Chapter 16: It Comes Draped in Moonlight

In response to Ji Wuxiu’s requests, the system quickly searched for products and said, “Currently, there is one that’s very suitable for you.”

Ji Wuxiu asked, “What is it?”

The system replied, “It’s a mental-type ability called ‘The Sound Wave Is So Strong, If You Don’t Sway, You’ll Fall To The Ground.’ It only requires 15 points to purchase, and if you want to upgrade it to level two, you’ll need 150 points.”

As it spoke, the system immediately brought up the interface, and Ji Wuxiu focused and began examining it.

Name: The Sound Wave Is So Strong, If You Don’t Sway, You’ll Fall To The Ground.

Skill Description: After purchasing this product, you can silently chant the skill name to make living creatures affected by the “sound wave is so strong, if you don’t sway, you’ll fall to the ground” buff for five seconds.

If they don’t immediately sway, they will inexplicably fall to the ground for five seconds and be unable to stand.

Note: It doesn’t work even if you hold onto the wall.

Points: 15

Points needed to upgrade: 150

Ji Wuxiu remained silent for three seconds and then said to the system, “This skill is expensive and not very practical. Do you have anything else? Preferably something that can make these three people instantly powerless to resist.”

The system’s voice remained calm, “Indeed, there is, but clearly, you can’t afford it.”

Ji Wuxiu: “…”

Fine, it seemed he would have to use this for now.

After purchasing the “sound wave is so strong, if you don’t sway, you’ll fall to the ground” skill with the remaining points, Ji Wuxiu sadly realized he only had 2 points left, not even enough to buy the cheapest items.

But fortunately, this skill, though seemingly ineffective for attacking, was perfect for escaping.

Ji Wuxiu carefully got up and, taking advantage of the lone person keeping watch, he quietly moved over to the black panther. He quickly checked its injuries and was astonished.

The black panther, which had been heavily injured in the afternoon, had mostly recovered by midnight. Although the external wounds still looked horrific, Ji Wuxiu, just to be safe, softly asked, “Hmm-hmm?”

—Can you still run?

Afraid the black panther might not understand, he pointed at its leg with his paw and mimicked running.

In the darkness, the panther’s slightly cold eyes emitted a look of confusion as it stared blankly at the fluffy creature hopping around in front of it.

“Aw?”

Ji Wuxiu’s expression turned dark. He felt that the black panther’s intelligence had likely reached the point where communication was no longer possible.

But fortunately, he had the system’s universal translator, and after a few simple words, the panther finally understood Ji Wuxiu’s meaning.

Ji Wuxiu swallowed nervously and glanced carefully behind him. By the dim firelight, he could see the two people were fast asleep, while the only one still awake was fiddling with something, occasionally glancing over at Ji Wuxiu, but quickly looking down again.

Obviously, they weren’t taking Ji Wuxiu seriously at all.

This was a good opportunity.

Because the three of them were at their lowest level of alertness at this moment.

Or rather, they couldn’t possibly imagine that beneath the seemingly stupid panda appearance, there was actually a human soul hidden.

Ji Wuxiu took advantage of this opportunity to ask the black panther again.

—Can you still run?

The black panther stared at the foolish creature in front of it, letting out a dissatisfied growl.

—Aw, you stupid creature.

Ji Wuxiu gave it a cold look and said, “If you don’t answer me, I’ll make you puke.”

The black panther seemed to remember some painful past and reluctantly nodded.

—Aw—

Ji Wuxiu had no choice but to trust the black panther. He leaned forward and carefully untied the rope that was tied to the black panther.

—Follow me and run later, understand?

Then, feeling a bit uneasy, he continued giving instructions.

—Don’t wake them up, or we won’t be able to escape.

The black panther slowly stood up, but since it had been tied up all day, it stumbled slightly, making a small noise that stood out in the silent night.

Oh no!

Ji Wuxiu’s first reaction was to grab the panther and run.

However, the three of them had already woken up and quickly grabbed their weapons, surrounding them.

