Qiao Jingting’s daily exercise routine included a 10-kilometer run, so this distance was easy for him. Moreover, he could clearly feel his physical fitness improving. He ran all the way here without feeling tired.
He stood outside the safe distance of the shallow-water crocodile and looked at the large reptile lying by the pond. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
It would be too arrogant to say that he wasn’t afraid.
The gray squirrels and giant hyenas didn’t have any visual impact or psychological intimidation on him, but this big fellow in front of him was different. It was twice his size, with rough and tough skin, capable of biting a person in half. He thought that after facing the shallow-water crocodile in the void space for so long, he should have already gotten used to it. But standing in front of them, he realized that the state of mind when he knew that this creature could kill him was completely different from feeling safe.
Qiao Jingting looked around and saw that no one was around to spawn monsters. He entered the platform and asked, “Can this fine steel longsword of mine kill the shallow-water crocodile?” Even inserting the sword into the giant hyena’s body would cause it to get stuck due to the mechanics. The forged steel sword that Shu Ai had was much better to use. Indeed, you get what you pay for.
Xiao Shen decisively said, “No, it can’t.”
Qiao Jingting sighed. He almost had no points left, unable to afford any weapons. At most, he could buy a magazine. But with his marksmanship, could he hit the weak spots of the shallow-water crocodile?
“Yes, it can,” Xiao Yuan chimed in, propping her chin on her hand. “Sis, don’t scare him.”
“He can’t,” Xiao Shen said expressionlessly.
Xiao Yuan nodded. “This sword can penetrate the skin of the shallow-water crocodile without a problem, but it requires sufficient strength and speed. Players who challenge the shallow-water crocodile are usually level 4 or higher. You better not go and get yourself killed.”
“Thanks for your input,” Qiao Jingting rolled his eyes.
Xiao Yuan shook her head. “With your attitude, our likability towards you will be very low, you know.”
“Oh, what will happen then?”
“We won’t like you, even if you’re handsome.”
“I don’t need you to like me.”
Xiao Yuan pouted. “You’ll regret it.”
“I like you,” Xiao Shen suddenly showed a sinister smile on her pale face. “I like people who seek death.”
Qiao Jingting narrowed his eyes. “Who created you two, anyway?”
“Dad,” the twins said in unison.
“Who is ‘Dad’?”
“You don’t have the authority to know.”
Qiao Jingting couldn’t be bothered to argue with them. He just needed to make sure his sword could penetrate the shallow-water crocodile’s skin.
Exiting the platform, Qiao Jingting drew out his sword and flexed his chest.
He told himself in his heart that he was going back to the newbie village, he was going to save Shu Ai, he was going to kill Zheng Wei and his gang, and he was going home.
Then, step by step, he walked towards the shallow-water crocodile.
Once he entered the safe distance, one of the shallow-water crocodiles noticed him and crawled towards him. Its steady and massive body was like a mobile turret, each step pressing on Qiao Jingting’s tense nerves.
Qiao Jingting tightly gripped the handle of his sword, veins popping on his forehead, and whispered, “Come on, you little beast.”
Initially, the shallow-water crocodile crawled slowly, but as it got closer, its speed increased. When it was just a few meters away, it charged at full speed.
The first attack should be a collision!
Sure enough, the shallow-water crocodile lunged forward, and Qiao Jingting jumped to his right rear, using the momentum to swing his sword towards the arching jaws. The longsword hit the crocodile’s sturdy tooth bed, and the blade deflected, leaving only a shallow scratch on its skin.
The shallow-water crocodile half-bounced, its jaws wide open, revealing a gaping mouth, ready to bite Qiao Jingting’s head.
In the void space, Qiao Jingting had tried several ways to deal with this move and finally summarized the most effective action. He squatted down, slashed at the crocodile’s left forelimb, and quickly rolled on the ground, trying to create distance.
From the setup to the execution and angle, this slash was perfect. He used his full strength and successfully cut open the crocodile’s forelimb.
The shallow-water crocodile’s body tilted uncontrollably to one side.
Qiao Jingting rolled several meters away before springing up and looking back. He had sliced open a big gash in its forelimb, and red liquid was flowing out. But the visible wires and steel frames inside reminded him that this was indeed a machine.
