Shadowkill had been lying on the ground like a dead dog, but as soon as he heard Invincible Whirlwind say, “Compared to me, those guys aren't that impressive,” he forced himself to sit up.
Endless Longevity and Third Eye already sensed something was wrong. As for Wang Buyu... he pretended he didn’t notice a thing.
Menmen let out a series of “giggles,” sounding very pleased. Making money was one hobby, and occasionally making things difficult for people added a bit of fun to an otherwise boring life—but it wasn’t really necessary. After all, being a door meant even freedom was out of the question, let alone spending money.
Teaming up with Invincible Whirlwind to scam people in creative ways—now that was even more entertaining!
A ten-minute countdown appeared above Menmen. In other words, if no one entered within ten minutes, this treasure map would be voided.
Qi Xu handed Menmen 1,000 energy stones. “I’ll go in first. You guys hold out until the ninth minute, rest a little longer, and then come in.”
“Got it!”
The other four replied in unison. Without another word, they closed their eyes, determined to recover their strength as quickly as possible.
When Qi Xu entered, the cross-server treasure map secret realm was completely empty. The reason he was so sure was that four separate cubicles had appeared, forming a square around the perimeter.
Each space was only about five square meters, making it impossible to explore anywhere else. Qi Xu took a deep breath to compose himself.
What a shame—this secret realm didn’t allow pets. Otherwise, with his three little ones around, they’d have support, flanking, and stealth attacks all covered. They’d definitely be more reliable than Shadowkill.
After about three minutes, five people showed up on the opposite side. They had European features, but it was unclear which country they were from.
All of them wore plain black combat uniforms. What piqued Qi Xu’s curiosity, though, was that they were all male, with strikingly similar appearances.
High noses, deep-set eyes, firm jawlines, and buzz cuts that looked like they had been trimmed to the same length. The guns at their waists and the positions of their weapons were identical. Even their standing postures were nearly the same. They didn’t seem like a ragtag group of randoms; they looked more like a team that had undergone unified training.
The five across from them immediately spotted Qi Xu. Though they didn’t say a word, their looks and gestures were full of scorn. The man in front even made a throat-slitting motion, prompting a burst of laughter from the group.
Qi Xu didn’t back down; he met their gaze with sharp, icy eyes.
He slowly scanned the guns and weapons at their waists before letting his eyes fall back on their arrogant faces. A faint, almost imperceptible smile curled at the corner of his mouth. There was no trace of fear in it—just a hint of mockery, as if he were thinking, “That’s all you’ve got?”
Playing the fool to catch the strong off guard was always a useful trick—especially when the enemy had already shown contempt, convinced you were weak. Sure, he could play along and catch them by surprise. But… Qi Xu didn’t want to. He was the number one player—the whole server’s number one—and this time, he was representing his country. Whether it was the final outcome or the smallest detail, he couldn’t afford to lose his edge!
The five across were indeed surprised. The leader even stepped forward, mumbling a string of words.
Qi Xu didn’t understand a single word, but one thing was certain: they were speaking English. Too bad the few bits of knowledge he had left in his head had long since been returned to his teachers.
Qi Xu was most curious about one thing—they didn’t seem injured at all. Had they not encountered a powerful guardian monster from another country? The language barrier made it impossible even to pump them for information, or he could’ve used the chance to strike up a conversation.
Just then, five people appeared in the cubicle on the left. Their condition was far worse—much like Endless Longevity’s group—heavily injured.
They had Asian features: three men and two women. Among them, a young boy looked alarmingly pale with a bluish tint to his face, clearly poisoned. He lay on the ground, foaming at the mouth, unable to recover. The other four huddled around him, pulling out healing cards and gadgets.
But none of it worked. In less than a minute, he was completely dead.
Qi Xu raised an eyebrow slightly. So soon, and a country was already down one member.
The expressions of his other four teammates had soured too, especially when they saw the five hulking, intimidating men in the left cubicle. They exchanged a few quiet words.
Only after noticing that Qi Xu’s side was just one person did they breathe a little easier.
By the ninth minute, as Endless Longevity and the others teleported in, the final cubicle’s five members arrived at the very last ten seconds.
They were typical Northern Europeans—pale skin, light blond or silver hair, blue or green eyes. Four men and one woman, the woman clearly the leader based on their formation.
They, too, were badly wounded. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have waited until the last second to come in. Though they tried to hide it, their pale faces and weak breathing gave away heavy blood loss.
Everyone sized each other up. Under Qi Xu’s seemingly nonchalant direction and instigation, they all turned their wary and hostile gazes toward the five burly men—the ones without any visible injuries and appearing to be in the best shape.
It was so obvious—practically on the nose—that the five hulks naturally noticed. The look they gave Qi Xu was as if they wanted to rip him apart.
[Greetings, friends! Welcome to the cross-server treasure map secret realm. I’m the ball in charge of this realm. Nice to meet you all!]
Qi Xu’s eyelids twitched when he heard that. Why was it Bad Ball? Was it this influential? Not only did it snag the chance to host the big-shot party, but it had also secured the first cross-server treasure map secret realm!
Bad Ball sensed Qi Xu’s surprise and let out a hearty (and crazy) laugh, finally able to show off a little in front of Invincible Whirlwind. Impressive, right? Amazing, right? Be in awe!
My abilities are far beyond what that pathetic crazy ball of yours could ever hope to match!
Bad Ball had a great laugh, but everyone else in the arena stood there, dumbfounded. Although the announcements were in each team’s native language, that laugh… needed no translation.
For a moment, they all wondered if it was some kind of bug—maybe the ball in charge was broken.
[The mission for this realm is to survive for three days. The rule is: there are no rules. Do as you please. Aside from basic daily supplies, players cannot use any equipment, items, or weapons.]
[We do not condone killing, but anyone who successfully takes another player’s life will earn 1,000 points. Note: any player! Let me give you a little inside info—the final rewards are tied to the number of surviving members in each team. Also, the points exchange shop this time will have guild cards and server cards available. That’s it! Good luck to you all. I look forward to seeing you again in three days.]
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