Chapter 7: Manor Level 7

Ai Ling reluctantly dragged the Fluffy Ball to the Demon King’s Cave, but just as the Fluffy Ball said, it was useless.

No matter how she begged, cursed, or even dared to shout loudly, the exchange points remained unchanged.

The Fluffy Ball watched Ai Ling try different poses, clearly struggling internally.

Ever since it was touched by He Xi, any words that might reveal his identity were turned into @#…&, No matter how hard it tried to hint, as soon as it became too obvious, it couldn’t say anything.

After trying all possible methods without success, Ai Ling finally turned around and fiercely glared at the Fluffy Ball. “Tell me, what’s going on? Is it because of your malfunction?”

The Fluffy Ball sighed. What else could it do? It could only admit, “Yes, after the malfunction, cursing the Demon King here is useless. We need to go back to our camp to do that.”

“Why?”

“Because @#%…& sigh, forget it, it’s because of the malfunction, the malfunction just doesn’t make sense.”

“Is that true?”

The Fluffy Ball rolled its eyes. “Try it yourself, and you’ll know.”

Oh, little thing, looking for trouble.

Ai Ling chased the Fluffy Ball all the way back to the camp. He Xi was still sleeping, snoring so loudly that it seemed like the hut might collapse, and it was a miracle his wounds didn’t burst open from the vibrations.

Ai Ling felt frustrated. He looked like a prince straight out of a comic book, yet his behavior was so crude. All the good impressions she had of him at the beginning were now completely erased. She even regretted saving him in the first place.

Well, perhaps it was because she had the heart of a healer, and now she had no choice but to console herself like that.

She coldly glared at the Fluffy Ball. “I’m going to curse now. If it has no effect, I’ll immediately feed you to the fish.”

With hands on her hips, she took a deep breath and shouted loudly, “Big Demon King, you cowardly turtle, if you have the guts, stop hiding! Watch me dismantle you piece by piece!”

Her roar was full of strength, shaking the hut so that the snoring inside stopped. Meanwhile, the damage value on the Fluffy Ball’s screen shot up, rapidly climbing all the way to 288 before slowly stopping.

Ai Ling’s jaw almost dropped. My goodness, if she had known that the Fluffy Ball would be this useful after the malfunction, she would have broken it a long time ago.

Suppressing her excitement, Ai Ling snatched the small tablet with the Fluffy Ball’s data. To prevent it from self-repairing and reverting the data, she quickly used up all the damage points.

A hoe -20, apple sapling -25, orange sapling -25, a small bag of sweet potatoes -50, wheat seeds… no, wait a minute.

Ai Ling looked down at herself, now dirty and messy. Reluctantly, she spent the remaining damage points to exchange for a toothbrush, cup, and towel set -20, a large bath tub -80, a set of clean clothes -60, and finally, 8 points left for a small piece of bread to satisfy her hunger.

The exchanged items were all categorized in the “Already Exchanged” section. To obtain the actual items, she would need to gather the necessary materials and feed them to the Fluffy Ball.

According to the rules, once the exchanged items were converted into real objects, the cards would disappear. If she wanted more, she would have to earn damage points again.

The conditions were indeed harsh, but compared to having nothing, Ai Ling was quite satisfied.

She looked at the materials needed for each item: plants only required water and soil, while the toothbrush, cup, towel, bath tub, and clothes required wood, fiber plants, iron ore, and dye.

Then Ai Ling glanced at the materials needed for the small bread… small… wheat?

Ai Ling took a deep breath and was about to curse when she glanced and saw a figure in white standing at the entrance of the hut. He Xi had his arms crossed and looked extremely unfriendly. “What were you just cursing about?”

Ai Ling secretly felt pleased and immediately ran over, eager to show him the cards she had exchanged. “Look, look! I used the damage points from cursing the Demon King to get all these things!”

He Xi glanced at her briefly. “You can exchange by cursing the Demon King?”

Ai Ling nodded wildly. “It’s not just about cursing. If I could stab him, we wouldn’t have any worries. Too bad I don’t have a knife, or he’d be dead for sure.”

+1, +20, +50, +80… +120… Without warning, the damage points started rising rapidly like blood pressure.

He Xi took a deep breath. Click. The damage points stopped at 281 and didn’t move anymore.

Ai Ling was stunned for a long while. Oh my goodness, so it’s not just once a day? As long as I keep cursing, the damage points keep coming? This is the secret to wealth! Does that mean I’m going to get rich?

Without hesitation, she immediately cursed again, “Big Demon King, you big pig head, go die!”

Damage points: +20

Hmm, was that not harsh enough?

“Big Demon King, don’t you dare let me catch you. If I do, I’ll skin you alive, make your life worse than death.”

Damage points: +10,000

Ai Ling’s heart nearly stopped, but in that instant, she saw a strange number: -10,301

All the damage points she had just earned were instantly cleared, except for the ones she had already exchanged.

Pfft~ A mouthful of old blood nearly burst out. Ai Ling clutched her chest, full of regret. “I should’ve exchanged first and then cursed! Now look, I’ve lost more than 10,000 damage points in one go! This broken system, why didn’t it malfunction earlier? Why now, of all times? It’s just… so frustrating!”

She threw the tablet to the ground, raised her foot, and tried to stomp on it. The Fluffy Ball immediately reverted, flying far away. “It’s not my fault, you fool.”

“Come back here, just let me stomp on you, just one time!”

“No!”