It seemed that the more advanced the monster, the more finely crafted it was. The gray squirrels and giant hyenas didn’t bleed like this.
The shallow-water crocodile straightened its body and crawled towards him once again.
This time, it attacked with its claws and lunged to bite.
Qiao Jingting was well-prepared in his mind. When the right claw came at him, he used the handle of his sword to block. The impact was immense, numbing his entire arm. He realized it wasn’t good, and his body was knocked to the ground.
In the void space, he couldn’t truly sense the crocodile’s strength, so he naturally thought this plan would work. This was the difference between experimentation and actual combat. At this moment, he couldn’t afford to think about his negligence because the deadly jaws were already descending towards his face.
In a moment of desperation, Qiao Jingting raised his longsword to block the shallow-water crocodile’s powerful jaws, and then he fiercely kicked the previously sliced open left forelimb.
If the crocodile were alive, he would have aimed for its throat, which was relatively soft. Now, he could only hope to damage the circuitry and mechanisms in its left leg.
The shallow-water crocodile’s strength was too great. Although the joint of its left forelimb was almost shattered by his kick, Qiao Jingting himself couldn’t hold on any longer. The shallow-water crocodile ruthlessly bit down, and Qiao Jingting finally couldn’t resist. His head was exposed under the crocodile’s mouth, but in that moment of attack, he seized the opportunity and rolled his body with all his strength. He only felt a sharp, piercing pain in his left arm, but he had no time to pay attention to it as he desperately moved away from the range of the jaws’ attack.
Rising to his feet, he examined a deep and long gash on his arm caused by the crocodile’s teeth.
The crocodile persisted in its attack, but its left front limb was already struggling to support its heavy body, slowing down its movements considerably.
With bloodshot eyes, Qiao Jingting tightly gripped his steel blade and circled around to the left side of the crocodile. He leaped into the air and swung his sword down as the crocodile lifted its head. The crocodile, shaking its ferocious head, seemed undeterred by the blade and continued its approach. Qiao Jingting felt a sense of delight as he had encountered this move in the virtual space before. The creature would pretend to welcome the blade while preparing its claws for a strike underneath, aiming to inflict a gaping wound. However, since Qiao Jingting had already disabled its left claw, it could no longer support the weight of its body independently if the program had switched to using the right claw. The crocodile was left with two options: be slashed or fall!
Sure enough, the crocodile raised its right claw as its left front limb gave way, and its metallic skeleton shattered with a resounding crack. The creature’s body collapsed with a loud thud.
Qiao Jingting, seeing the crocodile fall, had its exposed throat and organs right in front of him. He couldn’t miss this excellent opportunity and swiftly swung his blade, severing its neck.
The crocodile writhed on its back, soon becoming motionless.
A row of familiar fluorescent characters appeared in his line of sight: “Congratulations, player, for killing the crocodile and earning 12 points.”
Qiao Jingting took a deep breath, a triumphant smile on his face.
He took out a hemostatic powder, sprinkled it haphazardly on his arm, and bound it with a bandage to stop the bleeding. Then, he lifted his blade and headed towards the next alligator…
Qiao Jingting spent the entire night killing, from sunset to dawn. The initial few encounters were exceptionally arduous and perilous, leaving him battered and bruised. It wasn’t until he could no longer hold on that he used a healing scroll.
But all those injuries were not in vain. He used his own body as bait to understand the crocodile’s patterns of movement, and soon enough, he could almost predict every action.
He slaughtered one after another, initially excited about each 12-point gain. When he accumulated 50 points, he would enhance his abilities. However, as he continued killing, he lost count of how many points he had earned. He became immersed in the exhilaration of the slaughter, watching each colossal beast collapse before him, as if the barriers set by this cruel world were crumbling. Each slain creature became a stepping stone on his journey home.
As the sky began to lighten, he collapsed on the ground, his hands numb and unable to grip the sword.
Opening his inventory, he bought a pack of cigarettes, placing one in his mouth and inhaling and exhaling smoke slowly. His hollow eyes stared at the hazy sky, his mind momentarily emptied by the numbness induced by the killing spree.
