The monster—far larger than an ordinary minotaur chef—let out an enraged roar. “Humans! Don’t get too carried away!”
Under the heavy blows of the soup ladle, the milk tea car swayed precariously. The spectacle was impressive, but each hit only shaved off a tiny bit of durability, dealing very little real damage.
“We always get targeted first,” Yi Luo said, standing in place and rubbing his chin with a complicated look. “Being ignored all of a sudden… it’s kind of lonely, actually.”
He Wuning glanced at him. The milk tea car’s window suddenly popped open for a split second, and a round, pink system zipped past in a blur. Though Q-chan moved with the sneaky agility of a covert agent, the monsters clearly didn’t take a system with no HP bar and no durability seriously at all.
Q-chan flew up in front of He Wuning and nuzzled against his shoulder. “Sweetie, even though I’ve only been gone for a little bit, I missed you so much.”
After saying that, he didn’t dawdle. Lowering his voice, he added, “The strategist asked me to pass a message to you. He wants you to say this to the monsters…”
After listening, He Wuning’s expression turned complicated. “Why do I have to say it?”
Q-chan rubbed his hands together excitedly. “The strategist said it’ll be more infuriating if it’s you! No need to exaggerate—just keep your usual deadpan expression!”
He Wuning touched his nose, then finally sighed, resigned, and walked forward toward the milk tea car.
The enraged minotaur chef raised his soup ladle high at him. He Wuning tilted his head up slightly, showing not the slightest fear of the attack.
Rubbing his temples with mild exasperation, he let out a sigh and reined in his expression, putting on his usual sour face. “Don’t you have a strategist?”
Clearly different from the other minotaur chefs, this special, sentient minotaur lifted his head and sized up He Wuning. “I know you. You’re that troublesome administrator candidate.”
“I figured I’ve got quite the reputation on your side,” He Wuning said lazily, lifting his eyelids. “But I’m still curious—don’t you have a strategist? You’re awfully impatient.”
“What did you say?!” The minotaur, completely unlike the spider woman from before, flew into a rage and charged straight at He Wuning without a second thought.
He Wuning had anticipated this. He hopped back lightly, and Yi Luo cooperated by ramming an innocent minotaur into the path of the attack. The furious minotaur smashed him to the ground with a single ladle strike.
“When facing you weak humans, there’s no need for us to use tactics at all!”
The minotaur’s eyes were bloodshot as he panted, scanning for He Wuning.
“I wonder if it’s just my imagination,” a thoughtful voice drifted down from above the camp. At some point, He Wuning had climbed onto the tall camp structures again, propping his chin in his hand as he pondered. “Are minotaurs, as a species, just… not very smart? Is that because they’re monsters, or because of who they are to begin with?”
The minotaur broke into a run toward them.
Looking down at him from above, He Wuning said, “I’m talking to you, monster.”
“This round is our win. You’d be better off admitting defeat honestly. Sending more of your kind will only increase your losses.”
He showed a rare smile. “You’ve had the upper hand for a long time, thanks to your familiarity with the game. Starting from this time, remember the taste of defeat properly.”
“This is only the beginning.”
“Humans! You’re nothing but prey! Don’t get so smug—we…”
His roar was swallowed by a massive pillar of fire descending from the sky. A red mushroom cloud slowly rose, sweeping everything away with overwhelming force.
When the explosion ended, both the minotaurs and the camp had vanished. The entire slaughterhouse training camp was left spotless, as if no monsters had ever existed there. Only the glowing administrator permission fragments remained, proving that monsters had once been present.
Yi Luo reached out and pressed a hand on He Wuning’s head, laughing. “Looks like the strategist didn’t misjudge at all—you really are infuriating enough.”
He Wuning tilted his head away, slapped his hand aside in disgust, and walked toward the main group with his hands in his pockets.
Right on schedule, the World Voice announced: “Congratulations to Blue Star players on successfully capturing the Slaughterhouse Training Camp. All slaughterhouse drop items have been entered into the shop database. The Monster Ranch is now officially open. The ranch allows the purchase of monster cattle and minotaurs.”
“Currently available dungeons: Maze Courtyard, Mine Shaft, Greenfield Stadium. Enter the next dungeon training camp immediately?”
He Wuning looked toward the commander inside the milk tea car.
Rong Jiu opened the door and stepped down. “No rush. Let’s rest a bit first—let those monsters over there stew anxiously while they wait for us.”
“Collect the loot. This went a little too smoothly. I’ll check with the director first—whether we clear all the dungeons later, or leave a couple behind for experiments.”
He Wuning had no objections. The hundred-person combat unit didn’t look like it needed any rest at all—except for the commander, who looked both physically and mentally exhausted.
They had set out fully prepared for a bloody battle, but once the fighting actually began, it turned out…Our side’s strength might have been a little too overwhelming.
The two of them returned to the vehicle. Yi Luo looked at the commander slumped blankly in his seat, clearly lost in thought, and curiously flicked his forehead. He turned to ask Tang Yu, “Hey, what’s up with your captain?”
