I transformed into a cute girl and lived a carefree life in the apocalypse.

It seems like Si Mo mentioned it before, but I didn't pay attention, and now I can't remember it at all.

"Qianxue, go back and ask."

"Go and come back quickly. Remember to avoid that pervert Mu Mu... Well, you can't avoid him either. Go look for him in the lake in Yong'an City first."

"Ah."

Ye Qianxue went back. After all, she was not Mu Mu. Yan Ziming estimated that this journey would take a long time, so he wandered around first and left marks along the way.

In half an hour, she wiped out a large-scale mutated species cluster, numbering about three thousand, all of which were at least C-level, with two S-level.

If human ground forces were to encounter them, it would be an absolute nightmare unless they had twice as many high-end combat forces.

However, they were utterly defeated in front of Yan Zimo. Without needing to transform into elements, the Thunder Domain instantly annihilated all those below S-rank. The two S-ranks were also pierced by the Spear of Victory a few minutes later and died a violent death.

To Yan Ziming's delight, she unearthed an S-grade obsidian this time!

"Hmm, speaking of which, we haven't gotten anything this good since the Yongjing Campaign."

Even after experiencing large-scale battles, the spoils on the battlefield were not his own, and the drop rate was abysmal, less than two percent. Over time, Yan Zimo gave up hope.

The 2% chance she encountered today led her to discover a way to make money.

How many S-level or higher mutated species are there on this land?

Moreover, I'm all alone here, so everything that gets dropped is mine. How much can I earn if I stay here for a year or two?

For a moment, Yan Ziming looked at these mutated species as if they were young girls, all green and lush, like a madam.

Some unsuspecting mutant species felt a chill run down their spines, thinking that this human had some kind of bizarre fetish.

...........

Ye Qianxue traveled back to Yong'an City and arrived at the lake where Yan Zimo had fished Si Mo up.

Even today, this place remains a nightmare for all anglers, as not a single fish can be caught. Locals consider it a great spectacle, and tourists flock here in droves.

"Hey~~ What brings our darling daughter to visit us?"

As soon as Ye Qianxue appeared here, she suddenly felt dizzy and fell into an unknown place. It was dark and the light was distorted, as if...

A world in the water.

"Ah, um... Mother, Your Majesty... where is this...?"

Ye Qianxue said timidly, in front of her was Si Mo, who had once brought her nightmares, which only subsided later.

However, she was still quite afraid of Si Mo deep down, since she had no power to resist what Si Mo might do to her.

“Of course it’s ours.” Si Mo climbed onto Ye Qianxue’s head, looking just like a hat.

"Family?"

Ye Qianxue looked up and realized that this place did indeed seem to be the bottom of the lake, and the lake water was isolated by silk foam. She lived here.

Si Mo patted her head, "You rarely come back, is there something you want to ask us?"

"Um...ah, I just wanted to ask..."

She explained the problem to Si Mo, who suddenly looked at her with an incredulous expression.

Ye Qianxue looked on in confusion, wondering if she had asked a rather stupid question.

"You don't know?" Si Mo looked at her with the eyes of someone looking at a rare animal.

"Know what...."

"...Sigh, you're not quite right." Si Mo sighed, surprised that her good daughter didn't even know such common sense.

She reached into her pocket, pulled out a 'candy bean', tossed it around, and then, with lightning speed, stuffed it into Ye Qianxue's mouth.

"Hmm!?"

The sudden action startled Ye Qianxue, but her body was restrained and she couldn't move, unable to put up any decent resistance.

After a while, she calmed down and realized that Si Mo would not harm her. She began to carefully taste what Si Mo had put into her mouth.

It's hard, a bit chipped, so it must be... a stone?

"Chew it up."

"Hmm?" Ye Qianxue couldn't make a sound because her mouth was blocked, so she could only blink her big eyes.

"Why are you looking at us? Just listen to us and chew it up."

Ah, no, even if you say you'll chew it up, it's a stone! My teeth aren't that strong.

However, this shouldn't be a stone. It's a bit hot and looks like some kind of highly nutritious food that needs to be chewed to be effective.

Despite her many doubts, Ye Qianxue did as she was told and bit down hard.

No bite.

"Go for it, what are you afraid of! You're our daughter, of course your teeth are much better than a normal human's."

