Chapter Thirty-Three: I Will Never Cook for You Again

Xu Nuo asked, "…What shop are you talking about?"

007 replied, "Your game level isn't high enough yet, so the shop isn't open to you. As your bound system, I can provide you with items at the right time."

Xu Nuo mused, "There's such a good thing? Why didn't you mention it earlier?"

007 responded, "Because you didn't need it before. Anyway, I've already bought you a flying sword. Let's hurry and use it to get out of here."

Viewers in the livestream started to feel something was off. "Since when can you buy on credit at the shop? How come I never heard of that?"

"I've never seen this kind of gameplay."

"Little system, are you cheating?"

007 replied with a hint of guilt, "What do you mean you've never seen it? Maybe you just haven't seen enough. This isn't cheating—it's just that this method is rather obscure, and very few systems do it. It's perfectly normal if you don't know…"

"Is that so?"

"You almost had me convinced."

"Anyone know the real deal? Is this true?"

007 immediately muted all the skeptical comments and urged Xu Nuo, "Host, let's leave quickly."

Lin Qisheng was going all out, pressing Xu Nuo into a disadvantage. Suddenly, a cold flash swept before his eyes, and a sharp sword blade was instantly pressed against his neck. All the blood in his body seemed to freeze, and he was unable to move a muscle.

Xu Nuo declared, "Lin Qisheng, you've lost again."

Impossible… How could he lose again? He was clearly about to win. Lin Qisheng stared at the sword that had appeared in Xu Nuo's hand out of thin air and realized, "You cheated. You switched weapons."

Xu Nuo was puzzled. "Don't I always switch weapons? Why didn't you mention it before?"

Instinctively, Lin Qisheng sensed something was wrong, but couldn't find a rebuttal. To admit defeat just like this was far too bitter.

He gritted his teeth and said, "You have too many weapons. This fight is unfair. You can only use one weapon."

Xu Nuo retorted, "I refuse."

"You!" Outrageous! After fighting back and forth so many times, Lin Qisheng had begun to discern a pattern: Xu Nuo seemed to have no supernatural abilities, unlike other ability users. Her weapons were the key—her attacks all depended on them.

To defeat her, he simply needed to disarm her, leaving her weaponless. Although her defenses were high—probably thanks to that ostentatious outfit—without weapons, Xu Nuo would no longer be a threat.

Xu Nuo argued righteously, "I don't have any powers, I'm just an ordinary person. Yet you, an ability user, get beaten down by me time and again, and now you want me to go easy on you by not letting me pick my weapons? Have you no shame?"

Lin Qisheng's face flushed with embarrassment. Although she was right, Xu Nuo's weapons were far from ordinary, and unlike ability users who could exhaust their power, she could just switch weapons and instantly regain full strength. This was blatantly unfair!

007 chimed in, "Host, you need to run! Even if you can beat Lin Qisheng, you can't handle such a huge horde of zombies. And the bombs planted in the city are about to go off. You must leave as soon as possible!"

Lin Qisheng refused to accept it. "Xu Nuo, it's not that I'm inferior to you—it's just that you have more tricks up your sleeve…"

Xu Nuo teased, "Still so stubborn? Can't handle losing, little brother?"

"That's not true!" Lin Qisheng's face was bright red. "If you're so capable, fight me using only one weapon. No switching mid-battle! And stop calling me 'little brother'!"

Xu Nuo glanced at the sword in her hand and smiled sweetly, "All right."

Lin Qisheng summoned a fireball in his palm. "Come on!"

007 exclaimed, "Wait, why are you two fighting again?!"

"Bets, anyone? Who'll win this round?"

"My money's on Lin Qisheng. The streamer is just an ordinary person—if she's limited to one weapon, her chances aren't good."

"I'll bet on Lin Qisheng too. Mostly because I've never seen Queen Xu lose and want to see her fall for once."

"Count me in."

"Why not raise the stakes? Let's bet on whether Queen Xu will survive this round at all."

007 protested, "How can you be so heartless? If my host loses, it's all over! Everything we've worked for in this game will be wasted!"

"Relax, little system. It's just a game—winning or losing doesn't really matter. What matters is having fun. See? Your host looks like she's having a great time."

Frustrated, 007 once again blocked all the comments.

With a hiss, the sword's edge grazed Lin Qisheng's collar, narrowly missing his neck. He flashed a familiar crooked grin. "Got you this time, Miss Xu~"

Flames ignited on Xu Nuo, clinging to her like sticky glue that wouldn't come off.

Xu Nuo asked 007, "Little Seven, what’s going on with me?"

"Now you ask? You ignored me earlier," 007 grumbled, then explained, "He splashed glue on your clothes."

"Huh?" Xu Nuo genuinely hadn't expected such a move, and her gaze at Lin Qisheng became rather peculiar.

Lin Qisheng smirked triumphantly, "Heh, all's fair in war. You've pulled so many tricks—why can’t I use a bit of strategy?"

Xu Nuo laughed. "Very good." This kid didn’t realize her outfit was fireproof, did he?

Lin Qisheng quickly realized something was wrong. "Why aren't you hurt yet?" The fire was already burning her clothes, and no matter how flame-retardant the outfit was, it didn’t cover her whole body—there was still exposed skin and hair. How could the fire do nothing?

"This makes no sense!"

"What trick are you pulling now?"

"Can't you just fight me fairly for once?!"

Xu Nuo began to counterattack, forcing Lin Qisheng into retreat. He grew more and more desperate. "Xu Nuo, you're cheating! If you have guts, fight me without that outfit!"

"Who's being shameless now? No matter what I wear, I can still beat you up," Xu Nuo said, sword pointed at him as she looked down from above. "You sicced all these zombies on me, and I didn’t even complain. Are you the one who can't take a loss?"

Can't take a loss…

Lin Qisheng clenched the ashes in his hands tightly. He wasn't someone who couldn't accept defeat; he simply had never lost before. He was the best, the proudest—how could he possibly lose?

Watching Lin Qisheng tremble on the ground, his eyes red, Xu Nuo complained to the system, "Oh no, I've crushed the kid's spirit."

At that moment, the system announced, "Lin Qisheng, Heartbeat Value +100."

007 was stunned. "????"

This was outrageous—the Heartbeat Value had just skyrocketed past its limit in a single blow. In all its career, 007 had never seen anything like it and could hardly believe it.

"…Host, are you cheating?"

"How do you feel, little brother?" Xu Nuo extended a hand to Lin Qisheng.

He was surrounded by a cloud of gloom, as if a heavy storm cloud pressed down on him. He managed to say, "Yeah, you win."

He had given it his all, and still, he failed to defeat Xu Nuo. This was an outcome he’d never imagined.

He had lost to Xu Nuo.

"Sis, I won't cook for you anymore."