Qi Xiaokui recalled the words on the card, that she must possess certain abilities to join a faction in order to pass the level. If she were to be driven away, her mission would surely be deemed a failure, no need to think about it.
“Although I don’t have gold coins, it’s precisely because I don’t need them that I won’t compete with you for them, right?” Qi Xiaokui racked her brain to find a persuasive reason. “I can also help you find other treasures to bring to you, and I won’t ask for anything in return…”
The Greedy Demon let out a sneer, “What treasure could you possibly help me find?”
But it seemed he suddenly thought of something and immediately changed his tone. “How about this, you go to the Evil Swamp Forest. When the old arrogant one died, his treasures scattered there, worth a full thousand gold coins! I can’t go get them; those damned little demons have long been eyeing my treasures. If I leave, they will definitely come to steal them! You go collect the old arrogant one’s gold coins, all one thousand of them… Remember,” the Greedy Demon squinted at Qi Xiaokui, his gaping mouth filled with sharp teeth, looking extremely terrifying, his lowered voice carrying an indescribable viciousness, “You have only two choices: bring back all one thousand gold coins, or… die!”
Just as Qi Xiaokui was about to say something, the Greedy Demon suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a ball of blue-purple flame. The flame swelled in the wind and, in the blink of an eye, rushed towards Qi Xiaokui. She had no time to dodge and could only watch in horror as the massive flame lunged at her, igniting her before her consciousness completely faded.
When she woke up, she found herself in a strange forest, sitting on the ground with her back against a protruding tree root of a giant tree. She looked up; the sky was dim, as if it were close to midnight, shrouding everything around her in darkness. The trees in the forest were not lush; their leaves were yellow and withered, falling off, with only the black branches stretching out like claws, creating a desolate scene.
A foul stench lingered in her nose, making her head ache. She rubbed her temples and, leaning against the tree root, stood up, looking around.
Where is this place?
Thinking of what the Greedy Demon had said earlier, could this be the Evil Swamp Forest? The stench indeed resembled that of a swamp…
She took two steps forward, her white sneakers sinking into the ground covered with fallen leaves, startling a black, fleshy worm that wriggled between the dry leaves. Qi Xiaokui quickly pulled her foot back in fright.
But the ground was covered with such leaves; it was impossible to fly over them. So, she held back her disgust, trying not to look down at the disgusting worms, and chose a direction from which the stench was coming, slowly moving forward.
There were no large living creatures in the forest, but it was a paradise for insects.
From what Qi Xiaokui had seen on her way, it seemed she had stumbled into an insect nest. Instead of timid wild rabbits and lively monkeys, there were no fierce carnivorous animals, but rather an endless variety of insects in all shapes and sizes. There were the fleshy worms she had just seen wriggling among the fallen leaves, swarms of flying insects darting towards her face, slender, soft maggots crawling up her shoes, and nearly every tree branch had a fist-sized spider that would drop down, spinning a thread to stick itself to the branch. If Qi Xiaokui passed by carelessly, one might crawl onto her.
“Ah, ah, ah—” Qi Xiaokui hugged her head, shaking her body frantically. She hadn’t screamed this loudly even when the Greedy Demon had fixed his gaze on her. Insects were every woman’s nightmare!
When she reached the edge of the swamp, Qi Xiaokui felt as if she had died and come back to life several times.
“Get away! Get away!” She slapped her exposed arms vigorously, where a long worm-like insect with sharp mouthparts had latched on, having burrowed deep into her skin while she wasn’t paying attention. The originally white skin turned deep red from the blood it had sucked, swelling into a thin line. Qi Xiaokui frantically grabbed the worm’s body to pull it out, but because the mouthparts were embedded too deeply, it nearly tore her flesh apart, while the worm remained firmly attached. Finally, it was only when the worm had gorged itself on blood, swelling to nearly the thickness of Qi Xiaokui’s forearm, that it fell off, rolling clumsily on the ground before slowly crawling away.
Qi Xiaokui, having lost too much blood, felt dizzy, filled with fear and anger. She took two steps to chase after it and stomped down hard on the worm. The already swollen worm burst like an over-inflated water balloon, red blood splattering everywhere, staining her white shoelaces.
Qi Xiaokui collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.
However, the nightmare was not over. When she spotted a shiny gold coin among a pile of worms by the swamp, she nearly fainted.
“Demon, ghost, monster…” Qi Xiaokui stared at the pile of worms, retreating in terror. “Anything but worms, how could it be worms…”
But she still had to go back; she had to pick up that gold coin!
However, reaching directly into the worm nest was definitely not a good idea. Qi Xiaokui calmed down, looking around the ground for a stick to poke the coin out, but there was nothing on the ground except fallen leaves, not even a single stick?
After hesitating for a moment, she looked up. Countless branches stretched out recklessly at the treetops, their dark surfaces gleaming with a metallic sheen, looking as solid as if they had been hewn with a knife.
The important thing was that they were covered in spiders.
Qi Xiaokui didn’t want to touch those spiders; some looked so vibrant, they must be poisonous. But without a stick, she would have to reach her hand into that soft, squishy mass of worms.