Ji Wuxiu’s first reaction was to glare at the black panther, shouting angrily.

—You pig!

The black panther shook its ears, bared its teeth, and charged at the three humans, ready to fight them to the death. Fortunately, Ji Wuxiu reacted quickly, grabbing the black panther and shouting to stop it.

—We can’t win. Let’s just run!

The black panther glared at the three humans, easily realizing that it was no match for them, which made it feel angry and restless.

But the childish “mhm” sounds coming from behind made it suddenly look at the ugly creature, and a thought flashed through its mind—It couldn’t let the ugly creature get caught.

The black panther, frustrated, realized it couldn’t kill the three humans, so it stared intensely at them, trying hard to remember their faces and their stinky smell.

One day… I would kill them.

It was a panther that held grudges.

The three humans, facing the two prey that wanted to escape, were completely unalert. On the contrary, their eyes gleamed with cold mockery, as if they were stronger beings looking down on the weaker ones.

“Trying to run?” The leader of the group said angrily, “Once I catch you, I’ll skin you alive.”

Ji Wuxiu couldn’t help but shudder. He was sure this person wasn’t joking.

Although the black panther couldn’t understand human speech, it could feel the blatant murderous intent emanating from them. It immediately growled low, emitting an intimidating sound.

Ji Wuxiu nervously pulled on the black panther, making soft “mhm” sounds.

—Stop growling. When I shout to run, we run immediately, understand?

The black panther twitched its ears and made a low growl, signaling that it understood.

As they stepped back, Ji Wuxiu squinted, quickly grabbing a rock and throwing it at the three humans…

The three immediately dodged and quickly closed in.

Now’s the chance—

Ji Wuxiu shouted at the black panther: “Awoo!”

—Run!

“Awo—” The black panther, upon receiving the command, immediately sprinted toward the depths of the forest.

Ji Wuxiu followed closely. Thanks to his training over the past period, he was agile enough to use all four limbs without tripping.

The furry ball kept running farther, looking like a rolling ball of fur.

The three humans paused for a moment, then quickly reacted and began chasing after them.

【Ding! Your running appearance made the three humans’ hearts skip a beat, you gained +3 cuteness points.】

The system’s cold voice suddenly sounded, nearly causing Ji Wuxiu to stumble. Fortunately, he quickly regained his composure, turned his head to look at the pursuing humans, and gave them a malicious smile while quickly chanting in his mind, “The sound wave is so strong that if it doesn’t sway, it will crash to the ground.”

Now, the three of you can enjoy the miraculous skill from the system.

The three humans, originally chasing, suddenly felt the world spin around them. They couldn’t even run, only painfully clutching their heads, desperately trying to get rid of the sensation.

But no matter how hard they tried to resist, the dizziness grew even stronger. They couldn’t stand any longer, their faces pale, stumbling to the ground, and soon started vomiting.

“What’s going on—?” the person called “Big Brother” shouted in fear. He desperately tried to stand up, but repeatedly failed, even struggling to stay upright while holding onto the tree trunk.

The other two, whose physical condition was worse than “Big Brother’s,” were already lying on the ground, vomiting continuously, their bodies aching everywhere.

Ji Wuxiu glanced behind him and noticed that the three seemed to have floating icons above their heads, but because they were too far away, he couldn’t see clearly what they were.

Pushing down his curiosity, Ji Wuxiu hurriedly increased his speed and ran forward.

Five, four, three, two, one—five seconds passed, and the buff disappeared.

The sensation of dizziness that made them unable to stand instantly vanished, as if it had never existed.

The three of them froze, slowly lowering their hands, their faces filled with astonishment and fear of the unknown.

“What’s going on? We’re not dizzy anymore…” one of them muttered in a pale, confused voice.

Just now, he had thrown up until there was almost no stomach acid left.

The person called “Big Brother” angrily slammed his hand on the tree, his face fierce. “Damn it.”

