Chapter 36:

During dinner, Xie Shaoting brought up the matter, and both his parents showed surprised expressions, “You managed to get a registration code?”

“Yes,” Xie Shaoting replied with composure.

“That’s wonderful!” Xie’s mother beamed, unable to contain her joy.

A year ago, they had learned about the unique therapeutic effects of holographic technology. Since then, she and her husband had been determined to acquire a registration code for the game.

As people age, despite having wealth and leisure, they fear falling ill.

Unfortunately, both of them had some health issues from their younger, more competitive days.

Originally, they had planned to enter the game and recuperate, but the competition was fierce. For eight consecutive months, they staked out the place every week, yet failed to secure a code.

Eventually, even Xie’s mother considered giving up.

Even Xie’s father said, “Perseverance is commendable, but you’ve never succeeded. It’s just fate.”

Just then, Yun Shan received a special reward: 5 registration codes.

The Xie family realized that, aside from staking out, there were other ways to obtain a registration code.

Yun Shan publicly offered to sell registration codes in the group, causing quite a stir. Logically, Xie Shaoting had to buy at least two.

Unfortunately, circumstances didn’t align.

At that time, Xie Shaoting had urgent matters in real life to attend to. Consequently, he didn’t log in or play the game for three days.

When he finally came back online, all the registration codes had been sold out.

Initially, Xie Shaoting was deeply upset, but then he thought, if Yun Shan could get them, he certainly could too. After all, as the game progressed, rare items became easier to obtain.

Xie Shaoting successfully convinced himself to wait patiently.

Before long, he encountered the “Autumn Hunt Event.”

Xie Shaoting made a firm decision; he would spare no effort to exchange for two registration codes!

Fortunately, things progressed more smoothly than expected. By the sixth day of the event, he had already obtained one.

“Who will use the newly obtained registration code?” Xie Shaoting asked.

Xie’s mother replied, “Give it to your father. His rheumatism has been bothering him lately, and he keeps complaining about leg pain.”

Xie’s father added, “Give it to your mother. She has lumbar muscle strain and cervical spondylosis. These past few days, she hasn’t been able to sleep through the night.”

Xie Shaoting pondered…

What had he done wrong?

Why was he sitting here taking the blame?

“It doesn’t matter who uses it,” Xie Shaoting said lightly, “There are still nine days left before the Autumn Hunt Event ends. There’s plenty of time to exchange for another registration code.”

After much discussion, Xie’s parents finally decided that Xie’s mother would use the registration code first, and Xie’s father would enter the game a week later.

Discussion concluded.

Turning to his son, Xie’s father asked solemnly, “How much money did you spend to get the registration code?”

“About twenty million?” Xie Shaoting replied uncertainly, “I’ve been acquiring points gradually since before and investing in properties within the game.”

“This time, hiring people and offering hefty rewards for acquisitions cost nearly ten million. Adding that to what I spent before, it won’t exceed thirty million.”

“Oh, that’s quite cheap,” Xie’s father remarked, relieved.

***

In the Pay-to-Win game group:

“Ordinary Scholar: I’ve obtained one registration code. Thank you all for your support. Let’s continue to accumulate points, gather healing potions, and capture grey rats.”

“Money Lover: Alright! Let’s get to work!”

“Country Bumpkin: Being a big spender also has different levels. Admiring the truly wealthy.”

“Salty Fish: Boss, can I ask how much you spent to buy that registration code?”

Xie Shaoting didn’t hide anything.

“Ordinary Scholar: Didn’t spend much, about twenty million.”

“Salty Fish: !!!”

“Kneeling: Group Leader, come out quickly! You’re selling the registration code too cheaply! @Yun Shan”

Yun Shan was cooking and only saw the messages after more than ten minutes.

“Yun Shan: Cheap? I almost couldn’t sell one for 3 million. Registration codes have a time limit. If unused, they become invalid.”

“Salty Fish: …true, this might be the inconvenience of being the first to try something new. It’s too new, and no one knows how good it really is.”

“Deep Thinker: The big spender spent twenty million to buy one registration code, while the group owner easily got five! Five!! Who on earth is the group leader? A reincarnation of the God of Luck?”

