Chapter 8:

The Pay-to-Win Game Group.

Members were spurred by hefty rewards, eagerly staking out to grab registration codes, actively creating accounts, and enthusiastically exchanging their insights and experiences.

For a while, discussions about “Doomsday Camp” were a daily occurrence in the group.

“West Lake, my tears: Damn! What a lousy game! No talent at the start, no combat skills given, just forced to labor. Four hours online per day, the money earned is barely enough to eat. No wonder 1 point = 100 bucks, it’s like saving every penny! “

“Goodness gracious: A true holographic online game, battling not based on game skills, but on personal combat techniques. But I’m just an ordinary shut-in, oh, the despair!”

“I Love Construction: Ever since I entered the game, the hidden construction soul within me has awakened. I won’t talk anymore, I’m going back to the game to start my business.”

“Farm Life Here I Come: After observing for a few days, I feel that farming has great prospects. Here’s the latest reading list.”

“Farm Life Here I Come: ‘Efficient Farm Lifeing’, ‘Nutrition and Feed Formulation Techniques for Pigs’, ‘Veterinary Medicine Use and Common Pig Disease Prevention Techniques’, ‘Practical Farm Lifeing Handbook’, ‘Care and Postnatal Nursing Tips for Sows’.”

“West Lake, my tears: … Are you the devil?”

“I Love Construction: You’re not right.”

“Goodness gracious: A real tough one.”

“You’ve successfully piqued my curiosity. What game is this? Do you have to learn Farm Lifeing offline too? Is this some wild path?”

Thus, the enthusiastic members embarked on another round of enlightenment, drawing more members into the pit.

Just then, a message suddenly appeared: “Thief Has Money, Thief Is Willful: Buying ‘Doomsday Camp’ points, 1 point = 100 bucks, take as many as you want.”

“West Lake, my tears: Take as many as you want???”

“West Lake, my tears: Alright boss, I’m off to earn points.”

**

At that moment, Han Jiaqing was chatting privately with someone.

Food, Drink, and Fun: “What kind of game is ‘Doomsday Camp’? Is it worth you splurging a ton of money on it, with no spending limit?”

Food, Drink, and Fun is one of the well-known big spenders in the Pay-to-Win Game Group and knows Han Jiaqing in real life. The two have a good relationship.

Recalling their past friendship, Han Jiaqing didn’t hide anything, “I have a small tumor in my body. The doctor suggested surgery to remove it. I found it troublesome and have been putting it off. A few days ago, during a routine check-up at the hospital, the doctor said the tumor had shrunk a bit, no need for surgery, and it won’t affect my life.”

Food, Drink, and Fun: “???”

Han Jiaqing continued, “Ever since registering for the ‘Doomsday Camp’ account, being online for four hours a day, my body’s in great shape, and I’m living the good life.”

Food, Drink, and Fun: ” …Has your account been stolen?”

Han Jiaqing couldn’t be bothered to explain, “I’m telling you the truth because we’re brothers. Trust me, investing won’t let you down.”

Food, Drink, and Fun: “Still truth? Get lost.”

Believe it or not.

Han Jiaqing casually closed the chat window.

**

In front of the dressing table, Mu Jin looked at her facial skin back and forth. When she discovered that all the blemishes were gone and her skin was as smooth and tender as a freshly peeled egg, she was both surprised and delighted.

She had oily skin and was prone to acne, and no skincare product seemed to work.

Recently, with late nights and spicy hot pot, she thought she would break out, but to her surprise…

Mu Jin suddenly remembered her childhood friend Xie Yanxin once saying, “Spending a long time in the game will improve your skin.”

That seemingly joking remark turned out to be true.

At that moment, Mu Jin’s mindset underwent a noticeable change.

Where she used to find gathering herbs tedious and the gaming experience extremely poor, now… as long as playing the game kept her skin clear, she was willing to dig for herbs or mine ore!

**

Training ground.

