Chapter 252: Chapter 252: Why Are Others So Useful?

Outside the wooden hut, Feiyan watched Jin Ling go inside. Not long after, Qiao Xixi came out, and he smugly nudged Sangze.

"See that? Life at home... it’s not as simple as just fighting and killing."

Feiyan patted his head. "Sometimes, you have to use this."

A sneer tugged at Sangze’s lips as he poked Feiyan’s head. "You fox, you’ve got nothing up there either."

"You damn leopard, I’ve had it with you for a while now."

"Looking for a fight?"

"Bring it on!"

"Fine by me~~ Just don’t come crying to me later."

A flash of white and a blur of black swirled together, and then the two figures vanished.

Sunxiao impassively looked away.

When Qiao Xixi came out of the hut and saw that Feiyan and Sangze were gone, she quietly let out a sigh of relief and hurried the cubs over to eat.

After they had eaten their fill, Qiao Xixi used the Long-tongued Vine to build a shelter large enough for all of them.

Sunxiao had already built simple wooden beds and covered them with thick furs.

Qiao Xixi carried the freshly bathed tiger cub back into the shelter and lay down on the wooden bed at the very edge.

The tiger cub whimpered and tried to climb into her arms.

"Oof, An’an, get off Mommy’s tummy. You’ve gotten so chubby, you’re crushing me! Mommy can’t breathe."

The tiger cub looked up with big, innocent eyes, its two chubby little paws kneading back and forth on Qiao Xixi’s chest.

’I’m going to get internal injuries,’ Qiao Xixi thought.

She had no choice but to turn onto her side, settling the little cub down on the bed beside her.

Denied the chance to knead, the tiger cub unhappily rolled over, wanting to go find her father.

"You ungrateful little thing. Are you really running off just because I wouldn’t let you knead? No you don’t. Come here and let Mommy rub your little tummy... oh, it’s so soft and comfy."

At first, the tiger cub was a little resistant.

’Mommy is so mean! All she does is bully her cub!’

But... *awoo*, having my tummy rubbed feels so good... I’m getting sleepy.

Seeing the cub’s eyes fluttering shut, Qiao Xixi moved her to the inner side of the bed so she wouldn’t roll off.

"Mommy, Mommy! Qiaoqiao wants to sleep with you tonight!"

Qiao Qiao and Xiya came in as well, both freshly washed.

"Come on, both of you! Into Mommy’s arms!"

The cubs happily clambered onto the bed and snuggled down obediently beside Qiao Xixi.

The wooden bed was just big enough to fit her and her daughters. When Qiao Lie and the others came in, there was no space left.

Just as Qiao Xixi was drifting off to sleep, her gaze met Qiao Lie’s eyes, which were filled with a suppressed longing. She reached her hand out to him.

"Qiao Lie, come here."

Qiao Lie walked over, his lips pressed tight, and said nothing.

Qiao Xixi couldn’t resist pinching his fair, soft little face. "How did all my cubs turn out so beautiful?"

Qiao Lie gave her an accusing look. Qiao Xixi laughed, let go, and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Go on now. Sleep well with your brothers tonight."

Having gotten the kiss he longed for, the little snake cub’s indifferent expression instantly melted like the first winter thaw, becoming much more vivid.

"Hmph, I want a kiss too."

Of course, Qiao Xixi wasn’t stingy with her kisses. After giving one to each of her cubs, she felt sleepy herself.

"Now everyone be good and go to sleep."

When she woke up the next morning, Qiao Qiao and the others were already gone. The only one left beside her was the tiger cub, still sleeping soundly.

’I’ll try refining again today,’ Qiao Xixi thought. Wasting no time, she covered the cub with a blanket and got up.

Once again, it was just her and Jin Ling at home.

"Jin Ling, are you making a stone pot?"

Jin Ling propped the stone pot on a large rock and nodded. "Yeah. Just in case, Feiyan and I went and made two more this morning. Take a look, will these work?"

Qiao Xixi nodded. ’Jin Ling must have been worried the pot would shatter again.’ The new stone pot was much thicker than the previous one.

"Yes, this is fine."

"The pot is pretty thick, so I’ll start a fire to heat it up. You go get something to eat first."

"Okay."

After she finished eating, Qiao Xixi took out the coral horns she had brought back yesterday and portioned them out.

"Xixi, the pot’s hot."

"Okay."

Qiao Xixi placed the Seven-color Salt Crystal inside and began to stir.

A commotion came from inside the wooden hut. Jin Ling stood up. "An’an might be awake. I’ll go take a look."

"Okay."

Qiao Xixi watched as the Salt Crystal in the pot slowly formed into rainbow-colored crystals. She then added the coral horns and the colorless Crystal Stone, covered the stone pot, and pulled all the firewood out from under it.

She then backed away quickly, lest it explode again like it did yesterday.

Just as Jin Ling finished feeding the cub and carried her outside, Qiao Xixi heard a soft POP from the stone pot.

Her eyes lit up. She hurried forward and lifted the lid. Inside the pot, a single, rainbow-colored crystal lay nestled in a pile of black ash.

Qiao Xixi picked up the crystal and examined it. "So this is the Crystal Stone that can awaken a Beast Soul."

"That’s right, Host."

The sudden voice in her mind startled Qiao Xixi so much that she almost dropped the crystal.

"You’re finally back."

"Indeed, Host. After a bloody battle, I have finally achieved a pivotal victory. A round of applause is in order."

"Haha, sure, I’m clapping for you," she deadpanned. "So tell me, what great victory did you achieve?"

"It attacked me with a virus before, which made me lose data. So now I’ve attacked its mainframe with a virus! Heh heh!"

"So you successfully crashed its mainframe?"

"Not exactly, but its mainframe is showing garbled code now, and that’s going to be a real pain for it to fix. So, during this time, we need to hurry up and get stronger. That way, we’ll be in a better position to take them on!"

Qiao Xixi frowned. "What do you mean? Can’t you just send Huang Ying back where she came from?"

"I can’t... Host, it’s not because I’m not capable, I swear. I’d love to just send her packing. But as long as that system exists, even if we get rid of Huang Ying, a ’Green Firefly’ or a Red Firefly will just take her place. It’s better to just scrap the whole thing."

"But you didn’t scrap it. So how am I supposed to do it?"

"The mission issued by its mainframe is for them to complete the entire plot. During this process, Huang Ying has nine chances to die and be resurrected."

"Why are they both systems, but that one is so much more useful???"

"Okay, Host, let’s not get sidetracked, m’kay?~~ The bug in their system is this: if she uses up all nine of her resurrection chances before she completes the mission, their entire mission framework will collapse and fail. To put it simply, Huang Ying will have depleted the system’s entire health bar, so it won’t be able to bring in a replacement even if it wanted to."

"So you’re saying if I just kill Huang Ying nine times, I’ll achieve a definitive victory?"

"Exactly!"

"Then how many has she used up already?"

"Three!"

’Six more times...’

Qiao Xixi suddenly regretted letting her get away before.

"So what happens if Huang Ying’s mission fails?"

"She’ll go back to the modern world. This was a mission she actively sought out; it wasn’t forced on her. She could leave right now if she wanted to, she’s just not willing to."

Qiao Xixi’s expression darkened. "And what about me?"