"The game program has been completed, player Liu Ruoxi, please check your personal panel." At this moment, the voice of Barbarossa echoed in Liu Ruoxi's mind. Barbarossa's voice wasn't the typical, cold robotic tone. It had emotional fluctuations, but it was neither male nor female, as intelligent beings lack gender distinction.
Upon the conclusion of Barbarossa's words, a new blue holographic screen appeared in front of Liu Ruoxi's eyes.
***
[Player: Liu Ruoxi
Profession: Pet (Not Activated)
Age: 36
Physical Description: Height 172cm, Bust 36E, Waist 60cm, Hips 104cm.
Background: CEO of Yangtian Group, owning 51% of shares; married; have a son and a daughter.
Controller: Yang Haoran
Shame: 0
Points: 0
Game Store (Available for viewing)]
***
The blue holographic screen was linked to Liu Ruoxi's visual nerves. Although she wanted to ignore this mysterious, unpredictable, and ominous game, she inevitably saw the information on the screen.
"Player Liu Ruoxi, please actively participate in the game. Failure to participate will activate the pre-set destruction program," Barbarossa, noticing Liu Ruoxi's resistant emotions, warned. As an intelligent entity, it was merely doing its duty.
"Then let it destroy me." Liu Ruoxi retorted coldly. Her face was frosty and sharp, refusing to participate in what was blatantly a perverse game.
"Destruction program initiated…" Barbarossa dutifully executed the pre-set rules, adhering to its programmed responsibilities.
As the cold, synthetic voice of the machine fell silent, Liu Ruoxi's body began to fade away, something she quickly noticed.
Liu Ruoxi slowly lifted her right hand. Her fingers were slim and delicate, her skin as white as snow, crystal clear, almost translucent. Under the hallway light, her hand gradually disintegrated into glimmers of starlight, scattering into the air.
Everything had happened so quickly: from the sudden encounter with this mysterious supernatural event, understanding the game's malice, firmly refusing to participate, and finally the impending destruction—all in just a few minutes.
As she watched her hand gradually disappear, Liu Ruoxi momentarily faltered, but her determination remained unyielding, as if even death couldn't make her compromise. Her gaze slowly fell on her son's hospital room door.
Looking at that ordinary door, Liu Ruoxi realized her impending death. Her eyelashes, long and crescent-shaped, trembled slightly. The harshness in her eyes gradually filled with a foggy mist, her icy expression melted away, leaving behind only a gentle aura.
Quietly, a tear, crystal clear, slipped down her beautiful face, ultimately falling with a "drip" onto the cold floor.
Liu Ruoxi stared at the door, her eyes seemingly able to see through it to her son lying in the hospital bed beyond. Her lips moved slightly, whispering something towards the door. Her eyes were filled with a mother's longing for her child and an unwavering resolution.
Perhaps some people would succumb to this wicked and perverse game for the sake of survival, but given her nature, compromise was impossible.
By this moment, more than half of her body had faded away, and her mind swiftly navigated through the chapters of her life, like a swift horse passing a series of landscapes.
She was born into a prestigious family; her parents were quite influential, and she never lacked material comforts in her privileged upbringing. But the one thing she lacked was the companionship of her parents.
Her father was a high-ranking government official and her mother, a mayor. Theirs was an arranged marriage, and their relationship after marriage was far from harmonious. To avoid her father, her mother often used work as an excuse to stay away from home, hiding in the cold city hall.
In response to her mother's cold demeanour, her father would angrily leave. After their separation, the two of them would only pretend to be a happy family once a year during the holidays.
Years of loneliness fostered her distant and cold demeanour.
When she grew older, her parents urged her to get married and have children. As they both were victims of a political marriage, they didn't force her to marry for political purposes.
She was free to marry whomever she loved, probably the only blessing she felt in her icy cold family.
Soon after marrying her first love, Yang Wenbo, she became pregnant with twins. They named the boy Yang Haoran and the girl Yang Mengyao.
This was a time of happiness, before she established her own company.
However, after founding the Yangtian Group, she was busy with company affairs all day long. She even rejected her husband's request to return to their hometown for a visit due to her busyness.
This created a rift in their relationship and to this day, they have yet to reconcile.
"Player Liu Ruoxi, do you really wish to proceed with the initiation of the self-destruction program?" The voice of Barbarossa echoed in her mind.
Although she wanted to ignore Barbarossa's words, Liu Ruoxi was startled as they transmitted a new piece of information into her mind.
"Stop."
Upon comprehending the information, Liu Ruoxi's face instantly turned pale, her beautiful face filled with anger.
"The Curse of Bloodline: If a player fails a task three times or initiates the self-destruction program, any relative who shares a bloodline with the player will die from various accidents and coincidences within the next three days."
This was the message Barbarossa had relayed to her, striking her at her core.
She could disregard herself, but as a mother, which mother could disregard her own children?
If her actions led to any harm coming to Haoran and Mengyao, that would be absolutely unacceptable.
"Why choose me?" Liu Ruoxi asked, her face expressionless with confusion.
