Is this punishment even proper?

Lin Qianqian refused to accept the result.

But the comparison results were laid bare before her.

Though she was unwilling to admit it,

she couldn't change the facts.

"Fine, fine. It's not like I, Lin Qianqian, can't take a loss."

"One defeat means nothing. I'll definitely win next time!"

"System, what's the punishment?" Lin Qianqian asked.

She had already imagined a few possible punishments.

Like having to kill a few hundred mutant beasts.

Or cultivate for a certain length of time.

She could accept things like that.

[Punishment: Seek cultivation guidance from the comparison subject (Zhou Fan) for 3 consecutive days, with each cultivation session lasting at least 30 minutes. On the evening after each session, give him a lovingly handmade treat as a thank-you gift. When giving him the treat, you must say, 'I made this myself' and 'Do you like it?' Your gaze must also be full of affection!]

Lin Qianqian: "???"

Wait!

Was this punishment even proper?

Ask Zhou Fan for cultivation advice?

She had an s-rank superpower, yet she needed guidance from someone with a c-rank superpower??

The requirements after that were pretty outrageous too!

Make a loving treat for Zhou Fan herself?

What the hell kind of punishment was this??

"System, give me a different punishment." Lin Qianqian decided to bargain with the system.

She wouldn't do something like that even if it killed her!

[Host's request detected. Changing punishment-]

[Punishment 2: Put on the Black-Stocking Maid Outfit and personally cook dinner for Zhou Fan!]

[Punishment 3: Invite Zhou Fan on a date, take him shopping at a hosiery store, and have him help you choose stockings!]

Lin Qianqian: "???"

"Seriously, what are these punishments? Don't you have anything proper?"

"And why do they all have to involve Zhou Fan?"

"You could make me kill a few hundred mutant beasts, or even slow down my cultivation speed."

She was about to lose her mind.

What the fuck kind of punishments were these?!

Why did they have to involve Zhou Fan?

Cooking for him in a black-stocking maid outfit, going on a date with him to buy stockings... those all sounded like things only couples would do.

Flirty activities for couples, at that.

How could she possibly be doing anything flirty with Zhou Fan?

[Because the host lost to Zhou Fan, you must accept a punishment involving Zhou Fan!]

[Please select your punishment!]

Lin Qianqian gritted her teeth in anger.

"System, tell me!"

"Are you my system or Zhou Fan's system?"

[System: ...]

[What nonsense are you talking about, host? You are my only host. There is absolutely no second host!]

"Then why aren't you helping me at all?"

[Host, please don't overthink things. Everything this system does is to help you grow stronger!]

Lin Qianqian sighed softly.

"I'll take the first punishment."

As the saying went,

if someone couldn't accept an outrageous demand,

make an even more outrageous demand.

Then they would settle for the compromise and accept the original demand.

After making her choice,

Lin Qianqian wilted like a deflated balloon.

She was an s-rank Esper, for crying out loud!

Yet she had lost so miserably.

Fine, fine.

It was just a little hardship.

A capable person had to know when to bend and when to stand tall!

[Punishment-

[Requirement 1: Seek cultivation guidance from the comparison subject (Zhou Fan) for 3 consecutive days, with each cultivation session lasting at least 30 minutes.]

[Requirement 2: On the evening after each cultivation session, give him a lovingly handmade treat as a thank-you gift.]

[Requirement 3: When giving him the treat, you must say, 'I made this myself' and 'Do you like it?' Your gaze must also be full of affection!]

Sigh...

Lin Qianqian felt miserable.

[Ding! Complete the punishment to receive a reward-High-Grade Spirit Stone ×1!]

Her eyes lit up again.

"A High-Grade Spirit Stone?!"

Spirit Stones contained large amounts of spiritual energy. Much like mutant beasts' Crystal Cores, absorbing them could improve one's cultivation.

Spirit Stones came in four grades: low, mid, high, and supreme!

A single Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone contained a staggering amount of heaven and earth spiritual energy, enough to raise a third-tier Esper's cultivation by 1 star outright!

A High-Grade Spirit Stone was considerably less effective.

But it could still raise a second-tier Esper's cultivation by 1 star outright.

After all, this was a reward for completing a punishment, not for winning a comparison.

Looking at it another way,

even losing the comparison could earn her such a good reward.

If she won... she couldn't imagine how good the reward would be!

That thought only made Lin Qianqian more frustrated.

At least completing the punishment came with a reward.

That offered her some consolation.

But she was still so mad!

"Just this once!"

"I absolutely won't lose to him in the next comparison!" Lin Qianqian seethed.

She checked the punishment requirements again.

Cultivating with Zhou Fan wasn't a big deal.

The second requirement was to make a loving treat herself... that posed a bit of a problem.

Because she didn't know how to make treats at all!

If she tried, she would most likely produce some culinary abomination that even she couldn't identify.

"But the system only told me to make a loving treat. It never said how good it had to taste."

"I'll just make something. As long as it doesn't kill him, it's fine." Lin Qianqian still harbored some resentment.

[Ding! After the punishment is completed, the system will assign a score based on Zhou Fan's assessment of the treat. If his assessment is too low, you will not receive the reward!]

Lin Qianqian: "???"

Seriously, system, were you sure you weren't a mole sent by Zhou Fan??

It wouldn't let her exploit a single loophole?

"Whatever. It's just a little treat."

"Worst case, I'll learn how to make one."

"One day. I only need one day to learn how to make treats!"

Lin Qianqian was very confident in herself.

She was an s-rank Esper!

Surely a little treat couldn't stump her?

"Step one: learn how to make treats!"

Lin Qianqian made up her mind. She would learn how to make treats when she got up tomorrow!

Early the next morning,

Lin Qianqian went online and began searching for tutorials on making treats.

She planned to make some simple chocolate cookies.

She watched the tutorial once.

Then, brimming with confidence, she said,

"Looks easy! I've got this!"

"First, soften the butter, then crack in an egg, add flour, and knead it into a dough..."

Lin Qianqian was full of confidence.

After going through the steps,

she ended up with a loose, crumbly lump of dough containing quite a few bits of eggshell.

"This should be... fine, right?" she asked doubtfully.

"I'll bake it first and see."

Soon, the first batch of cookies came fresh out of the oven!

Looking at the loose, crumbly, charred black objects of unknown identity,

Lin Qianqian took a deep breath.

"It's okay. Everyone has a first time."

"This was my first attempt. A result like this is already pretty good."

"Keep trying. You can do it!"

She kept going...

Failed...

Kept going...

Kept failing...