Xie Yanxin was having a match with someone.

After the battle, the senior brother sat down, grinning, “Where have you been training lately? Your strength has increased quite a bit.”

Due to physiological differences, in the same training environment, a girl’s strength always tends to be slightly weaker than a boy’s.

For instance, Xie Yanxin, despite being skilled in combat techniques, always had slightly less strength.

But today, she seemed like a different person, making up for that weakness!

The senior brother thought he was just playing around with his junior sister, but unexpectedly, he slipped up and got hit hard a couple of times.

Xie Yanxin chuckled, “I told you to take it seriously, but you wouldn’t listen.”

The senior brother protested, “How was I supposed to know that in just a month of not seeing you, your strength would improve so much?”

“Just increased strength?” Xie Yanxin raised an eyebrow.

After a moment of thought, the senior brother said, “Faster strikes, fiercer attacks, maybe increased combat experience too.”

Xie Yanxin smiled, “Correct.”

The senior brother was greatly astonished, “Where have you been lately?”

In today’s peaceful society, it’s not easy for people like them, who practice martial arts, to gain practical combat experience.

“Playing holographic online games, practicing with minor beasts,” Xie Yanxin said, sharing the website link with her senior brother. “If you’re interested, you can also join the game.”

“Holographic online games?” The senior brother was stunned.

**

At the design company, at 10 p.m.

A colleague, looking exhausted, slumped on the table and lamented, “Finally done with the rush, working overtime to the brink of death.”

After lamenting for a while, she looked at An Xiaomo with a tone filled with envy and jealousy, “I suspect you have the skill to sleep with your eyes open, but I have no evidence.”

An Xiaomo tidied up her materials, “I don’t, don’t make baseless accusations.”

“Then why, from 8 in the morning till 10 at night, working through weekends, do you still have so much energy? You look radiant, as if you’ve had ten hours of sleep every day?”

“Because I take breaks to play games for stress relief,” An Xiaomo replied. “Although I have less rest time, the quality of my sleep is good.”

Her colleague wore a puzzled expression.

It takes time on the commute, time to freshen up at home, time to sleep—how can this person still manage to find time to play games? Is she naturally low on sleep and high on energy?

An Xiaomo explained with a smile, “I’m not just playing games, I’m exercising, strengthening my body, to prevent sudden death from excessive overtime and late nights.”

Colleague: ??? I don’t buy it.

**

Previously, when Yun Shan felt hungry, she would casually buy food from a street shop.

Since she started looking after Dahei, she discovered that it was malnourished. Therefore, she hired an NPC to build a small kitchen next to her rented house and started cooking for herself.

After the apocalypse, the digestive capabilities of creatures became extremely powerful, with no food restrictions. They could even eat human food directly.

Yun Shan flattened steamed glutinous rice, placed fried dough sticks, shredded meat, and chicken breast on the rice, then folded the sides of the rice towards the middle, shaping them into long oval pieces, making Chinese rice balls.

For easy consumption, she cut them into pieces and fed them to Dahei in a bowl.

Dahei ate them happily, one by one.

Yun Shan turned around, took out pork spine, and began making braised pork bones.

She washed the bones and put them in water to boil. Normally, she would add spices and seasonings to simmer. However, she took a different approach, cutting several medicinal herbs and spices, placing them in a cloth pouch.

Next, she added the bones, the pouch, rice wine, and soy sauce into the pot.

As the fire roared, she skimmed off the foam, then let it simmer over low heat.

As time passed, the aroma of the braised bones became more intense. Dahei even stopped eating its rice balls, perking up its ears and instinctively guarding the stove, refusing to leave.

“With the addition of medicinal herbs, the soup is good for your health,” Yun Shan gently stroked Dahei’s fur.

Dahei licked its mouth, appearing somewhat eager.

An hour later.

Dahei held onto the thick bones and eagerly gnawed on them, unwilling to let go.