Yun Shan: She’s a woman who can send herself to the hospital for a year and two months just by dining out. What does luck have to do with her? But to avoid trouble, she didn’t clarify and instead responded –

“Yun Shan: Got a mission chain, then they’re gone.”

This not only explained the source of the reward but also cut off the possibility of others asking her to buy registration codes.

“Group owner, your luck is amazing!”

Numerous group members expressed their envy, truly admiring Yun Shan’s good fortune from the bottom of their hearts.

Yun Shan: Today is also a day when I’m forced to be a God of Luck.

***

Having experienced two lifetimes, Yun Shan considered herself accustomed to grand spectacles. Yet, as she logged in that day, she was still astonished –

Several ancient trees had appeared in the courtyard, with bird nests at the treetops. Dozens of three-star falcon chicks were chirping “jiu jiu jiu”.

Yun Shan grabbed Lu Liu, “What’s going on?”

Lu Liu explained, “The chicks felt the feng shui and food here were good, so they ‘voluntarily’ moved in.”

Yun Shan, “…”

Next to the ancient trees, a mountain of grey rats had accumulated, resembling unopened gifts.

Yun Shan asked again, “What’s going on with that?”

Even if the wolfhounds hunted diligently, it was impossible to capture so many at once.

Lu Liu replied, “They were picked up from other people’s homes. They were keeping grey rats against the rules, posing a threat to the camp’s safety.”

Picked up from other people’s homes…

Yun Shan gazed at the courtyard, speechless for a long time.

***

“It turns out that even in the Doomsday Camp’, the power of money can still be effective.”

Xie Shaoting spent money and successfully exchanged for a registration code, a piece of news that greatly inspired RMB players.

It’s just money, after all. Who doesn’t have it?

RMB players began to use the power of money, intending to replicate Xie Shaoting’s success. Even if it cost thirty to fifty million, as long as they could obtain a registration code, it was worth it!

However…

“1 point = 140 yuan, the exchange rate isn’t low. Why have we only received just over 600 points after a day?” Sheng Yu questioned his assistant.

The assistant lowered their head, “The price is indeed high, but we don’t have connections, don’t know any high-level players, and have nowhere to buy points.”

“What about the healing potions? Why can’t we buy them?” Sheng Yu angrily asked.

Assistant: “Many stores have a cooperative relationship with Xie Shaoting, agreeing to exclusively supply him during the event. Xie Shaoting pays more, and with his bulk purchases, the stores are unwilling to cooperate with others.”

“And the grey rats?” Sheng Yu pressed.

“Short-handed and unsuccessful negotiations. In addition to points, players/NPCs also demand grain, land, shops, equipment, materials, herbs, and trading for beast cubs. We don’t have anything, so it’s difficult to persuade players/NPCs to resell the grey rats.”

Sheng Yu, “…”

He suddenly realized that money couldn’t just be spent at will.

Xie Shaoting succeeded because of thorough preparation.

He could, so Sheng Yu could too. It was all a complete illusion.

***

“How is it?” Lu Ming inquired while attending to official matters.

“According to the investigation, the grey rats are…”

You Yi, who had just started speaking, was interrupted, “I’m asking about Yun Shan.”

You Yi hesitated, “The divine doctor said the local landlord doesn’t have surplus grain, and can accept at most 90 falcon chicks for relocation.”

“Then give her 90,” Lu Ming instructed.

After a while, seeing no response from You Yi, Lu Ming had to inquire, “What about the grey rats?”

“Accepted them, took them to exchange for herbs,” You Yi replied with a weary face, “When dealing with people, she insisted that even if she exchanged for herbs, she wouldn’t use them. She helped run errands and didn’t accept any money.”

“Right,” You Yi suddenly remembered, “The divine doctor exchanged for materials and made a special incense, claiming it soothes the mind when lit during sleep. She said she would bring it to you when it’s ready.”

Lu Ming’s expression softened somewhat, a rare moment of good mood.

You Yi inexplicably felt a toothache.

“Regarding the grey rats, any new discoveries?” Lu Ming asked.

Getting down to business, You Yi’s expression turned serious as he hurriedly spoke, “We suspect that the grey rats were intentionally bred and released near the camp!”

Lu Ming’s eyes turned icy, “What have you found?”

