Qi Xu could roughly guess that the profession of Chinese Master Chef must come with special bonuses, otherwise he wouldn’t be so obsessed with cooking. After all, this was a survival game—no matter how much one enjoyed something, there should be limits.
Seeing everyone chatting in the group, Qi Xu asked curiously, "What about the crafting table? Why hasn’t anyone mentioned it? Don’t you guys want one? Are you short on materials?"
Old White Dragon in the Waves replied, "Almost there. I’m trading for the last bits in the exchange hall."
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang chimed in, "We’re saving up first!"
Qi Xu hesitated for a moment before saying, "If you’re really missing one or two materials, it’s fine. I have enough here."
Chinese Master Chef then sent Qi Xu a private message: "Do you need this? Can I trade it for a crafting table?"
When Qi Xu saw the three differently colored pills Chinese Master Chef sent, his eyes lit up.
[Triple-Attribute Enhancement Pills: Swallow me, and you’ll become stronger!]
Qi Xu immediately responded, "No problem, deal!"
Chinese Master Chef said, "Great. I also got promoted today, so I’ll throw in something extra for you."
Qi Xu asked, confused, "Promoted?"
Chinese Master Chef replied, "Yeah, did I forget to tell you? Two monster merchants showed up wanting to buy my food, and it even triggered a system broadcast. I got a Chef’s License.
Then today, I arrived at a place called the Monster Restaurant, and they hired me as an honorary head chef.
As long as the dishes I make receive good reviews, I can accumulate points. These points can be exchanged for any food or ingredients at the restaurant, or I can choose to teleport there once a week.
After the promotion, some of the dishes I make occasionally gain special effects—like this steak, for example."
Chinese Master Chef sent over six more attribute-enhancing pills along with the steak.
Qi Xu scanned the steak with his system interface.
[Masterpiece of the Honorary Head Chef of the Monster Restaurant—Ordinary Steak! After consumption, Strength +0.5.]
Qi Xu: !!!!!
He was beyond curious. Why had he never heard of Chinese Master Chef during the first round of the game? Qi Xu was certain that before Zones 666 and 665 merged, he had gone through the player list thoroughly.
A name as distinctive as Chinese Master Chef shouldn’t have slipped his mind.
Since he hadn’t eaten dinner yet, Qi Xu devoured the steak in a few bites and swallowed all six attribute-enhancing pills.
Once again, he felt a surge of heat coursing through his body—perfect for the freezing night.
Qi Xu had assumed the attributes would be evenly distributed, but a glance at his player stats showed they were randomized. By sheer coincidence, all the points went into Strength, boosting it by a whopping 12 points!
His previously lowest stat, Strength, now stood at 48.5. With the bonus from his title, it had even surpassed 50!
Qi Xu felt like he could punch the ground and crack it open...
But... the road was the most indestructible thing in this game. It wouldn’t crack, and Qi Xu wasn’t about to test it either.
Still, he was curious about how his combat power stacked up against other players.
After some hesitation, Qi Xu privately messaged Wolf Warrior 009.
Invincible Black Tornado: "If I had to guess, you were in a special line of work before this survival game, right? Did you have prior training in combat and physical fitness?"
Wolf Warrior 009 admitted outright, "Yeah, nine years in the military. Special forces."
Qi Xu said, "I’ll trade you a crafting table for a look at your three core stats and combat power rating. I want to see how I measure up against stronger players."
Without hesitation, Wolf Warrior 009 sent a screenshot of his stats.
[Wolf Warrior 009]
Strength: 91 (Powerful and controlled!)
Stamina: 93 (Peak human performance—awesome, bro!)
Agility: 88 (Swift and fluid!)
Combat Power Rating: 135 (An all-around elite player!)
Wolf Warrior 009 added, "No rush on the crafting table. I’m almost done gathering materials."
Qi Xu let out a deep sigh, his earlier excitement completely gone. He had been thrilled about breaking the 50-point barrier in Strength, only to realize it was barely half of someone else’s stat.
He crafted two crafting tables and sent them to Chinese Master Chef and Wolf Warrior 009. Wolf Warrior 009 didn’t want to take it for free and offered all his remaining materials in return.
Qi Xu declined the trade. A deal was a deal—he had gotten valuable information, and it had effectively crushed any budding overconfidence.
Before bed, Qi Xu checked his sales. He had only sold about 100 sets of winter coats earlier, but by morning, the numbers had skyrocketed overnight.
410 pieces sold—even surpassing the first day’s sales.
Glancing out the car window, he realized why: the world outside was blanketed in white. He had known the temperature would drop again last night, so before sleeping, he turned on the Red Crystal Stone to avoid waking up freezing. As a result, he had slept soundly.
After washing up and eating breakfast, Qi Xu was about to set off when he noticed the car’s battery, which had been at 40% the night before, was now completely drained.
In extreme cold, battery consumption doubled, making electric vehicles far more costly to run. This was where fuel-powered cars had the advantage.
Qi Xu swapped in a fresh, fully charged battery.
Old White Dragon in the Waves sent over the materials for the crafting table, along with a set of snow chains.
"Remember to install the snow chains before setting off," he advised. "The bottom layer of snow has turned to ice—it’s easy to skid."
Invincible Black Tornado replied, "Got it. Thanks."
Qi Xu didn’t refuse or hesitate. The feeling of sharing useful items with each other was pretty nice.
After crafting the table and sending it to Old White Dragon in the Waves, Qi Xu hopped out to install the snow chains.
Dressed in his Green Fur Outfit, with an extra winter coat on top, wool socks under snow boots, and even goggles, Qi Xu was bundled up head to toe. Yet the moment he stepped outside, the cold air seemed to pierce through every exposed pore.
The difference between the areas covered by the Green Fur Outfit and those left exposed was stark.
Coming straight from the warmth of the car, it took Qi Xu a moment to adjust. By the time he finished installing the chains on the first wheel, he had fully acclimated.
Today’s travel requirement was another 70 kilometers. With the Red Crystal Stone turned off, Qi Xu drove at a steady 30 km/h, stopping only to grab any supply crates he spotted along the way and tossing them into the truck bed.
Unopened crates couldn’t be stored in the inventory.
Though he moved slowly, he made steady progress, finishing the day’s distance by noon.
In the middle of this icy wasteland, Qi Xu suddenly craved hot pot...
