Chapter 15: 59 Cuteness Points Earned

Ji Wuxiu felt he had to face this miserable panda life with determination. With a panther dragging him down, of course, he could only smile and choose to forgive it.

The three humans sat down and took out some compressed biscuits from their backpacks, eating a few bites casually.

Ji Wuxiu glanced at them and immediately lost his appetite.

The black panther was still lying on the stretcher, staring intently at the three humans, its eyes glinting with the light of a hunter.

Ji Wuxiu almost wanted to cover his forehead and sigh, but he feared that this too-human action might alert the three humans, so he could only carefully watch the black panther, staying alert in case it tried to ambush them.

After eating, one of the humans deliberately picked some fruit from the nearby area and placed it in front of the black-and-white fur ball, speaking in a particularly gentle tone, “Eat.”

Ji Wuxiu stared at the fruit. He had no sense of being a proud animal and silently picked it up, eating slowly and clumsily.

The human couldn’t resist gently stroking its fur, and quietly exclaimed in awe.

Wild animals in survival situations always have dirty, tangled fur.

But this black-and-white fur ball in front of him was so clean it was endearing, making them want to rub it more.

Ji Wuxiu silently shot a glance at the human, his face expressionless, continuing to eat the fruit. Fortunately, the human only lightly stroked his leg fur, if they had tried to touch his head, he would have gotten angry.

Ji Wuxiu ate with effort. Only after he was full would he have the energy to gain weight and prevent himself from slimming down.

Because a skinny panda has no future.

Soon, after eating most of the fruit, Ji Wuxiu handed one to the black panther, making an “mm-mm” sound.

—Eat.

The black panther still stared at the human less than half a meter away from it, so focused that it didn’t even hear Ji Wuxiu’s words.

It was crazy. This was definitely crazy.

Ji Wuxiu silently mocked in his mind.

The human seemed to have noticed the black panther’s hostile gaze. Their expression immediately turned wary, and their hand subconsciously went to the weapon on their waist.

In an instant, the killing intent was palpable.

The black panther emitted a low growl.

“Roar—”

But in Ji Wuxiu’s ears, this simple growl still sounded like just a growl.

Perhaps the panther’s intelligence was too low to express more complex words, but as its vertical pupils gradually widened and its emerald eyes filled with a faint glow, a bloodthirsty killing intent slowly spread, Ji Wuxiu immediately understood the panther’s thoughts.

“Mm-mm—” A sharp, urgent cry suddenly rang out.

Both the human and the panther couldn’t help but glance sideways.

The black-and-white fur ball slowly hugged the black panther, silently staring at the humans with a sorrowful expression.

The humans were stunned: “……”

System prompt: 【Ding! Your cuteness made the humans’ hearts flutter, earning +1 cuteness points. You now have 4 cuteness points. Keep up the good work!】

The black-and-white fur ball silently pushed at the human with its bear paw, making a faint “mm-mm” sound.

The human immediately twitched their mouth, hurriedly moving away, fearing they might scare the white fur ball.

【Ding! Your furry paws made the humans’ hearts flutter, earning +2 cuteness points.】

Ji Wuxiu blinked in surprise. “It’s that easy to earn more cuteness points?”

The system responded with a tone of satisfaction: 【So, work hard and don’t slack off, understand?】

Ji Wuxiu decisively ignored the system’s words and turned to coax the black panther.

—Xiao Hei, can’t you just bear with it?

The black panther shook its ears, coldly staring at Ji Wuxiu, letting out an angry growl: “—Awo!”

Ji Wuxiu suppressed the urge to hit the black panther and decided to settle the matter early, it couldn’t be delayed any longer.

In the evening, the setting sun cast a dreamlike glow over the forest.

The three humans quickly packed up their things and decided to set up camp here to rest.

The injured panther was not much of a threat at the moment.

But for safety’s sake, they still planned to tie up the panther.

Of course, Ji Wuxiu refused, but in order to avoid alarming them, and hoping the panther would stay quiet and not cause trouble, he watched as they tied it up, listening to its angry growls.

As for Ji Wuxiu, he was also supposed to be tied up.

However, before the three humans could come over with the rope, Ji Wuxiu immediately crawled over slowly, actively approaching the humans, looking up with an innocent expression, acting exceptionally affectionate and harmless.

The three humans were taken aback, not sure of what to do.

Seizing the opportunity, Ji Wuxiu pretended to yawn, then hugged one of their legs, pretending to want to sleep.

The person froze, not daring to move, stiffening their thigh, afraid of kicking the furry ball to the ground.

Ji Wuxiu appeared to be closing his eyes, but he was actually paying close attention to the humans’ voices.

“Big brother, look at it, so silly, it probably won’t run. Why don’t we just let it sleep here?” The person being hugged quietly said.

The other two humans stared at the fur ball, not saying anything, clearly in agreement.

Night fell, and the three humans intentionally lit a campfire, speaking in hushed tones.

While Ji Wuxiu pretended to be asleep, he couldn’t help but shift his bottom slightly, sitting for too long had started to hurt.