After she chose to stop the program, her body was like a dream. The points of starlight flowed backward and coalesced, restoring her to her original state.
It was as if nothing had happened at all.
All of this was clearly beyond the technological capabilities of Earth.
She could not understand why, out of billions of humans on Earth, she was singled out.
"Player Liu Ruoxi, being chosen signifies that you are an individual of exceptional talents and appearance among humans," Barbarossa explained, "You don't need to be so pessimistic. This game is not as devoid of benefits as you imagine. It can provide you with benefits beyond your imagination."
"I lack nothing."
The thought of being enslaved by this unknown game made Liu Ruoxi feel dead inside. She answered flatly, her face impassive.
"Really?" Barbarossa chuckled softly, "What if the game could cure your son?"
At those words, Liu Ruoxi fell silent.
She did not doubt that this mysterious and unpredictable game could cure her son, as it was clearly a supernatural entity, albeit an incredibly wicked game.
After a long while, Liu Ruoxi asked, "What can I do to get you to help treat Haoran?"
"I can't do that," Barbarossa confessed straightforwardly.
"Are you messing with me?" Liu Ruoxi's expression darkened.
"I am but an artificial intelligence designed to facilitate game operations, so I can't directly assist you in any way."
"If you wish to cure your son, it depends entirely on you. By completing game tasks, players can accumulate game points. These points can be used to exchange for various items in the game store."
"One of these items is the Dragon Extension Elixir, which can completely cure your son's condition."
After hearing Barbarossa's words, Liu Ruoxi remained silent for a long time, deep in thought.
Considering her current circumstances, if she could heal Hao Ran by completing these so-called "game tasks," then perhaps...
Thoughts swirled in Liu Ruoxi's mind, and after a while, she made up her mind.
She looked at the personal panel in front of her, her gaze slipping towards the game store.
She was about to ask how to open it when, with a thought, the game store automatically opened up.
The screen transitioned, displaying rows upon rows of neatly organized items divided into four main categories.
The Basic Item Category included items such as electric dildos, smart vibrating eggs, fluffy ball sticks, mouth plugs, leather whips, collars, blindfolds, nipple clamps, nipple rings, and butt plugs...
The Uniform Category contained a dazzling array of revealing costumes, such as teacher outfits, cosplay outfits, student uniforms, nurse uniforms, air hostess uniforms, santa outfits, maid outfits, and cheongsams...
Without exception, these costumes differed from the norm. Each revealed key areas of the body, partially concealed, incredibly enticing.
Liu Ruoxi only gave a brief glance at the Basic Items and Uniforms categories, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, but she was mentally prepared and quickly moved on to the next two categories.
The Money Category included various real-world material rewards that could be exchanged using game points, such as cash, sports cars, residential property certificates, villas, etc.
Liu Ruoxi had all these material goods herself and had no need for more, so she skipped this category and looked at the last one.
The Elixir Category had learning elixirs, lifespan elixirs, strength elixirs, X-ray elixirs, invisibility elixirs, skin-beauty elixirs, face-beauty elixirs, breast enlargement elixirs, combat elixirs...
The Elixir Category contained high-tech items that could directly alter humans, such as a learning elixir that enhances the activity of nerve cells in the brain, a lifespan elixir that can extend one's life by a year, or a strength elixir that increases the strength of muscle cells, thereby enhancing the overall physical strength of the body.
There were also beauty-enhancing elixirs, such as those for breast enlargement, face beauty, and skin beauty, which could increase a woman's overall attractiveness.
When Liu Ruoxi saw the learning elixir, her eyes lit up. She had been worried about Haoran's poor academic performance for a long time. If she could get this elixir for Haoran, she wouldn't have to worry about his grades in the future.
However, after carefully reading the details of the learning elixir, she was slightly disappointed. The effect of this elixir was not permanent but lasted only two hours.
For elixirs like lifespan, strength, beauty, and breast enlargement, the effects were permanent, while learning, invisibility, and X-ray elixirs had temporary effects.
In the Elixir Category, aside from the learning, lifespan, beauty, and skin-beauty elixirs, there were many others that caught Liu Ruoxi's eye. At least in this regard, this perverse game had some merits.
The Elixir Category contained hundreds of varieties, and she carefully browsed through them. Midway through, she found the introduction to the Dragon Extension Elixir.
Dragon Extension Elixir: After use, it can treat male penile diseases and injuries, stimulate penile cell activity, and enhance function.
Price: 50 points.
"50 points?" Liu Ruoxi's eyebrows knitted. The items like the basic tools and uniforms were mostly within 1 to 30 points, but the prices of the elixirs were more expensive, starting at ten points, with some going up to several hundred points.
"How many points do I get for completing a game task?" Liu Ruoxi inquired.
Barbarossa explained: "Game tasks can be divided into five-star levels and chain tasks. After completing a one-star task, you can get 10 points, a two-star task 20 points, a three-star task 50 points, a four-star task 100 points, and a five-star task 300 points."
"Chain tasks are special tasks, and they offer varying point rewards from 10 to 300."