The words "Resource Reduction Penalty" appeared in cold, sharp letters across the screen—striking like a hammer against the heart of every Dragon Nation citizen.
As the country with the most manifested resources in the world, they naturally dreaded this punishment more than anyone else.
Perhaps, before they had personally benefited from those manifested resources, people might have felt indifferent. But now—if the system truly reclaimed what had already become real, it would be like slicing flesh straight from their bones.
[No way! How can an adventurer's failure be tied to the resources that have already been manifested?]
[Yeah! Our little county town just received fresh fruit distributed by the Dragon Nation, and now you're telling me all that might be taken back?]
[This rule is insane! It's basically forcing the adventurers who've done the most for us to never fail!]
[I swear, if Ms. An fails this challenge, there will definitely be a bunch of brainless trolls jumping out to curse her while still eating the food she earned them.]
Inside the game, the adventurers' reactions were just as complicated.
They'd been in this world for several months now—of course they missed their families deeply. But this punishment… wasn't it a little too harsh?
Before they could dwell on it further, the game assistant didn't give them any time to think.
Each adventurer was instantly teleported to a new region.
When An Xiaomei finally regained control of her body, she found herself standing in a dark, damp underground tunnel. Not far away, she could hear faint scratching and rustling noises—something moving in the shadows.
The dim, airless surroundings made her skin crawl.
"Ding! Brave Adventurer An Xiaomei, you have entered the 'Mad Mutant Mole' Challenge.
The purpose of this test is to select qualified contestants for the upcoming Cold Season Tournament.
You are given one hour. To pass, you must personally slay 30 mutant moles within the time limit."
So this was only a qualification round!
An Xiaomei hadn't expected the Cold Season event to be this complicated.
But there was no time to think. She gripped her short dagger tightly—long swords and bows would only get in the way in such a narrow tunnel.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"
The strange cries echoed as her opponents appeared.
They were small—barely one-fifth her height—with a disgusting stench clinging to their filthy bodies. Their faces were covered by slimy, matted fur, leaving only sharp claws and fangs exposed—remnants of their rodent ancestry.
In close combat, An Xiaomei had to hold her breath; the stench alone was enough to make her stomach churn.
The mutant moles relied on their agility, darting and weaving nimbly through the tunnels. They seemed to know their objective wasn't to attack—but to stall her.
Even with her Speed Boots equipped, An Xiaomei found herself still a step slower.
The fight became a deadlock—a frustrating game of chase that looked more like the moles were mocking her, turning the match into a grotesque circus act.
Five minutes passed.
An Xiaomei knew she had to find a breakthrough soon, or she'd fail the trial.
Then it struck her—if she couldn't catch them with sight alone, she could rely on sound instead.
Using echolocation-like perception, she focused her hearing, sharpening her sense of direction and timing.
At first, she wasn't used to it—her dagger kept scraping against the tunnel walls or stabbing into dirt.
But after several tries, she began tracking their movements through the subtle echoes of their squeaks and scurrying claws.
Soon, the mutant moles—stripped of their speed advantage—turned into helpless targets.
Before they could even raise a claw, An Xiaomei's dagger flashed, striking true every time.
The mole leader realized the tide had turned and immediately ordered a retreat, scattering into the maze-like tunnels.
That made things worse for An Xiaomei—she barely knew her way around this underground labyrinth.
Just when she was feeling stuck, Little Tian's delighted voice rang in her mind:
"Sister! I've finished absorbing the Beast God's blood—and I awakened a new talent skill: Ten-Thousand-Mile Tracking!
As long as we have the target's scent, I can find them anywhere within ten thousand miles!"
His tone was full of pride and excitement—clearly overjoyed that he could finally be useful to his sister.
An Xiaomei smiled faintly. "That's perfect, Little Tian. I've still got some of their blood on me. But when you come out, stay invisible—don't let anyone see you."
She didn't want to waste her Signal-Jamming Stone today, and Little Tian's existence had to remain hidden from the livestream audience.
"Got it, Sister! Don't worry—my invisibility skill is solid now. Leave it to me!"
Through their psychic link, An Xiaomei could see his fluffy little face puffed up with pride, his nine tails wagging happily like he was dancing.
With Little Tian leading the way, tracking the mutant moles became effortless.
To the viewers, it looked almost supernatural—An Xiaomei moved as though guided by an unseen hand, always finding the moles' hiding spots with uncanny precision.
Forty minutes later, she successfully completed the task.
But by then, she was absolutely reeking—as if she'd just crawled out of a cesspit.
The stench was unbearable. She doubled over and started gagging uncontrollably.
Thankfully, she hadn't eaten breakfast yet—only sour bile came up.
The audience watching her livestream was stunned.
[Good heavens, this is the roughest I've ever seen Ms. An look!]
[Even through the screen, I swear I can smell those disgusting mutant moles.]
[Auntie An is incredible. She endured it all until the mission was complete before letting herself throw up.]
[I don't know why, but… I kind of want to laugh. Maybe because it's rare to see her actually suffer for once.]
After dry heaving until her stomach was empty, An Xiaomei quickly changed into a fresh winter outfit. The foul one was, of course, immediately discarded.
Then, mercifully, the game assistant gave her a few minutes to recover before announcing the results:
"Ding! Congratulations, Adventurer An Xiaomei.
You have qualified for the Cold Season Tournament.
You will now be teleported to the official event arena!"