“Hmm…” Tang Yu rubbed his chin. “Probably went into a stress response.”
“You know how some small animals in the wild—like squirrels—can freeze completely when they’re badly frightened? They look like they’re playing dead, but actually they’ve entered a stress-induced feigned death state.”
Ji Ou struggled and twitched. “You didn’t have to compare me to that kind of small animal, did you?!”
“It’s okay,” Tang Yu comforted him. “Everyone knows you’re a coward. You don’t need to put on a brave front in front of us!”
Ji Ou clutched his chest. “Are you comforting me, or mocking me…?”
He took a deep breath. “I just launched three nuclear bombs! Even if my hands were shaking a little and my heart was completely traumatized, that’s totally normal, right? You people who can face a nuclear blast head-on and still pose coolly are the ones who aren’t normal!”
“Yes, yes, we’re not normal,” Yi Luo said, nodding perfunctorily in agreement. He turned to He Wuning. “Want to add some buffs?”
He Wuning lifted his eyelids. “What kind of milk tea goes best with watching a nuclear explosion?”
Ji Ou was utterly devastated and collapsed back into his chair, clutching his heart. “Fine, I admit it. I’m just a little squirrel.”
“I never should’ve agreed to join the combat division. This isn’t a place for a little squirrel like me. Why did I have to come do activities with a bunch of ferocious beasts…”
Ji Ou closed his eyes in pain.
“What are you talking about?” He Wuning glanced at him. “You alone turned this event from boring into interesting. Isn’t that impressive enough?”
Ji Ou opened his mouth, utterly shocked. “…Boss, are you actually praising me?”
Yi Luo raised an unbalanced eyebrow. “I praised you just now, too. Why didn’t you look this flattered then?”
“That’s because anyone can tell you were just brushing it off!” Q-chan put his hands on his hips and pointed at him. “How could the person involved not hear the difference!”
“That’s not the same—he reacts especially strongly to He Wuning. Don’t tell me this kid is—”
“Don’t think everyone’s like you!”
“What am I like? What am I like?”
Ji Ou watched the so-called “Light of Humanity” bicker like an elementary school kid with a round pink system. Meanwhile, He Wuning—the eye of the storm—had curled up in the passenger seat as if he’d turned on a mute filter, completely ignoring the two childish idiots.
Ji Ou blinked and called out in a world-weary tone, “Yu.”
Tang Yu sighed, smiling helplessly. “Captain, I told you not to call me that. It sounds way too much like my dad.”
“The moment you use that tone, it’s like you age a few decades instantly. Can’t you talk a bit more like a young person?”
“I’ve always been like this,” Ji Ou said. Not only did he not change, he even pushed his luck further by stuffing his hands into his sleeves. He blinked at He Wuning. “Don’t you think this boss here is actually amazing?”
“Of course, he’s amazing,” Tang Yu laughed and sat down beside him.
“I don’t mean his strength,” Ji Ou said, searching for the right word. “I mean that aura of his… You can tell at a glance he’s someone who’s seen the world.”
Tang Yu looked at him, half amused and half bewildered. “What are you talking about?”
Ji Ou scratched his head. “You know, when you’re around him, you just feel like… whether you’re some weirdo who likes telling ghost stories at the wrong time, or a coward who’s only got good luck and nothing else—it’s really no big deal.”
Tang Yu took a deep breath and smiled. “Captain, were you taking a shot at me just now?”
“Haha.” Ji Ou gave a dry laugh, trying to play dumb and gloss it over. After hesitating, he said, “Actually, I’ve been really lucky since I was little.”
“Of course, not as ridiculously so as in the game.”
“So the ability I got in this game feels more like an amplification of what I already had. It’s not like I suddenly gained some incredible power.” Ji Ou rubbed his head. “I’m already used to people calling me ‘Lucky Emperor’ and all that. I know very well that I don’t actually have much ability—I’m pretty self-aware.”
“When I was a kid, because my luck was too good, people would secretly say I probably wouldn’t grow up and would die young… something about extremes turning into their opposite.”
Tang Yu shrugged. “I don’t think there’s any scientific basis for that.”
“Yu, I know that too,” Ji Ou said, lowering his gaze to the nuclear blast card in his hand. “Joining the combat division, having the power to protect others—someone like me being able to do something like this… this might be the brightest moment of my entire life.”
“If someday I really do have to pay back all the luck I used up before, then I hope it’s after we’ve already won.”
Tang Yu turned to look at him. This harmless-looking little coward was gripping the card tightly, his expression unusually serious. “I hope heaven’s favor can last just a little longer for me.”
Tang Yu chuckled softly and patted his head. “You’ll stay lucky.”
“They say fools have fool’s luck, after all.”
Ji Ou stiffened his face. “That’s going too far.”
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The author has something to say:
Mini bonus skit (not canon):
Ji Ou: Being around the boss gives you this sense of security—like being treated equally.
Tang Yu: You mean being equally ignored?
He Wuning: ? What does that have to do with me?
Yi Luo: I’m different. He doesn’t ignore me—he kicks me.
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