"You two dogs, I never should have asked!" Loves Playing with Coriander sent a pouting emoji in the group chat.
Shen Xing and Xu Jiayi replied with a bunch of laughing emojis.
After venting, Loves Playing with Coriander changed the subject. "By the way, I was browsing the forums today and found out there are a ton of hidden ways to get rich in this game!"
Starfire: "Oh? Tell me more."
Loves Playing with Coriander excitedly explained, "You guys know that some items from the game can be brought into the real world, right?"
"Some fruits, items, and other things with special effects can sell for a really high price in the real world!"
"For example, a Blood Fruit, which can heal injuries and permanently increase your recovery ability in the game, sells for over thirty thousand out here."
"That’s because people discovered it seems to have a miraculous effect on ALS."
"And then there’s the Brain Fruit, which can increase Spiritual Power. It has a pretty good therapeutic effect on cerebral infarctions, cerebral palsy, and other brain diseases. One of those also sells for over thirty thousand!"
"It can’t cure them completely, but it can slow the progression and reduce the suffering."
"Some rich people found out through special channels and are offering astounding prices to buy them."
Shen Xing and Xu Jiayi were slightly stunned to hear this.
They hadn’t seemed to consider that items from the game could actually be effective against real-world illnesses.
Shen Xing pressed, "What about the Bone Fruit? What’s its effect?"
He had found a Bone Fruit in the black wolf’s lair today but hadn’t had a chance to check its Attributes yet.
Loves Playing with Coriander replied, "The Bone Fruit increases your Constitution and strengthens your bones. It’s said to be able to heal osteoporosis and bone fractures."
"Oh, right, Shen Xing, I also saw someone on the forums with a situation similar to yours."
"It seems they were also paralyzed from the waist down because of an accident."
"Later, by eating Bone Fruits and Flesh Fruits, which can strengthen muscles, he gradually recovered function in his legs."
"But since you can only eat each type of fruit a maximum of three times, he could only barely stand up in the end and couldn’t do any strenuous activity."
He paused, then added reassuringly, "But don’t you worry. This game world is huge. It’s said that the areas humans have explored make up less than five percent of the entire Land of Mist."
"In a world this big, there must be things with even stronger effects than Bone Fruits and Flesh Fruits. You’ll definitely be able to stand again."
Shen Xing was silent for a moment. His finger hovered over the screen for a long while before finally tapping it.
After chatting for a little longer, everyone logged off and went to bed.
Just then, a private message from a profile with a pink bunny avatar popped up.
I Eat and Eat: "I was exploring in the Fog today and gathered a Flesh Fruit. I’ll bring it to you tomorrow."
Shen Xing’s heart warmed, but he still replied, "Thanks, Jiayi, but I don’t need it for now."
Before this, if he had known he had a chance to stand again by eating a Bone Fruit and a Flesh Fruit, he would have been ecstatic.
But now, he had awakened the ridiculously overpowered hidden Talent, Sacrificial Evolution.
’I still want to keep exploiting that bug and milking the daily Soldier Type advancement for free.’
’What if I eat the Flesh Fruit and my legs get healed? My Agility Attribute won’t be zero anymore, and I won’t be able to exploit the loophole. What then?’
’Right. A little impatience will spoil a great plan.’
’For the sake of my future development, I should probably stay in this wheelchair a little longer.’
’Once I’m powerful enough later on, won’t it be easy to recover then?’
I Eat and Eat: "Okay, just let me know when you need it. I’ll save it for you."
Shen Xing sent a thank-you emoji, then closed the app and gazed thoughtfully out the window.
’How exactly do you bring items from the game into reality?’
Although he knew the function existed, he hadn’t actually used it yet.
So, he opened the forums again and searched for related information.
Sure enough, he found the specific method there.
’I see. Everyone who comes into contact with this game gets a mark on their arm.’
’This mark can be considered a connection to the game world.’
’As long as you connect your consciousness to this mark, you can transfer things from your inventory to reality.’
’One thing to note is that you can only transfer one item per day in the early stages of the game.’
’This includes materializing Soldier Types. You can only bring out one or two, and they can only stay for a limited time.’
’As your strength increases, you’ll be able to transfer more and more things, and the number of Soldier Types you can materialize at once will also increase.’
Shen Xing closed the forum and glanced at his wrist. There was indeed a special, flower-like mark there now.
It was gray and hazy, like a Fog Flower.
As he closed his eyes, he focused his thoughts on the mark.
The flower slowly bloomed, releasing a large amount of mist.
When the mist dissipated, a milky-white, rough-surfaced fruit materialized in his palm. This was the Bone Fruit.
’How magical.’
Although he had prepared himself mentally, seeing a game item actually appear in the real world was still a bit surreal.
’Can I just eat this thing?’
Shen Xing stared at the Bone Fruit in his hand, and after a moment’s hesitation, he tentatively took a bite.
The flesh was surprisingly crisp. The texture was somewhere between an apple and a watermelon rind, and it didn’t have much flavor.
He finished the whole fruit in a few bites, smacking his lips a couple of times.
He waited for a while, but it seemed like nothing had changed.
’Oh well, the effect probably won’t show up this quickly. I should get some sleep.’
So much had happened today, and exploring in the game had drained a lot of his energy. Shen Xing was so tired his eyelids were fighting to stay open.
