From here on out, Qi Xu didn't have a single thing to worry about. Taotao had it all covered! The overwhelming power of the strange meridians showed itself thoroughly once again, though the official procedures would still take some time to wrap up.
Qi Xu wasn't in a rush at all, though. Wang Buyu was about to come right into his arms — wait, no, right into the gang!
Glancing at the calendar that showed the end of the month was drawing near, Qi Xu started bringing the three little ones along for a non-stop grind. For half a whole month, they spent every day out on the open highway, sometimes not even bothering with autopilot — just driving around, looting supply crates, and hunting monsters. They got to experience that laid-back, peaceful roadside life to the fullest.
Finally, on the very last day of the month, Wang Buyu showed up in District 88 alongside the Black-Haired Monster Merchant.
This wasn't the Black-Haired Monster Merchant anymore, though. It had a brand new name now: Fafa, and it had already taken on the role of vice store manager of the Monster Shop.
The second they arrived in District 88, the super enthusiastic Taotao dragged Fafa off to get familiar with its new work post right away.
As for Wang Buyu, she successfully joined the Slay Path gang.
For someone with severe social anxiety and extreme sensitivity, joining a mature, tight-knit team where every member already knew each other well all on her own was a really daunting challenge.
Before heading to the service area, Wang Buyu sat in her vehicle for ages, speeding through her breathing exercises to build up her courage, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it might leap out of her chest.
She had no idea how to explain that she was not much of a talker, and she was terrified that her shyness, the way she avoided making eye contact out of embarrassment, would be misread as arrogance and standoffishness.
By the time she was about to head in, her fingertips were trembling so badly she almost bailed entirely, second-guessing if she was even cut out for team life, if she could really break free of the social walls she'd trapped herself in.
The Slay Path gang had 276 members total at the time, with a super strict admission review. Bian ran a pre-join group chat, and anyone applying to join the gang had to first spend time in that group, team up with existing gang members to clear a treasure map secret realm mission together successfully, before they could officially become a full member.
That was why they still hadn't hit the 500 member cap yet — treasure maps weren't exactly easy to come by, and most of the maps the gang used these days were bought from Little Xie.
Just the thought of walking in and having two or three hundred people all turn their heads to stare at her made Wang Buyu feel like she couldn't catch her breath.
When she noticed Fafa, even swamped with all its new work, taking time out to check in on how she was doing, Wang Buyu gritted her teeth, steeled herself, and teleported straight into the gang grounds.
It was exactly 10 p.m., and everyone was hanging out in the service area, eating, resting, and chatting.
When they spotted a total stranger stepping out of the parking lot, every single player immediately knew this was the talented new recruit their boss had poached from another district.
They all just went right back to what they were doing, only greeting her warmly, no prying questions, no over-the-top smothering enthusiasm, and no cold ignoring her. That perfect, thoughtful balance made Wang Buyu feel so comfortable she could barely believe it.
She relaxed completely, letting go of all that overwhelming nervousness and awkwardness — and when the flood of everyone's inner thoughts washed over her, she was genuinely moved to the core.
"We can get to know her later, no need to badger her with a million questions right now, that'd just make the poor girl awkward."
"She's such a powerful, gentle lady, no wonder Whirlwind Boss values her so much, he even called a meeting ahead of time to remind all of us to be careful how we act."
"Wait, did I look silly just now when I waved to her? Ugh, I should've just waved without grinning like an idiot."
There were no underhanded schemes, no mean-spirited hidden assumptions — just a bunch of sweet, silly little inner thoughts.
As soon as Qi Xu got the notification that Wang Buyu had arrived, he teleported straight back to the service area as fast as he could. That girl was so sensitive and overthinking, he was worried she'd feel out of place.
But when he stumbled back in, still covered in monster blood from the road, he realized he'd stressed over nothing.
Retired Magic Boy, Muzi Li, La La, and Blessed by Luck were all chatting happily with Wang Buyu, and she didn't look the slightest bit flustered or uncomfortable.
Even the people who weren't great at talking — Sister Cut You, Treasure Cai, and War Wolf 006 — were being super thoughtful and didn't crowd around her. They knew she was going to be a core teammate fighting alongside everyone for a long time, so they just waved at her from a distance and went on their way.
Little did those three know, they were the ones that made Wang Buyu let go of every last bit of her unease.
She could hear their inner thoughts loud and clear.
"She looks a little physically frail, I can bring her out to do some extra training tomorrow."
"Such a quiet little thing, I'm basically a grandma at this point, I've got to figure out a way to help her settle in fast."
"How do I gently remind her we do 6 a.m. morning drills tomorrow without scaring her off?"
That was when Wang Buyu realized she was never scared of talking to people — she was scared of the hidden judgment and rejection that lurked under so many fake friendly facades. But here, it felt like home.
"Are you settling in okay? If anything feels off at all, just say the word. There aren't a bunch of stupid strict rules around here. You can even stay in your vehicle for as long as you want, take it slow, there's no rush for anything."
"Boss, when are you going to be this gentle with me?" War Wolf 009 blurted out, unable to hold it in.
Qi Xu had been free that whole month, tallying up all the top combat power players in the gang to put together the strongest possible 12-person team. He'd heard from Old Third's weird little orb set that the arena tournament matches were always 12-on-12, so he was testing out all kinds of different team combinations to find the group that could dominate no matter what the 1v1, 3v3, or full 12v12 format was.
He kept pulling everyone into training sessions in all kinds of creative ways, and War Wolf 009 had finally, after all that grueling nonstop practice, memorized every single skill his teammates had. But the whole process... "miserable" didn't even begin to cover it. So seeing the usually fierce Invincible Black Whirlwind being so soft and caring to the new girl made War Wolf 009 break down completely.
Chinese Master Chef was over in his own head, trying to work out what Wang Buyu liked to eat — did she prefer desserts or braised dishes? Sweet and sour flavors, or spicy?
Wang Buyu took a deep breath, took that brave first step, and spoke up to answer Chinese Master Chef directly.
"I love every kind of food!"
That made the chef so overjoyed he dragged out every last bit of his delicious stocked food for everyone to share. The whole gang ended up hanging out, eating and chatting together, and in the middle of all that contagious laughter, the last little bit of awkward unfamiliarity between them melted away completely.
At 12 a.m. sharp, the monthly leaderboard was officially released.
[Come on everyone, let's take a guess, who took first place on this month's District 88 monthly leaderboard?]
Everyone had headed back to their own vehicles by then, but the gang group chat was blowing up nonstop.
Watch Me Cut You Down: "It's me, right?"
Old White Dragon in the Waves: "I'm guaranteed top three! I broke three whole weapons this month! I was up at the crack of dawn grinding nonstop, I almost forgot what my bed even felt like, I can't get let down this time."
Egg Seven: "Dude, you haven't learned your lesson after all these months? The bigger you brag, the worse the result ends up. I'm different, though — I just grind monsters steadily, I don't care about the rankings at all, not even a little bit, honest."
Fortune God's Only Daughter: "Ugh, you're the worst, Egg Seven! I was just about to start bragging too."
...........
Huge thanks to reader [Yonghe Dao] for gifting two King of Gifts, hope you make a fortune big boss, thanks so much for the support — this extra update is for you!
