Qi Xu still chose to face the Ghost-Faced Wolf head-on, only switching to another monster after compressing the battle time to under five minutes.
"Gorilla Monster."
It had no special attributes but was explosive, highly defensive, and agile. Qi Xu put away her chainsaw and long blade, deciding to fight it bare-handed.
The Bunny Muscle Monster was baffled. "Dear player, though the Gorilla Monster isn’t as high-level as the Ghost-Faced Wolf, fighting it without weapons will be extremely difficult."
The human player’s overwhelming combat prowess mainly relied on her pink chainsaw. Without it, her fists could only deal pitifully small damage to monsters—like a drizzle.
Qi Xu nodded. "Thanks for the reminder. I get it. I... I just want to get beaten up."
The Bunny Muscle Monster pretended to be worldly and nodded sagely. "What a unique preference you have. Rest assured, the Gorilla Monster will definitely deliver."
It reminded itself not to be too surprised—the world was vast, and all kinds of customers existed for a reason.
So it calmly retreated.
Besides, this adorable human customer merely enjoyed taking a beating—hardly a harmful fetish...
Once the Gorilla Monster appeared, it charged at Qi Xu without hesitation. Qi Xu didn’t retreat either. When the monster threw a punch, she met it with one of her own, instantly feeling like half her body was about to be shattered.
Her arm went numb, completely immobilized. She instinctively crouched to dodge its next attack, then swept her leg out in an attempt to knock it down.
To her dismay, the Gorilla Monster’s legs were as hard as steel pillars. Qi Xu’s ankle throbbed so badly she could barely breathe, while the monster didn’t budge an inch.
Instead, once it recovered, it landed two solid punches on Qi Xu’s back—"Bam! Bam!"—making her cough violently, nearly vomiting blood.
Qi Xu didn’t dare delay any longer. If the arena’s protection mechanism kicked in, her 10 survival coins would go to waste.
She immediately pulled out a pistol and fired two shots at the Gorilla Monster, which collapsed with an utterly bewildered expression.
Are you kidding me?!
Only then did Qi Xu struggle to her feet, gripping the edge of the platform as she coughed violently. That hurt so much.
The Bunny Muscle Monster was equally stunned. If you had a weapon like that, why didn’t you use it sooner?! Why insist on getting beaten up?!
After reviewing the replay, Qi Xu realized... there was no way around it. She was simply outmatched—a pure difference in strength.
But when she checked her player stats, she saw that her attributes had already increased by eight points in just one day. Instantly, her confidence returned.
"Most diligent Bunny Boss, is there a monster weaker than the Gorilla Monster in all attributes but with a similar close-combat fighting style?"
The Bunny Muscle Monster pondered seriously. "Yes, the Dough Monster. It... well, doesn’t hit as hard, but it’s highly defensive. Does that meet your requirements?"
Qi Xu’s eyes lit up. She had encountered Dough Monsters in the previous game, but they disappeared soon after. She hadn’t thought of them until now.
Nodding eagerly, she said, "Perfect. Thank you."
The Dough Monster stood about four feet tall, legless, plump, and pale—almost cute.
Just looking at it lifted Qi Xu’s mood. Soft, squishy, and adorable, with a faint aroma of fresh dough wafting from its body. She couldn’t help but swallow hard...
But that didn’t mean it couldn’t pack a punch.
Qi Xu charged first, throwing a fist into the Dough Monster’s body. Its form immediately caved in deeply before rebounding swiftly, nearly sending her flying. She staggered back several steps to steady herself.
The Dough Monster lunged forward, its seemingly soft fist turning rock-hard the moment it made contact.
Qi Xu took the hit squarely but, unwilling to suffer for nothing, instinctively grabbed a handful of the monster’s doughy belly—
And tore off a massive chunk.
[Congratulations! You’ve obtained a special ingredient!]
[Dough Monster’s Dough: Perfect for pancakes or hand-pulled noodles. Delicious! Consuming enough can slightly increase Health Points.]
Qi Xu was stunned. Holy crap, the Dough Monster is actually useful! Now I get why it vanished so quickly.
Foreigners might not understand, but for Chinese people, flour-based foods were simply irresistible.
Her eyes gleamed with excitement. Abandoning punches, she began frantically grabbing fistfuls of dough from the monster’s body.
When she realized the dough regenerated after being torn off, her satisfaction soared.
This beating wasn’t in vain. Once I’m out, I’ll have Master Chef make lamb noodle soup for me.
Though she’d taken plenty of hits herself, Qi Xu was thrilled. Free supplies and "Sturdiness" stat gains? A total win.
After all, the only way to improve sturdiness was by getting beaten up—self-inflicted damage didn’t count. It had to come from monsters.
Qi Xu became utterly engrossed in dough-harvesting, even as the Dough Monster’s punches rained down. The pain seemed to fade as she stubbornly charged forward, grabbing more dough despite the blows.
The Dough Monster was not having a good time. Normally silent, it now let out continuous "Squeak! Squeak!" cries, its beady black eyes glaring at Qi Xu with utter indignation.
Its attacks grew more frantic. Though Qi Xu couldn’t understand its words, the expression was unmistakable:
"I’ve never seen someone so shameless in my life!"
Unfazed, Qi Xu eventually lunged and hugged the Dough Monster outright, stuffing handfuls of dough into her backpack one after another. The system notifications flooded her mind nonstop.
[Dough 400g ×1]
[Dough 400g ×1]
[Dough 400g ×1]
...
But the beating took its toll. Qi Xu coughed up blood as the two engaged in their relentless exchange—one furiously grabbing, the other furiously punching. Neither was willing to back down.
The Bunny Muscle Monster couldn’t bear to watch anymore. It dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups. This must be an illusion. Such an elegant, distinguished customer would never bully a little monster like this...
Qi Xu kept harvesting until the system alerts changed—
[Warning! Warning! Health Points have dropped below 10 and will continue decreasing by 1 per minute! Seek medical treatment immediately!]
[Warning! Warning! Fatigue has exceeded 90! Rest and recover immediately, or risk fatal consequences!]
The back-to-back warnings snapped Qi Xu back to reality. She grabbed one last handful before stopping—her Health now below 5, Fatigue above 95.
Pulling out her pistol again, she unloaded a rapid volley of shots. The Dough Monster collapsed with an expression of pure relief.
Good. Death is better. Never again, you wretched human!!!
.........
