Chapter 13:

Kang Zeyang had to admit one thing, the realism of “Doomsday Camp” was truly high. It was so high that the feeling of being famished seemed overly real, to the point where he felt as if he had really done three hours of physical labor and his whole body was falling apart.

Taking off the holographic helmet, Kang Zeyang made up his mind to quit the game. He had lost interest in leveling up and regaining his status.

With these thoughts in mind, Kang Zeyang lay on the bed and dozed off.

The next morning, he got up and freshened up. When he looked in the mirror, he was shocked—his receding hairline, which had been continuously moving back, had actually grown a layer of stubble at the front!

Kang Zeyang couldn’t believe it and stared at the mirror back and forth. It took him a while to trust his own eyes.

“Can playing games prevent balding?” he wondered in disbelief.

Unaware of the value of hair in youth, one laments hair loss in old age.

Kang Zeyang was not yet thirty this year, but he had been troubled by balding for several years.

Mainly due to his obsession with gaming, his irregular schedule led him to play until one or two in the morning. By the time he realized he should sleep, it was already past the optimal time.

In his early twenties, he didn’t think there was a problem, but as he neared thirty, his receding hairline moved significantly backward, and he realized that there were consequences for his past actions.

Since then, he had started paying attention to his health, and his gaming habits were no longer as intense as before.

Occasionally, when friends organized gatherings, they would say he could resist the urge, but his receding hairline couldn’t, so he tried to avoid as much as possible.

“You’re quite the joker, Kang,” his friends almost burst into laughter after hearing this.

Kang Zeyang, “…”

Joker, my foot!

He genuinely worried that others took him for a joker.

Carefully examining the mirror, he saw that his short, jet-black hair had a faint layer of greenish stubble, which felt rough to the touch.

Determined to save his youth from premature balding, Kang Zeyang decided that he would make a home in the game and play until the end of time!

…

Pay-to-Win Game Group.

“Come quick: Gym time, group discount for five, anyone interested?”

“Food, Drink and Fun: Count me in.”

“West Lake, My Tears: ?”

“Gold Rusher: ??”

“Rich and Reckless (Han Jiaqing): ???” replied to ‘Food, Drink and Fun’.

“Rich and Reckless: Aren’t you not playing ‘Doomsday Camp’?”

“I Love Construction: This group has exceeded the number of hacked accounts, everyone pay attention to account security.”

“Food, Drink and Fun: I managed to get a game registration code, tried it out, and it’s not bad for passing the time.” Replied to ‘Rich and Reckless’.

“Rich and Reckless: Haha, man.”

“West Lake, My Tears: Truly Fragrant is always fashionably late, never absent.”

“Food, Drink and Fun: By the way, I’m buying 1000 points. 1 point = 100 dollars, come quickly.”

“Rich and Reckless (Han Jiaqing): ??? You jerk!”

Originally, only Han Jiaqing collected points within the group. Now, another big spender had joined in the bidding war, intensifying the competition.

Han Jiaqing already felt that the points he received were too few, not enough for his extravagance. Now, with a competitor right in front of him, vying for business, his heart was torn.

—Private chat window.

“What do you want to eat lately? Just say, my brother, please.”

“Save me from the brink of despair, let me buy some points first.”

“Thanks to you for bringing me into the game. I owe you a great debt, and if you need anything, just ask.”

Kang Zeyang sent three messages in a row, expressing his apologies, gratitude, loyalty, and generosity to the fullest.

Han Jiaqing: “Dinner’s on me then. I’m thinking of starting a guild soon, how about you come and help?”

Kang Zeyang: “So, I buy points, and then use them to establish your guild?”

“Our guild,” Han Jiaqing corrected. “I’m the leader, and you’re the vice-leader. Together, we’ll use our financial abilities to create the top guild in the game.”

It sounded quite appealing.

After all, his goal was to play until the game company went out of business, and founding a guild wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Leaving aside other matters, at least when he encountered the Crimson-bellied Pheasant next time, he could lead the charge to fight back.

With this in mind, Kang Zeyang firmly responded, “Okay.”

…

The Pay-to-Win Game Group remained lively, but the topic had changed this time.

“Step aside, let me in: In ‘Doomsday Camp’, when a game character dies, the account is canceled, I know about that. However… After snatching a registration code once, can I not snatch a second time? Who told me earlier that unlimited registrations were possible? @Deceiver”

“Deceiver: Deceiver, trust me, you’re a pig (smile, manual goodbye).”

“Step aside, let me in: …”

“Step aside, let me in: Are you fucking kidding me with this? Are you sick?”

“Deceiver: You were fucking with me, snatching my boss in ‘Divine Retribution’, guarding my corpse, killing my teammates, didn’t you? You deserve what you get, you bastard!”

After this, he blocked and left the group in one go.

“Step aside, let me in: Ahhhhhhhhh!”

Through the screen, everyone could feel his despair. Just as the potential for ‘Doomsday Camp’ to become a hit game was emerging, he had lost his account and could no longer engage in related business.

“Step aside, let me in: If I had known that a player could only register once, I wouldn’t have assassinated the lord!”

“Step aside, let me in: If you want to make a killing, become a lord yourself, endless opportunities.”

“Step aside, let me in: Thought it was just a gray name, losing meant a fresh start, no big deal.”

“Step aside, let me in: And the result… Damn it! All destroyed.”

Yun Shan inadvertently glanced, squinting her eyes.

