Qi Xu, on the contrary, felt a surge of anticipation. His efforts over the past month weren't for nothing, though he needed to be more prudent and make more thorough preparations.
"What's there to be afraid of? I want to ask you for some details. Answer what you can, and be vague about what you can't, understand?" Qi Xu reassured Qiuqiu.
"Can the Cross-District Arena Challenge have matches to the death?"
"Mhm."
"Does Qiuqiu have any authority to interfere with the arena challenge's format, order of appearance, or specific arrangements?"
"Mhm, but not much. It can only guide things."
Qi Xu thought for a moment and asked his final question, "Can one maliciously threaten or coerce players then?"
"Yes, but it must be within the rules. Threats and coercion are considered indirect ways to help players grow stronger. However, once the match begins, Qiuqiu can no longer interfere."
Qi Xu understood now and began formulating plans in his mind, chatting with Bian for a good while longer.
When everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Qi Xu started handing out wages to each team.
Due to the special nature of Moneybags's profession, all rescue fees from players were collected by him, with Blessed by Luck responsible for side records and helping with verification.
After confirming everything was correct, Qi Xu deducted 20% from the total based on each team's completed orders, then distributed the rest to each team leader one by one.
Bian and Moneybags exchanged a knowing glance, relieved to see no signs of discontent on anyone's face. The biggest fear in a team is conflict arising from distribution issues.
The deducted portion was stored by Qi Xu in a separate spatial stone, designated as team supplies. In the future, if anyone in the team urgently needed to upgrade or had a special need, they could freely borrow from it for free, returning it promptly after use.
It could also serve as team funds, like today's group meal. They couldn't always have Qi Xu or the Master Chef paying out of pocket. Many things needed proper procedures.
This was a safeguard for everyone. Qi Xu also posted the detailed inventory of supplies directly in the group chat.
Once guilds became available later, things would be much less troublesome. Just deposit everything into the guild warehouse, where the records would be crystal clear, no manual logging needed. Exchanging items would be easy too, using guild points.
After everything was settled, everyone left the buffet restaurant in high spirits. The little hedgehog waitstaff were so excited they were practically bouncing off the floor, darting back and forth to serve everyone...
A huge order, a huge order! Over 50 people! No doubt this month's performance would be top-notch again!
Just as everyone returned to their vehicles, they noticed the district population had finally increased again. A merger had happened!
The 4386 people became 9999+ once more.
The players originally from Qi Xu's District 666 were quite perceptive and immediately stopped talking about sticking together or unity.
They worried it might cause misunderstandings, making new district players think they were forming cliques to resist them. Better to avoid trouble. Time spent arguing and fighting was better used resting, opening more roads tomorrow, and finding more supply chests.
This was why Qi Xu liked these veteran players—rational and normal.
In this reality where social order had collapsed, being rational and normal were truly rare and valuable qualities.
Cursed by Luck: "Hey friends, which district were you all from originally?"
Every time a district merger just happened, Cursed by Luck would always ask this. It had become a habit. If he occasionally forgot, Blessed by Luck would definitely ask instead.
But... today, after asking, a good while passed with no one answering.
Cursed by Luck: "Oh no, why does this scene feel so familiar?"
Panda Panda: "Painful memories are flooding back instantly."
A Chinese Specialty 196: "It can't be..."
Qi Xu, who was about to sleep, seeing this situation, specifically opened the player list to check. The newly merged district's highest-ranked player had a Level 6 vehicle; there wasn't a single Level 7.
Wait, there were even pitifully few Level 6 vehicles. So what was the deal with this district? Where did all the strong players go?
Warwolf Egg Seven: "Why do I feel like... the player nicknames in this district are so familiar?"
Warwolf 008: "Well, I'll be darned. Isn't this my original district? District 08, Sub-district 438. So? Still want to keep hunting me? Come on!"
Warwolf Egg Seven: "Oh my gosh, no wonder it looked so familiar! What are the odds!"
Qi Xu also understood. After the Dark River God died, Sub-district 438 wasn't willing to simply release the enslaved Warwolf 008 and wanted to keep leaching off him. Hundreds of people chased Warwolf 008, only to be slaughtered back and forth several times by the few Warwolfs who had transferred over using District Change Cards.
Dozens of strong players were wiped out. No wonder the vehicle levels looked so exaggerated—they had all been eliminated.
No wonder the people from this district didn't dare to speak up. Right now, in the District 666 chat hall player list, several of the top 10 were Warwolfs...
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "@Warwolf 008 Send me a list of names for revenge and counter-hunting. I have lots of Tracking Cards here. Tomorrow I'll go with you to settle them one by one. Welcome to gang up, it'll save even more trouble."
Old White Dragon in the Waves: "Hard not to support this."
Chinese Master Chef: "You're all so mean! Why would so many of you gang up to bully and hunt down one person! I won't sell my food to you anymore in the future."
Watch Me Cut You Down: "666, Little Eight, start listing the dishes."
After getting along every day for this past month, and Warwolf 008 being a sociable guy, everyone had already developed a bond.
Even the Fortune God's only daughter and Ruan Shizi tacitly sent the same message simultaneously: "Just tell me who to curse."
After sending it, perhaps feeling it revealed too much of their tacit understanding, they both, in tacit agreement, withdrew the messages simultaneously. In the end, the two simply cursed under their breath and fell silent in unison.
Actually, this bunch from the old District 444 still cursed at each other daily, but they weren't genuinely angry anymore. It was their way of friendly communication—truly friendly, with no hidden meanings.
The players from Sub-district 438 were already trembling with fear. Acquaintances were privately messaging each other: What should we do!
In Sub-district 438, ever since the district's top players started dying one after another, they had guessed a district merger was near, and they'd likely be merged into a relatively strong district.
Before the merger, everyone was saying to lay low first, see what the new district's style was like, and not cause trouble right off the bat. After figuring things out, they could find a way to unite and compete for district resources.
Who would have thought it would be such a coincidence, merging directly into the district of the server's top-ranked big shot, the famous Chinese District 666? And Warwolf 008 had become part of Invincible Black Whirlwind's group. Where's the justice in that?
They could only hope for "the law does not punish the multitude" and didn't dare utter a single word... You can't possibly hunt down and kill every single one of us, right?
..........
