Chapter 31

Chapter 31: The Protagonist, Dead?

As soon as she finished kissing the panel, Qian Qi wiped the Tuban Fruits clean and stuffed them into her pocket. Turning her head, she soon spotted more Tuban Nightshade nearby.

She raised her little knife with a sly smile: “System, have you ever heard of plucking a goose as it flies?”

[???]

A low, creepy cackle slipped out of her throat as she charged the harmless plants. With heavy whacks and thuds, the Tuban Nightshade “heads” split one after another. Their awful screams rose and fell, making her skin crawl.

Soon only a field of black shells remained. Inside each cracked “skull,” the pink tissue twitched and leaked pale gray fluid. It was truly gross.

The culprit stood there clutching the tiny “brains” like a treasure, grinning wider and wider.

[…] [This isn’t plucking feathers. This is Qian Qi plucking lives.]

“Thirty thousand, sixty thousand, ninety thousand… two hundred forty thousand, three hundred sixty thousand…” Qian Qi counted as she packed the Tuban Fruits away. The pain of losing five hundred thousand earlier was instantly healed by a pocket full of Tuban Fruit.

Squatting down, she chuckled, “Heh heh, I’m rich, I’m rich. My sweet retired life just got closer.”

Joy turned to shock.

Right then, a deep, savage magibeast howl blasted out behind her, so loud it felt like it could poke a hole in the sky.

Qian Qi snapped to alert, grabbed her Cloudspike, and aimed it toward the sound.

A heartbeat later, her eyes went round. Towering over her was an elephant-like magibeast at least six meters tall. She understood in a split second, spun, and sprinted.

“I’m going to die, I’m going to die!”

Even as she ran, she shoved a Tuban Fruit into her mouth and mumbled with rapid-fire lips, “This is nuts! Why is that magibeast so huge? Is that really E rank?”

[Don’t be scared~] The Blue System Panel drifted along lazily: [Face danger with courage. You, the unbeatable “Nightshade Magi,” can do this ^_^~]

“Your grandma’s legs…” she started to curse, but the next second the Swift Magi Elephant stepped right on her.

Qian Qi: […]

Qian Qi: #%*@#%…

Maybe it was just too big. The Swift Magi Elephant didn’t even notice the ant-sized girl underfoot. It only felt like it had stepped on a tiny pebble, flicked its foot once, and kept tramping forward.

Down in the footprint pit, Qian Qi lay spread-eagle, a giant lump swelling on the back of her head. She did not move. She looked very dead.

The black forest fell quiet again. Wind brushed the leaves until they only whispered.

Half a minute later, the “corpse” twitched.

“Ptoo, ptoo.” She spat two mouthfuls of dirt, climbed up in a daze, and patted herself all over. Finding she was somehow fine, she bared her little teeth, clutched the lump on her head, and glared at the Blue System Panel: “You could have told me to lie down! Why did you smack my head?”

[Because it made me happy ( ^_^ )]

Qian Qi blinked, [???]

She had not expected the System to be that annoying. Still, the Tuban Fruit was amazing. A giant elephant stepped on her and she was totally fine.

She had thought she would be paste.

Remembering something, she jogged over and picked up the Tuban Fruits she had flung right before getting flattened. Lucky she moved fast, or that 330,000 yuan would have been crushed to mush.

With the Tuban Fruit’s protection, the last of her fear faded. She darted through the black forest, hunting for more Tuban Nightshade.

As she moved, she realized this forest was huge. There also were not that many magibeasts. So far she had only met that one Swift Magi Elephant.

“Looks like an E rank dungeon isn’t much,” she said with a smug little sniff after two hours without a hint of danger.

The next second, a giant bald owl with blazing red feathers dove from the sky. Its talons snatched tiny Qian Qi and hauled her upward.

Qian Qi flailed and stared at the yawning drop below, her heart almost choking her: “Help, I was only being mouthy!”

The Red-plumed Bald Owl did not understand human words. Cold wind roared in her ears. As her body went numb from the chill, she refused to just wait to die. She gripped the Cloudspike tight, ready to stab the bird.

Before she could strike, the owl spotted something bigger and tastier. It loosened its claws and dropped her.

Qian Qi: [???]

Qian Qi: #%*@#%…

She crammed another Tuban Fruit into her mouth and braced for a free fall. But the owl folded its wings and dove again, scooping her straight into its mouth.

It wasn’t dropping sesame to pick up a watermelon. It wanted to eat the sesame first, then go get the watermelon.

Too bad for it…

The owl’s sharp white teeth bit down. Snap.

Its teeth shattered.

Red-plumed Bald Owl: [???]

Qian Qi crowed, “Hahaha!”

The bird spat her out the next instant.

She traced a bright arc across the sky and sailed straight out of the black forest toward the plain. Thud. She dug a shallow dent in the ground.

“Ow, my back,” she groaned, pushing herself up out of the pit. She pointed after the shrinking red shape and scolded, “Young birds these days have no honor. How can you waste food like that?”

Wasting food was bad enough. Throwing things from high up was even worse.

She looked around, surprised: “Huh, this seems close to where I started, right?”

[Not far~] The System, suddenly very helpful after taking her money, pointed out the way back.

Dusting herself off, Qian Qi trotted after it.

Half an hour later, she reached the spot where she had first appeared and then froze as a new problem hit her: “How do I get out?”

[Wow~ You finally noticed~]

The Blue System Panel curved a cheerful smile: [An exit appears only after you defeat the dungeon’s boss.]

Qian Qi’s face turned into The Scream: “What?”

A cursed dungeon with rules like this?

“Isn’t there any other way out?” she asked hopefully, looking at the panel. “Lord System knows everything. You must know something.”

[If you find a space crack in the dungeon, you can leave~]
[Friend-priced hint: only 100 yuan ^_^~]

What a deal. Qian Qi brightened and almost hit transfer, then froze as a memory stabbed her.

A dungeon crack…

If she remembered right, monsters could also leave through a crack and enter the human world.

Her face went cold.

No. She could not leave like that.

Only after beating the boss would the crack repair and close, trapping the monsters inside for good. If she left now and the monsters found the crack, the first place destroyed would be the Bright Light Orphanage.

That would not be a small fifty thousand problem. She might have to spend millions to rebuild the orphanage.

Qian Qi refused to let that time bomb exist.

“Looks like I can save the hundred yuan,” she said, patting the Blue System Panel as her smile turned fierce. “Come on, let’s go take down the boss.”