Leaderboard update

Xin Jiu's gaze swept over the group of burly men. There were twenty-odd of them, all strong and fierce-looking.

They stood together, clearly part of the same group.

"Were you the ones who chose them?" Xin Jiu asked.

The bald man leading them no longer tried to hide it. He snorted. "So what if we were? If we want a chance to escape, someone has to be sacrificed. Or should we all die together?"

Xin Jiu narrowed her eyes. "Then why don't you die first?"

The bald man was lost for words.

[This reminds me of that Sauce-Pressed Duck from the goblin instance! I'm gonna puke!]

[When they were fighting the wolves just now, only the girls stepped up to help Jiujiu. And this bunch? Ptooey!]

Just then, a familiar, youthful boy's voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.

"We're almost out of time! Let's kill her! Kill her, take her skills and her dragon, and we can get out!"

Xin Jiu looked toward the voice.

To her surprise, it was Doudou. He was still alive?

But why hadn't she seen Chen Rui?

[Why is it him again? He makes me so mad!]

[He's got no fucking ability, all he does is yell! Makes me sick!]

"Where's Chen Rui?"

Doudou shouted, his eyes red, "Chen Rui abandoned me and ran away!"

Xin Jiu frowned. Given Chen Rui's personality, he couldn't possibly have left Doudou behind and gone off alone, unless he had run into some danger.

Seeing Xin Jiu fall into thought, Doudou started inciting the others again. "What are you still standing around for? We can't reach the exit on our own! We need that dragon! Kill her! Kill her and the dragon will be ours! Then we can all survive!"

A few players wavered, their gazes turning complicated as they looked at Xin Jiu.

But more chose to stand on Xin Jiu's side.

"Are you crazy? She just saved us!"

"Saved us? You really think too highly of yourselves." Doudou sneered. "She just wants to show off and earn points. You think she's a good person?"

She had killed Li Tao and so many other players. He had seen it all with his own eyes!

She was a cold-blooded monster!

Their desire to obtain the dragon overcame their reason.

Those twenty-odd players exchanged glances, then actually moved to surround Xin Jiu.

Bubu was furious, and a deafening dragon roar rang out.

The tower's rules only targeted high-ranking NPCs; they didn't stop NPCs from killing players. Bubu opened his mouth and spewed purple lightning, instantly striking several players dead.

[Skill: Iron Fist (D-rank)]

[Skill: Sprint (D-rank)]

[...]

Xin Jiu froze. She hadn't expected all the skills of the players Bubu killed with lightning to automatically go to her.

Then once Bubu reached max level, wouldn't she be able to just lie flat?

Everyone fell silent.

Xin Jiu sneered. "Anyone else want to steal my dragon?"

After seeing their companions killed so easily, how could they dare make another rash move?

Xin Jiu had Bubu lower himself so the surviving players could climb onto his back. The women helped one another up. The girls and the physically weak sat on the dragon's back, while the strong clung to his tail and claws.

In no time, around a hundred people were hanging off Bubu.

"Can you manage?"

Not wanting Xin Jiu to look down on him, Bubu gritted his teeth and said, "I can."

[Poor Bubu!]

[Our little Bubu is the whole village's hope now.]

[Go, Bubu! You're the best little dragon!]

Doudou tried to grab Bubu's claw while Xin Jiu wasn't paying attention, but the moment he took a step, he found himself pinned in place, vines wrapped around his ankles.

Xin Jiu had also trapped all the others who remained, leaving them unable to move.

"You're not taking me?" Doudou was scared.

Xin Jiu scoffed. "I've already given you plenty of chances, but you didn't value them. So you can only die."

"I know I was wrong! Big sister, I'm still a child! Please, I'm begging you, don't leave me behind..." Doudou cried.

The exit was right in front of him. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to die!

"Children don't have vicious thoughts like yours."