After standing there for a while, unable to find a solution, Qi Xiaokui took off her shoes, pulled off her socks, holding them in her hands, and put on her shoes barefoot. She chose a large spider that looked gray and not too poisonous, and with her sock, she swung hard at it. The spider was instantly knocked away, and Qi Xiaokui quickly went to pry the stick, but the stick was as hard as it looked, not at all like she had imagined it would be easy to break.
As she struggled with the stick, Qi Xiaokui soon saw the spider she had knocked away not only was not dead but was quickly crawling back!
Eight black eyes fixed on Qi Xiaokui, its fangs snapping, furry legs moving so fast that she could only see a shadow. Its target was not the tree trunk but Qi Xiaokui!
“Ah!” Qi Xiaokui’s heart raced, her body going soft with fear, her hands nearly letting go. But thinking of her current situation, empty-handed and without a weapon, she gritted her teeth and made one last attempt. She jumped slightly, putting all her weight on the thin branch, and with a crisp snap, the branch broke!
Before she could feel happy, the spider had already crawled up to her, leaping towards her face!
In a panic, Qi Xiaokui waved the branch wildly, accidentally brushing against the spider, knocking it to the ground. The gray spider rolled twice on the ground, the thick dust covering it breaking apart, revealing a bright red color underneath.
A poisonous spider!
Qi Xiaokui was startled and immediately wanted to escape, but the spider relentlessly pursued her, its eight legs moving swiftly, almost catching up to her in an instant!
Seeing she couldn’t shake it off, Qi Xiaokui turned around and continued to use the branch to block it. After several misses, the spider landed on her clothes, and Qi Xiaokui shook it off again. Later, Qi Xiaokui simply took the initiative to strike the spider with the branch, and finally, once, she hit her target. The spider was struck against the tree trunk and bounced to the ground, and Qi Xiaokui suddenly exploded with energy, rushing over and stomping on the spider, crushing it to pieces!
The crisis was averted.
“Ha… ha… ha…” Qi Xiaokui could barely hold the thin branch, no longer caring about the creepy-crawly insects moving among the fallen leaves. She plopped down on the ground, her legs too weak to stand.
Who would have thought that after all that, she ended up with a poisonous spider.
After this incident, Qi Xiaokui seemed to have developed a bit of immunity to insects. At least when she saw a black bug crawling up her clothes, she could remain calm enough to swat it away.
She walked to the edge of the worm nest, poking the branch in, and with great difficulty, managed to pry out the gold coin from the writhing mass of worms.
Looking at the solitary gold coin, Qi Xiaokui felt like crying without tears.
Still 999 more to go…
…
When Xiong Jiabao walked into a spacious and bright hall, all he could see was one thing—meat.
Not edible meat, but the flesh of a person…
It was a mound of fat, unlike the mountain of gold and gems embraced by greed. This was a mountain of fat, piled high with layers of blubber, at least ten meters tall. The gluttonous demon lord had layers of fat hanging down to the ground, almost obscuring the chair he was sitting on. He was hunched over a massive dining table, one hand holding a sausage as thick as a man’s arm, the other hand clutching a 12-inch pizza, taking a huge bite out of it. His protruding chest was comparable to a woman’s bosom, yet devoid of any sensuality, covered in remnants of food, some of which had already rotted and spoiled, mixed with the oil seeping from his skin, exuding a sour stench, with flies buzzing around.
“Ugh…” Xiong Jiabao nearly vomited but managed to cover his mouth in time.
The gluttonous demon lord paid him little attention, his mouth stuffed with food, swallowing it whole without chewing, then stuffing in the sausage. Once the pizza was gone, he casually grabbed a massive turkey leg from the table and stuffed it into his mouth, pulling it out to find only the bone left…
Just watching made Xiong Jiabao feel uncomfortable, but upon reflection, the gluttonous demon lord was better than the others. It was just eating, after all; he could eat and still complete his mission, which was simply the best outcome. So, he adjusted his mood, cleared his throat, and straightforwardly explained his purpose to the gluttonous demon lord. As a result, the gluttonous demon lord paused, turned his head, and looked down at him, his buzzing voice shaking Xiong Jiabao’s eardrums: “You’re too thin; it’s obvious you’re not one of my kind. You can’t join me here.”
Food that he hadn’t swallowed sprayed all over Xiong Jiabao’s face, causing him to step back repeatedly. But aside from that, the gluttonous demon lord’s attitude was still relatively good, which eased Xiong Jiabao’s mind. He wiped the food residue off his face and said, “I can gain some weight! Just tell me what you need, and I will definitely fulfill it!”
The gluttonous demon lord didn’t make things difficult for him; he simply called out, “Someone come here,” and a chubby demon in armor, holding a spear and wearing a helmet, waddled over to Xiong Jiabao and said, “Follow me.”
Xiong Jiabao glanced at the gluttonous demon lord, who had already resumed his eating, his face full of bliss, completely ignoring him. He had no choice but to follow the waddling chubby demon towards the door on the other side of the hall.
