Qi Xu watched for a while and was utterly amazed...
Now that was what you called a proper fight—taking on multiple enemies without breaking a sweat, not even seeming strained. Her footwork was nimble and graceful, making it nearly impossible for the monsters to land a hit despite their numbers. She was fierce.
In comparison, Qi Xu realized her own earlier approach had been nothing more than wildly swinging her blade around—what people called a "fight like you’ve got nothing to lose."
All guts, no skill, charging in without fear of death.
So she wisely stayed on the sidelines, studying intently, occasionally darting in for a sneak attack. Her fighting style seemed to undergo a drastic shift all of a sudden...
Her ambush tactics were so sly she almost seemed more underhanded than the monsters themselves. She’d linger just outside the danger zone, pretending to be a bystander, careful not to draw attention. Only when she was certain she could land a killing blow would she strike!
She successfully pulled off several sneak attacks in a row, her grin widening with each one. Even "Look at Me Slice You" couldn’t help but glance back at Qi Xu repeatedly.
Qi Xu flashed a toothy grin. "I get what you mean now. This style suits me perfectly!"
"Look at Me Slice You" was dumbfounded.
Me, of all people... How could such a sneaky move have come from me?!
"Hey, sis, that’s all your own brilliance. Don’t drag me into it."
Qi Xu was already cheerfully harvesting Frostbloom Flowers.
Seven more in hand, securing their lead—first place was locked in, with the second-place team only at 21 flowers so far!
Just then, the dark mist began to gather. Without a word, the two turned and bolted in unison. The mist thickened far faster than Qi Xu had expected.
Their health plummeted rapidly, dropping them straight into a poisoned state.
Qi Xu quickly popped two antidote pills into her mouth and handed two more to "Look at Me Slice You." Gritting their teeth, they forced themselves to keep running as the mist threatened to swallow the path entirely.
With one final desperate leap, they made it back onto the highway.
"That was way too close. Almost didn’t make it." Even "Look at Me Slice You" hadn’t expected to nearly wipe out. The poison made her chest ache fiercely, slowing her down.
If not for those antidotes, they’d probably be dead by now.
Qi Xu nodded. The mist had gathered much faster than in her last run of the game. Clearly, she couldn’t just focus on grinding experience—she needed to always have a backup plan.
The dungeon still had an hour left. Qi Xu let the car keep moving while pulling out a steaming lamb meatball soup prepared by Chinese Master Chef.
She also produced two crispy, fragrant flatbreads and handed them to "Look at Me Slice You."
"Hungry? Let’s eat. First place is pretty much guaranteed. We can head back down if we spot more Frostbloom Flowers."
"Look at Me Slice You" hesitated. "I’ve been mooching off you—food, drinks, even those antidote pills. I can’t pay you back for any of this."
Qi Xu shoved the flatbread into her hands and ladled out a bowl of soup. "You’re crazy strong, so why... are things so rough for you?"
"Look at Me Slice You" paused, not answering right away. Qi Xu took the hint and didn’t press further.
Only after finishing both flatbreads and the soup did she finally speak. "When I first got into this survival game, I had a bit of a temper. I cursed the game out so hard it gave me a... profession."
Qi Xu blinked. "What profession?"
"Keyboard Warrior."
"Look at Me Slice You" sighed and pulled up the profession’s stats.
"People who love to curse have the worst luck! Hmph, let’s see how long you can keep that mouth running! As a Keyboard Warrior, you’ll earn 1 survival coin per day for cursing ten times.
If you encounter a player with a hidden Luck stat over 90, you’ll both gain an additional +10 Luck bonus."
Suddenly, Qi Xu understood why "Look at Me Slice You" had been relentlessly berating "Spread Light Upon the World" that one time.
Just another working stiff, trying to scrape by.
Qi Xu asked, "So you hit your daily quota?"
"Look at Me Slice You": "Of course. Otherwise, I’d have starved to death by now. Out of every ten loot boxes I open, at least five are empty. The other five? Four are guaranteed to be monsters."
Qi Xu winced. That was brutal.
Sure, she’d been hit with that "Super-Duper Misfortune Loot Box" card once, but it only lasted 24 hours. Dealing with this kind of luck every single day... The fact that "Look at Me Slice You" hadn’t cracked yet spoke volumes about her mental fortitude.
"How about this? We trade. You coach me in combat, and I’ll provide food. Deal?"
"Look at Me Slice You" neither agreed nor refused. Instead, she smiled. "My name’s Dongfang Yuan."
"Qi Xu."
"Our names kinda match. One’s ‘Wish,’ the other’s ‘Hope.’"
The next time they found Frostbloom Flowers, Qi Xu didn’t rush to collect them. She had Dongfang Yuan observe and guide her instead.
After taking down five or six monsters, Qi Xu finally got into the groove again.
Talent might be innate, but having a mentor to point the way made all the difference.
Qi Xu had survived the last round of the game solo—she had the foundation, just not the finesse of a true expert.
But with her fearless attitude and proper guidance, she improved rapidly.
Eight hours later, all players were teleported back to the dungeon entrance.
A translucent screen materialized midair, bold letters announcing:
[Congratulations to Team 1888 for securing 1st place among all teams with 35 Frostbloom Flowers!]
The message repeated three times in enlarged text, accompanied by a looping broadcast.
After a long pause, it continued: "Now comes the reward distribution phase. Who contributed more in this dungeon challenge—you or your teammate? How should the Frostbloom Flowers be divided?
Friendly reminder: After this dungeon concludes, you may exchange Frostbloom Flowers for supplies via the screen. Take your time to discuss. Both parties must agree before exiting the dungeon."
In the previous round’s "Frozen Fantasy" dungeon, more players had died during this phase than to the snowball and ice monsters combined...
The screen’s blatant attempt to sow discord was obvious, but human nature being what it was, selfishness often won out.
Some teams that had gotten along just fine ended up torn apart by greed over the rewards.
Though Qi Xu liked Dongfang Yuan, she didn’t let her guard down—all three of her dungeon-protection items were still on her.
"Like we agreed earlier, 60-40 split?" Dongfang Yuan offered.
"Sure, no problem."
Under the 60-40 division, Qi Xu received 21 Frostbloom Flowers. Dongfang Yuan then handed over five more.
..........
