9: Chapter 9 The Secrets of a Wealthy Family: A Reminder Worth Ten Million

The gray fog surged like a tide, so viscous it was almost liquid.

As soon as Qin Ji's figure submerged into this dead silent area, the surrounding air temperature plummeted abruptly. Visibility was compressed to less than three meters, and the humus underfoot was soft, rotten, and slippery, as if stepping on decaying corpse flesh.

"Hiss—" A faint sound of something breaking through the air came from overhead.

Without any warning, a black shadow as thick as a wrist dropped from the canopy like a poisonous drill, aiming straight for the back of Qin Ji's neck.

【Mist Tree Python (Elite)】

【Rank: LV.18】

【Skills: Constrict, Poison Fang】

Qin Ji didn't even turn his head; he backhanded his iron sword and thrust it backward.

"Pfft." Precise, cold.

The sword tip seemed to have eyes of its own, piercing directly through the python's open maw and pinning it dead against the tree trunk in mid-air.

-3200 (Weakness Critical Hit)!

-3200 (Lethal)!

【Killed LV.18 Elite Monster "Mist Tree Python"!】

【Triggered "Greedy Grasp"! Plundered Attribute: Agility +5!】

【Triggered "Greedy Grasp"! Plundered Passive Fragment: Toxin Resistance (1/100).】

"An Agility-type monster, huh." Qin Ji casually shook the snake corpse off his blade. Watching the golden data stream drill into his body, a trace of boredom flashed in his violet-gold pupils.

Too weak. To him now, this "Newbie Killer" in the eyes of ordinary players was nothing more than a walking attribute pack.

He continued forward. Wherever he passed, the predators originally coiled in the treetops and swamps suffered devastating blows. Sword light flickered, thunder cracked. In just ten minutes, a trail of mangled corpses was left behind Qin Ji.

Until that panting voice came from the fog behind him.

"G-Great God! Daddy! Wait for me!"

Futou Shield Mountain was wearing a set of top-tier heavy armor, holding an exaggerated tower shield in his hand, looking like a mobile metal fortress as he stumbled over. Behind him followed two exhausted assassin bodyguards, clearly there to escort this young master on his corpse run.

Qin Ji stopped and turned to look at the sweating fatty.

"You're pretty fast."

"That's a must! To meet the Great God, I used every ounce of strength I had!"

Futou Shield Mountain wiped the oily sweat from his face, staring at Qin Ji with fiery eyes. "Great God, trade?"

Qin Ji didn't waste words, directly initiating a trade request and placing the 【Thunder Bow】 and the previously obtained leggings on the trade window.

"Ding! Trade completed. You received Gold +250,000."

Looking at the gold amount that instantly skyrocketed in his inventory, Qin Ji's expression softened slightly. This money was enough to pay for his younger sister's first surgery fee and also upgrade the nutrient pod at home.

"Straightforward." Qin Ji nodded and turned to leave.

"Hey! Great God, wait!" Futou Shield Mountain hurriedly blocked his path, rubbing his hands together with a flattering smile. "Um... let's reintroduce ourselves. I am the young master of the Futou Guild. I can see that your skill is definitely professional-grade. Are you interested in joining our guild? An annual salary of ten million, the position of Vice Guild Leader, and you can deploy guild resources as you please!"

Ten million. In this era, this was definitely the highest of top salaries. The two assassin bodyguards nearby nearly had their eyes pop out of their sockets, their breathing instantly becoming rapid.

Qin Ji merely glanced at him indifferently.

"Sorry, I'm used to working alone."

He refused? Futou Shield Mountain was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting anyone to refuse such a temptation. But he reacted extremely quickly and immediately changed his tune: "Understood, understood! Experts all have personalities. Then, can we be long-term partners? In the future, if you have good equipment, sell it to me first?"

"Sure." Qin Ji nodded. Just as he was about to step away, a piece of news from his past life suddenly flashed through his mind.

In his previous life, three months after "God's Domain" opened, an "accident" that shocked the business world occurred at the Futou Group. The young master was disabled in a car accident, the Futou Guild fell apart, and it was finally discovered that the mastermind behind it was his seemingly gentle older sister.

Although this fatty was a bit noisy, he was certainly quick to pay. It would be a pity if such a high-quality "ATM" were wasted.

Qin Ji's footsteps paused, and he turned back to look at Futou Shield Mountain.

"You said you are the young master of the Futou Group?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Futou Shield Mountain looked blank.

Qin Ji looked at him deeply, his voice as calm as if he were talking about a trivial matter:

"For the sake of your quick payment, I'll give you a piece of advice."

"Don't drive much when you go out recently. And... watch out for your sister."

The smile on Futou Shield Mountain's face froze, and his brows furrowed into a frown: "Watch out for my sister? Great God, what do you mean by that? My sister is very good to me..."

"That's all I have to say." Qin Ji didn't explain; he turned and submerged into the thick fog, leaving only an indifferent back view. "Believe it or not, it's up to you."

When he returned to the Newbie Village safe zone and logged off, the sky outside was already bright. Qin Ji took off his game helmet and stretched his slightly stiff neck.

Although "God's Domain" claimed that it could replace rest through deep brainwave sleep, that referred to players using Advanced nutrient pods. For bottom-tier people like him, who were still using cheap helmets, long hours online would still cause physical fatigue.

"Looks like I need to change my nest as soon as possible." Qin Ji glanced at the cramped rental apartment and got up to head to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, the aroma of simple fried eggs drifted out.

"Click." The door to the next room opened.

