The hour of practice was over quickly, with most people still feeling like they wanted more.
Since everyone was already warmed up and loose from the full-body exercises, they grouped up on the spot, ran through the day's mileage, and went straight to storm the gang dungeon.
After everyone had formed parties and set off, Qi Xu found himself alone again, but he didn't stay idle. He quietly went off to kill some monsters on his own.
He thought today was going to be a pretty bland and boring day, but then an absolute heavyweight showed up.
If the monsters weren't gathered in significant numbers, they came in waves, and they were all too ordinary for Qi Xu and the Three Little Ones, posing no real challenge.
So, after a dull day of slaying trash monsters, when Qi Xu suddenly sensed a very dense surge of energy, he instantly perked up.
He prepared for battle on the spot, waiting for the monster's attack. After all, with Cherry Blossom not in his hands now, it was better to play it safe. But after waiting for a long time, not only did no monster attack, he didn't even see a trace or a shadow.
Qi Xu then moved forward. On the ground not far ahead, there was clearly blood. Next to each patch of blood was some... snow that was about to melt?
This month's calamity was just the "Hundred Demons Rampage," which had nothing to do with snow. Qi Xu couldn't figure out why snowflakes were appearing on the ground.
But he could vaguely sense that the strong energy signature was still present. Curiosity piqued, Qi Xu decided to just return to his vehicle. He called the Three Little Ones into the car, drove a bit further, and found the source of this energy.
By the roadside stood a slender, tall figure wrapped in a loose white robe that swayed gently in the wind. Silver hair scattered over the nape of her neck and onto the ground, giving her a weak and fragile appearance.
The bloodstains on the ground extended right to where she stood.
Qi Xu felt no hostility or murderous intent from her, so he drove the vehicle a few more meters forward to get a clearer look at her facial features.
Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent, the corners of her eyes slightly upturned, and her pupils were a faint icy blue, like a frozen lake surface. She was stunningly beautiful, but her eyes were filled with a deep melancholy that would make anyone who looked at her feel an urge to care for her.
She didn't speak, just gazed faintly in Qi Xu's direction. Even though they were only a few meters apart, Qi Xu felt like he was looking at a mist of snow that could dissolve at any moment, and even the air around her felt several degrees colder.
Qi Xu had been curious about why the vehicle's automatic defense system hadn't issued any alerts or notifications when another player appeared. Now he understood.
She wasn't human. She was a monster.
Endless Longevity was also always pale, sickly, and extremely weak-looking, but that was completely different from this one.
With this one, you could even see the blood vessels and organs beneath her skin. And the white robe she wore had not a single drop of blood on it, not even a wrinkle. Every detail revealed she was definitely not human.
After observing all this, his curiosity fully satisfied, Qi Xu simply drove right past her and even rolled up the car window.
The "White-Robed Beauty," with her calm and composed expression, finally showed a hint of shock. She stared in surprise at Qi Xu's vehicle driving away.
Only when it was completely out of sight did her pale lips press into a straight line. That flicker of shock gradually faded, replaced by a kind of frozen stillness. Yet, deep in her eyes, a faint, barely noticeable glint of intrigue had been sparked.
"Qiuqiu, what the hell was that thing?"
The reason Qi Xu didn't attack was that he was sure he couldn't win. The density of energy on her matched even A-She's, far beyond what he could handle right now.
Even if he used every trick in the book and burned through all his hidden cards, it wouldn't make a difference. In the face of absolute power, external forces are still just external forces!
Though Qi Xu didn't know what she was doing on his path, one thing was certain: she had no hostility and no murderous intent. As vast as the power gap was, Qi Xu wasn't so dense that he couldn't sense that.
So he decided on the strategy of "discretion is the better part of valor" and fled. Otherwise, with a monster this strong, how could he bear to give up! If he could kill her, the number one spot on the monthly rankings would definitely be his—Sister Yuan and Little Song would wear their weapons down to nothing trying to catch up!
"Qiuqiu, with your authority, would you mind telling me what that just was?"
"Boss, I really miss A-She too."
Qi Xu understood immediately and stopped pressing Qiuqiu for answers. Instead, he sent a direct message to A-She.
"What's up?"
"Don't even get me started, I'm on a business trip. So annoying. I always have to do these dirty, grueling jobs, and I don't even know when I'll be back. If you're done resting, are you having a team dinner? Sigh, I might not make it... I finally got your help promoting the Assassin Hall and ready to welcome customers with enthusiasm, but I had to go on hiatus. My performance stats won't be as good as when I'm around... Ah... I'm so fed up... Ow..."
A-She sent back a voice message, muttering quite a bit and revealing a lot of key info, especially that last word, "Ow."
The kid probably got struck by lightning again.
Qi Xu had a vague guess forming in his mind, but it wasn't clear yet.
He specifically sent a message to Taotao, asking her to send A-She another monster-exclusive healing card.
Taotao said helplessly, "A-She again... Don't worry, I've still got plenty of healing cards saved up. I'll give it a few extra this time."
Just then, out the car window, Qi Xu saw that stunningly beautiful White-Robed Beauty again, in exactly the same scene as before, as though her very posture hadn't changed.
Qi Xu firmly turned his head back, refusing to meet her gaze. He even stopped looking out of the window entirely and placed his hand directly on the "one-touch defense" button.
Nothing was more important than keeping his own skin intact. This strange monster's appearance definitely had something to do with A-She going away on business, either directly or indirectly.
A perfect opportunity to quietly grind hard and overtake others was ruined by this White-Robed Beauty. Now Qi Xu even had to be cautious about getting out of the car.
This special monster didn't take the initiative to approach or start a conversation. Once Qi Xu pulled the car curtains shut, she lost even the chance to face him directly.
But from time to time, Qi Xu would ask, "I wonder if A-She is back yet?"
Qiuqiu would always sigh and say, "Not yet. I miss him too."
So Qi Xu understood that the White-Robed Beauty was still around.
Yesterday, the Invincible Domain was bustling; today, only Laicai and a few sales team members were on duty, while everyone else was off raiding gang dungeons.
Qi Xu was a bit worried that this White-Robed Beauty might affect tomorrow's Cross-Server Treasure Map Instance. He kept racking his brain for a way to get rid of her for good.
..........