He propped himself up and moved from his wheelchair to the bed, pulled the covers over himself, and fell into a deep sleep.
He slept soundly. It wasn’t until the sun was high in the sky the next day that his alarm clock woke him.
He groggily turned on his phone and saw that it was already past nine in the morning.
In the group chat, Qin Lang had forwarded a news report about Lu Xiang’s death.
Just as Zhou Zheng had said, it was being treated as an accidental death.
The three of them in the group chat sighed at the report.
But there was nothing they could do. After all, they were caught up in this game too, forced by circumstances beyond their control.
Besides, as a gambling addict for many years, Lu Xiang had racked up who knows how much in online debt. His life didn’t really have much hope left anyway.
A few years ago, his parents had secretly had another child. Lu Xiang was so angry about it that he ran away from home and hadn’t been back in years.
After a moment of reflection, the three of them adjusted their moods.
Shen Xing didn’t log into the game right away. According to the forums, the Fog Flower mark on his wrist would grow hot if his territory was in danger.
Since he didn’t feel anything, it meant everything was normal.
GRUMBLE...
His stomach rumbled as a powerful wave of hunger washed over him.
"The last time I ate was... the last time I ate. Time to eat."
Shen Xing skillfully propped himself up with his arms, preparing to move from the bed to his wheelchair.
But the moment he exerted force with his hands, he suddenly froze.
’Huh? Why does it feel like I’ve gotten a little stronger?’
Shen Xing continued to support his body, carefully sensing the feedback from his arms. ’No, it’s not that I’m stronger... My bones have gotten sturdier.’
It was a hard feeling to describe, but it was definitely a huge change.
The most noticeable difference was that when he pushed himself up now, his arms no longer trembled. They were steady as a rock.
His lumbar and cervical vertebrae, usually sore from sitting for so long, felt more comfortable than ever before. Even the circumference of his arms had increased.
’Is this the effect of the Bone Fruit?’
Shen Xing did a few difficult front-lever-like exercises on the bed and even cranked out a dozen push-ups before stopping.
After expending all that energy, he was even hungrier.
He smoothly moved onto his wheelchair and rolled himself to the bathroom.
In the mirror, a handsome face with delicate features and clean lines looked back at him.
Many years ago, back when he was still in school, Shen Xing had been known as one of the handsome guys in his department, about as good-looking as all you fine readers out there.
Plenty of girls had pursued him back then, but after his legs were paralyzed, he became a shut-in in his rented apartment and lost contact with his old classmates.
But because he hadn’t seen the sun in years, his skin had become even fairer.
After quickly washing up, Shen Xing wheeled himself out the door.
He reached the hallway, just about to take the elevator to the first floor.
But when the elevator doors opened, a graceful figure was already standing inside.
She wore a long, floral cheongsam that accentuated her voluptuous, hourglass figure, exuding the charm of a mature woman.
"Oh? It’s Little Xing."
The woman’s eyes lit up. Staring at his face, she asked, "Heading out?"
"Yes, Mei."
Shen Xing nodded politely. This was Tang Mengmei, his landlady, who also owned this building and several others nearby.
"Hehe, want me to give you a hand?"
As Tang Mengmei spoke, she leaned down, placing one hand on his wheelchair and the other on his shoulder, which she then slowly slid downward.
Goosebumps instantly broke out on Shen Xing’s skin, and he quickly pushed her hand away. "No thank you, Mei. I can get down by myself."
Tang Mengmei wasn’t annoyed. She withdrew her hand and chuckled, covering her mouth. "You’re always trying to act tough. It must be so inconvenient living alone."
"It would be different if you had someone to take care of you."
She said this suggestively, her gaze soft as she looked at Shen Xing.
"I’m fine on my own. It’s not inconvenient at all." Shen Xing gave a dry cough and tried to get around her.
But just then, Tang Mengmei moved in front of him and extended a delicate, flesh-colored-stocking-clad foot, placing it on his wheelchair’s footrest.
"Little Xing, let me be honest with you. I just adore that fair, clean look of yours."
She leaned down, her breath sweet. "I may be over forty this year, but I’ve kept myself in pretty good shape."
"If you’re with me, you’ll never have to worry about food or clothing again, and you won’t have to live in a rented apartment anymore."
"What do you say? Think about it?"
"Um... I think I’ll pass." Sweat beaded on Shen Xing’s forehead. "I can’t even move my legs."
"It’s okay if you can’t move. I can move on my own." Tang Mengmei winked.
Cold sweat streamed down Shen Xing’s back. After a bit of back-and-forth, he finally managed to break free from his enthusiastic landlady and slipped into the elevator.
Mei leaned against the elevator doorframe, watching him with a wide smile.
The elevator doors closed completely, and Shen Xing let out a long sigh of relief.
"Phew..."
To be honest, sometimes he was quite afraid of running into her.
Still, she didn’t have any ill intentions. She had taken good care of him over the years, even reducing his rent by a fair amount.
And Mei really was beautiful, with a great figure. It was said that quite a few CEOs of publicly listed companies were pursuing her.
But... Shen Xing looked down at his own thin arms and legs.
’If I really gave in to her, I’d probably be sucked dry in three days.’
’I can’t handle it. Definitely can’t handle it.’