive. Tell me more details?"
Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly: "From now on, I won't need any specific station cards to go to any station. My work task is: whichever station the leader tells me has poor performance this month, I need to rush there immediately to investigate and write an analysis report.
For stations ranking last in performance for three consecutive months, I have to issue fines to the station's working monsters and help them come up with ways to boost performance."
Qi Xu's eyes darted around several times. Right now, the working monsters at various stations... most of them were on pretty good terms with her, but there were definitely many she hadn't met or didn't know... This was a perfect opportunity to expand connections.
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Here's what we'll do..."
Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly: "Hahaha, good! Perfectly exploiting a bug. Boss, I feel like with your help, I might get promoted in less than two months."
After chatting with others a bit more, she finally distributed the 6 vehicle cores to Warwolf009, Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly, Watch Me Cut You Down, Fortune God's Only Daughter, Retired Magical Boy, and Golden Bell Armor Iron Shirt.
Adding Bian, EggEggSeven, and Master Chef, who already had level 7 vehicles, District 666 now had 10 players who had successfully reached level 7.
It couldn't compare to District 01, but compared to other districts, they were definitely far ahead.
No one accepted the vehicle cores for free either; they all sent over quite a few good things in return. No wonder they say unity is strength; even the colored egg was about to successfully hatch.
Qi Xu thought for a moment and then sent another message in the public chat hall. It was better to strike while the iron was hot.
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "If anyone encounters a monster merchant, please stall for time and notify me. Heavy rewards offered."
After sending it, she immediately pinned the message. Almost the instant the message went out, she received several hundred replies: "Received, boss."
"Ball, if someone sends me a similar message, remind me."
"Received, boss."
Qi Xu: .....
There was always this illusion that a gang had already been formed.
.........
