Dandan Qi clicked his tongue several times. "My dear sister, you've really got some nerve—taking all kinds of wrong turns and stirring up so many monsters, and you don't say a word about it."
Little Blessing blushed and immediately looked up at the sky.
Having just returned from the instance dungeon, everyone was pretty tired. They chatted for a bit, grabbed something to eat, and then headed back to their vehicles to rest.
The moment Qi Xu got into the vehicle, she sensed a faint killing intent. Its source was the White-Robed Beauty. Although Qi Xu didn't look back, she could clearly feel the shift in its emotions—that was the advantage of having high mental strength.
The White-Robed Beauty stared at Qi Xu's retreating figure with deep-seated hatred and resentment. Being ignored over and over again was something it simply couldn't accept. But when its hand touched the edge of the service area's protective barrier, it felt like an electric shock—it couldn't get any closer, let alone break through.
Seeing so much delicious food right in front of it, yet unable to take a bite... it actually smiled.
Qi Xu didn't plan to rest that night. Worried that something might go wrong, uneasy in her heart, and afraid of dragging down the many gang members in the service area, she even tried leaving directly and stepped back onto the main road. But after contacting Laicai, she realized...
The White-Robed Beauty was still there, staring blankly inside with no intention of leaving.
Qi Xu let out a sigh. It had found her weak spot. This whole thing was her fault for not thinking things through. She first sent out another gang notification to warn everyone to stay alert. Then she deliberately guarded the vehicle entrance, ready to dash out at a moment's notice if anything happened. Besides, she'd been idle since the afternoon and didn't feel particularly tired.
In fact, she even had a flash of inspiration. Using the crew as characters, she started writing the opening of a team adventure novel. If fate ever allowed her to end all this, she'd submit it to Yangshi Publishing!
But for some reason, the more she wrote, the sleepier she got. Even normal thinking became difficult, and her head almost dropped onto the keyboard several times.
At first, she thought her writing skills had rusted—old skills fading away. But when she suddenly saw Ni Jiujiu flapping its wings with a serious, tense expression, she realized something was wrong.
When she saw what was happening outside, the hairs on the back of Qi Xu's neck stood completely on end. Many gang members were walking like sleepwalkers, their eyes hollow, their steps robotic—like puppets whose souls had been sucked away, creeping one by one toward the wasteland outside the service area.
She roughly counted—at least a dozen people.
Fighting the grogginess, Qi Xu forced down the window. The cold air rushed in, clearing her foggy mind slightly, but her body still felt weak and sore.
Seeing that Zang'ai 2008, at the very front, was about to reach the edge of the service area's protective barrier, Qi Xu quickly activated "Fiery Rooftop" to teleport and closed the gap, kicking him back with one swift move.
Only then did she faintly hear a not-too-clear song—a wordless melody, beautiful, but with odd pronunciation and tones...
There was no time to think further. Two more people had reached the edge of the barrier, one on the left and one on the right. Qi Xu pushed her speed to the limit and barely managed to stop them the second before their feet stepped outside the barrier.
They stumbled and fell to the ground like broken puppets, their eyes still empty, absentmindedly humming fragments of the tune—eerily in sync with the distant chant.
Qi Xu panted heavily, feeling her temples throb violently. The weakness in her body grew worse, and even the aftereffects of teleporting via "Fiery Rooftop" couldn't suppress it. The song, like fine needles, was steadily piercing into her consciousness.
Ni Jiujiu flew high into the air and started singing too. Compared to the White-Robed Beauty's rhythmic, soft, sweet voice, Ni Jiujiu's song was almost jarring. Its voice was sharp and thin, like rusty iron scraping together, with a trembling, broken tone—forcefully tearing a rift in that hypnotic chant.
But as unpleasant as it was, the effect was remarkable. Instantly, the White-Robed Beauty's voice was suppressed. Not only did the people heading toward the barrier slow down, but even the pounding in Qi Xu's temples eased significantly.
Qi Xu saw most people blinking in confusion, their hollow gazes finally gaining a trace of focus.
She shouted loudly, "Don't just stand there! Gather in the center, fast!"
Dongfang Yuan and Song Peifeng quickly jumped down from the vehicle, staring in disbelief at the scene before them. As they hurriedly gathered together, they asked each other, "How did you sleep so soundly too?"
"No idea."
Qi Xu explained, "It's a mental attack. Maybe because we've leveled up to 3—our mental stats are higher—so we woke up first."
The two instantly understood and didn't say another word. They helped pull the still-unconscious team members back.
Gradually, Zhanlang 009 and the others also woke from their deep sleep. Qi Xu couldn't help but admire the White-Robed Beauty outside. It was highly intelligent—clearly deliberate and scheming.
It had hypnotized those with high mental strength first, gradually dividing the group to take them out one by one...
If Ni Jiujiu hadn't been so effective—using its "beautiful" voice to temporarily stall the attack—Qi Xu alone couldn't have managed earlier. If anyone had actually run outside the service area's barrier, they'd be dead for sure.
But Ni Jiujiu's song didn't last long before it started to weaken. The little guy's wings flapped slower and slower, its claws trembling—clearly, fighting the White-Robed Beauty's chant had drained most of its strength.
The distant chant raised its pitch again, spreading the faint blue light faster through the crowd. The few people who had just stopped moving slowly turned and shuffled toward the barrier again.
Fortunately, those who had risen to Level 2 could still barely resist.
Qi Xu had fully recovered by now. She quickly divided everyone into groups, each person responsible for a few players, with their own groups to manage. Qi Xu, Dongfang Yuan, and Song Peifeng took three directions, positioning themselves at the very edges of the barrier as the last line of defense.
For a short while, it was manageable. But as time wore on, Qi Xu's temples started pounding painfully again...
Ni Jiujiu gradually recovered a bit, and they took turns resting like this alternately—holding out straight from midnight until the next morning when the sun rose.
Qi Xu felt like a dried-up corpse, stripped of all her energy. The sun had already climbed high, golden light warm on her hand through the glass, yet she felt bone-cold, her fingertips numb.
Thankfully, the White-Robed Beauty had stopped singing. Its icy stare locked onto Qi Xu again.
Qi Xu, utterly worn down after a whole night of torment, lost her temper. Instead of backing off, she walked step by step toward the White-Robed Beauty and stopped right in front of it.
Despite the White-Robed Beauty's cold expression, its features still carried a seductive allure, eagerly waiting for Qi Xu's next move.
Who would have thought? Qi Xu directly raised her finger, pointing at its nose, and cursed loudly, "Baka!"
............
