After Qi Xu finished speaking, the others were stunned.
"I gotta hand it to you, boss—I'm about to cough myself into a coughing machine, and you say the situation isn't that bad."
Cheese Foam Eight Percent Sugar didn't mind admitting weakness in front of all the national server players.
Endless Longevity rolled her eyes decisively. "So what if you're a coughing machine? Still better than you."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm the weakest."
"I can follow both groups too—didn't find it that tiring." Xie Shaoning forced his eyes wide, struggling to suppress the heaving in his chest, pretending he wasn't exhausted at all.
"Alright, then you'll follow both."
Qi Xu agreed with a grin, and Xie Shaoning's expression instantly froze. Crap—this is the Invincible Black Whirlwind, always playing by his own rules.
Ember Kiss Starlight Moon finally caught on. "Tough girl? Me? Haha, I love that nickname. Call me that from now on!"
At that moment, everyone suddenly fell silent and turned to stare straight at Ember Kiss Starlight Moon.
"What? Why are you looking at me?"
"Sis, you're not half a beat slow—you're a hundred beats slow!"
Right before the first group set off, Xie Shaoning cleared his throat again, a bit awkwardly. "Forget it, I'll only follow one group. The group staying behind might still run into danger—I can't be absent."
Everyone exchanged knowing glances, no one calling him out.
The kid just liked to show off a little and lacked social awareness. Apart from those two quirks, he was fine in every other way—especially in battle, where he held nothing back and gave it his all.
Dealing with someone like him was much more reassuring than dealing with people like Instant Noodle Hair Flower Fairy.
Over time, their tolerance had grown...
Wolf Warrior 005 took the lead and set off, also helping the other group hiding in the rock crevices by making some simple camouflage, piling up monster corpses at the cave entrance.
The smell of blood was strong, and since the resting group had no energy cores on them, it helped mask their scent and prevent any accidents.
The whole round trip took about two hours, with plenty of cover and obstacles for dodging. The two groups smoothly rotated and alternated a couple of times.
Then a small accident happened.
"Is that... Shadowkill up ahead? He's alone too? Surrounded. Should we save him, boss?"
Cheese Foam Eight Percent Sugar leaned toward saving him—after all, this was a national server livestream, and shaping a strong image was important. A powerful leader naturally gets everyone fired up.
But from a long-term perspective, if the leader could combine strength with a warm, inclusive personality, it would undoubtedly attract even more followers.
This dual charm of "strength plus character" builds reputation and solidifies an audience far better than any single flashy moment, laying a stronger foundation for the future.
Still, since Shadowkill hadn't officially joined the Invincible Black Whirlwind team, Cheese Foam Eight Percent Sugar knew her limits and didn't say too much in front of everyone.
Qi Xu didn't hesitate for a second—even before Cheese Foam Eight Percent Sugar had finished speaking, he charged forward.
Blinking forward in rapid succession, he reached Shadowkill in the blink of an eye.
Whatever Cheese Foam Eight Percent Sugar had thought of, Qi Xu had considered it too—and even more thoroughly.
Even leaving those concerns aside, Qi Xu didn't want to watch Shadowkill die in front of him. Shadowkill still had an international server treasure map, and Qi Xu was eager to fight strong players from overseas servers!
The small pack of Golden Apes were all over ten feet tall. Feeling dwarfed, Shadowkill coughed up blood in despair as an ape's fist swung toward his face. Looks like he was done for.
He wondered if there was still a chance to vote for revival. If only he hadn't run away—sticking with Invincible Black Whirlwind, even if he got nothing, would at least keep him alive.
Now he was about to lose everything.
But when he saw Invincible Black Whirlwind appear like a god descending, cutting back the ferocious Golden Ape in front of him with two strikes...
Shadowkill's face burned with shame.
Cheese Foam, Wolf Warrior 005, and Wang Buyu rushed up quickly, fighting and retreating, and soon pulled Shadowkill out of the encirclement.
As soon as they reached safety, Shadowkill swiftly pulled out the energy core from his pocket, tossed it to Invincible Black Whirlwind without hesitation, and said, "Thanks—this is my life ransom."
With that, he clutched his wound and limped away, intending to leave. He was badly injured, barely had any combat capability left, and had chosen non-cooperation when the team split.
So he didn't hold out any hope that Invincible Black Whirlwind would take him in. No team wanted useless baggage. Even though it was the truth, Shadowkill couldn't help but feel a flicker of expectation.
To his excitement, Qi Xu actually spoke.
"Give me your treasure map and 5,000 points, and I'll guarantee your safety for the next ten hours."
Shadowkill's eyes lit up, and he agreed instantly. "Deal!"
At this point, leaving meant certain death—he could barely walk. Trading material possessions for his life was a steal. Invincible Black Whirlwind was being extremely generous.
Shadowkill was curious about why Endless Longevity, Xie Shaoning, and Ember Kiss Starlight Moon had disappeared. Had they died? But he didn't dare ask.
As they finished the round, Wolf Warrior 005 saw Shadowkill moving slower than a turtle and simply hoisted him onto his back. Shadowkill felt even more embarrassed, but aside from "thank you," anything else seemed pointless.
When Shadowkill returned and saw Endless Longevity and the other two hiding in the "safe zone," their faces rosy and content as they ate delicious food, his regret hit its peak.
"Oh my, is this brother Shadowkill? How did you get so injured? Cough, haha—let me take a good look!"
Endless Longevity coughed up a mouthful of blood while gleefully crawling out from behind the rocks, circling Shadowkill like he was a rare monkey, her laughter full of unstoppable joy and excitement.
Qi Xu spoke up to everyone: "He gave us an energy core and will pay 5,000 points later. We'll split it evenly. For now, he won't join the combat groups—he'll stay in the cave to recover. Once he's better, we'll see."
"Got it."
No one objected, not even Endless Longevity. Invincible Black Whirlwind was being polite, but anyone who actually opposed him would only cause trouble—because there could only be one voice in the team.
Shadowkill forced a laugh, but whenever he met Endless Longevity's sarcastic expression, his face would darken and he'd fall silent. Damn—look how smug she was!
...........
