Chapter 29: Monster Challenge

It can't be… that this person is just the lofty, righteous nonsense he blurted out the first time he tried to talk to her out of resentment, right?

That was indeed a moral hostage.

Zhao Hong suddenly lost his temper, yet he still gritted his teeth and sent a new message to Wu Ya.

【Radiant Blue Star】: Consider this a tuition fee; looking forward to our next transaction.

Forty‑five fragments were neatly stacked in Cheng Shuili's hand; she squinted her eyes and laughed without a care.

Without Cao Mei Xiao Ying Tang as a steady supplier, Cheng Shuili's fragment‑gathering speed halved.

She now has 54 fragments in hand, still far from the 125 needed for the next upgrade.

Cheng Shuili closed her eyes, parked the vehicle, and prepared to have lunch.

On the other side, Zhao Hong reported every detail without omission.

There is no such thing as a group chat yet; the biggest leader here despises others' slow relaying and worries about misinformation.

They went straight to Zhao Hong's private chat to listen to his briefing; while reporting, Zhao Hong also synced the news to several other leaders.

When the last sentence was heard, before the biggest leader could speak, someone couldn't stay still.

"That Wu Ya is a complete fraud! A full 70 fragments—enough to upgrade seven vehicles to level two!"

"You still want to keep trading with him? People like that should be blocked early; once we develop, we won't give him any profit!"

Zhao Hong ignored the person's bad mood; he was busy, and he wasn't the one who could actually speak, so telling him was useless!

【Radiant Blue Star】: That's all.

The person opposite didn't reply further; after a while, someone else told him to be busy.

Zhao Hong nodded silently; if anyone asked his opinion, he would definitely support continuing trade with Wu Ya.

Putting the future of the organization aside, they still rely on Wu Ya's information now, and it's thanks to Wu Ya that they can outmatch the United States.

These people are already scheming to kick someone out…

Zhao Hong sighed.

At twelve noon, the system issued another announcement.

【All players, please note! Today is the last day of the Newbie Protection Period.】

【After today ends, a random natural disaster cycle of seven days will begin! Some lucky zones already know tomorrow's specific calamity.】

【But you've probably realized that merely knowing the disaster without the corresponding supplies is useless; it only brings a despair of awaiting death.】

【Rest assured, players, this system is especially gentle and considerate; it now grants all survivors a chance to stay alive!】

【There's an old human saying: a person is valuable when they have self‑awareness. Players who have survived this far are either lucky or truly capable and brave!】

【Tonight at six o'clock, vehicles will stop early; each person may independently choose a monster to challenge, divided into Leisure, Normal, Elite, Epic, and Hell tiers! The higher the difficulty, the greater the reward!】

【Friendly reminder: the rewards are the supplies you'll urgently need for the next seven days.】

Cheng Shuili keenly noticed that the system's normally emotionless voice suddenly carried a hint of amusement as it continued its cold, ruthless announcement.

【However, if you fail the challenge, the price you pay is your lives!】

【From now until six p. m., you have six hours to decide; think carefully, survivors!】

As the words finished, a selection panel popped up before every player.

Each tier displayed a fearsome‑looking monster.

The Leisure tier featured a humanoid monster covered in oil that Cheng Shuili had seen before, its eyes blood‑red; on the system panel it looked somewhat tame.

The regional channel began discussing the matter.

【Xiang Tai】: The Hell‑tier monster looks way too ugly.

【CPDD】: Does that mean the Epic tier looks good?

【Chao Piao Duo Duo】: Wait, are the monsters we're choosing the same?

When the question arose, Cheng Shuili stared at the regional channel; several people described the monsters of each tier, and they were all the same.

In other words, everyone's difficulty is identical.

Cheng Shuili fell silent for a moment, then felt sheer exhilaration.

Because on her selection panel, from Leisure all the way up to Hell, the monster shown was the Leisure‑tier monster they described!

Stuck again!

Good thing, good thing.

Cheng Shuili made a decisive move and chose the Hell tier; she feared another bug might lock it out.

The system's selection panel closed automatically; just as Cheng Shuili was about to press the throttle, the system's voice rang out again.

【Advance notice! Today at eight, the top hundred players with the greatest mileage during the Newbie Protection Period will be announced; those lucky players can receive a mysterious reward!】

Cheng Shuili paused, grinned widely. To her, those words were a reassurance that her seven days of effort hadn't been in vain, but for unprepared players…

The system's announcement now serves only to unsettle morale! Everyone's attention had been on the monster challenge.

When the leaderboard news broke, coupled with a mysterious top‑hundred reward, that reward turned out to be cheese placed on a mousetrap.

Everyone knows they shouldn't focus on that now, yet everyone has greed.

Being ranked one hundred isn't a big deal, but what about one hundred and first?

Move a little further forward now, and the chance of getting the reward increases!

This blatant temptation—who can resist it?

Cheng Shuili guessed correctly; many who had stopped for lunch shoved compressed biscuits into their mouths and set their vehicles moving again.

Cheng Shuili wasn't in a hurry about that; confident as ever, she reopened the regional channel and, as expected, everyone was still discussing the leaderboard.

【Yang Guang Lao Ma】: How could this damn system not say earlier? If I'd known, I'd have run a bit more each day; I stop only after completing my daily mileage!

【Hua Kai】: Saying it earlier wouldn't help; the early talk just compares who has more energy, which is clearly unfair to fuel‑burning cars.

【Xie Xie】: Your fuel cars run fast and have plenty of space; what else are you dissatisfied with?

SiYue: "Upstairs, are you giving me oil?"

FangXiang: "Stop the chicken‑feather noise, stop it. Every day I open the area channel and see you guys arguing. I'm here to see if any big shot shares info!"

FuSu: "Exactly."

ShiRan: "What disaster is tomorrow exactly?"

Everyone tacitly ignored this line.

YangHuaLi: "@Wu Ya Zuo Fei Ji @Guang Hui Zhao Yao Lan Xing @Yong Heng, do the three big shots have any clue? Come out and talk about that monster challenge! Sincerely seeking guidance! Can trade supplies for info!"

XuLingQi: "Who is Yong Heng?"

777: "You upstairs didn't see yesterday's leaderboard, right? In the server‑wide top ten, our region got two: one Wuya Dalao, the other is the ninth‑ranked big shot Yong Heng."