She tried again, but the food in her mouth remained unmoved. She couldn't help but feel a little scared. This was a test of her mental fortitude. Anyone would be terrified in this situation, afraid of accidentally breaking their teeth by using too much force.

Ye Qianxue let out a soft moan, steeled her heart, closed her eyes, and used all her strength.

click-

"!!!"

Ye Qianxue's heart leaped into her throat, her eyes widening in shock. That "snap"—could it be her own tooth...?

However, her thought was quickly overwhelmed by the burning sensation in her mouth. A rich life essence poured into her body from her mouth, making her feel as if she were on fire, unbearably hot.

She was very familiar with this feeling.

"This is....."

“Obsidian,” Si Mo smiled smugly, uttering something that shocked Ye Qianxue:

"Now you understand? For people like us, the quickest way to become stronger is to eat! Eat as much as you can!"

17. Heartless

"Mmm...eat?" Ye Qianxue was still chewing on the obsidian in her mouth, tilting her head in confusion.

"Yes, it's about eating. Humans use too much obsidian, and the effects become negligible because their bodies are limited. But we are different. Our bodies are not as weak as humans', and our potential for improvement is much higher. Theoretically, we can improve indefinitely."

Si Mo said this, and Ye Qianxue thought it made some sense.

Obsidian is said to nourish the body and improve the quality of supernatural abilities at the same time, but if you were to divide the improvement of a single obsidian stone on the body and supernatural abilities into proportions, the improvement on supernatural abilities would only account for less than half.

Obsidian is ultimately a product of mutated species, and its benefits to humans are primarily focused on the physical aspects.

After consuming one or two obsidian crystals, most people reach their physical enhancement limit. Continuing to consume them will not improve their physical condition in any way, and the proportion of their abilities gained will remain low, making it a huge waste.

Like Mandala, who used obsidian to improve the quality of his lightning ability every day, his physical fitness was not amazingly strong, and the same was true for the quality of his ability. The degree of improvement was not proportional to the amount of obsidian he consumed, and eventually he reached the limit.

Since the Civilization Cup, Yan Ziming had Ye Qianxue take several obsidian crystals to nourish her body and abilities. In addition, Ye Qianxue benefited a lot when sharing the sea serpent crystal core. Perhaps it was these opportunities that made her awaken the bloodline of Si Mo.

Si Mo also gave Ye Qianxue a friendly reminder, "But remember not to eat those cheap things, eat the high-end stuff instead~~"

Ye Qianxue: "..."

High-end goods, you must be referring to obsidian, right?

This is going to eat my older sister out of house and home...

In any case, Ye Qianxue did not believe that a mere one or two crystal stones would be enough for her to break through her limitations. This required a massive amount of resources, and unless she plundered the national treasury, it was impossible for her to reach the peak by simply eating.

"Besides obsidian, is there anything else we can eat?" Ye Qianxue asked tentatively.

How difficult it is to obtain obsidian crystals! She didn't want to add any more burden to her older sister, so she wanted to settle for another method.

Si Mo suddenly smiled wickedly, stuck out her tongue, which was several times longer than a human's, and flicked it across Ye Qianxue's face, saying:

"Yes, we are noble dragons. We usually nourish our children with our own saliva when they are born. It's a pity we couldn't do that for you back then, but we can make it up to you now~~ The most direct way is to lick your body or... do you want us to feed you?"

Ye Qianxue shivered and quickly waved her hand in refusal: "No, no, no, I don't want to."

No way! She didn't want to sell her body to increase her strength, especially not to her own mother—that was taboo! She'd be drowned in a pig cage!

"Tch, this is from Mother's great love! How can you reject it because of such filthy thoughts?"

"Hmm... Qian, Qianxue has grown up now, this method is no longer suitable!"

Ye Qianxue blushed and argued.

Simo is right. There's nothing wrong with doing this when a child is just born. It's the natural order of things and human nature. No one will find it strange.

But if she continued to do this after she grew up, Ye Qianxue, who had been influenced by human society and thought for a long time and had already put on colored glasses, felt that it had a certain charm.

"Tch~~ No fun." Si Mo spread her hands in boredom.

"..."

Shut up! You shameless old thief!

I think you're the one who harbors such filthy thoughts yet still makes such a suggestion!

"So, is there anything else? If not, don't disturb my nap."

"Yes!" Ye Qianxue answered without hesitation: "Could you give me... um... something that can better showcase Mother's power?"