After a while, he choked on the smoke, snapping back to reality. He spat out the cigarette butt and entered the platform, nervously and eagerly checking his combat record.
238 points!
He remembered enhancing his abilities several times, and yet he only had 238 points?
Xiao Yuan exaggeratedly exclaimed, “Wow, you really went and killed the crocodile? Earned so many points in one go, that deserves some praise!” He clapped his hands enthusiastically.
Qiao Jingting didn’t say anything. He opened the points list and quickly scanned through it. He had 4 points remaining initially, but after killing 47 crocodiles overnight, he earned 564 points. He spent 80 points on a healing scroll, and another 50 points were awarded for completing the achievement of “Kill 100 monsters.”
In other words, he earned 614 points in a single night!
Furthermore, he also picked up two dropped items: a Power Pill and a Miniature Bomb. This achievement was beyond satisfying!
Qiao Jingting happily bit down on his lower lip, his eyes sparkling.
Xiao Shen shook his little head, saying, “You’re quite amazing.”
Qiao Jingting scratched his sweat-drenched hair and glanced at the twins with a sidelong gaze. “Can’t you see what I do outside the platform?”
“We are only responsible for game introductions and answering questions within the platform.”
Qiao Jingting thought to himself, “That’s good, otherwise, they would have discovered the bugs long ago.” He opened the enhancement interface, intending to use up his remaining points.
This time, instead of investing all his points into physical abilities, he allocated a few to increase his speed. While the other attributes were also important, what he needed most at the moment was his killing ability.
His current physical attribute was 34, and he added 1 point, reaching 35. But when he wanted to add more, the price for 1 point of physical attribute increased from the original 50 points to 100 points.
He hesitated for a moment, cursed in his mind, and decided not to add more physical attributes. Instead, he increased his speed to 30 in one go. Suddenly, he only had 88 points left. Qiao Jingting felt like he had experienced a significant rise and fall, returning to square one overnight.
He used the remaining points to buy a backup healing scroll and clicked “confirm.”
After a moment of dizziness, all the enhancements to his physiological systems were completed. He clenched his fist and swung two punches into the air. This time, he felt a very distinct change. His body felt much lighter than before, and it was filled with strength.
Xiao Shen put down the rabbit plush toy in his hands and lightly applauded. “Congratulations.”
Xiao Yuan bounced around in his chair, seemingly excited as well. “Player, you have great potential.”
Qiao Jingting grinned. At this rate, he could earn hundreds of points in a day. Moreover, the stronger he became, the faster he could kill the crocodiles. As long as he was given three days, he could definitely reach the level of at least a Level 4 player.
But could Shu Ai wait for him for three days?
The Morse code he left behind had already come into play. Han Bin and Zou Yidao were likely to engage in a life-and-death battle very soon. Han Bin certainly wouldn’t be foolish enough to fight alone; he needed assistance and to strengthen his subordinates. Shu Ai’s situation would be very dangerous.
Qiao Jingting pondered for a long time and realized that he didn’t have three days, and neither did Shu Ai. After nightfall today, he had to go back. Despite the risks, it was his life owed to Shu Ai.
_______________
Despite the urgency of time, Qiao Jingting was exhausted. He decided to take a break, but he didn’t want to waste any time. He entered the BUG again, hoping to gain something valuable.
He used his familiar method and entered the void space, exploring around quickly. Soon, he spotted a cluster of light and hurriedly ran towards it.
At the center of the cluster was a long-handled crossbow, made of alloy with a beautiful golden wood grain finish. It looked impressive, but Qiao Jingting knew he wouldn’t be able to use it. He was more accustomed to using simple and easy-to-handle weapons like knives. However, he realized he could sell the crossbow in the system and earn some points.
Qiao Jingting stored the crossbow and continued to explore. Before long, he discovered another cluster of light. This time, it wasn’t a monster or a weapon, but a miniature village scenery—a half-finished countryside setting like those used in movies. Qiao Jingting circled around the scenery, feeling that it resembled Xin Yue Hu, but he wasn’t very familiar with it since he spent most of his time indoors or hurriedly passing through the village at night. He couldn’t be sure.
