An important interface in the game 'Item Mall' finally appeared on Wei Huo's feed. The variation of items available in there dazzled Wei Huo.
There was an adorable elf in a corner of Item Mall repeating the same sentence. "If you don't reload your cash, would you become stronger?"
"If you don't reload your cash…"
"Enough!" An annoyed Wei Huo tapped the mute button. Although God did say that he wanted to turn Earth into a game, he did not have to copy the exact same settings of an actual videogame, right? Why was there even cash reload function?
Wei Huo took a look at the Magical Stones he had. Unsurprisingly, he had none.
The Tianshan Snow Lotus that was being sold in Item Mall cost 200 Magical Stones. Apart from that, along with rare scrolls for martial arts, magic mantras, medicine, and weapons, the cheapest items available were food.
The Item Mall had everything one could imagine. There were Divine Eggs, high-tech weapons, and space battleships among others but they were all incredibly expensive.
At this point Wei Huo thought to himself, 'It seems like the Earth isn't the only planet that was turned into a game, it could be the whole universe!'
If God's power was absolute in this universe, it would not be out of the ordinary for him to change the universal rules and turn it into a game, would it?
Wei Huo left the cave where he had obtained his powers from as he continued being deep in thought.
The cave was the same as every other cave around the world. It was easier to get out of one than entering it. It all depended on one's will to leave.
The Qi Cultivation could not be completed without Magical Stones. It was a better idea to go out and look for Magical Stones as Wei Huo was salivating over those items in Item Mall!
However, just as Wei Huo exited the cave, he was attacked by something huge.
Wei Huo could not see what it was. He could only feel a creature approaching him from his back before jumping on him.
Nonetheless, the creature was no match for Wei Huo's reflexes. It was slammed onto the ground over his shoulders.
Wei Huo got a good look at the creature that attacked him after throwing it over his shoulders. He saw black round ears, black-and-white fur, a plump figure, as well as two huge and dark circles around its eyes.
A giant panda?
The Giant Panda was four times larger than an average adult panda!
However, Wei Huo's powers and speed were at a terrifying state when unleashed after consistent training giving him strong combat powers! On top of that, his Qi-Training Skill was at level five. Every cell in his body was filled with Qi energy. That made him stronger than ever!
The Giant Panda was laying on its back with its limbs up. It was confused as it had not made sense of what happened.
'What's going on? Who am I? Where am I?'
Moments later, the Giant Panda got up and stared at Wei Huo angrily with its small eyes but it did not look threatening at all because of its dark circles and black ears. The panda seemed adorable instead.
Something was not right! The Giant Panda was confused. 'This living creature is so small and I'm so huge. How could he be stronger than me?'
Wei Huo understood it all as he saw the panda's expression. 'Accelerated Mutation', 'Accelerated Evolution', 'Accelerated Reproduction', and 'Emergence of Intelligent Creatures'. These updates by God caused improvements in the IQs of many animals. On top of monkeys, it seemed like the IQ of pandas had been increased as well!
Wei Huo took a step towards it. The Giant Panda stood up immediately and growled loudly.
'Don't come near me! I'm really fierce!'
Wei Huo took two more steps, but the Giant Panda turned around instead and ran. Although it was swaying as it ran, its speed was commendable!
Wei Huo was confused. 'Am I that scary? Why are you so timid?'
Wei Huo understood it all moments later. Wild giant pandas were rare in Z Country as most were bred by humans. After civilization came halted a century ago, it was hard for giant pandas at the conservatory to survive without humans providing food to them.
On top of that, peculiar creatures continued popping up as the mutation rate increased. Making it harder for giant pandas to defend themselves at times.
"New quest, 'Beast-taming'. The Player is required to tame a beast. A game item will be rewarded once the quest is completed."
Wei Huo was startled. "???"
'There's another quest?'
As he thought about the previous 8x Scope, Wei Huo felt that the awarded item could be another sham. However, he did not want to pass on any opportunities to evolve himself but how should one tame a beast?
"Quest hint. If the Player does not know how to tame a beast, the Player could ask other players with beast-taming experience for advice."
Wei Huo was speechless. "…"
'I'm the only player online right now!'
Wei Huo was a little angry. 'Screw it, let's get something to eat!'
The past century spent had caused Wei Huo's rank to change dramatically once again.
'Rank, Slightly Abnormal.'
Wei Huo had no energy left in him to complain about the Ranking System. One thing was for sure though, 'Slightly Abnormal' and 'Normal' felt miles apart from each other. It was easier for Wei Huo to hunt for the Normal-rank creatures now. He no longer needed any tools for it. He could just grab that creature with his bare hands. He was also strong enough to break the bones of cattle, sheep, and pigs. His punch could immediately break the thick tree trunk.
As his Qi-Training Skill was at level five, Wei Huo's hunger, thirst, and rest bars lowered much slower. Basically, he only needed to drink water once every five days, eat once a month, and rest once every five days.
With his new Qi System, Qi naturally replaced the energy consumption in his body. If his Qi-Training Skill reached level 20, he might not even need to eat or rest ever again.
Though that was the case, eating was a form of spiritual enjoyment in itself. It was not just to fill a person up. After a century of hunting and cooking, Wei Huo's Culinary Skill had reached level 12 and he even obtained a title along with it.
'Guru Among the Chefs.'
A hundred years were enough for a lot of things to happen. Even a musically illiterate person would become a great pianist after practicing for a hundred years.
Wei Huo cut up his prey and began roasting them. He had a few bottles and cans of spices with him. Even after years of plant mutations, their mutations were still no match for the human brain. Wei Huo found a few plants that could be turned into spices after multiple attempts.
Once spices were sprinkled on, the aroma of roasted meat immediately spread throughout the jungle.
At that very moment, there was a sudden movement in the bushes next to Wei Huo. He heard sounds of drool hitting the ground as well.
Wei Huo smiled. He cut up a huge piece of meat and threw it in the direction of that sound.
It was the Giant Panda that had attacked Wei Huo earlier, hiding in the bushes. It had planned to hunt somewhere further away, but it was attracted by the aroma of food. However, it did not dare to snatch the food away from Wei Huo.
As it stared at the roasted meat thrown in its direction, the intelligent panda immediately thought that this was a trap. 'I would rather die of starvation than eat something from you!'