A fatty with a bird's nest hairstyle and a round figure walked out, rubbing his eyes. It was Qin Ji's roommate and best friend, Fatty Zhou.

"Hao... no, wait, Brother Ji! Morning."

Fatty Zhou sat down at the dining table with a thud, grabbed a slice of bread, and started gnawing on it, but his face couldn't hide his excitement. "Brother Ji, you were so right! Working alone is indeed much better than being a dog in a guild! Last night, following your guide, I went to sweet-talk that Bard, and I actually got a hidden class transfer scroll!"

"Oh?" Qin Ji placed the plate of fried eggs on the table. "What class?"

"Heavy Assault Chariot!" Fatty Zhou was so excited that the fat on his face trembled. "It even came with three passive skills! Double Armor, Double Shield, Double Slash! Especially that Double Armor, it reflects damage when I get hit; it's practically tailor-made for me! I'm Rank 9 now. Just now in the wild, an assassin tried to ambush me, but ended up killing himself from the reflection, hahaha!"

A curve appeared at the corner of Qin Ji's mouth. In his previous life, this fatty relied on this damage-reflection build to become the "Hedgehog War God" that people feared. In this life, with his own guide, the formation speed was twice as fast as the previous life.

"Not bad." Qin Ji drank a sip of milk. "But don't get cocky too soon; this game's waters run deep. The real good stuff is all held in the hands of those big Families."

"Tch, what's so great about big Families." Fatty Zhou curled his lips in disdain. "By the way, Brother Ji, that 'Qin Ji' from the server-wide announcement last night... that wouldn't be you, would it?"

Although Qin Ji's game ID was his real name, there were plenty of people with the same name. But combined with Qin Ji's recent displays of foresight, Fatty Zhou had long had his suspicions.

Qin Ji did not deny it, taking a bank card out of his pocket and pushing it over.

"There's 500,000 in here. After you finish eating, go renew the rent first, and use the remaining money to buy two of the best nutrient pods."

"Holy f*ck?!" The bread in Fatty Zhou's hand dropped onto the table, his eyes wide as saucers. "500,000?! Brother Ji, you... did you really slaughter that Lord BOSS? And it dropped top-tier loot?"

"Just good luck." Qin Ji's expression was calm as he took out another slip. "Also, I've already paid for Qingqing's surgery. The surgery is this afternoon; you'll come to the hospital with me later."

Hearing the words "Qingqing," the playfulness on Fatty Zhou's face instantly vanished, becoming solemn and respectful. He knew what Qin Ji's younger sister meant to Qin Ji. She was Qin Ji's untouchable point.

City Center Hospital, Intensive Care Unit.

The pungent smell of disinfectant permeated the corridor. Qin Ji stood in front of the glass window of the special care ward, looking at the girl inside who was hooked up to a ventilator, her face as pale as paper. Qin Qingqing.

In his previous life, because he didn't have the money to pay for the exorbitant surgery fee, his sister missed the best treatment time. Although she barely managed to save her life, she was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. That was the pain of Qin Ji's entire life. But in this life...

"Mr. Qin?" The attending physician walked over with a file, his tone more than ten times more polite than before. "We have already received the surgery fee. Although your sister's condition is critical, with the imported targeted drugs introduced with this money, the surgery success rate can be increased to at least 90%."

"I want one hundred percent." Qin Ji turned around, his gaze as sharp as a blade, making the doctor subconsciously take half a step back. "Money is not an issue. If the equipment is insufficient, I can donate. If the technology is insufficient, go invite the best experts. No matter how much it costs, I just want her to stand up completely unharmed."

The doctor wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded repeatedly: "Yes... yes! We will definitely do our best! The dean has already personally gone to invite experts from the capital to fly over..."

Qin Ji withdrew his gaze and signed his name on the surgery confirmation form. The nib of the pen tore through the paper, the force piercing through to the back. In this life, he possessed 【Greedy Grasp】 and memories ten years ahead of the world. If gods block him, he will kill gods; if Buddhas block him, he will kill Buddhas. No one could take anything away from him. Whether it was Family or power.

"Fatty, you stay here at the hospital." After signing, Qin Ji checked the time. "Notify me immediately when the surgery is over. I'm going back to log on now; there are still some scores to settle."

Fatty Zhou nodded heavily: "Don't worry, Brother Ji, Qingqing is also my sister. I'll keep an eye on things; not even a fly will be able to get in!"

Returning to the rental apartment, Qin Ji lay back into the game pod. As the iris scan passed, his consciousness was once again pulled into that bizarre data world. Light and shadow reorganized. Qin Ji's figure reappeared in the depths of the Mist Forest.

The surroundings were still a dead silent gray-white, but unlike before he logged off, the fog in the distance seemed to have become even denser, and some huge silhouettes could be vaguely seen moving slowly within the mist. That was a deeper area. It was also the true hunting ground.

Qin Ji raised his right hand. In his palm, the 【Venomous Snake Gallbladder】 that had just dropped from the tree python was trembling slightly.

"Crack." He expressionlessly crushed it, letting the dark green venom drench his palm, then slowly seep into his skin.

【Devour Successful! Physique +2, Toxin Resistance +5!】

A burning, stinging sensation spread along his veins, but it only caused a bloodthirsty curve to form at the corner of his mouth. The wind rose. It blew away the fallen leaves at his feet, revealing the piles of white bones beneath. Qin Ji held his sword in one hand, his violet-gold pupils locked onto the pair of scarlet beast eyes that had just lit up deep within the fog. His entire being was like an unsheathed sharp blade, carrying a suffocating sense of oppression as he stepped, one step at a time, into that dark abyss that devoured the light.