Chapter 9: Selling Big Pandas to Become Rich

Strange, how strange.

When Ji Wuxiu didn’t want to see the black panther, it would show up every moment, almost like an unshakable ghost.

But when he actually needed to find the black panther, why couldn’t he find it?

Ji Wuxiu sniffed the air, preparing to use his keen sense of smell to track the panther’s whereabouts, but after trying for a while with no results, he had to give up.

Where could the panther have gone?

Ji Wuxiu circled around and checked all the places he had encountered the panther before, even searching through the hidden bushes, but still found nothing.

Could it have left?

Ji Wuxiu thought with a strange expression.

Could it be that he had pressured the panther too much, causing it to become disheartened and leave to occupy a new territory?

Unable to find the panther, Ji Wuxiu decided to leave without saying goodbye. He followed his instincts and chose a direction to walk. As he entered a new area, Ji Wuxiu frequently glanced around, his expression wary, because he was still a bit nervous. After all, this was an unfamiliar place.

But after walking for a while, he faintly heard a weak, miserable cry.

“Awoo—”

The faint sound seemed to come from the right, and Ji Wuxiu listened carefully for a moment. His usually deadpan panda face immediately grew serious.

He felt that the howl sounded very much like the black panther’s.

More importantly, the panther’s cry seemed filled with immense pain and fear, giving Ji Wuxiu a bad premonition.

Could it be… the black panther was injured?

Ji Wuxiu quickly ran over, and in the distance, there appeared to be vague human figures. He quickly slowed down, crawled forward, and used the bushes for cover, carefully observing.

“Big Brother, this panther looks like it’s about to awaken. I didn’t expect that the method of torturing it would work so well.”

“If it really awakens and turns into a mutated beast, we’ll make a fortune.”

The unfamiliar voices carried a sense of greed, immediately making Ji Wuxiu alert. Through the dense bushes, he could see the scene ahead.

On the disturbed, trampled lawn, several humans in neat, coordinated uniforms were attacking the black panther.

The most important thing was that the humans held glowing weapons, and with just a light swipe, they scorched the grass into black, leaving long, dark marks on the ground.

At this moment, the black panther looked pitiable and almost unrecognizable, its skin torn and its flesh exposed. However, because its fur was black, no blood could be seen.

But Ji Wuxiu could smell the strong scent of blood in the air.

“Argh—Roar!”

The panther was clearly already in a dire situation, but it continued to resist stubbornly, its pupils filled with a strong will to survive and intense fear. Its once proud neck, always upright, was now tightly shrunk. As it struggled, it also kept retreating, confusion slowly filling its vertical pupils.

Why did humans keep hurting it? What did it do wrong?

The brutal scene made Ji Wuxiu feel deeply uncomfortable.

Although he had only been with the black panther for a few days, and the panther often had fits of madness trying to kill him, this was a different matter.

The black panther was acting this way to secure its territory, driven by survival.

But these humans, clearly, were intentionally torturing the panther, their only goal to force the panther to awaken in the face of death.

At this moment…

“Big Brother, why hasn’t this panther mutated yet?” One of the men, the most vicious, kept stabbing at the panther’s wounds, causing the injury to widen, horrifying to behold.

The man being called “Big Brother” had a rough, savage face, with bloodlust in his eyes that hinted at his dangerous nature.

Another man seemed a bit anxious. “If it doesn’t mutate, we’ve wasted our time. Those people only want mutated beasts.”

The three men took turns stabbing the panther, gradually eroding its will to survive, until only hatred remained.

So much hatred! It wanted to kill these humans.

The hatred intensified, and suddenly, the black panther let out an angry roar.

“Argh—Roar!” A faint golden light seemed to flash across its forehead, but it was so quick that the three men didn’t notice.

Ji Wuxiu froze. He was certain he hadn’t imagined it; he had clearly seen the golden light flicker across the panther’s forehead.

Could it be… the black panther had really mutated?

Ji Wuxiu’s heart sank. Although he didn’t know the purpose of these people trying to forcibly mutate the panther, given how devoid of basic morality they seemed, it couldn’t be anything good.

Instantly, he made a decision: he had to save the black panther. Although he wanted to rush out immediately, he was still a human, who knew the importance of patience and strategy. Rushing out now would not help at all and could even get him caught up in this mess.

