Evolution or Metamorphosis

Xian Yu's face was a mask of despair, his eyes devoid of focus.

He just stood there, stunned.

The pile of gems that had once radiated a brilliant, beautiful luster was now nothing more than a heap of white powder... ghastly pale.

It looked exactly like the color of Xian Yu's face right now.

"I'm sorry... I said we were going to be rich, we were going to be rich... and in the end, everything turned into this."

He began to ramble incoherently; the shock was simply too great.

Now he understood why so many wealthy people chose to jump off buildings after going bankrupt.

He was exactly like them right now.

The drop was too steep, and he couldn't accept it...

"Let's just pretend we never met. I'll still be me, and you—ugh, forget it—you were never here to begin with..." In the end, our dear student Xian Yu accepted reality and bid farewell to the pile of white powder.

Seeing this, Bai Xiaoqi sighed and finally spoke up: "Master, save my mother first..."

Prompted by Xiaoqi, Xian Yu remembered that he wasn't completely empty-handed; at least he still had a fox mother...

Thinking of that, he actually felt a little bit better.

He walked a few steps to the Bronze Treasure Chest, refusing to look back at the pile of powder—it was just like love.

"Notification: System is busy... please try again later."

As Xian Yu reached out to touch the Bronze Treasure Chest in front of him, the system's detestable voice rang out.

In the past, touching the chest would have sent it straight into his inventory, but damn it, it was busy this time...

What else could he do? What could he possibly do? In the end, he would just have to forgive the system like a father.

Xian Yu sat helplessly on the rocky ground, waiting for it to finish its business before dealing with him.

"Ding-dong! Equilibrium energy required. Deducting 1,000 Diamonds from the host. Current balance: 439 Diamonds."

Hearing this voice, Xian Yu jumped up and roared: "That's too much! Can you stop while you're ahead?!"

He had thought he was past the point of anger, that no matter what happened, he would remain calm and indifferent.

But this little bitch of a system was like it had equipped a taunt skill, igniting his fury all over again.

If you are going to take it, just take it—could you not give me a voice notification about it?

Even Bai Xiaoqi, standing to the side, couldn't bear to watch, but it couldn't lash out at the system because... it couldn't afford to offend either side...

Finally, Bai Xiaoqi sighed and called out: "Master."

"What? I'm not in the mood, just say what you need to say," Xian Yu snapped.

Bai Xiaoqi hesitated for a moment before saying weakly: "It's just that... there's a logic I can't wrap my head around."

Seeing that Xian Yu didn't respond, Xiaoqi didn't dare to stall and asked directly: "Master said you'd open a female fox for me another day, is that true?"

Rolling his eyes, Xian Yu replied listlessly: "It's true."

"Then here's the problem: Master opened my mother, and if you open a female fox for me, wouldn't that be my sister... Master, you want me to commit incest..."

"Heh." Xian Yu continued to roll his eyes. The joke was cold, but Xiaoqi had good intentions.

Although Bai Xiaoqi's cold joke wouldn't even make a three-year-old laugh, feeling the creature's concern made the lingering sadness in Xian Yu's heart feel a little better.

"Ding-dong! Due to an unexpected situation, the system has encountered a malfunction. We apologize for the inconvenience. Compensation is being issued."

"Heh, can you be any more shameless?" This time, Xian Yu couldn't even be bothered to roll his eyes.

Unexpected situation? That "ding-dong" was just detecting special energy.

It was like a hooligan saying: "Ding-ding-ding, found a pretty girl."

Did you think I didn't hear that?

System malfunction?

That first "ding-dong" was the start of absorbing special energy.

It was like the hooligan saying: "Heh heh heh, little lady, I'm about to eat you up."

The final "ding-dong" was the start of the absorption.

Caught off guard.

The hooligan had already mounted the horse.

I don't even want to complain anymore...

"Ding-dong, based on the host's inner needs, two compensation options have been generated. Please make your selection."

As the system's voice rang out, two transparent boxes popped up in front of Xian Yu.

The first box read: "Re-designate the gender of the Three-Tailed Fox 'Bai Xiaoqi'."

Pfft...

Bai Xiaoqi, standing to the side, seemed to be able to see the interface as well. Its massive beast eyes went wide, and its large body lay trembling on the rocky ground.

"Mas... Master... to think you harbor such desires in your heart... No... don't. I beg of you!"

Bai Xiaoqi shed tears with a pitiful expression, and this time, they were genuine—glass-bead-sized droplets spilling from eyes as large as lightbulbs, streaming down one after another.

Lin Xian Yu's eyes widened as well, feeling his old face burning with intense heat... (/ω＼)

"System, get out here! I promise I won't beat you to death! Is it fun to keep screwing me over time and time again?"

"..."

Thanks to the internet of his past life, trash-talking was a basic skill Xian Yu had been born with. With the profound and vast depth of the Chinese language, backed by five thousand years of history and countless brutal keyboard wars, he had been tempered by the environment. To put it modestly, when it came to roasting others, every other living creature was just a little brother.

And then...

Xian Yu forgave it, just like a father would.

What else could he do? What else was there to do?

Life had to go on, didn't it...

He then looked at the second option.

The second box read, "Evolve the Three-Tailed Fox 'Bai Xiaoqi' into a Six-Tailed Fox."

At this moment, Xian Yu didn't even dare to look at Xiaoqi, who was wailing on the ground.

In truth, he really wanted to pat his chest and say, "Be good, Xiaoqi, don't be afraid. Master will definitely choose the second option!"

Yet, the reality was that Xian Yu, as if possessed, dodged Xiaoqi's resentful gaze, not daring to meet its eyes at all...

Lin Xian Yu! What on earth are you thinking! Choose the second one decisively! What a great opportunity—evolution! That's evolution! Is this even something to hesitate about?

The excited Comrade Xian Yu even blurted out his name from his past life.

Honestly, subjectively speaking, Xian Yu was determined to choose the second one.

But for some reason, he couldn't control his body...

"I think I might be under an illusion again... Why can't I move my body..." Xian Yu seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps explaining to someone else.

Bai Xiaoqi's pupils were like dead ash, staring at its master without focus.

It understood humans too well, and it knew even better just how great the charm—no, that wasn't charm, it was magic—of its fox kin was.

Suddenly, Xian Yu moved.

He slowly extended his right hand...

Bai Xiaoqi's eyes suddenly lit up; it saw its master's hand reaching toward the second option.

So, Master is a good master after all; I was wrong to blame him.

Truly, Bai Xiaoqi had never found a human so pleasing to the eye.

It secretly swore that even if it encountered an irresistible enemy in the future, it would die before its master, even if it meant death.

Before it died, it would absolutely, positively never allow its master to suffer the slightest harm!

"Master!!! You..."

A very human-like expression appeared on the big fox's face: disbelief.

That's right, pure disbelief!

The hand Xian Yu had extended toward the second 'Evolution' option had, at some point, shifted toward the first option: 'Redefine the gender of the Three-Tailed Fox.'

It had already clearly told its master that its gender was male... could choosing this option mean selecting male all over again?

"Heh... men." The Three-Tailed Fox let out a sound containing despair, pain, anger, disdain, coldness, bashfulness, and contempt—a voice layered with so many emotions.