“The fragrance of the braised bones is rich, not greasy, and the texture is tender and glutinous. It’s delicious,” Yun Shan picked a slightly smaller bone and joined Dahei for the meal.

**

“In the medicinal garden, 13 purple grass plants have developed spots,” after inspecting, Cheng Xuan felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Since taking over the medicinal garden, the growth of herbs had significantly declined. The overall quality had decreased, defective products had increased sharply, and someone seemed to be sabotaging him in secret.

Cheng Xuan furrowed his brow, feeling extremely agitated, “This time, too many instances of spotted purple grass. It took three months from planting to harvest, and instead of making money, I’m in debt…”

Thinking about selling the property to repay the debt, leaving him with nothing, he felt a pang of anxiety.

One day, Cheng Xuan encountered someone new, who spoke with great enthusiasm.

“My family has been running a medicinal garden for generations, growing herbs. Recently, we fell victim to a conspiracy, and the garden closed down. There’s still a batch of high-quality purple grass that hasn’t been processed. If you’re interested, I can sell it to you at a lower price.”

The gray-named player was both surprised and delighted, “Really?!”

“Of course.”

Cheng Xuan appeared honest and sincere. The gray-named player didn’t doubt his words at all, thinking that it was like a windfall, accidentally triggering a special and rewarding quest.

“If you’re interested, follow me,” Cheng Xuan said, leading the way.

Passing by the trading market, the gray-named player asked curiously, “If you have high-quality purple grass to sell urgently, why not post it on the trading market?”

Cheng Xuan’s heart skipped a beat, realizing he had underestimated the situation—so many newcomers in the camp, and so many unaware of the situation, how did he end up choosing someone who knew the ropes?

With a quick turn of his mind, he replied, “I’ve attracted attention. If I personally intervene, nothing will succeed.”

“Oh, it’s intentional targeting.”

The explanation made sense, and the gray-named player no longer dwelled on it.

The two soon stopped near the warehouse.

“I’m afraid that storing herbs in a residential area would lead to theft or damage, so I’ve temporarily stored them in the warehouse,” Cheng Xuan said. “With the recent shortage of purple grass, the mission hall is buying it at 3 points per plant, but I’m only selling it at 2 points per plant. We’ve signed the contract, transferred the points, and I’ll tell you how to pick up the goods.”

“Alright, I’ll buy 30 plants.”

Having signed the contract, Cheng Xuan was waiting for the naive and easy-to-swindle lambs to transfer money. However, the gray-named player gave him a faint smile, “I need to inspect the goods. I’ll see the 30 high-quality purple grass first, and then make the payment. The contract has been signed, failure to deliver the goods would be fraud.”

Cheng Xuan:!

Not to mention selling high-quality purple grass at this price would be a huge loss, even if he were willing, he couldn’t deliver the goods. Lately, the purple grass had been prone to spots, and he had already delivered the quality-approved ones to the pharmacy to avoid them getting moldy while in his possession.

Realizing the situation wasn’t favorable, he didn’t hesitate to turn and run.

Unexpectedly, when he looked back, he saw Feng Yao and two black-clad bodyguards blocking his way. “What a coincidence, we meet again.”

“You…” Cheng Xuan realized he had been duped.

“You said 2 points per plant, for a trade of 30 plants, why run?” Feng Yao said with a smirk.

Cheng Xuan looked at the two black-clad bodyguards, his gaze flickering.

Feng Yao coldly snorted, “For an extra layer of security, I’ve specially hired three-star experts as bodyguards for high pay. You seem to have quite a presence, are you touched?”

Touched my foot!

Cheng Xuan was pale, “What do you want?”

“Either follow the contract you just signed, or hand over all the inferior purple grass in your possession and sell it to me at 0.1 point per plant,” Feng Yao said slowly. “If you don’t comply, I’ll hand you over to the camp guards.”

Cheng Xuan: ???

How can people still be so easily deceived these days?