Chapter 34: Unlocking the System Mall

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Unlocking the System Mall

"Now that Wanwan has delivered her cubs and the weather’s turning, I’ll escort the Clan Witch home. Xin Feng, you stay and take care of Wanwan," Xin Shan immediately proposed.

Xin Feng found this strange and looked over at him. The two males’ gazes met mid-air.

Xin Shan suddenly gave him a wink.

Xin Feng caught it. Though he didn’t know why Xin Shan was doing this, he turned to the Clan Witch and said, "Thank you for coming all this way, Clan Witch. Wanwan and the cubs are safe, so you can rest easy now."

The Clan Witch had just finished her examination. Aside from Bai Wanwan being weak and fast asleep, the cubs were not only healthy, but all possessed Talent.

She smiled and nodded. "Very well. Xin Feng, you are the Holy Female’s only Beast Husband. Take good care of her."

"Don’t worry, Clan Witch. I’ll take the very best care of her."

The Clan Witch then turned to leave with Xin Shan at her side. Before he left, Xin Shan glanced back at the stone bed.

The moment they were gone, Xin Feng, sensing something was amiss, immediately sat by the stone bed to perform a careful examination.

He found that Wanwan was merely sleeping soundly, her breathing even and steady.

’She was in so much pain just now, and she even gave birth to the cubs all by herself at home. She must have suffered terribly.’

He reached out to stroke her slightly disheveled hair, his eyes filled with a tenderness he himself hadn’t realized was there.

As he gazed intently at her exhausted face, he suddenly felt a tickling sensation on the fingers he had rested on the stone bed.

He looked down to see two cubs nibbling gently on his finger with their gums.

Seeing their adorable, clumsy forms, Xin Feng couldn’t help but smile.

The little cubs seemed to be using all their might, but they couldn’t get a good bite. Instead, they lost their footing and tumbled over on the stone bed.

The sight melted his heart.

’They’re Wanwan’s cubs, which means they’re my cubs too.’

He curled his finger and gently stroked the tops of the two cubs’ heads.

The cubs let out contented little whimpers and rolled over.

The smile on Xin Feng’s face widened as he scratched their exposed bellies.

Suddenly, his fingers froze. He realized something was wrong.

The four cubs were huddled in a pile. Two were large and two were small, and they didn’t seem to look the same.

Though the size difference was clear, their appearances were similar, and since he hadn’t looked closely before, he hadn’t noticed.

Now he saw it: the two larger cubs—one pure white, the other black and white—had fur patterns completely different from those of a Cat Beastman.

He immediately scooped up one of the larger cubs, turning it over for a closer look.

And that’s when he saw the truth.

’These aren’t Cat Cubs, they’re clearly tiger cubs!’

’No wonder Xin Shan was so obvious about wanting to get the Clan Witch out of here. It seems he already figured it out.’

’Our Cat Clan Tribe only has one Tiger Beastman right now: Chou Rong.’

’But before, Wanwan and Chou Rong didn’t seem to know each other at all. And Chou Rong didn’t seem to have any idea that Wanwan was carrying his cubs.’

’What in the world is going on?’

He pondered this in silence for a moment before a draft from the cave entrance brought him back to his senses.

He circled the cubs with a supple animal hide, placing them in the center, then rose and walked to the entrance of the cave.

Xin Shan had closed the stone door when he left with the Clan Witch, but the cold wind still seeped in through the cracks.

He grabbed nearby bundles of dry grass and animal hides, carefully stuffing them into the gaps.

Bai Wanwan slept so deeply she lost all track of time. When she finally woke, the cave was pitch-black.

It took her a long moment to remember that she had, in fact, just given birth to several cubs.

She felt her stomach. Sure enough, it was flat again.

She immediately tried to lift the animal hide to find her cubs.

But as she moved, she bumped into Xin Feng beside her.

His arm was wrapped securely around her, his scorching body heat transferring to her, keeping her from feeling the slightest chill.

Normally, a movement like that would have woken Xin Feng instantly.

But today, she shifted for a good while, and his breathing remained even. He was sleeping very deeply.

’I passed out right after giving birth and didn’t deal with anything that came after.’

’Xin Feng must have been the one to take care of the cubs. He must be exhausted to be sleeping this soundly.’

"Host, you’re awake?" Hua Sheng’s voice echoed in her mind.

Bai Wanwan’s spirits lifted the moment she heard its voice.

’Didn’t you promise me a reward for having the cubs? Well? Where is it? Hurry up...’

"While you were unconscious, Host, you may not have heard the system’s announcement. You gave birth to four cubs. Two have Green Rank Talent, earning you one thousand Points each. One has a Yellow Rank Talent, earning you ten thousand Points. The last is a female of medium fertility, earning you five thousand Points. In total, you’ve been awarded seventeen thousand Points for this birth. The painless delivery was purchased on credit for five hundred Points, which is repaid at double the cost. After the deduction, you have sixteen thousand Points remaining."

’Take it, take it...’ Hearing that she had nearly twenty thousand Points, Bai Wanwan didn’t mind the one thousand being deducted.

Then she asked, ’You mean the higher the cubs’ Talent, the more Points I get?’

"Correct. That’s why, Host, you should find powerful Beastmen to mate with. The stronger the Talent of the resulting cubs, the more Points you’ll receive."

Bai Wanwan snuggled into a more comfortable position in Xin Feng’s arms and continued to ask, ’What about Blue Rank and Purple Rank? What are the rewards for those?’

"Five hundred Points for Blue Rank, and one hundred Points for Purple Rank."

’What a rip-off! A painless delivery costs five hundred Points. So if I have a litter of low-Talent cubs, I’d have to suffer through the pain just to break even?’

The system gave a little cough, trying to defend itself. "Host, don’t blame me. These are the rules of the system; yelling at me won’t change them. But rest assured, Host. You are a Holy Female with unparalleled fertility. Unless you have children with the lowest-level Beastmen, your cubs will be at least Green Level or higher."

’Fine, fine. For the sake of the high rewards for High Rank Talent, I’m in. But first, tell me how I can spend these Points.’

The moment she finished her thought, a glowing panel materialized in the dark cave, displaying three options.

1. System Mall; 2. System Space; 3. System Recycle Bin.

Without a second thought, she lifted her finger and tapped on "System Mall."

Instantly, a new set of categories appeared on the panel:

1. Daily Necessities; 2. Food; 3. Medicine; 4. Furniture; 5. Home Goods; 6. Apparel; 7. Cosmetics; 8. Building Materials...

A few more options followed, but they were grayed out, the text on them unreadable.

’Why can’t I see the last few options?’

"Because you currently have too few Points, Host. Your access level is insufficient. Once you have accumulated enough Points, those options will be unlocked."

Bai Wanwan listened as she tapped on the "Food" category, her heart immediately soaring with joy.

"Bag of potato chips: Five Points. Bar of chocolate: Ten Points. Bag of rice (11 lbs): One hundred Points..."

She could hardly believe her eyes and subconsciously tapped an item.

The instant her finger touched the screen, a bar of chocolate appeared in her hand.

She squeezed it. It felt completely real.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she unwrapped it, broke off a piece, and popped it into her mouth.

Mmm...

It melted the moment it hit her tongue—so fragrant, so rich!

The blissful taste almost brought tears to her eyes.

Munch, munch. After swallowing, she couldn’t stop herself from stuffing the rest of the bar into her mouth piece by piece.

Once the entire bar of chocolate was gone, she was certain: this system named Hua Sheng was truly her ticket to a good life in the Beast World!