“Yun Shan: Using the code words, Sedative, Paralyzing Powder?”

“Step aside, let me in: It’s me. I was so close, I almost made it!”

So close? It was a billion times away.

The next moment—

Group admin, [Yun Shan], removed [Step aside, let me in] from the “Pay-to-Win Game Group.”

The group fell silent. No one expected Yun Shan to decisively remove someone from the group.

Yun Shan, however, was unfazed and soon posted another message.

“Yun Shan: ‘Doomsday Camp’, selling 30 bottles of Healing Potion, for external injuries. Selling 10 bottles of Revitalizing Elixir, for internal injuries. Currently only accepting point transactions, interested parties, please contact with a price in mind.”

Healing potions!

The group members’ hearts raced, instantly becoming excited.

In “Doomsday Camp,” there was a drugstore that sold healing potions, but there was a purchase limit. Each player could only buy a maximum of 1 bottle of Healing Potion per week.

As for Revitalizing Elixir and internal injury medicine, they hadn’t even heard of them. It’s possible that the NPCs didn’t sell them to the public.

Once the news of the sale of medicine came out, “Step aside, let me in” was immediately forgotten by everyone, as they all rushed to grab the Healing Potions.

The occasional mention of him was followed by comments like, “He’s freely attacking and killing creatures, clearly not a good person, so kicking him out was justified,” but no further discussion followed.

The private chat window continued to pop up, but Yun Shan did not respond. Instead, she seemed lost in thought.

Of all the groups she was in, “Pay-to-Win Game Group” was the one she had created herself.

Originally, it was meant to bring reputable big spenders and skilled gamers closer together, facilitating transactions. But over time, it had grown into a large group of hundreds of people, with only about twenty or thirty familiar faces still engaging in regular transactions.

Yun Shan grew impatient with managing the group and saw it as a platform for everyone to chat. She occasionally traded and was mostly in a hidden state, rarely using her admin privileges.

Today, however, when she saw the chat records of “Step aside, let me in,” for some reason, she became uncharacteristically angry.

Since the group was created, this was the first time she had used her admin privileges to remove a member. She even considered changing to a new “Divine Retribution” account to go online and pursue him.

“In the gaming world, there’s more than one person with corrupt morals, so why bother with him?” Yun Shan calmed herself, turning to find a suitable trading partner.

…

“Sir, this is the freshly prepared medicinal soup for today,” Zuo Xin handed over the medicine.

Lu Ming took a sip, and his brows gradually relaxed.

“Is it the same prescription?” You Yi was cautious.

“I personally brought the medicinal herbs, stayed by during the decoction process, and followed the steps exactly as written in the prescription,” Zuo Xin asserted confidently. “The difference in the effectiveness of the medicinal soup might be due to differences in awakened talents.”

You Yi remained silent at this explanation.

After drinking the medicine, the symptoms of the headache noticeably eased, indicating a more potent effect.

Lu Ming’s expression softened. “Lu Liu has been free lately, let her go over to protect the female doctor.”

Zuo Xin was surprised. “Sir!”

Lu Liu was already a three-star powerhouse who recently tamed a three-star magic vine for her use. Her strength was considerable and well-recognized within the entire Red Maple Camp.

“Although that female doctor is highly skilled in medicine, her background is still unclear. Let’s observe her for a while longer and make sure she poses no threat before taking further action,” Lu Ming interrupted You Yi before he could finish speaking.

“Yun Shan is different from others.”

As he spoke, weariness overwhelmed him, and he waved his hand, “I’ve made up my mind, you may leave.”

With a hint of laziness in his voice, he seemed eager to take a short rest.

“Sir, rest assured and take a break. We’ll go guard the entrance right away,” Zuo Xin said while dragging You Yi away.

Lu Ming lay back on the bed, closed his eyes, and gradually drifted into the realm of dreams.

…

Outside.

Zuo Xin stood against the wall, lips pursed in silence.

You Yi curiously asked, “You didn’t show much reaction earlier. Why the sudden alertness?”

“The lord trusts that divine doctor too much,” Zuo Xin muttered, “It’s not a good sign.”

In a hundred assassination attempts, if just one succeeded, the lord would be in an irreparable situation.

Human hearts are inscrutable, and precautions must be taken.

“The divine doctor… probably doesn’t have any ill intentions. She shouldn’t harm the lord,” Zuo Xin suggested.

You Yi glanced at him, “How many days have you known her? And you’re so sure?”

“You haven’t witnessed the lord’s condition during an episode,” Zuo Xin still felt a sour taste recalling it. “If you had, you wouldn’t doubt her.”

You Yi paused, his eyes narrowing. “You were the only one with the lord when he fell ill. You haven’t concealed anything, have you?”

Zuo Xin looked up at the sky. “Concealment is absolutely impossible. I just omitted some details that aren’t too important, hard to describe, and might sound like lies.”

“Such as?”

Zuo Xin looked around and whispered like a thief, “The divine doctor told the lord not to use violence, and he obediently refrains from it, exceptionally well-behaved.”

You Yi: ???

“The moment they met, he hugged the divine doctor and took a sniff, and his condition immediately improved,” Zuo Xin continued.

“There should be limits even in joking!” You Yi’s face turned cold as he sternly said, “The lord has treated you generously, how dare you casually manipulate things behind his back?”

Zuo Xin: …

He knew it would be this kind of response after hearing it, so he didn’t want to explain it all in detail.