“Come on, just one time, it won’t hurt!”

“Don’t come any closer, I can’t malfunction just from a stomp, don’t—ahh… Help!”

【Who am I? Where am I? What is this strange place? Why do I always look for trouble? Let me out!】

【Locked, don’t even think about running.】

He Xi coldly watched them, unsure what he was thinking, before silently going back into the hut to continue sleeping.

In the end, Ai Ling gave up on trying to malfunction the Fluffy Ball. After all, she still had the cards she had just exchanged. If she mistreated the Fluffy Ball too much, the cards would disappear too, and that would be a big problem.

That afternoon, she diligently fed the Fluffy Ball materials: water, soil, wood, and fiber plants. She fed it as much as she could since excess materials would drop out.

As a result, she got an apple sapling, an orange sapling, a small bag of sweet potatoes, and a set of wooden toothbrush, cup, and a fiber-colored towel. The remaining clothes needed dye, and the hoe and bath tub required iron ore, which she hadn’t found yet.

She planted the sweet potatoes in the prepared vegetable patch, placed the apple and orange saplings at the back of the patch, and then planted the local plants she had dug earlier. By the time the day passed, it was almost over.

In the evening, Ai Ling boiled a large sweet potato that she had left. She had been here for so long, and aside from the fish soup at noon, she hadn’t eaten anything truly delicious. She planned to enjoy the sweet potato all by herself.

The steam rose as she held the cooked sweet potato in her hands, gently peeling away the skin. The rich sweetness of the sweet potato spread in the air, and she couldn’t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.

She blew on it a couple of times and was about to take a big bite when the sweet potato was snatched away from her hand.

He Xi casually grabbed the sweet potato and sat down opposite her, unceremoniously devouring the fist-sized potato in a few bites.

While eating, he hummed, “Mmm, not bad. It’s really good, better than the food here. Next time, exchange more.”

After finishing, he licked his lips with lingering satisfaction, then smiled at Ai Ling, who was glaring at him like she wanted to swallow him whole. “Little beauty, your hometown’s food is quite good. Can you really make the fruits from Blue Star taste like this?”

Ai Ling bared her teeth and glared at his flawless face, wishing only to punch a hole in it.

He Xi, seemingly unaware of her anger, praised, “Speaking of which, this really is the best fruit I’ve ever tasted—soft, sticky, fragrant, and sweet!”

Ai Ling merely glared at him with malice.

He Xi smiled lazily, “Don’t be so stingy. You’ll have many more chances to eat. How about this, I’ll forgive you for your invasion this time since I ate one of your fruits. And, as long as you can guarantee that you’ll improve the crops here, I’ll ensure your safety on Blue Star for the rest of your life. What do you say?”

Ai Ling felt a little tempted but hesitated and asked, “You can’t even protect yourself, how can you protect me?”

He Xi’s lips curled into a slight smile, coldly laughing, “On Blue Star, there is no one I cannot protect.”

After saying this, he lightly flicked his right index finger behind his ear, causing a strand of shiny hair to fall. It stopped in front of Ai Ling, quickly tied itself into a knot and became a thin black bracelet, automatically slipping onto her wrist.

He Xi brushed his hair behind his ear, and only then did Ai Ling notice that he was wearing a small silver bell earring.

He Xi took the small bell off and gently hung it on Ai Ling’s bracelet. “If you’re in danger, just call my name into the bell, and I’ll come immediately.”

Ai Ling raised her hand and looked at her pale wrist, where a glossy black bracelet hung with a small silver bell. She gently shook it, and it made a soft “ding ding dong dong” sound, which was quite pleasant.

Girls love delicate and beautiful things, and Ai Ling was very pleased with the jewelry. Her anger towards him dissipated, and she immediately nodded. “Alright, it’s a deal. I’ll help you improve the crops, and you’ll protect my safety. We’ll help each other out and cooperate for a win-win!”

He Xi stood up. “Thank you for your hospitality these past few days. We’ll meet again.”

Ai Ling was stunned and asked while looking up, “Are you leaving?”

He Xi smiled warmly. “Is the little beauty reluctant to part with me? If that’s the case, I wouldn’t mind staying.”

Ai Ling’s face turned cold. “Then get lost!”

“Hahaha!” He Xi laughed loudly and turned to leave.

The bloodstains on his white warrior robe looked like blooming roses, gleaming with a strange light in the night.

【Didn’t that bell used to be a gift from the old witch to He Xi?】

【As expected, a ^[1]“Sea King” (海王) is Chinese internet slang. It refers to a man who flirts with or dates many women at the same time, often making each one feel like she’s special, while hiding the … Continue readingsea king—he can casually give away things his former lover gave him to another woman.】

【I wonder what our supreme commander, the most beautiful woman in the universe, Luo Ling, will think when she sees this?】

【What could she think? Of course, she’ll skin this scum and fry him in oil!】

【Sister, you’re so violent… I like it, hehehe!】

【Can’t figure out why He Xi is leaving?】

【You can’t even figure out why you’re alive, can you?】

【Why does he refuse to live in his own cozy cave and choose to live in the wild with this wild girl? What an idiot!】

【So much hostility, hiding away… scared…】

【I think He Xi learned the secret of the Xi Slayer system, and he’s probably going back to deal with Number 4.】

【Huh? Why is Number 1 back again?】

【Where?】

【Behind the shed, that person sneaking around like a shady character, isn’t that them?】

【…】