Night had fallen, and the thin moonlight could barely outline the general contours of the sand dunes and giant rocks. A cold wind howled, like countless icy hands pounding against the car window. The noise startled the kitten, making it puff up its fur and warily peer out the window.

Xi Xi pulled Aura into her arms to comfort her, then continued to browse the event page with great interest. The voting on the screen was in full swing, with a dazzling array of wonderful works on display.

Xi Xi examined the works one by one with great interest, and finally symbolically selected a few that looked decent, casting her three votes. After voting, the event system quickly distributed the corresponding rewards—three beautifully packaged candies of different colors.

The candy flavors were random, and Xi Xi received one toffee and two filled gummies. She unwrapped one and put it in her mouth, the sweetness instantly filling her entire oral cavity.

Just then, the car, which had been driving smoothly through the night, suddenly braked hard without warning! Caught off guard, Xi Xi was thrown forward by inertia and nearly fell to the ground. To make matters worse, the candy she hadn't even had a chance to savor was swallowed whole.

"What's wrong?" Xi Xi blurted out instinctively, barely managing to steady herself. She quickly put down Aura in her arms, braced herself with her hands on the ground, straightened her upper body from the soft carpet, and looked at the central control screen. Her pupils dilated and she gasped.

On the pixel map of the central control screen, a dense row of red dots appeared. They were closely connected, just like an indestructible barrier, rudely crossing the road and blocking the road that should have been unobstructed ahead.

An uneasy atmosphere instantly filled the air, and Aura and the little white duck fell silent. Xi Xi, with a serious expression, gestured for the cat and duck beside her to be quiet. Then, she tiptoed to the windshield, lifted a corner of the curtain, and quietly peeked outside.

Although Xi Xi had mentally prepared for all sorts of situations before taking action, she was still deeply shocked when she actually saw the scene in front of the car.

A vast swarm of black, venomous insects slithered across the road. Like demons crawling out of the abyss of hell, they were covered in an ominous glow, their eerie green color both sinister and terrifying in the dim moonlight.

These venomous insects formed a line and were slowly dragging forward the massive remains of an animal.

The prey had been torn to shreds, its flesh mangled beyond recognition. Xi Xi could no longer make out what it was, only seeing bones and scattered bits of flesh hanging from the green thorns on the backs of the poisonous insects.

Each drag was accompanied by the chilling rustling of venomous insects and the slight tremors of the prey's carcass hitting the ground, like nature's silent lament. The occasional startled cries of nocturnal birds added to the sense of dread and eeriness.

The venomous insects marched slowly in formation, their antennae swaying constantly, seemingly exchanging silent messages, moving in fits and starts. But their unhurried, orderly demeanor was like the footsteps of death, approaching step by step, exuding an inescapable sense of oppression.

Xi Xi gripped the corner of the curtain tightly, lost in thought. Clearly, thanks to the talisman on the car's curtains, these poisonous insects hadn't detected any signs of life inside the vehicle.

A direct confrontation would certainly not be a wise move. All she can do now is wait in the shadows, seizing the opportune moment, and absolutely avoid alerting the enemy.

[Game Notification: Congratulations, Adventurer! You have won first place in the "Food Competition" event. Rewards will be delivered within 2 hours. A server-wide announcement will be made in 1 minute. Do you wish to continue using your event number and remain anonymous?]

Just then, the game announcement started playing. Xi Xi noticed that the marching poisonous insects in the distance had clearly stopped. Her heart jumped into her throat, and she immediately dropped the corner of the curtain she was holding and took a step back.

"Yes," Xi Xi said softly, while checking the car windows' seal through the curtains. Only after everything was settled did Xi Xi belatedly realize what she had just said to the game system.

[Server-wide Announcement: Congratulations to adventurer for achieving third place in the server-wide Food Competition! Reward: *1]

[Server-wide Announcement: Congratulations to adventurer for achieving second place in the server-wide Food Competition! Reward: *1]

[Server-wide Announcement: Congratulations to Adventurer for winning first place in the Server-wide Food Competition! Reward: *1]

Xi Xi was quite surprised. She had come aiming for a top-three finish, but when she saw everyone's photos of the contestants, she lost confidence and never expected to win. After all, while browsing the event page, she had seen quite a few people who had made interesting and interesting food presentations.

"We won! We finally beat that little brat!"

"I knew that person was from an island nation, they love eating cold takeout so much."

"The third place winner seems to be Chinese based on their name. I never would have guessed. The food looks too European."

"I feel it could also be a Chinese person of other nationalities, otherwise, how could we Chinese people stand eating like that every day?"

"Why is the first place winner anonymous? Did we guess wrong? Not a Chinese person???"

"Don't worry, the number one player is from server 777, they're definitely Chinese!"

"Absolutely! Nobody eats century eggs except Chinese people! This way of cutting century eggs, it's like something a true Chinese person would do, hahaha!"

"Putting everything else aside, just looking at the quality and variety of the food, has the most variety. Even if I weren't Chinese, I would still vote for it."

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