Qi Xu lugged the crate to the edge of the highway and stretched her limbs, getting a feel for her current physical condition.
Even though this crate was a reward, crates could hold all kinds of monsters regardless of the circumstances or occasion, so she had to stay on guard.
Only when she was completely ready did Qi Xu open it. Sure enough, the instant the lid came off, a big, round white head popped up, baring its fangs as it lunged to jump out.
Qi Xu reacted fast. The second it emerged, she planted a kick straight into it, punting it into the endless darkness flanking the road.
“Congratulations, player Qi Xu, on achieving the monster first kill and obtaining the title 〖Fearless Freak〗. Would you like to make a zone-wide announcement?”
Qi Xu answered without hesitation, “Announce it, but hold on a second. I want to change my nickname first.”
“Copy that. Please proceed to your personal stats panel.”
She was a returning veteran player, after all, and Qi Xu had no intention of keeping her head down and living miserably. Sometimes, a display of overwhelming strength was its own kind of camouflage.
Qi Xu pulled up her panel, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly. Her starting stats were truly a sight to behold.
【Player: Qi Xu, Age 24
ID: 8866620010608
Nickname: Not Set
Vehicle: Brand-new agricultural electric tricycle (Battery: 100%)
Health: 69 (Severe neck and shoulder issues, hand tenosynovitis, overall health below par)
Fatigue: 9 (The only presentable stat you have)
Strength: 21 (Total weakling)
Stamina: 26 (Have we ever worked out?)
Agility: 25 (Sluggish; can’t even run)
Overall Combat Power: 35 (All technique and no substance. You’re a weird one—did you turn on cheats?)
Supplies: Dried noodles ×6, eggs ×20, mineral water 550ml ×12, exquisite small cooking pot ×1, Silver Supply Crate.】
Qi Xu was speechless. The snark in these evaluations was maxed out. Still, she hadn’t seen them in a long time, and it actually made her a little nostalgic.
Qi Xu set her nickname straight to Invincible Black Whirlwind and hid her real name while she was at it. She had used this handle in her last run and was already used to it. Besides, it sounded like someone not to be messed with—the exact vibe of a heavy hitter.
To keep malicious players from holding grudges and tracking her down, disguising her name and gender was essential.
Right after she finished changing her nickname, a large, bold banner notification flashed across the top of the screen.
【Congratulations to player Invincible Black Whirlwind on completing the first kill! Everyone, please hurry up and get moving!】
Qi Xu glanced at the messages scrolling across the public screen. Pretty much everyone was still completely bewildered.
“WTF, what’s going on? Is this a prank, or is this for real?!”
“Has this game even been running for a minute? I just finished picking my vehicle and someone already got the first kill? Are you kidding me?!”
“Boss Invincible, come out and say something!”
“This damn game has zero chill! I was in the middle of a shower, and I haven’t even rinsed the soap off yet. If you’re pulling me into a game, at least let me put some clothes on first!”
“Thank god I was at the supermarket and had just filled a whole cart with snacks. That’s a dream start right there, hahaha~”
“Ahhh, pretty lady, please be my sugar mommy! I have an eight-pack!”
Qi Xu couldn’t be bothered to scroll any further. She tapped open her two titles to check their attributes.
〖Stubborn Mule: Passed up the good ones just to pick the worst of the lot! Not even a donkey is as stubborn as you. Stubborn mules are all hardheaded. Grants Strength +5 when equipped.〗
〖Fearless Freak: No matter how terrifying a monster you face, you won’t feel overly afraid.〗
Since only one title could be equipped at a time right now, Qi Xu went straight for 〖Stubborn Mule〗. She wasn’t afraid of monsters to begin with. When she clenched her fist again, she finally felt like she had some real strength behind it.
Only then did Qi Xu turn her eyes to the Silver Supply Crate…
High hopes—don’t let me down!
“Congratulations on obtaining inventory backpack ×1, one set of clothing each for spring, summer, autumn, and winter, sterile spare underwear ×2, fresh meat buns ×8, self-heating rice ×4, self-heating mini hot pots ×4, metal ×5, gasoline ×5.”
Qi Xu was thrilled. Now that was a jackpot. This was a real dream start.
She immediately took out the inventory backpack and slung it on. It only had 10 slots at the moment, but she didn’t have much stuff yet, so it was plenty of space.
On top of that, Qi Xu loaded the empty Silver Supply Crate onto her vehicle. For now, it could serve as a storage bin. Once she no longer needed it and got her hands on a crafting bench with the dismantling function unlocked, she could break it down for materials.
In high spirits, Qi Xu hopped onto her tricycle—her beloved “big motorcycle”—and hit the road!
Once the vehicle started up, a prompt appeared in the upper right corner: “Today’s Journey Remaining: 50 kilometers.”
The daily mileage required during the seven-day protection period wasn’t high. As long as both vehicle and driver were in working order, almost anyone could make the distance.
The highway was very wide, which made Qi Xu’s electric tricycle look rather tiny, though it was easy to handle.
During the beginner protection period, there were no natural disasters and very few monsters inside the crates, so Qi Xu wasn’t too tense. She multitasked three ways at once: driving, scanning the roadside for supply crates, and pulling up the light screen to check the chat lobby in case anyone was selling good stuff.
Probably because everyone had just arrived and was still in decent shape, the chat was mostly idle chatter. Very few people were actually looking to trade supplies, though there were plenty of sob-story spinners and freeloaders.
Qi Xu tapped the chat filter and set it to show only messages about trading supplies.
Before long, she spotted one that caught her interest.
Retired Magical Boy: “Who has gasoline? I’m willing to trade 5 batteries for it! Help a buddy out in an emergency, brothers and sisters!”
Qi Xu opened a private chat. “I have gasoline. I’ll trade for your batteries.”
Before the other person could reply, Qi Xu spotted a crate on the side of the road and pulled right over to park beside it.
It was a wooden supply crate—the lowest tier, though that also meant a much lower risk of danger.
When Qi Xu pried it open, a little mouse hopped out. Seeing that Qi Xu wasn’t scared in the slightest, it scurried off in a flash.
Qi Xu didn’t bother chasing it. Although it had no offensive power, it was lightning-fast; with her current stats, she had zero chance of catching up.
“Congratulations on obtaining iron blocks ×3, utility water ×500ml.”
A wooden supply crate naturally couldn’t compare to a Silver Supply Crate, so this haul was already pretty decent. At the very least, everything was useful.
Only after climbing back onto her tricycle did Qi Xu see several private messages waiting for her.
Retired Magical Boy: “Boss Invincible, I have five batteries. Could I trade them for three units of your gasoline?”
“Wait, scratch that, I was being greedy just now. Two units is plenty, (^.^)！”
“Boss, you there? Is two units still no good? Say something, please! How about one unit of gasoline for four of my batteries?”
Qi Xu read through the message log, rendered momentarily speechless. She hadn’t even needed to haggle—this person had already talked their own price down to rock bottom.
Qi Xu replied directly: “Was busy just now and didn’t check the light screen. I’ll give you two units of gasoline for all five of your batteries.”
With that, she sent over a trade request, and the other side accepted in a split second.
“Deal! If I get more later, I’ll come trade with you again. Wanna add each other as friends?”
Qi Xu had been about to close the chat window, but… after a moment’s hesitation, she accepted.
Folks like this who weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed often seemed to have pretty good luck. Who knew, maybe they’d have more good stuff on hand later.
“Sure. Whenever you need to trade, just shoot me a message.”
“Boo-hoo, Boss, you’re so approachable! Take a look at this—are you interested in taking this thing?”