Chapter 11: Mu Xiya Solo Kills Eight People

The days of only being able to look at food without eating it were pure torment. Xiao Ling’er licked her lips, her eyes locked onto the panel:
[Mystery Waist Token can be exchanged for 1 billion wealth points].

At the same time, a child-sized version of herself in black clothing appeared beside her, whispering temptingly in her ear:

“Come on, exchange it. Once you do, you’ll have braised pork, cola chicken wings, and you’ll instantly become a billionaire. You can have anything you want!”

Xiao Ling’er felt a hint of excitement and reached out her finger to click ‘Exchange’—

“Stop!”

On the other side, a white-clad child version of Xiao Ling’er appeared, urgently trying to stop her:

“Don’t be blinded by this momentary temptation. If you exchange the Mystery Waist Token now, you’ll regret it later!”

Black-clad Xiao Ling’er:
“You shut up! All the nearby cities are deserted, and we can’t exchange money from banks for now. We should enjoy life while we can!”

White-clad Xiao Ling’er:
“Silence! One should not live only for short-term pleasure. You need to think long-term and plan wisely!”

The two child versions of Xiao Ling’er argued endlessly beside her, giving her a splitting headache.

She gritted her teeth and shouted, “Both of you, shut up!”
Instantly, the arguing stopped.

Xiao Ling’er took a deep breath and calmed down.

That waist token—unless it was absolutely necessary—she had no plans to exchange it.

Though she didn’t yet know its true value, considering the token’s owner, that man’s promise alone might be worth more than 1 billion wealth points.

Xiao Ling’er wasn’t stupid. The damn system never made a losing deal. If it was willing to pay 1 billion wealth points to reclaim the waist token, then its real value surely surpassed that figure.

“Big sis, it’s time to eat!”
Xiao Yuhao’s voice brought her back to reality, and she withdrew her consciousness from the space.

Today, the mother and her two children had boiled potatoes and cabbage for their meal. Aside from salt, there were no other seasonings.

The salt had been painfully traded by Xiao Ling’er—two tomatoes and two potatoes for 2 wealth points.

What comforted her slightly was that the salt was refined and fine-quality. Though it came in a tiny packet, it could last them a good while.

Xiao Ling’er had checked the price of oil—a single barrel cost 149 wealth points. Even if she exchanged all the vegetables she grew, she still couldn’t afford that.

As for other condiments, Xiao Ling’er told herself she’d be insane to trade at half-value with the system.

In the end… being able to eat salted boiled cabbage and potatoes already felt like a luxury. Xiao Yuhao and Mu Xiya found it delicious.

Only Xiao Ling’er, while chewing cabbage, couldn’t stop thinking about rice, dumplings, noodles, braised pork…

The more she thought, the more her mouth watered. No, she told herself—stop thinking about it!

It was all the damn system’s fault. If the items couldn’t be exchanged, then don’t list them under “exchangeable items.” It gave her false hope and then dumped cold water on her.

This feeling was seriously… maddening.

Not long after the three finished eating and were sitting around chatting and resting, a faint crack—the sound of a twig breaking—came from afar.

Xiao Yuhao immediately stood up, gripping a dagger and staring alertly in the direction of the sound. Mu Xiya also stood, shielding Xiao Ling’er and Yuhao behind her.

Xiao Ling’er stood calmly, her eyes turning cold as she looked into the distance.

“Lingling, Haohau, don’t be afraid. Mama will beat up the bad guys!” Mu Xiya glared fiercely into the distance, while reassuring them in a gentle voice.

“We told you to stay alert. We’ve been discovered!”

From around the distant corner, a thin, sallow-faced man glared angrily at his companions and scolded them.

However, one of the other men brushed off his reprimand without concern and retorted,
“What are you afraid of? Since they’ve already discovered us, there’s no need to keep hiding.

There are seven or eight of us. You think we can’t deal with just a woman and two kids?”

The man wore a look of contempt and impatience, feeling his elder brother was overly cautious and always too timid in action.

Before the eldest brother could respond, a woman chimed in,
“Exactly! Big brother, you’re way too careful and timid!”

As she spoke, she couldn’t help but lick her lips, eyes gleaming with greedy desire.

The scent of food wafting over from earlier had already stirred her hunger—she was eager to devour it all.

“I’m just thinking about everyone’s safety. That previous group didn’t look simple at all. What if they left someone behind…”

The man addressed as “big brother” tried to explain, but his words were cut off by his impatient younger brother:

“Yeah, yeah, we get it. Stop hesitating—what if someone else beats us to it?”

The big brother thought it over and found the point reasonable. He remembered how many people saw that man take out silver notes earlier—it wouldn’t be surprising if others were also lurking in the shadows like them.

Now a bit anxious himself, he ordered,
“Do it. Kill the adult, and keep the two kids as food stock.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ling’er’s eyes turned even colder. She had initially assumed they were only out to rob and maybe kill—but they were planning to eat her and her little brother?

Outrageous!
If that’s what they wanted, then she’d gladly send them to their deaths.

Xiao Ling’er gave Mu Xiya a slight nod.
Mu Xiya sprang into action like a leopard—

Moments later, the forest echoed with heavy thuds, mingled with her voice shouting:

“Bad guys! I’ll kill you all! Kill you all!”

As her fists struck with terrifying force, she didn’t forget to yell threats in sync.

Accompanying the blows were shrieks of pain and desperate pleas:

“Ahhh! Spare us! We won’t do it again! Please!”

In the stillness of the night, these sounds were amplified and spine-chilling, sending shivers through anyone nearby.

Before long, the cries stopped.

Those hiding in the shadows—the other scavengers waiting for a chance—were so terrified by Mu Xiya’s brutality that they abandoned all thoughts of targeting the mother and children, quietly slipping away into the night.

Xiao Ling’er noticed but didn’t pursue.

Her goal had been achieved: fear. Only when those lurking in the dark were afraid would they give up on targeting her family.

She looked at the eight corpses lying on the ground. The system panel’s exchangeable items section now included:
a few ragged clothes, straw sandals, copper coins, and bits of silver.

But strangely, her “Evil-Elimination Value” hadn’t increased.
Did that mean these people weren’t considered evil? So there was no increase?

No—that couldn’t be it.
From the way they had planned to kill her mother and keep her and her brother as food, there was no way they could be considered not evil.

Xiao Ling’er speculated: perhaps she had to personally do the saving or eliminating to gain Reputation or Evil-Elimination Points.

Whether her theory was correct or not, she’d figure it out with time. For now, she didn’t dwell on it and simply exchanged all the items off the bodies.

The ragged clothes earned 8 wealth points,

The straw sandals: 8 wealth points,

23 copper coins: 23 wealth points,
Total: 39 wealth points earned.