Hearing Abian say this, Qi Xu finally stopped worrying so much about Master Chef. Aside from Abian, he and Magical Boy had the best luck.
At this moment, the cross-zone group chat card pinged.
Happyending: "Didn't we say we were going to the Treasure Map Secret Realm? Let's go, let's set off. This dungeon isn't tiring anyway."
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Awesome, Brother Xie! Look how cool you are, clearing a dungeon without breaking a sweat."
Happyending: "Not as awesome as you, setting another server-wide record. I'm tired of saying how much I admire you. But where are the other zone bosses? Why aren't they saying anything? Don't tell me they haven't made it out of the dungeon yet? Hahaha."
After Xie Shaoning finished showing off and leaving behind his bold words, he instantly collapsed! Just to act tough in the group chat, he had really run forward risking his old life. Invincible Black Whirlwind aside, he was determined to take first place among the rest!
This was the obsession of a sports person: I want the gold medal in a competition, and I want first place in a survival game! Of course, first place excluding Invincible Black Whirlwind—she didn't count as human.
Qi Xu could guess what was going on with just a little thought.
He had completely locked horns with Ash Kiss Star Moon and Shadowkill, constantly bragging about how awesome he was. Eighty percent of it was just him putting on an act.
Entering the Treasure Map Secret Realm right now? Qi Xu even suspected that Xie Shaoning had already fallen into an unconscious slumber the moment he managed to send that message.
But he didn't expose the kid, because someone even more boastful appeared.
Shadowkill: "Sure, let's go. This dungeon really wasn't that intense, but that blood-coughing invalid hasn't come out yet. What a delay."
Qi Xu was utterly speechless. It was truly a rare feat for all these posers to gather in one place.
He didn't expose Comrade Little Xie because of the solid emotional foundation they built over two consecutive Treasure Map Secret Realms. As for Shadowkill...
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Great, I was just worrying about not finding anyone to go to the Treasure Map Secret Realm with me. I have a two-person co-op treasure map in my hand. Let's set off."
Shadowkill was so exhausted he couldn't even keep his eyes open, but seeing Invincible Black Whirlwind's message, he instantly felt like he had dropped a rock on his own foot.
Wait, it was clearly that guy named Happyending who started acting tough first. Why single me out to punish?!
He immediately played dead and stopped replying in the group chat. Qi Xu knew when to stop while he was ahead.
He went straight to find the great, peerless weapon master, the little goblin Doudou.
Now that he had the weapon enhancement stone, Yingluo could finally be successfully upgraded!
Iron Doudou was quite free this month. All the players on the server had gone to re-walk the path they came from, so he couldn't get any orders.
He was currently sitting among the flowers, drinking the juice Master Chef had given him, and leisurely basking in the sun.
Seeing Qi Xu, he immediately bounced over. "I heard the server-wide announcement. You came out really fast!"
"I have a lot of friends, so I had help inside the dungeon. My good friends just can't bear to see me suffer. I'm quite helpless about it too."
Qi Xu directly took out the weapon enhancement stone. "Look what this is?"
"Ahhh! You got a weapon enhancement stone! Quick, give Yingluo to me. I'll finish the upgrade for you in 15 days."
Qi Xu nodded vigorously. "That timing is perfect. I'm going to the top-tier players' gathering at the end of the month."
Iron Doudou's excited expression faded a bit. "The mortality rate for past top-tier players' gatherings has been as high as 80%. You..."
Before Iron Doudou could finish his sentence, he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood...
But he was well-prepared. He quickly used a monster-exclusive healing card, so before he even finished coughing up blood, he had mostly recovered.
He then grinned at Qi Xu and said, "Taotao prepared a few cards for all of us, just to prevent this kind of special situation."
"Don't worry, you don't need to worry about me. I know what I'm doing. Don't tell me things you shouldn't. You guys being safe and sound is better than anything else."
Qi Xu truly meant it from the bottom of his heart. Having interacted with these familiar monsters for so long, he had long considered them his friends.
However, right after he said this, the notification sound for Iron Doudou's affection level rang out, jumping straight to 100.
He also took out a monster doll and handed it over. "Make sure to keep this close to you. When you attend the gathering, remember to wear it on your body. If any accidents really happen, it can save your life."
"Okay."
One second Iron Doudou's eyes were full of affection for Qi Xu, but the next second, after he started working, he felt he was in the way again.
"Go, go, go play somewhere else. I need to start working."
"Alright, I'm leaving."
Qi Xu looked back three times with every step, but Iron Doudou had no intention of making him stay, not even looking up. Only then did he drive away. Since he rarely had such free time, he might as well focus on taking the three little ones to pick up supply crates.
This dungeon had the longest front line among all the dungeons in this round of the game. Players returned one after another. By the time there were only three days left until the end of the month, out of the more than 11,000 people in Zone 666, only over 4,000 had returned.
He suddenly remembered Qiuqiu's words: "The end of the survival highway might be a way out, but every inch of land along the way is soaked with the blood, bones, and despair of those who came before."
Before entering the dungeon, he felt full of confidence, but seeing the mostly empty Zone 666, he once again felt the cruelty and despair of this highway.
Even Master Chef's gourmet red packets seemed to lose some of their flavor. That review blogger named Blooming Wealth ultimately failed to eat the three dishes and one soup made by Master Chef.
Until the very last day, he couldn't escape from the dungeon. Even though they didn't know each other, Master Chef was still sad for a long time...
Fortunately, all the players in the golden group chat card had returned. It wasn't a coincidence; the golden group chat card itself was a gathering place for the strong. After all, the players who could enter here were either formidable in their own right or had exceptionally good luck.
Although everyone had a good relationship, no one was lacking in personal strength. There were certainly no deadweights who constantly needed others' handouts, just lying flat and taking advantage of people.
Even if someone started out cursed with terrible luck and had to survive on cat and dog food every day...
Now that most players had pets, they had completely risen up. Especially after partnering with Laicai, they began to focus on improving their own combat levels, handing over all the supplies they got from opening crates to Laicai to sell.
In Zone 666, where experts were as common as clouds, they could almost always make it into the top 20 of the monthly leaderboards. In the past two months, they had even managed to snag a first place in other zones.
In the end, 5,213 people successfully returned to Zone 666.
Qi Xu was already used to it, but this time his feelings were noticeably deeper than before. Perhaps in the past, he felt more of an inward sense of relief, sighing that he had survived another ordeal, while other emotions were weaker.
Just then, the broadcast sound from the light screen rang out.
.........
