Chapter 35: Promotion to Level 10

On the new day, the three of them still chose to slaughter cows. Since they wanted to keep the bones today, they couldn’t use clubs to strike. Huoyang’s broadsword was handy, and when slicing the cows’ necks, eight out of ten strikes landed as critical hits.

Human nature, however, is always greedy. With such a huge cow, a perfectly intact hide—how could Su Ning bear to have Huoyang cut it into pieces? So she came up with a somewhat sneaky plan.

“Brother Yang, don’t you think this hide is really thick?”

Before Su Ning could finish her delicate suggestion, Huoyang interrupted immediately.

“You tell me where to strike, I’ll do my best to accommodate.”

“The… rear, strike at the rear, without damaging the hide.”

The rear might be a good spot—maybe even land a critical hit! Su Ning’s plan was clever in her mind. Huoyang, on the other hand, looked at his new sword, then at the old cow’s rear… Was the first battle of the new sword really going to begin there?

While Huoyang was still wrestling with the idea, Qiao Duoduo heard the wind and immediately intervened. What nonsense—striking the rear? What about the beef?

“Don’t touch the rear! If the intestines get punctured, who’s going to eat that messed-up beef?”

“…”

Su Ning thought about it—she was right. Another dream shattered. The beef had to be saved. Even if the restaurant didn’t want it, it could be kept for Qiao Duoduo to practice cooking.

“Then where to chop? If nothing else, cut the cow’s head! Once the head is gone, it’s dead for sure.”

Huoyang was also conflicted. One woman wanted to save the hide, now another wanted to save the meat. Sigh, tears all around. He had no right to complain; he himself wanted to preserve the bones.

“Chop the head.”

“Chop the head, good.”

The head proposal was unanimously approved. The downside was that Huoyang had to follow the blood line along the cow’s neck and cut slowly. A waste of his broadsword. Su Ning worked along one of the cow’s legs, occasionally casting a Moonlight Curse. Qiao Duoduo’s role was mostly to attract monsters—basically idle.

By 10 PM, Su Ning finally reached level 9. She realized that, by her calculations, it would take at least five more days to reach level 10. And to advance to the full-server zone, she would need at least level 15, because the snakes outside East City start at level 11. So even if she fought nonstop for nine days without eating or sleeping, reaching the full-server zone was impossible—avoiding the crowds would be a major hassle.

Sigh. If she had known, she should have killed more monsters earlier.

From then on, Su Ning adopted a life of “work at sunrise, return at sunset,” spending her days fighting monsters. At night, she inevitably had to do some crafting.

Five days later, Su Ning was promoted to level 10.

During this time, Qiao Duoduo had arranged for the restaurant to help skin and debone the cows. The restaurant owner was pleased, leaving half the processed beef for himself and the rest naturally went to Qiao Duoduo. After all, as a cook, she needed ingredients.

All were happy. Su Ning also completed the four pairs of jeans custom-made for Fat Sheep. Later, Luo Nanchuan also ordered two pairs for Yan Han. Su Ning charged handsomely, which nearly drove both Luo Nanchuan and Yan Han to bankruptcy.

Su Ning felt that, ever since gifting Fat Sheep, his attitude toward her had shifted slightly. But she didn’t pay much attention. During occasional online browsing, she discovered some shops that made equipment.

For example:

• Guan Family Weapons Shop: As the name suggests, it sold swords, spears, halberds, axes, and knives. Exquisite craftsmanship and excellent attributes. Su Ning even bought a longsword to mail to her father.
• Hope Woodcraft: Mostly household items. Looking closer, there were even staffs, though with modest attribute points—likely just the shop owner practicing their craft.
• Linyang Pavilion: A jewelry store, mainly women’s accessories like hairpins, earrings, bracelets. Extremely delicate work, reminiscent of museum pieces from before the apocalypse, recreated perfectly. However, prices were astronomical, and stock was limited, likely due to scarce metals and gemstones. Attributes were good, but these were too delicate for fighting monsters—purely for display. Su Ning couldn’t bring herself to buy any.
• Xiaoxiao General Store: Appeared to open a crafting system. Everything from clothing to jewelry, food to furniture—complete variety. But such diversity often meant mediocre craftsmanship. Only the food was passable; the rest left much to be desired.
• Some shops didn’t add attributes, like Tianhong Apparel, selling beautiful clothing, likely delicate niche brands even pre-apocalypse. Too bad, no attributes.

During downtime, browsing these shops was Su Ning’s stress relief. But after level 10, bigger tasks awaited—like taming horses.

On the sixth day at noon, even slowpoke Huoyang reached level 10. The three couldn’t contain their excitement and rushed to the western planting district. Beyond it was the only horse ranch in the full-server zone.

Under the blazing sun, the green pastures were dotted with—short-legged horses.

“Is this a horse?”

If this were a computer game, Huoyang might’ve smashed his monitor. The tall, majestic horse he’d dreamed of turned out to be only waist-high. Could anyone ride this? He feared crushing it.

Su Ning and Qiao Duoduo had similar thoughts. They had hoped to tame a proud stallion, but instead—disappointment. The system’s “slap” really cooled their hearts.

“Short-legged horses are better than none,” said a middle-aged man nearby. He looked about forty, short but extremely fat. Two beautiful women and four burly men followed him. Hardly seemed like a respectable group.

Su Ning stepped back, questioning:

“Short-legged horses?”

“Yes. You can see it—it’s a short-legged horse, from Yunnan, also called Yunnan horse or Dian horse. Not tall and imposing, but crucial for transport along the Tea Horse Road. Sturdy, compact, agile, adept at mountains, long-distance labor, resilient to coarse feed, highly adaptable. Except for height, it’s a fine horse.”

“Every district has carriages, cheap, with storage. What’s the use of this horse?”

Su Ning couldn’t understand. Why bother with this horse when she had a mountain bike?

“Little girl, life is long. You never know when a good horse might be necessary. On dangerous paths where carriages can’t go, it will be indispensable.”

The middle-aged man was Ma Yuqiang. Naturally short, he would have chosen Dwarf Warrior for his profession. Due to his bloodline, his already short stature shrank further to 1.5 meters.

“Choosing horses together is fate. Shall we add each other as friends?”

With his initiative, the three had no reason to refuse. Level often reflected strength; friendly gestures were a sign of respect.

After brief introductions, Su Ning realized for the first time how fragile women could be in comparison.