She stopped looking at Doudou's tear- and snot-covered face and jumped onto Bubu's back, telling him to take off at once. Bubu beat his wings hard and struggled into the air.

In midair, Bubu's breathing grew more and more labored. The players all noticed and began cheering him on.

"Come on, you can do it!"

"You're the greatest dragon! Keep going!"

"We're almost there! Take deep breaths. Come on, breathe deeply..."

Xin Jiu used a vine to put a few Bear Gummies into Bubu's mouth. These gummies were intended for players, so their effect on Bubu wasn't very noticeable.

But even a mosquito's meat was still meat, and Xin Jiu felt bad for Bubu having to carry so many people.

So she fed him the gummies anyway.

[Ten minutes remaining until the instance ends.]

Bubu reached the exit. He swooped down to land, his body rapidly shrinking until he finally took human form. Xin Jiu patted his head. "Thanks for all your hard work."

Bubu really was exhausted, panting for breath.

The players were all stunned.

"That's the dragon from just now?"

"S-so cute!"

"He only looks four or five! He's adorable, oh my god!"

Holding Xin Jiu's hand, Bubu glared at the players. "What are you staring at? Never seen a dragon before?"

His fierce little toddler act only made the female players like him more.

Xin Jiu gave him an entire bottle of Bear Honey, and only then did Bubu smile in satisfaction.

She looked around at everyone. "There's something I need to make clear first. If any of you dare reveal the little dragon's identity during settlement, I won't show you mercy."

The chill in her eyes sent a shiver through everyone.

"We won't, we won't! You just saved us. How could we repay your kindness with betrayal?"

"We swear we won't tell anyone!"

Xin Jiu nodded and said no more, leading everyone toward the other side of the wall of light.

Since they hadn't seen Chen Rui, the livestream viewers specifically went to check his stream, only to find it had already closed. There was only one possible reason for a livestream to close: the player had died.

Someone had saved a clip and made a post.

It turned out that, unlike what Doudou had said, Chen Rui hadn't abandoned him and run away. He had been killed while looking for medicinal herbs for Doudou.

Doudou could clearly have saved him at the time, but had chosen to take the herbs and run.

The look in Chen Rui's eyes then... was despairing to watch.

[What a shame about Chen Yuyuer. First Li Tao, then Doudou-they really ruined him!]

[That's what he gets for loving everyone. Some people are just ungrateful wolves you can never tame.]

[All I can say is that he was too foolish.]

[Jiujiu avenged him, in a way.]

Xin Jiu walked through the wall of light. Beyond it lay an endless grassland.

[Nine Provinces District 46 player count: 53,847/100000]

[Surviving players in the instance: 347/3000]

Xin Jiu sighed. If Bubu hadn't carried around a hundred people out, that number would have been even more devastating.

Some players noticed Bubu and looked surprised.

"Even kindergarten kids are playing this game?"

"Little boy, don't your parents keep an eye on you?"

"How did this kid get through these two instances? Was he possessed by a lucky koi?"

Bubu bared his two pointed canine teeth at them. "None of your business!" His angry little expression looked even cuter.

"Oh my, he's pretty fierce."

"Hahahaha! Cute, so cute."

[Calculating points...]

[First, announcing the national total points rankings.]

As soon as the system announcement sounded, all the players and livestream viewers held their breath and waited. Everyone had seen what happened after the horrors descended on that small country, and now every one of them was worried.

Especially since the losses in this instance had been so devastating.

The people of that small country were too frightened to even look at the rankings. Those with money had fled to other countries; only those without the means to escape remained.

[1: Nine Provinces]

[2: Big Bear]

[3: Never-Setting Sun]

[...]

[First! We're still first!]

[Nine Provinces is the best!]

The people of Big Bear were so angry that they started smashing liquor bottles again. The more hot-blooded ones even went into the woods to pick fights with bears!

How had the players of Nine Provinces managed to rank first in total points both times?!

[Next, announcing the top ten players in individual points.]