"Bang!"
Chang Ping hit the ground hard, the back of his head making direct contact.
Fortunately, the ground was soft rather than solid—otherwise, he would've definitely suffered a concussion.
"Am I… not dead?"
He lay there for a moment, then pushed himself up into a sitting position.
Instinctively, he reached for his chest.
The bloody hole was gone.
No wound. No scar. Nothing.
Only dried bloodstains remained on his clothes, silent proof that what had just happened was real—his heart had truly been ripped out by that vicious woman.
"So it wasn't a dream…"
He frowned.
Then something else struck him.
He couldn't feel his heartbeat.
Not even a faint pulse.
Just as confusion began to creep in, a translucent panel appeared before his eyes—like a game interface.
---
Name: Chang Ping
Gender: Male
Preference: Women
Talent: Physical Enhancement (gains +1 pound of strength every minute)
Strength: 69 (Apprentice Warrior)
Soul Power: 13 (Apprentice Demon Spiritist)
---
"…So this is my cheat?" Chang Ping muttered, rubbing his chin.
Then his expression twisted slightly.
"Wait—Preference: Women? What kind of useless stat is that? Do I look like someone with no standards?"
He paused.
"…Well, I do like women. But only beautiful ones."
Before he could dwell on it further, the numbers on the panel shifted.
Strength: 69 → 70
"…What the hell?!"
His eyes widened.
"It really increases by one pound every minute?! That's absurdly overpowered!"
He quickly did the math.
One minute: +1 pound
One hour: +60 pounds
One day: +1440 pounds
His breathing grew heavier.
"In Glory City, warriors and demon spiritists are divided into five ranks—Bronze, Silver, Gold, Black Gold, and Legendary. Each rank has five stars."
He clenched his fist.
"100 strength = Bronze 1-Star…"
"1,000 strength = Silver 1-Star…"
"10,000 strength = Gold 1-Star…"
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"So that woman ate my heart, huh?"
His eyes turned cold.
"Then she'd better be ready to spit it back out—with interest."
"If I don't make Shen Xiu regret this, I'll change my name!"
---
But right now, revenge wasn't the priority.
Survival was.
He looked around.
Pitch darkness.
Even with his eyes wide open, he could barely see anything.
"If only I had a torch…"
He sighed and lay back down.
No visibility meant danger. Moving blindly could trigger traps—or worse.
---
[Ding! Exchange Shop unlocked. Activate via thought. Explore functions independently.]
---
"…Exchange shop?"
His eyes lit up.
"Can I get a torch from it?"
With a thought, a new interface appeared—similar to the previous panel.
Weapons. Armor. Pills. Scrolls.
Most items were Bronze-tier, requiring minimum strength levels.
And the currency?
Strength.
"…You're kidding."
He blinked.
"I thought I'd need money…"
Luckily, torches were cheap.
Cost: 1 pound of strength.
"Deal."
A torch appeared instantly in his hand—and lit itself.
Light burst into the darkness.
For the first time, he could clearly see his surroundings.
And what he saw…
Made his scalp tingle.
Bones.
Broken, scattered human bones.
Everywhere.
"…Damn."
He crouched, examining them closely.
"All human."
Something had torn them apart.
Something violent.
---
Splash… splash…
A sound echoed from deeper within the darkness.
Chang Ping froze.
He turned slowly.
A massive shadow was moving toward him.
"…What the hell is that?"
His face went pale.
He stood up and backed away—
Only to slam into a wall behind him.
"No way back…"
He swallowed.
"Then I move sideways."
Keeping his back pressed against the wall, he edged to the left.
Behind him, heavy footsteps echoed.
Slow.
Relentless.
---
Soon, he reached the end.
In front of him—
A bottomless, icy pool.
Then—
Two glowing green eyes opened beneath the surface.
Chang Ping inhaled sharply.
"Oh, come on… I've fallen straight into a monster den!"
---
With nowhere to go, he turned back.
And came face-to-face with it.
A creature half the height of a man.
A black turtle, its shell covered in jagged bone spikes.
Its tongue flicked like a snake's.
Black saliva dripped from its mouth.
Its eyes burned with hunger.
"…What is this thing?"
---
[Blackwater Turtle – Silver-tier Monster]
Traits: Violent, carnivorous
Strengths: High defense, fast in water, powerful bite
Weaknesses: Extremely slow on land, fears fire
---
"…Afraid of fire?"
Chang Ping raised an eyebrow.
He lifted the torch and stepped forward cautiously.
The turtle immediately retreated.
He stepped again.
It backed off again.
A grin spread across his face.
"Ha! That's right—run!"
Step by step, he drove it back into the pool.
Standing at the edge, he waved the torch smugly.
The moment he turned away—
The creature crawled back out.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
---
After repeating this several times, Chang Ping finally snapped.
"Enough!"
He exchanged eleven more torches and planted them into the soft ground, forming a circle of firelight around himself.
A safe zone.
The turtle hesitated.
Then… lay down just outside the circle.
Watching him.
Hungrily.
---
"…Still staring?"
Chang Ping scowled.
"Keep looking and I'll gouge your eyes out!"
The turtle didn't move.
Its gaze remained fixed.
Patient.
Predatory.
---
Chang Ping licked his lips unconsciously.
"…Actually…"
A thought surfaced.
The exchange shop had everything—
Except food.
And his hunger was growing.
Rapidly.
His strength was increasing every minute.
And so was his appetite.
"…I could eat a whole cow right now."
His eyes slowly shifted toward the turtle.
"…Or maybe…"
A dangerous smile formed.
"You'll do."
---
Time passed.
His strength kept rising.
Then—
The Blackwater Turtle stood up.
Because it saw something.
Chang Ping.
Wiping drool from his mouth…
As he stepped out of the circle of fire.
___________________________
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