The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

Challenge successful!

[Ranking Update: 5012nd]

[Received: 50 Arena Points]

[One-time ranking reward: 5000 Arena Points, 500 Mystic Crystals]

Su Mu glanced at his total score... 10500, 790 Ghost Crystals. Four challenges, and he'd climbed from 0 to over 5000, gaining over 10,000 points and nearly 800 Ghost Crystals. This efficiency far exceeded his expectations.

But when he prepared to attempt his fifth free challenge, a system message popped up: "[Daily free challenge attempts have been used up. Do you wish to purchase additional challenge tickets using Mystic Crystals? Current price: 50 Mystic Crystals/ticket, remaining attempts for today: 5/5.]"

Without hesitation, Su Mu spent 50 Ghost Crystals to buy one. The price was indeed not expensive.

The fifth challenge matched me with an opponent ranked around 4300, whose guardian was a level 5 blue mutated scorpion lion.

It was larger than the Thunder Lizard, its tail stinger glowing with a ghostly green venomous light, and it was much faster, unleashing three rapid, venomous sting attacks in quick succession. But even its speed couldn't outpace Su Mu's dynamic vision. He precisely deflected the three attacks with his spear, the final strike piercing the manticore's skull.

Challenge successful!

[Ranking Update: 4318nd]

[Received: 50 Arena Points]

[One-time ranking reward: 7000 Arena Points, 700 Mystic Crystals]

The total points reached 17550, and the amount of Ghost Crystals reached 1490. Su Mu bought another Challenge Ticket... and the price rose to 100 Ghost Crystals.

In the sixth match, the opponents were around 2800th place, and the guardian was a level 6 green-quality lava behemoth. It was a size larger than the previous monsters, its entire body covered in a dark red lava shell, leaving a trail of burning footprints on the ground with every step it took.

Its strength attribute had exceeded 100, and its constitution was close to 200. Normal attacks could only leave shallow white marks on its shell. But when Su Mu's spear pierced its neck joint, the spear tip precisely passed through the gap between the shells, directly dismantling its structure from the inside.

Challenge successful!

[Ranking Update: 2784nd]

[Received: 50 Arena Points]

[One-time ranking reward: 9000 Arena Points, 900 Mystic Crystals]

Points balance: 26550; Mysterious Crystals: 2390.

The seventh challenge saw the purchase price rise to 200 Mysterious Crystals.

The matched opponents were around 1600, and the Guardian was a level 7 green-quality Abyss Guardian. It was taller than the Lava Behemoth, with dark purple skin covered in fine scales, and held a halberd formed from shadow.

Its attack speed increased significantly, the trajectory of the halberd leaving a dark purple afterimage in the air. Su Mu still only used one spear... dodging to the side the instant the halberd was about to pierce him, the spear tip piercing the side of the Abyss Guardian's neck and penetrating its spine.

Challenge successful!

[Ranking Update: 1651nd]

[Received: 50 Arena Points]

[One-time ranking reward: 11000 Arena Points, 1100 Mystic Crystals]

The eighth challenge saw the price rise to 400 Mystic Crystals. The matched opponent was ranked 982nd, and the guardian was a level 8 green-quality Shadow Giant Scorpion.

Its body was enormous, and the venom from its tail stinger could condense into a mist in the air, covering a large area. Su Mu moved through the poisonous mist, his spear precisely piercing the giant scorpion's head carapace, ending the battle.

Challenge successful!

[Ranking Update: 982nd]

[Received: 50 Arena Points]

[One-time ranking reward: 13000 Arena Points, 1300 Mystic Crystals]

Su Mu stopped here.

He glanced at his total score... 39600, and he had accumulated 3890 Mysterious Crystals.

Through eight challenges, he rose from zero to 982nd place, earning nearly 40,000 points and nearly 4,000 Mysterious Crystals.

Although he knew that these one-time rewards were just extra gifts for the first time reaching the top, and that he would have to rely on daily and weekly settlements to obtain them afterward, for the current stage, this resource was enough for him to push his strength up a lot further.

He closed the arena panel, opened the exchange shop, and glanced at the research materials section.

[Cable Car R&D Materials (Limited to 100 per week): 100 points/piece]

He used 10,000 points to redeem the weekly limit of 100 research materials.

The materials appeared out of thin air at his feet, piling up into a small heap... grayish-white, compressed stone-like lumps, each about the size of a fist. He collected them, then opened the cable car panel and found a new option.

Cable car development

He clicked on it, and a tree diagram unfolded before his eyes.

At the very center is a cable car icon, from which five branches extend: Armor, Durability, Attack Building Bonus, Movement Speed, and Building Construction Speed. Each branch begins with "Lv0" followed by "Can be upgraded to Lv1 (consuming 10 research materials)".

Su Mu selected the armor first.

[Lv0 → Lv1: Consumes 10 research materials. Improvement effect: Cable car armor +10.]

Ten points of armor isn't much, but it's reliable. He tapped it again.

[Lv1 → Lv2: Consumes 10 research materials. Improvement effect: Cable car HP +100.]

The third time.

[Lv2 → Lv3: Consumes 10 research materials. Improvement effect: Attacks on buildings +10 points.]

Fourth time.

[Lv3 → Lv4: Consumes 10 research materials. Improvement: Cable car movement speed +10%.]

Fifth time.

[Lv4 → Lv5: Consumes 10 research materials. Improvement effect: Reduces the construction speed of other buildings on the cable car by 10 minutes.]

He reached level 5 and then glanced at the requirements for the next level... The unlock conditions had changed, and a branch appeared: he could choose to repeatedly improve the same attribute, or unlock a new skill slot at the next level.

Su Mu chose to continue advancing. He still obtained 10 research materials, but no new attributes appeared; the same attributes as before remained: increased armor, durability, attack bonus against buildings, movement speed, and construction speed.

but.......

When he advanced to Lv10, a system prompt popped up: