10: Chapter 10 Pay-to-Win? We're Professionals!

A piercing alarm ripped through the tense atmosphere of the command center. Red lights flashed wildly, casting every strained face in a flickering gloom.

"Beep! Beep! Beep! Warning! Warning!"

"Target vital signs show drastic fluctuations! Heart rate soaring to 185! Blood pressure 190/110! Skin electric response index breaking the threshold!"

The cold, synthesized electronic voice repeated incessantly, each number hammering down on everyone's heart.

"What happened?!"

Director Li Guoan shoved aside several researchers crowding the screen and rushed to the recliner connected to countless wires.

On the screen, Chen You's physiological data curves jumped wildly, like a seismograph recording a magnitude ten earthquake.

The line segment representing his heart rate was almost breaking through the top of the coordinate system.

"Chen You! Chen You! Can you hear me?!"

Director Li Guoan bent down, disregarding all operating procedures, and grabbed Chen You's shoulders with both hands, shaking him forcefully.

"The situation is critical, immediately execute the wake-up protocol!"

"Three... Two..."

Just as the Assistant's finger was about to press the red emergency button, Chen You on the recliner suddenly shuddered, and his eyes snapped open.

"Ah!"

Chen You gasped for breath and sprang up from the recliner, his forehead covered in fine cold sweat.

He looked blankly at the magnified faces filled with anxiety and terror before him, as well as the flashing red alarm lights, and couldn't react for a moment.

"Hoo... Hoo..."

Seeing Chen You awaken, Director Li Guoan's heart, which had been lodged in his throat, finally settled halfway.

He released his hands and took half a step back, but his clenched fists revealed the lingering fear in his heart.

"Report the situation immediately! What did you encounter in the game? Was it high-intensity combat or a mental attack?"

Director Li Guoan's voice suppressed a tremor, his gaze sharply locked onto Chen You, trying to capture any clue from his face.

"I... I'm fine..."

Chen You wiped the sweat from his face; his mind was still a little hazy.

He had just broken free from that gaudy, incredibly tacky golden gift package interface. The moment he opened his eyes, he was met with this doomsday-like scene. The huge contrast left him slightly dazed.

"Fine?" The head of the medical team beside him, holding a freshly printed report, had trembling fingers.

"Your heart rate just spiked to one hundred and eighty-five! You call that fine?!"

"Ah? That high?" Chen You was startled himself.

He looked down at the wristband on his wrist, then up at the surrounding people who looked like they were facing a great enemy, and finally realized how exaggerated his physiological reaction had been.

This whole thing was a bit embarrassing.

"Director Li... um..."

Chen You scratched the back of his head, his expression somewhat awkward, unsure how to begin.

Director Li Guoan's expression was extremely serious. He stared fixedly at Chen You and asked in a deep voice.

"Speak! Did the mission difficulty in the game exceed our estimates? Report immediately, don't leave out a single word!"

In his view, the only possibility that could cause Chen You to have near-death physiological reactions was encountering a terrifying enemy far surpassing the Giant Battle Chicken.

Chen You looked at Director Li Guoan's face, which was almost frozen with frost, and then at the medical soldiers around him, ready to rush up for resuscitation at any moment. His Adam's apple bobbed.

He mumbled, his voice as faint as a mosquito's hum: "No... no danger."

"No danger?" Director Li Guoan's volume suddenly rose. He stepped forward, almost right in front of Chen You.

"If there's no danger, how could your heartbeat speed up to the point of shock? Comrade Chen You, I need you to understand, this is not a joke!"

"Every single heartbeat of yours relates to the survival of our entire plan!"

"It really wasn't dangerous!" Startled by the shout, Chen You quickly explained, "It was... it was a gift package that popped up in the game."

"A gift package?" Director Li Guoan froze.

The entire command center instantly fell into a dead silence.

The piercing alarm had stopped at some unknown time, leaving only the slight hum of the instruments operating.

Everyone's eyes were wide open, suspecting their ears had malfunctioned.

A... gift package?

For a mere game gift package, you nearly scared yourself into cardiac arrest and simultaneously triggered the entire base's alarm system?

Director Li Guoan stared at Chen You, silent for a full ten seconds.

A rare trace of bewilderment and... cracking appeared on his face, which had weathered countless storms.

"Say that again? Because of what?"

"A Pay-to-Win gift package." Chen You's voice was even smaller; he wished he could find a crack in the floor to crawl into. "The Cultivation Launch Grand Gift Package, limited time."

Director Li Guoan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

He closed his eyes, rubbed his throbbing temples, seemingly trying hard to digest this utterly absurd piece of information.

The atmosphere in the command center became incredibly bizarre.

Just a few minutes ago, it was a life-or-death rescue, but now it was filled with an awkwardness where they wanted to laugh but dared not.

"Time! How much is left?"

Director Li Guoan opened his eyes again, having recovered his usual composure.

As long as Chen You was fine, everything else could be managed.

Chen You immediately raised his wrist, focused his mind on the bracelet, and the golden, glittering interface reappeared in his consciousness.

"There are... six minutes and forty-five seconds left!"

"Gift package contents." Director Li Guoan's tone was unquestionable.

Chen You dared not delay and rapidly recited the contents of the package like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

"Nine Revolutions Primordial Chaos Art, a Heaven-rank technique, said to lead directly to the foundation of the Great Dao."

"One creation pill, capable of directly breaking through to the first layer of the Qi Refining stage."

"Ten qi gathering pills, tripling cultivation speed."

"A storage bag, plus a permanent title granting five percent to all attributes."

"Finally, a rebate of one hundred huaxia coin."

With every item he mentioned, the breathing in the command center grew heavier.

When he finished the last sentence, the entire room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Especially the material scientists and biologists; the light shining in their eyes was brighter than the alarm lights from before.

Heaven-rank technique?

Storage bag?

These terms, to them, were no less shocking than conjuring a Qilin out of thin air in a physics laboratory.

"Price." Director Li Guoan's voice was somewhat dry.

"Ninety-eight huaxia coin." Chen You answered honestly.

Ninety-eight million huaxia coin.

Nearly one hundred million!

Director Li Guoan fell silent again.

He lowered his head; no one could see the expression on his face.

The atmosphere in the command center once again became heavy with his silence.

Ninety-eight million was an astronomical figure for ordinary people.

But Director Li Guoan wasn't considering the amount of money; he was thinking about something further away.

The value of the Giant Mother Hen had already been verified, and the state had issued orders to fully support the 'Pay-to-Win' project.

In Director Li Guoan's view, how much money was spent didn't matter.

It was just that...

Chen You's heart tightened.

Seeing Director Li Guoan's reaction, he thought the director was hesitating, scared off by the sky-high price.

He quickly added: "Director Li, actually... actually the six million, six huaxia coin you gave last time haven't been spent yet..."

Director Li Guoan slowly raised his head. His expression was strange—neither shock nor hesitation, but a kind of... a confusion after deep consideration.

He looked at the anxious Chen You and asked a question that made everyone present's brains crash.

"Is that the only gift package?"

"Huh?" Chen You's mouth dropped open; he couldn't grasp the meaning of the question immediately.

Director Li Guoan frowned slightly, seemingly unsatisfied with the answer.

He took a step forward and continued to press with the serious tone of someone discussing an academic problem.

"I mean, besides this limited-time gift package, is there nothing else?"

He looked at the completely bewildered Chen You and offered a hint.

"For example, is there a 'Monthly Pass' that gives rewards every day?"

"Or is there a 'Mall' where you can directly purchase various items?"

"Or perhaps a 'VIP System' where unlocking special privileges requires reaching a certain top-up amount?"