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

The four brothers, dragging their weary bodies, fled the Great Mushroom King's territory in a sorry state.

Fortunately, at night in the Starry Sea Forest, all the plants and trees emit a faint glow.

Using the light, they found a relatively flat, small slope, which they used as a makeshift camp.

The second son plopped down on the ground, leaned against the tree trunk, and looked up at the sky. "...I'm hungry."

The eldest son's stomach cooperated perfectly by letting out a rumble.

The third brother was too weak to speak, but he weakly nodded in agreement.

Shang Song sat on a rock, rubbed his stomach, and realized he was hungry.

He missed Xie Jing.

Xie Jing would never let him go hungry.

The second child struggled to sit up, looking around: "Is there anything edible in this wretched forest? Fruit? Rabbits?"

Boss: "I don't recommend eating plants of unknown origin. Have you forgotten how we got in here?"

Shang Song: "...Are you real people? Are you afraid of entering a dream within a dream?"

Second son: "...Then try waking up now!"

Shang Song was silent for a moment, then pinched his thigh seriously.

pain.

It hurts a lot.

He grimaced, rubbing his sore thigh, then looked up, met three pairs of gleaming eyes, and shook his head.

"...I can't wake up."

The second brother cried out in despair, "We're doomed! We're trapped in Shang Xiaosong's dream! We have to keep fighting that devil mushroom tomorrow! And on an empty stomach! Shang Xiaosong, are you serious about making this dream difficult?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a system notification sounded without warning:

[New in-game purchases detected in player account.]

[Amount: 888 Star Coins]

The four brothers were all stunned at the same time.

The second brother instantly regained full health: "Wait! Star coins? Who topped up our account?!"

He frantically opened his system panel, then screamed, "It must be Yan Yan! He must have given me the money!"

"888!!! How auspicious! He must be worried I'll go hungry! Yan Yan really loves me the most!"

The boss looked at his panel, "...My account hasn't changed, it's still zero."

Third brother: "...I don't have any either."

Shang Song: "...Xie Jing didn't top it up for me either."

The system notification sounded again, but this time, the tone was noticeably different.

enthusiasm.

It even carried a hint of obsequiousness.

[Dear player, your account has been detected to have spending power. Would you like to activate the in-game store and make a purchase now?]

The second brother paused for a moment, then sneered, "Ha, you pretended to be dead when we were beaten half to death, you pretended to be dead when we were starving, but you came back to life as soon as you saw we were topping up our accounts? Your system is too realistic!"

The system did not respond to his taunts, but silently forced the opening of the store interface.

The four members of the group went over to take a look, and then fell silent.

[Basic Recovery Potion: Restores 20% of health. Price: 2000 Star Coins.]

[Intermediate Recovery Potion: Restores 50% of health. Price: 4500 Star Coins.]

[Advanced Recovery Potion: Restores 100% of health. Price: 8000 Star Coins.]

[Light Warrior Set: Increases all resistances by 100% and movement speed by 200%. Price: 500000 Star Coins.]

[Ultimate Thunder Bomb: Pierces through magic shields, dealing massive damage. Price: 1000000 Star Coins.]

The second brother's smile gradually froze. "...Two thousand for a bottle of basic potion?!"

The system's tone remained enthusiastic: 【Yes, dear.】

Second brother: "I recharged 888, and I can't even afford a single potion?"

System: [Yes, dear. We suggest you continue to recharge for a better gaming experience.]

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Boss: "...Shang Xiaosong, what brand of mushrooms did you eat?"

Shang Song: "...I don't recognize it either. It was picked from the hill behind Xie Jing's ancestral home."

Boss: "What does it look like?"

Shang Song: "...the kind that's grayish-brown."

Boss: "No name?"

Shang Song: "...I didn't ask."

Boss: "..."

The second child was still scrolling through the online store interface, muttering, "Why is everything so expensive?!"

The third brother spoke weakly, "...Could you please have your Yan Yan recharge a little more?"

Second son: "...I want to too, but how do I tell him?"

The third brother fell silent.

The second son scrolled through the store interface again and again, and finally found something he could afford in the very bottom corner.

[Energy Bar: Restores 100 hunger points. Price: 200 Star Coins.]

He stared at the energy bar for a long time, then gritted his teeth and clicked "Buy ×4".

Purchase successful.

[Deduct 800 Star Coins. Remaining: 88 Star Coins.]

Four energy bars appeared out of thin air in his hand. He handed one to each person: "Eat them, at least you won't starve to death."

The four brothers squatted silently in the makeshift camp, nibbling away in the dim light from the grass and trees.

The energy bars didn't taste very good; they tasted like compressed biscuits.

As Shang Song continued eating, he started thinking about Xie Jing again.

Xie Jing would never let him eat this kind of thing.

The next day, the group set off again, only to be soundly defeated by the Giant Mushroom King once more.

In the evening, the Big Mushroom King finished get off work on time and went home to sleep.

The brothers dragged their battered bodies back to camp, and a system notification sounded:

[A new recharge of 888 Star Coins has been detected in the player's account.]

The second child didn't even have the strength to cheer. He just lay on the ground and weakly said, "...Yan Yan is so good."

Then I got up, opened the online store, and bought four more energy bars.

On the third day, the three brothers got beaten up, went home, recharged their accounts, and bought energy bars.

On the fourth day, the three brothers got beaten up, went home, recharged their accounts, and bought energy bars.

On the fifth day, the three brothers got beaten up, went home, recharged their accounts, and bought energy bars.

On the evening of the sixth day, the brothers collapsed again in the camp.

The second child mechanically opened the online store, ready to buy energy bars, when the eldest child suddenly spoke up:

"Wait a moment."

The second brother looked at the eldest brother: "?"

The leader sat up straight, pushed up his glasses, and said very seriously, "Based on my observations and analysis over the past few days, I have come to a conclusion: it is absolutely impossible for us to defeat the Great Mushroom King on our own."

The brothers remained silent.

Because what the boss said was nonsense.

The leader said, "His health is a question mark, his level is a question mark, his skills are a question mark, and our attacks can't even break through his defense. If we don't get help from outside forces, we'll never be able to beat him in our lifetime."

Second son: "...Then what do you suggest we do?"

The leader reached out and pointed to the mall panel.

[Ultimate Thunder Bomb: Pierces through magic shields, dealing massive damage. Price: 1000000 Star Coins.]

Boss: "The only possibility is with this bomb."

The second brother looked at the price with a "Brother, are you crazy?" expression.

The eldest ignored him and continued, "Besides, you've all seen these past few days that the Great Mushroom King will absolutely not attack the fourth brother. If we let the fourth brother carry this bomb, walk to the Great Mushroom King's feet, plant the bomb, and then run back with his shield activated and wearing the Warrior of Light armor—"

The second brother's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but chime in: "And then! Boom!! The Giant Mushroom King was blown away!!!"

The leader nodded. "Theoretically, it's feasible."

The third brother spoke up timidly, interrupting their daydreams: "...So, what do you think of the price?"

The four members of the group stared in silence at the string of zeros marked on the bomb.

Second son: "One million. Yan Yan recharges 888 at a time. How many times do we need to recharge?"

The eldest brother did some mental calculations: "If we don't eat or drink... 1127 times."

"...So, do you think Yan Yan will give me a million to hunt mushrooms?"

The second son slowly lay back down on the ground, gazing at the starry sky, and asked himself a question that he answered:

"No, he'll just kill me first."

After he finished speaking, he skillfully bought energy bars and distributed them to his brothers.

The four of them lay sprawled on the ground, no one speaking, silently munching on energy bars.