Professor Xie, isn't this a case of forcing customers to buy products that don't match the

Shang Song lay on the boundless grassland, looking at the pixelated blue sky and white clouds that only appeared in the game world, and began to think about where the problem was.

As the Lunar New Year approached, on the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, he followed Xie Jing by helicopter back to Xie Jing's ancestral home.

The helicopter was unharmed.

Therefore, he was certain that he did not die in the helicopter crash.

The Xie family's ancestral hall was very large and secluded.

But when Xie Jing presided over the sacrificial ceremony, he was incredibly handsome.

His heart pounded as he watched, so he was killed by Xie Jing's handsomeness?

impossible!

After the ancestral rites, he and Xie Jing walked hand in hand in the woods next to the ancestral home for a while, picking mushrooms for quite some time.

Although Xie Jing said that those mushrooms were past their prime for consumption.

But he wasn't doing it for food.

He just thought it was fun.

Could it be that the mushrooms he destroyed during the day were actually poisonous?

Did they poison him to death?

That's impossible.

On the way back, he even had a super delicious stir-fried mixed mushroom dish for dinner!

Stir-fried mixed mushrooms!

He suddenly sat up on the grass and slapped his forehead!

Dig!

He got mushroom poisoning!

At that moment, a semi-transparent system panel appeared in front of him as if he had photographed it.

The mechanical sound resounded:

[Player's intelligence has been detected; welcome to the Starry Sky Fantasy Realm.]

[Completion Requirements: Find your three teammates and defeat the overlord of the Starry Sea Forest—the Super Mushroom King.]

Best of luck.

Before Shang Song could react, another message popped up on the panel:

[Skills have been issued.]

[Guardian Aura: Consumes 100 mana to add a shield to the target. The higher the mana, the higher the shield value. Theoretical maximum: To be explored.]

[Healing Light: Consumes 10 mana to restore a fixed 233 HP to the target, or 666 HP on a critical hit.]

[Blade Slash: Damage skill, requires no mana, deals a fixed amount of 1 damage to the target.]

Shang Song stared at the "1" for three seconds.

"...1 o'clock?"

"Only one hit only deals 1 point of damage?"

"Are you guys serious about designing the game's numerical balance?!"

The system did not respond.

Just as Shang Song was about to start cursing, he suddenly heard a deep roar.

He turned his head and his eyes suddenly widened!

What the hell!

On the horizon, three pixelated dogs were running wildly toward him.

Shang Song: "??? Wait! What's that???"

System: [New Player Guide: Please familiarize yourself with your skills during the chase.]

Shang Song roared, "What kind of newbie guide is this?! Are you trying to kill me?!"

He turned and ran, with three large dogs chasing closely behind him. Their pixelated ears and tails swished back and forth, and their running posture was both clumsy and fierce.

As Shang Song ran, he tried to cast skills on himself.

Guardian Aura!

A golden light shone around him, forming a round, luminous shell. The big dog bumped into it and was bounced back slightly, but quickly got up and continued the chase.

Shang Song was on the verge of tears, but could only keep running.

He ran while shouting, "I was wrong! I shouldn't have picked mushrooms randomly! And I definitely shouldn't have eaten them! Xie Jing! Help me!"

He ran across the meadow, across the stream, and across a grove of trees, with three big dogs relentlessly chasing after him.

Finally, Shang Song simply couldn't run anymore.

He was holding his knees, panting heavily.

The footsteps of the three large dogs behind us grew closer and closer.

He could even hear their panting.

He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the fate of being pounced on by three pixelated dogs.

However, nothing happened.

After a long while, he tentatively opened one eye and saw three large dogs surrounding him. They didn't bite him or pounce on him, but instead wagged their tails frantically, looking excited as if to say, "Brother, you've finally stopped running away." Then they nudged his hand with their heads.

Shang Song: "???"

Before Shang Song could even catch his breath, the three large dogs in front of him suddenly began to transform.

After the pixelated bodies started to blur, the three large dogs turned into three people.

The eldest brother, wearing glasses, hadn't yet switched his expression back from "I'm a dog" mode.

The second child was still wagging its tail when it realized it had turned back into a human, and its movements froze.

The third brother was the most exhausted. He sat down on the ground, coughed twice, and weakly waved to him.

Shang Song stared at the scene before him in silence for a full five seconds.

He will never eat wild mushrooms from the mountains again.

The system notification sounded again:

[Four players detected. Congratulations on successfully forming a team.]

[Skills being distributed...]

The three beams of light landed in front of the eldest, second, and third brothers respectively, transforming into skill panels.

The leader's core skill is data insight.

You can view the target's attributes, health, and weaknesses.

However, it doesn't even have any attack skills; it's purely a support character.

The second character's core skill is taunting.

Forcefully draws enemy aggro and deals 250 damage.

The second son's smile froze on his face. "...How much?"

System: [250.]

The second child yelled, "Why is my damage only 250?! Is this number implying something about me?!"

Boss: "It might be the system's true evaluation of you."

Xu Zhao: "...I'm so pissed off!!!! ****!"

The system ignored him and continued to distribute skills.

The third boss's core skill is Storm Chant, a wind-based area-of-effect attack, but it requires a casting time, which is long. If interrupted, the boss will be given a weakness buff.

The third brother looked at his skill panel, then at his frail body, and wondered, "...Can I even withstand a single hit from a monster?"

System: [It is advised to avoid being touched.]

Third brother: "…………"

Shang Song patted the third brother on the shoulder, "It's okay, I have a shield, I'll put one on you."

The third brother glanced at him and said, "Your basic attack is worth 1 point."

Shang Song: "...System, do you have to offend everyone before you're satisfied?"

The system continues to selectively ignore:

[Mission Update: Defeat the overlord of the Starsea Forest—the Super Mushroom King. Good luck!]

Xu Zhao paused for two seconds, then said, "...Super Giant Mushroom King?! Is that name for real?"

Shang Song raised his hand guiltily: "...Maybe there was something wrong with the plate of mushrooms I ate."

Third child: "So, it's a mushroom?"

Shang Song: "...most likely."

The eldest brother sighed, "Since we're already here, let's go, let's go mushroom hunting."

The eldest brother walked forward, the second brother followed, took a step, then stopped and shouted into the air:

"Wait! System! What about the mission rewards? What do I get after completing the mission? A real-world reward of 100 million?"

The system is cold and impersonal:

There is no reward for this task.

Second brother: "...No reward?! Then why should we go! We're not going!"

The system's voice grew even colder:

[Player rejected mission detected. Hellhound will arrive on the battlefield in three seconds. Countdown: 3, 2...]

The four members of the group froze simultaneously.

The eldest brother grabbed the second brother's collar, the third brother rushed up and covered the second brother's mouth, and Shang Song hugged the second brother's waist from behind.

The eldest brother, the third brother, and Shang Song: "Go away! We're going! He was just joking! System, don't take it seriously!"

The second child was covered up completely and could only make muffled noises, but was held down firmly by the three people and could not move.

The countdown has stopped.

The system left a message:

[The task has been confirmed. Good luck to everyone.]

The panel disappeared.

The eldest brother slowly released his grip, the third brother also let go of the second brother's mouth, and Shang Song released the second brother's waist.

Just as the second brother was about to explode, the eldest brother spoke first: "Do you want to be chased by a dog, or do you want to shoot mushrooms?"

The second son opened his mouth, then closed it again, and finally said resentfully:

"...killing mushrooms."