You Yi detailed, “The rat meat is poisonous, not like a mutation, but rather seems to have been deliberately poisoned and bred through artificial selection.”

“Coincidentally, grey rats have strong breeding capabilities, mature very quickly, and are highly suitable as experimental subjects.”

“The appearance of the grey rats was very sudden. It’s as if overnight, over two thousand appeared out of thin air. If the original environment wasn’t suitable for survival, there should have been an adaptation and breeding process.”

“This rat disaster seems like someone set up a secret experimental base in the wilderness, secretly breeding them. When it expanded to a certain scale and the owner couldn’t provide so much feed, they released the grey rats to forage for food on their own.”

“The area outside the camp is vast and sparsely populated, so even if a few thousand grey rats were released, it would be difficult to notice for a time.”

“Little did they know, travelers from the other world hunted the grey rats, brought them back to the camp, and were seen by the divine doctor.”

Lu Ming’s eyes were enigmatic, “What else?”

“Levels! The number of three-star grey rats caught far exceeds expectations, which is unreasonable.”

Normal wild beasts have their level determined at birth. It’s extremely rare for them to break through and successfully advance.

Most grey rats are one-star, clearly low-level beasts. According to normal proportions, the three-star ratio wouldn’t exceed one to two thousand.

But the grey rats caught in recent days had a three-star ratio of nearly one to two hundred.

“This doesn’t even include the high-quality mother rats that are hidden away and possibly continuing to breed.”

Of course, the idea of commanding an army of thousands of grey rats sounded both absurd and terrifying.

However, living on the estate, You Yi was surrounded by one or two hundred two-star/three-star beasts every day, so he believed that the possibility wasn’t nonexistent.

In such a vast world, what if someone else awakened strange talents?

Lu Ming’s eyes emitted a cold light, “Find out exactly who’s behind this.”

“Yes,” You Yi acknowledged.

***

“Lately, it’s getting harder and harder to spot grey rats in the wild.” After searching for a long time and finding nothing, Wang Chuan couldn’t help but sigh.

“If the catch isn’t enough, we can breed them ourselves!” Liu Jia expressed his ambitious aspirations, “Today we’ll take in a pregnant mother rat, and tomorrow we’ll have a litter of young rats!”

“Or we might be discovered by the patrol. Not only do we have to hand over all the beasts, but we also have to pay a certain amount of fines,” Wang Chuan complained.

“It’s fine if we aren’t discovered,” Liu Jia was undeterred.

“Some people hide them well and aren’t discovered. The mother rat gives birth to young rats, and they end up biting people to death, and the patrol arrives just in time to collect the bodies,” Wang Chuan lamented.

“That’s because they didn’t handle it properly!” Liu Jia emphasized, “With proper arrangements, we can achieve a great harvest of grey rats.”

“How do we arrange it?” Wang Chuan asked his companion, “Make wooden cages? Dig holes for the mother rats to give birth?”

Before his companion could respond, he continued, “Don’t bother thinking about it. Someone tried it before. The beasts have tough bodies and exceptionally good teeth. Locked in wooden cages, they directly bit through the wood and escaped.”

“Dug a hole for the mother rat to give birth, intending to have a whole litter at once. The young rats turned out to be agile and climbed out of the hole.”

“Someone even used ore to build cages, and even two-star adult grey rats couldn’t escape. But how many mother rats do you have to catch and how many litters do you have to raise before you can recoup the cost of the ore?”

In conclusion, Wang Chuan stated, “Stop thinking about these useless things. That’s not a shortcut to wealth, but a fast track to death.”

“What if we catch the mother rats and keep them in the wild instead of in the camp?” Liu Jia’s eyes sparkled with wise insight, “The mother rat needs two to three days to recover after giving birth, and generally won’t move the litter.”

“We’ll call the team members and make a trip every day, and once we find it’s given birth, we’ll take action.”

“…So many people wandering around in the wild every day. What if others find out?” Wang Chuan felt exhausted, “Can’t we just hunt honestly? Why do we have to engage in these tricky operations?”

“Good operations yield a twentyfold return. This is a gold mine! It’s worth a try!” Liu Jia argued logically.

In the end, Wang Chuan was convinced and agreed to help.