The black-and-white fur ball, holding onto the human’s leg, looked exceptionally cute with its unguarded demeanor, especially the round, chubby backside, which was so prominent that just looking at it made one want to exclaim—so round.

The three humans simultaneously stopped talking and silently stared.

【Ding! Your sleeping posture made the three humans’ hearts flutter, earning +3 cuteness points.】

Ji Wuxiu smiled faintly in his mind.

At this moment, the three humans’ inner thoughts were: Even though it’s asleep, it still looks obedient and clumsy.

【Ding! Your sleeping face made the three humans’ hearts flutter, earning +3 cuteness points.】

Ji Wuxiu smiled again.

【Ding! Your naturally big fluffy backside made the three humans’ hearts flutter, and they had the urge to pat it, earning +6 cuteness points.】

Ji Wuxiu’s smile gradually disappeared.

The system comforted him: 【For the sake of cuteness points, sacrificing a few things is worth it.】

Ji Wuxiu felt a bit heavy-hearted and didn’t want to speak. But thinking about the panther… he couldn’t help but open his eyes, pretending to just have woken up, and glanced toward the corner.

The pitch-black night perfectly concealed the black panther, only the pair of green eyes glimmering with cold light could be seen.

Ji Wuxiu: “……”

It seemed that the black panther was still quite alert, which reassured him a little. He withdrew his gaze and asked the system in his mind, “System, how many cuteness points do I have now?”

The system responded: 【Ding! Host, you currently have… calculating.】

Ji Wuxiu: “??”

Is it really necessary to calculate for such a small amount of points?

As if knowing what Ji Wuxiu was thinking, the system explained: 【Because your cuteness points have been steadily increasing.】

The black-and-white fur ball paused, slowly turning its head and locking eyes with the three humans for a few seconds before scratching its slightly itchy fur.

【Ding! Your cute action made the three humans feel it was incredibly adorable, earning +3 cuteness points.】

Ji Wuxiu stayed silent for a few seconds before asking the system, “How much now?”

It seemed the system took nearly five minutes before replying: 【Ding! You currently have 59 cuteness points.】

Ji Wuxiu felt slightly dissatisfied in his heart because the cuteness points didn’t meet his expectations.

The system rationally analyzed: 【No matter how cute you are, you can’t rely on your face to keep the three humans in an emotional fluctuation state forever.】

Ji Wuxiu thought about it and felt that the system’s point was valid.

It was like the cat he had kept before, he couldn’t always have the thought of “the cat is so cute” every moment of the day.

It was only when the cat did something unique or showed a well-behaved look that he would involuntarily think, “Ah, so cute.”

This gave Ji Wuxiu some inspiration.

He felt that he couldn’t continue to sell such shallow cuteness, he had to think carefully about how to proceed with the path of cuteness from here on.

Seeing such a diligent and hardworking host, the system felt very pleased but would not offer any rewards.

Soon, the three humans pulled themselves away from the novelty of the black-and-white fur ball and began discussing serious matters.

“We’ll leave here tomorrow morning and hurry up and sell that black panther and this animal. Those rich people will definitely like it,” the person called “big brother” said.

One of the others said with some reluctance, “I hope this fur ball can find a good owner and not be tortured to death.”

Another person said, “It’s unlikely. The sellers I’ve met like to torture mutated beasts and eventually dig out the crystal cores from their brains as collectibles.”

Ji Wuxiu felt a chill down his spine: “……”

What kind of world had he transmigrated into?

Humans were so twisted that they enjoyed torturing mutated beasts!

At this point, the three of them quickly shifted to another topic.

“Big brother, how about we go hunt mutated insects?” one person said. “I’ve heard that wormholes have been appearing frequently these days.”

Upon mentioning wormholes, the atmosphere among the three suddenly became tense, and their expressions turned grim.

Ji Wuxiu paid close attention, quickly perking up his ears to listen carefully.

The one called “big brother” said, “Do you think I don’t want to? But are the mutated insects from those wormholes so easy to kill?”

The other two fell silent.

“Anyway, compared to hunting insects, it’s better to catch mutated beasts. At least they are solitary, not as numerous as mutated insects.” The big brother quickly made a decision, his tone leaving no room for disagreement.

The other two didn’t speak, and the atmosphere grew even more silent.

After hearing this, Ji Wuxiu fell into deep thought.

—Mutated beasts, wormholes, mutated insects.

Just hearing these three terms, one could tell that this world wasn’t as safe as it seemed.

“Alright, let’s all sleep,” the big brother said. “One of you remember to keep watch. Those damned mutated beasts really hate humans.”

The other two were somewhat displeased but didn’t dare show it. They quickly replied, “Okay, big brother.”

The campfire crackled, and the big brother fell asleep. After some conversation, the two remaining humans quickly decided who would keep watch.

The one left on watch sat next to the black-and-white fur ball, yawning as he said, “If it weren’t for the fact that I’m short on money, I’d keep you as a pet and play with you. But sadly…” He muttered softly, “I hope you can survive the humans’ torture.”

After hearing this, Ji Wuxiu remained calm, shaking his paws as he urgently said, “System, help me check what products might be useful to deal with these three people, even if it’s just disposable items.”

He had to escape with the black panther immediately!