“Big Brother, should we still chase them?” one of the others asked weakly.

They had just vomited until they felt like the world was spinning, but now, that sensation had suddenly faded, completely gone. This strange, unknown phenomenon made them uneasy, but when they thought about the black-and-white fur ball, they couldn’t bring themselves to give up.

“Big Brother” stared at the black-and-white fur ball running not far ahead, gritting his teeth. “Chase it. If we sell it, we can earn a lot of interstellar points.”

The three quickly reached an agreement and immediately got up to chase, disregarding the strange occurrence earlier. After all, interstellar points, which could soon be theirs, were more important than the weird phenomenon.

The black panther’s strength was speed, and it had stopped ahead, seemingly waiting for the panda behind to catch up.

Ji Wuxiu saw this and shouted as he continued running.

—Keep running—don’t stop.

The black panther glanced at Ji Wuxiu with a proud look, indifferent, its tail flicking in agitation as its eyes remained fixed on the three humans behind them.

Suddenly, the black panther let out a roar.

Ji Wuxiu inwardly cursed, turning around to see that the three, who had been vomiting, were now chasing them again. He quickly tried to mentally chant the skill’s name again, attempting to block the three humans with it.

【Ding! Using the same skill on the same person requires a one-minute cooldown.】

Ji Wuxiu’s eyes widened as he yelled at the system, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier!”

The system, feeling guilty, replied weakly, 【I just found out myself.】

Ji Wuxiu felt a lump of frustration rise in his chest, neither here nor there.

But now wasn’t the time to assign blame. Gritting his teeth, Ji Wuxiu kept running desperately, while the panther ahead continued agitatedly flicking its tail.

The three people behind realized that chasing them down might fail, so they immediately drew their weapons and attacked the black-and-white fur ball.

“Boom—”

Ji Wuxiu felt a sharp pain in his leg, and his entire body lost balance, causing him to fall to the ground and roll several times.

“I hit it!” one of them exclaimed in surprise.

The panther froze.

—Did the ugly creature get injured?

It would be tortured by humans.

That absolutely cannot happen.

The panther’s eyes filled with fury as it roared and charged toward the three humans.

However, it was too late.

Ji Wuxiu desperately tried to climb up, but he was quickly restrained by the humans who had caught up, unable to move.

“Gotcha,” the one called “Big Brother” said in a sinister tone.

The black-and-white fur ball, though it appeared round and soft, now lay flat as if it were a pancake.

Especially when it raised its head, its expression was filled with terror…

【Ding! Your angry expression caused the humans in front of you to feel a stir in their hearts, earning you +2 cuteness points.】

Ji Wuxiu: “…”

An angry expression is considered cute?

The person called “Big Brother” quickly snapped back to his senses and said with ill intent, “Rich people must really enjoy torturing animals like you. Looks like we can make a profit off them.”

Ji Wuxiu widened his eyes—angry face.

At this moment, the black panther’s mind went blank, filled with rage. In an instant, a familiar sensation returned to its throat, bringing a warm feeling.

“Howl—Roar!”

A massive roar echoed, carrying an earth-shattering force. A golden lightning bolt shot out from the panther’s mouth.

The three of them never expected that the injured panther, which seemed to have no combat ability, had actually awakened long ago. So, from the very beginning, they never had any caution toward it.

This careless mistake caused them to be caught off guard. They were enveloped by the blue glow, accompanied by the sound of crackling. The air carried the scent of something like roasted meat.

The three of them screamed for just three seconds before falling silent. Their charred bodies slowly collapsed to the ground, releasing a faint smell of cooked meat.

Ji Wuxiu’s eyes went wide.

Those three… were they roasted to death?!!

The black panther, bathed in the blood-red moonlight, slowly approached, its vertical pupils filled with coldness. Despite its injuries, it exuded an indescribable dangerous aura.

Ji Wuxiu slowly looked up, his face blank.

The panther’s forehead glowed with a yellow mark, emitting a faint light.

It—had successfully awakened.