Chapter 60 It really was a scam!

【cough……】

The system's electronic voice sounded, carrying an extremely obvious sense of guilt: "Um, host... you see, we need to be reasonable, right?"

[Those cultivators who ascend to the upper realms, which one didn't start from the lowest level, as a menial servant or celestial attendant? They built up their seniority step by step, right?]

This principle applies to spirit beasts as well!

The ferocious beast you just summoned... that must have started from its most basic juvenile stage!

You have to feed it! You have to raise it! Once it reaches its growth and maturity stage, won't it help you dominate the world, attract wealth, ward off evil, and accumulate good fortune?

Shen Zhaozhao: "What the hell?! Say it again if you dare?!"

【oops! 】

The system seemed to have gone all out, with a hint of "what's the worst that can happen?": "That's just how things are now, the rules are written clearly and plainly! If you don't feed a young Pixiu, it really will die right before your eyes!"

[And don't let its small, seemingly harmless appearance fool you; it's a genuine ancient auspicious beast!]

If it really starves to death, its overwhelming resentment will haunt you, and you'll be plagued by bad luck in your finances for the rest of your life—you'll choke on cold water, and even find counterfeit money on the street!

Shen Zhaozhao: "???"

Shen Zhaozhao felt a sudden darkness before her eyes and almost fainted along with the little Pixiu that had fallen to the ground.

She silently raised her hand to her chest, feeling as if there was a hollow space there, heavy, painful, and drafty.

Scam... It really was a scam!

She knew that any such seemingly free lunch was a scam!

With a heavy sigh, Shen Zhaozhao bent down, extended two fingers, and with an almost tragic feeling, carefully poked the furry ball on the ground that looked like an angel and had died peacefully.

It's soft and warm, but it just won't move.

"..."

Shen Zhaozhao's voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from between her teeth: "Then... what does it eat?"

[Right now, in its infancy, it can only digest spirit stones. Once it grows a bit bigger, you'll be able to feed it other rare and precious treasures~]

Shen Zhaozhao: "...How much do you eat in one meal?"

[Hmm...] A series of electronic noises, like someone flipping through a manual, came from the system. [Well... a thousand or eight hundred?]

Shen Zhaozhao was already seeing stars.

[Besides... well, you know how picky a Pixiu is, so host, be generous and don't try to fool it with low-grade spirit stones. Just feed it high-grade ones!]

Shen Zhaozhao: "..."

Shen Zhaozhao felt that her heart was dead.

Even though her heart was dead, she could still curse people, which was terrifying!

"Damn system!!!"

Finally, her pent-up anger erupted like a volcano. Shen Zhaozhao's finger trembled as she pointed at the screen: "How could you suddenly change your mind? What about valuing user experience?! And giving away free space?!"

"So you just lured users in to kill them, didn't you?!"

"Do you believe I'll just smash my head against this wall and kill myself right here, making you unemployed?!"

[No?! What good will it do you to cut off my social security, host?!]

The system screen flickered wildly, and the electronic voice crackled: "If I lose my job, you won't survive either. Shall we go to the underworld together and starve?!"

"I don't care!"

Shen Zhaozhao was so angry that she jumped up and down, pointing at the fluffy ball on the ground with a holy halo: "Refund! Immediately! Right now! I can't afford to raise this thing!"

[No refund!] The system cried out even louder than she did: [The return window is in Afghanistan!]

Shen Zhaozhao: "???"

What the heck?

Do you study such a wide variety of knowledge?

The system completely switched to its unreasonable and tantrum-throwing mode, with garbled text flying wildly across the screen: [Host, I'm warning you, if you dare cut off my social security, I...I...I'll bribe the ghost messengers at the Bridge of Helplessness!]

[May you fail to secure funding, suffer broken cash flow, and have all your investments fail and become unfinished projects for generations to come!]

Shen Zhaozhao: "..."

good!

You are truly wicked!

Resigned to her fate, Shen Zhaozhao bent down with a heavy heart, like someone visiting a grave, and took out one of the high-grade spirit stones she had just won from ten consecutive draws. She tentatively offered it to the little Pixiu's mouth.

The round, fluffy ball of fur, seemingly sensing something, twitched its pink little nose very slightly.

"Awooo—!"

With a fierce yet adorable howl, the little Pixiu, which had just been perfectly dead and peaceful, suddenly sprang to its feet and snatched the top-grade spirit stone with perfect precision.

"Gulp!"

After swallowing the spirit stone, the snow-white fur on the little Pixiu's body instantly regained its luster, and its round, black eyes regained their sparkle.

The little Pixiu took its short legs and carefully rubbed against Shen Zhaozhao's feet, nuzzling her ankle with its furry little body in a very affectionate manner.

"Mother..." its little voice was soft and sweet, "You're so good..."

"Before the Pipi... sob... before, I was never full or warm enough... everyone I met said that Pipi eats a lot and can't be kept, and that I should throw it away..."

The little Pixiu became more and more aggrieved as it spoke, and round golden tears fell down with a "plop, plop". It wiped away its tears with its little paws and continued sobbing.

"Mother is the first person to be willing to feed Pipi... Pipi is a great deal, Mother, please don't refuse Pipi..."

Before the words were finished—

"Thump!"

The soft, fluffy ball of fur that had just been rubbing against her ankle, crying its eyes out, tilted its head, kicked its legs, and once again fell flat on its face in a perfectly executed "fall-down" pose, landing straight on the grass.

Shen Zhaozhao: "..."

Shen Zhaozhao looked at the little fur ball that had fallen to the ground again, still with a holy halo on its head, and felt a throbbing pain in her temples. She felt a lump in her throat and almost ascended to heaven on the spot.

However, just as she was preparing to fight that damn system to the death again, she noticed with her sharp eyes that above the little Pixiu's furry forehead, a line of semi-transparent, faintly glowing numbers had appeared out of nowhere: [1/5000].

Shen Zhaozhao: "???"

What's the meaning?

Feed it a high-grade spirit stone to increase the progress bar a little?

If I feed it 5000 yuan, will it grow up?

Shen Zhaozhao clutched her chest. "Forget it, let's try a different approach."

You can buy a genuine ancient auspicious beast for 5,000 high-grade spirit stones... Although it's currently just a cub that dies after every meal, theoretically speaking, this deal seems worthwhile.

After all, Pixiu is a rare creature.

With a sigh, Shen Zhaozhao looked around the vast wilderness, her gaze finally settling on the golden fur ball in the distance that was still frolicking and chasing its own tail in circles.

"Little Yellow".

At the call, the golden lightning instantly changed direction, darting to Shen Zhaozhao's feet with a "whoosh," its little tail wagging like a propeller: "Aww?"

Shen Zhaozhao handed over the soft, white fluffy ball in her hand: "Here."

Little Huang tilted its head, curiously sniffed the stumped Pipi, then looked up at Chen Zhaozhao: "?" Can it be eaten?

Shen Zhaozhao: "..." Eat your father.