"Big Brother, Third, don’t panic, I’m here!"

The mage player had long been captivated by the sight of the towering and fierce Desert Bone Scorpion BOSS, with no spare attention for the life-and-death plight of the pretty boy. When he saw his brothers suffering, rage surged in his heart, and he unleashed his most ferocious magical spells, aiming all his might at the Desert Bone Scorpion’s sturdy back.

"Boom!"

The shockwave from the magical explosion infuriated the Desert Bone Scorpion, and it shifted its hatred, instantly flinging the two humanoid creatures off its back and pouncing toward the more detestable mage player.

The battle began with a fierce intensity. The sounds of fighting spread, inadvertently attracting the attention of player teams leveling up in the desert. Driven by curiosity, dozens of players headed toward the dunes, and soon enough they witnessed a scene reminiscent of ’three heroes fighting Lu Bu.’

"Damn, a Desert Bone Scorpion BOSS!"

"These three want to hog it all for themselves? Dream on!"

"Hahaha, finally seeing a BOSS; I heard it might drop top-notch gear!"

"Gear? If you’re lucky, you might even get a Pet Egg. Guys, let’s go for the BOSS!"

With these dozens of players joining in, the Desert Bone Scorpion BOSS was quickly at a disadvantage, and the three brothers were squeezed out of the battle, fortunate enough not to be killed.

"Big Brother, what do we do, just stand by and watch the BOSS get taken?"

The third brother spoke up, unwilling to concede, with a fire of anger almost tangible in his eyes.

"These bastards who bully with their numbers!"

The eldest brother said through clenched teeth, gripping his weapon tightly, "If they won’t let us have our way, then they can’t expect to monopolize the BOSS either!"

"Big Brother, are you saying?"

[Area Announcement] "A Desert Bone Scorpion BOSS has spawned at coordinates 20458:3359. We’re outnumbered and can’t hold out, seeking kind-hearted people to help. Generous rewards promised after the fact!"

Three consecutive area announcements sent the leveling players in the desert into an uproar. The allure of a BOSS battle was apparent, as nearby players abandoned their current mobs and rushed towards the location. In a short while, they formed a procession, roughly a thousand strong.

"Damn, these three stooges let the cat out of the bag!"

"I warned you just now, you can’t be too careful around others. Should’ve killed them outright, and now look, a pyrrhic victory!"

"Damn it, never gonna be the good guy again! Kill faster, if those players arrive, what’ll be left of the loot for us?"

"Kill, kill, kill!"

The once-majestic Desert Bone Scorpion BOSS, now harried by these weak humanoids, let out an infuriated scream. Its sturdy armor glowed a sandy yellow color as it began to spin crazily, like a massive drill wrapping around the scorpion and burrowing directly into the desert floor, leaving a dark gaping hole.

Faced with this turn of events, the players were dumbfounded.

"What’s going on, the BOSS ran away?"

"This is way too much, isn’t it? That Desert Bone Scorpion is really cunning..."

"Great, just wasted our time beating on it, what a waste of emotions!"

"Who’s going down there to lure out the BOSS?"

One player pointed at the massive hole below and blurted out the thought that crossed his mind, immediately regretting his words afterward.

"You do it if you’re so keen, stop prattling useless talk!"

"Exactly, jumping down would be no different from suicide; you’ve really got the nerve to say such a thing!"

"Stop bickering, the BOSS’s aggro is still on us, it will probably come back up after a while!"

Clutching onto that sliver of hope, the players quieted down and watched the desert tensely, eagerly anticipating the Desert Bone Scorpion to re-emerge from beneath the ground.

Unfortunately, to everyone’s disappointment, the Desert Bone Scorpion was nowhere to be seen by the time the large player contingent arrived.

"Damn, we’re late. They’ve already killed the BOSS!"

"Those who know what’s good for them will hand over the top-tier equipment. Otherwise, don’t even think about leaving this Desert of Death!"

After all their efforts, not even getting the leftovers, how could these nearly a thousand players just let it go? They rushed down the sand dunes and surrounded the players.

"Gentlemen, calm down. The BOSS is hiding in this cave. Whoever has the ability can blast it out. What’s the point of coming to us?"

"Ha, do you really think we’re three-year-olds? Give us a straight answer, are you handing over the equipment or not? Don’t make us use force!"

"We really don’t have..."

"Attack!"

A bloodbath triggered by a single BOSS began to unfold in this desert, staining the golden sands with blood. What everyone failed to notice, however, was that the three instigators had quietly slipped away.

"Hey, big brother, you played that hand beautifully!"

"Our big brother is not one to suffer losses. Those players who dared to cross our big brother - it’s their bad luck!"

The mage player said very contentedly, and then, with suspicion, asked his teammates, "Did any of you see where Overturning Water and that woman went?"

"Who knows? They probably ran away long ago. Serves them right for daring to refine equipment in the wilderness and failing at it!"

The three of them hurried along and were soon obscured by the windblown sand of the desert, gradually fading until they disappeared from view.

...

"Overturning Water, you’ve outdone yourself finding this hidden space!"

Cream Youth looked around at the mysterious surroundings with surprise and excitement, his tone filled with exhilaration.

"It was purely an accident. I was just trying to protect the furnace from failing during the refining process. I didn’t expect to be sucked in here. I thought it was more bad than good, but who would have thought this would be a hidden space!"

Su Ran couldn’t hide his astonishment. Stumbling into a Hidden Map so casually was just too much.

Wait a minute.

Those surrounding sand dunes might also have some secrets. Maybe when I come back another day, I’ll try digging with a shovel...

"Overturning Water, I’ve realized that you need strong endurance to team up with you, or else my heart can’t take it."

Cream Youth had experienced the roller-coaster of emotions and still hadn’t calmed down.

"Hey, I won’t be so reckless next time. It’s just, I got overexcited for bagging a treasure close to my heart and lost control of myself."

"Think there’ll be a next time? You wouldn’t dare!"

Cream Youth glared at Su Ran, pretending to be angry, then changed his tone, cautiously asking, "By the way, Overturning Water, the... bone refining you were doing just now didn’t fail, did it?"

"Luckily, it didn’t fail. It’s just that the bone was too long and took up more time than I anticipated. Thanks to you for that."

Su Ran was truly grateful. He knew his caprice had caused Cream Youth a lot of trouble, and such a juvenile mistake must not be repeated in the future.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and show it to me. You took so long to refine a mere bone. I want to see what you’ve managed to craft."

Cream Youth looked at Su Ran with curiosity, although he didn’t hold much hope.

"Well, just now I refined a precious..."

Before Su Ran could finish, there was a thunderous boom, and a giant Desert Bone Scorpion fell from the sky, landing right in front of the two of them.