Ji Wuxiu quickly activated his brain, thinking of the most reasonable solution.

From the panther’s current condition, it was clear that these three men were strong.

Although he had been bullying the panther the past few days, it was only because of the so-called buffs he had that gave him an advantage. In a real fight, he wouldn’t stand a chance against the black panther.

But now, the panther had been beaten to the point of having no ability to fight back.

Ji Wuxiu clearly understood that, in the face of absolute power, all schemes and tactics seemed powerless.

Fortunately, at this moment, the helpful system silently appeared again, offering a friendly assist: 【Ding! Host, I suggest you try using your naturally adorable demeanor and harmless gaze to conquer those humans! Cute is justice, and justice is power.】

Ji Wuxiu twitched his mouth, ignoring the system’s later words and instead thinking about the earlier suggestion. He suddenly came up with a plan.

However, this plan was a bit embarrassing.

But for the sake of saving the black panther, sacrificing something was no big deal.

—

“Argh—Roar!” The panther, in fear, became even more frantic, baring its teeth and claws, even roaring in anger to try to intimidate the three humans. But these three had killed hundreds of creatures like it, so how could they be scared?

Soon, the panther’s resistance grew weaker and slower, and the three humans’ patience began to fade, their murderous intent becoming more apparent.

The panther’s intelligent eyes flashed with despair, and hatred for the humans.

It didn’t understand why these humans were hurting it.

It felt pain everywhere.

Pain so intense it wanted to hide and helplessly lick its wounds.

Had it done something wrong?

Had it angered these humans?

But it really didn’t understand what it had done wrong…

“Argh—” The panther let out a fearful and hoarse roar, its tail trembling helplessly.

Ji Wuxiu’s heart clenched as he gritted his teeth.

“Looks like it won’t awaken or mutate. Kill it.” The man called “Big Brother” was unmoved, his voice cold.

The other two seemed reluctant to give up, but seeing the panther was clearly on the brink of death and still hadn’t mutated, it was obvious that it had lost the chance to awaken.

They too had slowly lost patience.

Just as one of them was about to finish off the panther, a strange sound suddenly rang out. Although sharp, it carried a hint of childishness and was far from jarring. Instead, it sounded as if someone was whining, full of the kind of sweetness that could melt a person’s heart.

The three froze, their expressions confused.

They had never heard such a peculiar sound.

Taking advantage of this moment, the bushes rustled as if something was about to emerge. The three immediately became alert, aiming their weapons at the bushes, ready to strike at any moment.

Finally, from the bushes, a round ball rolled out—black and white, tumbling a few times before revealing a silly, adorable face.

It was a strange creature, with soft white fur. More importantly, its fur was black and white, its round body and round head made it look incredibly innocent, and its large black eyes seemed full of sadness.

The little creature flopped down, sprawling out in a “big” shape. It slowly crawled up, took a few clumsy steps, but then swayed and plopped back down, lying in a spread-eagle position, stunned for a few seconds. Then, it let out a disappointed sound.

“Aw woo—” The little creature’s cry was soft and youthful.

Immediately, the three people recognized that this was the same sound they had heard earlier.

So, it turned out that this strange creature had made the sound.

The three of them exchanged strange looks, a mix of indescribable emotions flooding their hearts.

A strange creature suddenly appeared, surely it must be dangerous.

But this creature looked completely harmless, clumsy and seemingly devoid of intelligence, appearing to be quite foolish.

The black-and-white creature cluelessly lifted its head, tilted its head to look at the three of them, curiously making another “wah woo” sound.

—So cute.

One of them couldn’t help but move, his heart immediately touched by this adorable creature, every part of it seeming completely harmless.

【Ding! Your cuteness has made this human’s heart flutter, thinking you are truly adorable. You have gained +1 Cuteness Value.】

Ji Wuxiu’s eyes lit up when he heard this.

He never expected that, despite all his efforts and struggles, he hadn’t earned a single point of Cuteness Value, but now, seemingly without trying, he had unintentionally gained one.

But why was the Cuteness Value so low?

The one called “Big Boss” suddenly had his eyes light up and said to the other two, “I’ve never seen this creature before. Even if it’s not a mutated beast, just by its appearance alone, it’s so striking, it will definitely sell for a good price.”