Bubbly Girl Guo Degang: "Take a sip of liquor, shovel another scoop of snow—what a thrill! Time to hop out and clear the snow."
Qi Xu returned to the driver’s seat, assessing the situation. The snow had piled up another layer, but thankfully, it hadn’t submerged the wheels yet. After a quick stretch, Qi Xu grabbed the shovel and jumped out of the vehicle.
At this thickness, the car wouldn’t budge without some serious shoveling.
But the nighttime temperatures had dropped even lower than during the day, leaving the snow frozen solid—so hard that the shovel barely made a dent.
Without hesitation, Qi Xu pulled out a pink chainsaw and revved it up, charging forward with a spray of ice shards scattering in all directions. After a few energetic laps back and forth, the snow became much easier to clear.
Qi Xu even went to the crafting table, broke down an iron block into four large sheets, and fastened them securely to a long pole—voilà, a homemade snow pusher!
With boosted strength and plenty of stamina, Qi Xu worked tirelessly, even finding a strange joy in the labor—each forceful shove of the shovel was oddly satisfying.
No choice—this was still the early stages of the survival game, with no access to high-end tools. Even the "fuel packs" required normal road conditions, rendering them useless in this harsh weather.
But oddly enough, the sheer physicality of the task felt exhilarating. Shovel after shovel, no need to worry about monster ambushes.
By noon, Qi Xu hadn’t taken a single break, and the effort paid off—strength stats had risen by two points in just one morning!
But then came the crushing realization: after all that backbreaking work, the car had only traveled 19 kilometers...
Some stretches had ice so solid that Qi Xu simply brushed off the loose snow and drove over it—after all, the garbage truck wasn’t exactly built for extreme conditions.
The truly treacherous spots, though, demanded manual labor.
Yet even then… only 19 kilometers.
Qi Xu opened the chat lobby to check on everyone else’s progress.
To their surprise, morale was sky-high—no matter how slow their progress, players were cheering each other on like never before.
Some, with better-equipped vehicles perfectly suited for rough terrain, had already covered 30 to 40 kilometers by midday.
Qi Xu felt a pang of embarrassment. Yesterday, they’d just wanted some bragging rights—but now, they’d unwittingly created a pack of fierce "competitors."
What else could they do? Roll up their sleeves and push harder! Qi Xu didn’t have an obsessive need to dominate the leaderboard—just to survive longer, and longer still.
Maybe even reach the end of this endless highway. One leaderboard ranking wasn’t worth stressing over.
But then, at 4 PM…
A crisp, melodious notification chimed in Qi Xu’s ears.
[Upgrade conditions for Level 4 Vehicle have been met. Begin upgrade now? Estimated time: 20 minutes.]
Qi Xu froze. Already? What conditions? Vehicle upgrade fragments—weren’t they still short by over a dozen yesterday? A quick glance at the system screen revealed the answer.
Turns out, the "Green Hair Set" had been selling like hotcakes.
Qiuqiu, as a salaried high-level AI assistant, had been working diligently—analyzing multiple factors, filtering out useful items for Qi Xu, ensuring no losses and confirming only necessary trades.
Not only had they handled the sales of the mini-sun heaters, but they’d also taken over the marketing for winter coats and the Green Hair Set.
Only now did Qi Xu realize they’d already amassed 103 vehicle upgrade fragments.
The requirements for Level 4 Vehicle:
"Iron (188/423), Glass (188/538), Battery (88/123), Rubber (88/485), Wire (88/221), Copper (66/78), Silver (33/54), Gold (22/32), Energy Stone (8/12)."
[Level 4 Vehicle upgrade conditions fulfilled. Proceed with upgrade?]
No hesitation—Qi Xu tapped "Yes."
At noon, to save time, they’d scarfed down rice balls with plum wine.
Now, starving, this was the perfect moment for a proper meal.
Spicy food in freezing weather? Absolute bliss.
Qi Xu boiled a pot of noodles, pulled out a container of spicy stir-fried pork, drained the noodles, and mixed them together—spicy pork noodle stir-fry, ready to go!
The idea was great, but the taste… something felt off. Thankfully, the pork dish had been crafted with Chinese Master Chef’s skills, so it wasn’t bad, just… weird.
Qi Xu, ever the experimentalist, snapped a photo and sent it to Chinese Master Chef.
"I tried making noodles, but the flavor’s kinda strange. What went wrong?"
Chinese Master Chef: "......!!!"
"Hard to explain, but… it might be a talent thing. The moment I see ingredients, my brain automatically calculates how to make them taste better."
Invincible Black Whirlwind: "Got it. Maybe I’m just not cut out for cooking."
Chinese Master Chef: "You’re probably at the ‘edible but not impressive’ stage."
Qi Xu had never considered themselves a bad cook. While most young people these days relied on takeout, they preferred homemade meals—simple stuff like noodles, rice, stir-fries.
Occasionally, when in the mood, they’d even make dumplings or buns from scratch. The results had always seemed decent.
No one had ever taught them—they’d just figured it out through trial and error. So naturally, Qi Xu assumed they had some talent.
Today, they finally understood: there’s a huge gap between "edible" and "delicious."
Chinese Master Chef: "Don’t overthink it. I’ll whip up something tasty for you tonight. Got some crayfish—how about spicy crayfish noodles?"
Qi Xu swallowed hard. "That sounds amazing."
[Congratulations! Player Qi Xu’s vehicle upgrade is complete!]
[Congratulations! Player Invincible Black Whirlwind is the first in the entire server to upgrade to a Level 4 Vehicle! Would you like to announce this globally? If selected, you will receive a rare item. This is a one-time opportunity—choose wisely.]
No need to hesitate. "Announce it."
Instantly, every player in the public survival game heard the same triumphant broadcast in their minds:
[Congratulations to Player Invincible Black Whirlwind from China’s Server 88, District 666, for achieving the first Level 4 Vehicle upgrade in the entire server! Keep pushing forward, players—the top tier waits for no one! Remember: fall behind, and you’re out! This survival game plays for keeps!]
"Bakayarou! How is it another Chinese player?! And the same Chinese player?!"
"Black Whirlwind-ssi? Hope we meet someday..."
"Fck! Just five minutes late! Damn Chinese monkey—I’ll take you down one day!"
........
