Chapter 7: Forcing Her to Pay-to-Win

After a round of fierce bargaining and lightning-fast operations, the prices of the items in the exchange shop changed in the blink of an eye:

Sturdy Little Wooden House: 100 Spirit Coins (300 jin of wood + 50 Spirit Coins)

Elegant Little Bamboo House: 1,000 Spirit Coins (300 jin of bamboo + 500 Spirit Coins)

Impenetrable Stone House: 10,000 Spirit Coins (1,000 jin of stone + 5,000 Spirit Coins)

Golden House for a Hidden Beauty: 100,000 Spirit Coins (1,000 jin of gold + 50,000 Spirit Coins)

......

Yun Qimu glanced at the list and silently decided to go with the cheapest option—the little wooden house.

As for the raw materials, she’d seen some broken wooden planks in the junk pile earlier; if she pieced them together, she could probably scrape together 300 jin.

But before that, she lifted her long, jet-black lashes and turned her gaze to her father, who had been quietly following her side, keeping a cold expression, though his eyes were actually blank with confusion.

She called out tentatively, “Dad.”

“Hey, sweetheart.” Her father reflexively broke into a wide, toothy grin, his bright black eyes—so much like Yun Xiaoyu’s—shining as he looked at her.

His eyes were pure and full of affection, utterly unguarded and childlike. Paired with his handsome but weary face, it made one’s heart ache.

The once mighty general, now reduced to a simple-minded fool—no matter how you looked at it, it was a cruel irony.

Yun Qimu rubbed her temples, trying to hide the sudden pang of bitterness in her heart. She narrowed her eyes, searching her limited memories for clues as to how their family had fallen into such dire straits.

It all started not long ago.

Their faction, under Duke Kimberley, had gone to war with the Norman Empire. Her father led the Yun family legion into battle and suffered a crushing defeat, losing more than half his forces.

During the battle, her father was gravely injured—his head struck so badly that he became mentally impaired. The Yun family abandoned him, even accusing him of colluding with the Norman Empire and making him the scapegoat in an interstellar court.

In the end, her father was exiled to this wasteland planet, and the Yun family preserved their reputation as an undefeated clan.

As for their mother, Hua Yuanshu, she heard the news of her husband’s injury and hurried to see him, only to meet with an accident on the way—her starship fell into a wormhole, with almost no chance of survival.

They also had an outstanding eldest brother, Yun Qichen, who attended Kimberley’s First Military Academy.

But during their father’s campaign, he went missing during a field exercise at the academy.

And then there was Yun Qimu herself. Not long ago, during her grandfather Yun Cang’s ninetieth birthday celebration, she was seen meeting a man in a room. Branded as shameless and immoral, she was expelled from the Yun family, and the scandal spread throughout Kimberley City.

Later, she was even injected with a deadly dose of Rouge Intoxication. If not for the main AI’s protection, she would probably be dead by now.

Looking at this string of misfortunes, it was clear there must be a mastermind lurking in the shadows.

And the most likely suspects were none other than the Yun family’s eldest and youngest uncles, just as Yun Xiaoyu had said.

If Yun Xiaoyu hadn’t come along this time, their family’s last remaining child would probably have met with a fatal “accident” soon enough.

Glancing at Yun Xiaoyu, who was chatting happily with the game, Yun Qimu felt a surge of anger she couldn’t swallow.

Her eyes darkened. Revenge could wait ten years if necessary. For now, the priority was to heal her father and take care of Yun Xiaoyu. If she wanted to escape this one-way exile planet and return tit for tat, it wasn’t impossible.

Her gaze softened as she looked at the game interface before her. She was starting to think this game wasn’t so bad after all.

[Ding—Player Yun Qimu invites you to join the Earth Village construction. Do you accept?]

Her father looked curiously at the blue dialog box that suddenly appeared before him. Yun Qimu nudged him, “Dad, say ‘accept.’”

He nodded obediently. “Accept.”

[Ding—Please create a username.]

His eyes lit up. This, he knew how to do. “My name is Yun Jingzheng.”

[Ding—Congratulations, player Yun Jingzheng, for being one of the first three to log in. You have received a Lucky Gift Pack. Please accept it.]

Yun Jingzheng blinked, a big question mark on his face, not knowing what to do. He turned to Yun Qimu for help.

Yun Qimu sighed helplessly. It was like raising two kids.

She negotiated with the main AI to make the control panel, which was originally visible only to her, accessible for her to operate on her father’s behalf.

Surprisingly, the main AI cooperated this time, probably to boost user engagement.

In no time, they finished setting up her father’s account.

She opened the player info screen:

Player: Yun Jingzheng

Age: 50

Mental Power: C (Severely unstable, at risk of collapse at any time. Please purchase mental stabilizers ASAP to protect your brain.)

Awakened Ability: Infinite Emperor Body (SS Rank)

Strength: 100

Agility: 90

Vitality: 91,000 (Critical red zone, infected with dark matter. Please purchase medication to remove dark matter ASAP—protect your brain, protect your body, stay away from dark matter.)

Senses: (Vision: 10; Smell: 10; Hearing: 10; Taste: 10; Touch: 3)

Skill Cards: 0

Weapons: 0

Inventory Slots: 110

Yun Qimu stared at her father’s stats and sighed. His physical condition wasn’t much better than it looked—he might seem tall and imposing, but inside he was riddled with problems.

He had the two most dangerous conditions in the interstellar world: mental instability and dark matter infection, both leading to berserk syndrome. He was in even more danger than she was.

Her own vitality was in the negatives, but at least the main AI was keeping her alive, so she probably wouldn’t die anytime soon. Her father, though, was in urgent need of help.

She quickly opened the Lucky Gift Pack.

[Ding—Congratulations, player Yun Jingzheng, you have received a bottle of “Mental Stabilizer.”]

Yun Qimu’s eyes lit up. For once, the damn main AI was acting like a decent person.

She hurriedly took out the stabilizer and had Yun Jingzheng drink it.

He tilted his head, but under Yun Qimu’s intense gaze, obediently downed it in one go.

His “Mental Power” stat changed to C+ (Still somewhat unstable. Please purchase mental stabilizers ASAP to protect your brain).

The “at risk of collapse at any time” warning was gone, and Yun Qimu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Qimu, Qimu! I got a silver crossbow! What did you get?” Yun Xiaoyu jumped up excitedly, waving a shiny little silver crossbow high in the air to show off."