What exactly was this place? If the game were a program, was this some kind of recycle bin? Perhaps someone with more knowledge about computers could provide some insights, but Qiao Jingting had no clue.
He couldn’t store the scenery in his inventory, and even if he could, it wouldn’t be of much use. Thinking of exploring other places, he suddenly felt the call of white light and returned to the game.
In the game world, half an hour felt like an entire day in the void space. His mental state had improved slightly, but his body still felt sore. He decided to use a healing scroll to completely eliminate his fatigue.
Then, he opened the trading system and dragged the crossbow from his inventory into the trading box. The trading feature allowed players to exchange items with each other, excluding points, or sell items to the system.
The original price of the crossbow was 160 points, and after automatically evaluating its condition (which was deemed good), accounting for 40% depreciation, he instantly received 96 points.
This unexpected gain was quite exhilarating. Combined with his eagerness to test his enhanced physical abilities, Qiao Jingting lifted his long knife and headed towards the shallow-water crocodiles.
After a monster was killed, its corpse would disappear after ten minutes, erasing all traces of the intense battle from the previous night along with the darkness. However, countless images of Qiao Jingting joyfully slaughtering crocodiles and his deep understanding of their every move were etched in his mind.
With each step towards the crocodile, Qiao Jingting transformed from a cautious hunter to a confident butcher.
A shallow-water crocodile was triggered and slowly approached.
A faint smile formed at the corner of Qiao Jingting’s mouth as a fierce killing intent surged in his eyes…
He spent most of the day immersed in killing, killing, and killing.
The advantages of his enhanced physical abilities were fully displayed. He had more energy, faster speed, and greater strength. He didn’t even feel very tired after an entire day and night without eating or sleeping. His speed in slaying shallow-water crocodiles increased by at least thirty to forty percent!
While killing, he would accumulate enough points to enhance himself and then continue the slaughter. The rate at which he earned points skyrocketed. By the time he settled his account, he had earned over 1100 points!
He didn’t use the later points for enhancements because he had other things he wanted to buy.
At midnight, it was usually the time for Qiao Jingting and Shu Ai to set out to hunt gray rats.
Although they had only been in the newbie village for a short six days, each day felt terrifyingly long because every moment was a race against life and death, allowing no time to catch their breath.
Qiao Jingting opened the Demon-Slaying List and saw Shu Ai’s name still safely listed. He knew it was time for him to depart.
The shallow-water crocodiles were less than 5 kilometers away from the newbie village. Qiao Jingting jogged slowly while browsing through the weapons.
His high-quality steel long knife didn’t even require system monitoring. The cracks on it were visible to the naked eye, indicating its worn-out state.
Finally, he chose a seven-chromium steel knife that closely resembled his steel long knife. Seven-chromium steel was military-grade steel known for its wear resistance, corrosion resistance, high-temperature resistance, excellent hardness, and slightly lighter weight. Naturally, it was the most expensive among all steel knives—100 points, ten times the price of the steel long knife.
He stored the steel long knife in the warehouse, determined to preserve it well. Although this knife was one of the cheapest and most common weapons in the game, it was a medal of his willpower and belief. Regardless of whether he would survive tonight, at least he had fought with all his might.
He also asked Xiao Yuan about Zheng Wei’s protective shield and indeed, there were protective shields available that could withstand bullets. However, they were too expensive. Even the lowest-grade one cost 300 points.
With the remaining points, he bought two healing scrolls, two teleportation scrolls (used for escape), and ten ammunition clips. In the end, he had 86 points left as a reserve.
Every single point he spent was earned through his blood and sweat, and it was much easier to spend them than to shed blood and sweat.
Now his physical strength was at 37, speed at 35, and recovery power increased to 26. As far as he knew, Shu Ai’s stats were similar. The fat guy and his gang were no match for her. Apart from Han Bin and Zheng Wei, he could fear no one.
He increased his running speed, and the faint light of Xin Yue Hu at midnight was already visible in the distance.
![He Lived Like You [End of the World]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/HLLY.jpg "He Lived Like You [End of the World]")
