In a corner of the Internet Cafe.
A middle-aged man with a goatee was pacing back and forth in the corridor, occasionally glancing at the computer screen in front of a seat, with a look of utter despair.
On the screen, Jia Baolai, holding a Taichi Sword, was half-crouching on the ground, secretly observing every move of a monster covered in yellow-green scales hundreds of meters away.
That was a Thief Wyvern, the lowest-ranked small monster in the monster hunter world.
But at this moment, Jia Baolai was as cautious as if facing a formidable enemy, terrified of being discovered.
Even if the Thief Wyvern's senses were keen, it couldn't possibly detect him from such a distance.
Of course, from such a distance, he couldn't pose any threat to that Thief Wyvern either.
The two sides were thus deadlocked across the distance.
The more Wang Chunhua watched, the more speechless he became, and he couldn't help but urge, "Why don't you go up and fight it, chop it!"
"Shh!"
"Don't rush!"
Jia Baolai, squatting on the ground, said with shifty eyes, "I think it's better to be careful, let's watch a bit more. I'm not even in a hurry, why are you!"
Wang Chunhua got even angrier when he heard that: "Of course I'm in a hurry! You're the one who told me to wait for you to play together!"
Wang Chunhua hadn't waited for Jia Baolai today; he had come early in the morning and started playing monster hunter. Although it was his first time playing and he wasn't very skilled, he still completed the Beginner's Guide at a normal pace.
Afterward, he became increasingly addicted, drawn in by the wonderful game world.
At noon, although Su Ran's astonishing ingredients piqued his interest in Stardew Valley, he still planned to continue playing monster hunter for a while longer.
Unexpectedly, just as he was getting into it, Jia Baolai asked him to wait and team up.
Wang Chunhua had thought Jia Baolai was about to arrive then, so he waited, but after a long time, there was no reply.
That's why he came over to check.
Upon seeing it, he was completely stunned.
He found that Jia Baolai hadn't even passed the Beginner's Tutorial yet; he was still there, strategizing against the Thief Wyvern—no, he should say, against thin air.
In the game, Jia Baolai hesitated for a while longer, then finally took a deep breath, mustered his courage, and walked over.
"Roar!"
The moment he stepped into the Thief Wyvern's sensory range, he saw its fierce, sharp gaze sweep over him. It roared furiously and immediately charged forward.
Jia Baolai was instantly flustered at the sight.
"Oh, my goodness!"
Especially seeing the Thief Wyvern getting closer and closer, he wanted to fight but didn't know how to start. He didn't move at all and was pounced to the ground, bitten to death in a few bites.
"Ah…"
After Jia Baolai finished his scream and woke up, he found himself unharmed. Only then did he sigh in relief, remove the virtual reality headset, and turn around to say earnestly, "See? This Thief Wyvern is so strong, you can't fight it without being prepared!"
"Is that because the Thief Wyvern is strong?"
Wang Chunhua's mouth twitched, already too exhausted to retort.
Why the hell didn't you move!
Finally, Wang Chunhua turned around and left in a huff.
"Hey, Old Wang, don't leave! I'm about to pass it! Hey, what kind of look is that…"
Jia Baolai stared gloomily at the computer screen, feeling quite indignant.
Originally, when he watched others play, he felt excited and thrilled, eager to try it himself.
But when he actually started playing and faced the fierce beasts up close alone, he immediately felt helpless.
No wonder, he didn't usually cultivate and always brought guards when traveling far, so he had no real combat experience at all.
"Is there no way for me to quickly learn how to fight?"
Just as Jia Baolai was thinking this, he suddenly heard a conversation between a few passing players behind him.
One player said enviously, "That's so good! I saw that game guide, it's truly amazing. Brother Li bought it, and he's almost done planting even the parsnip!"
"No way, it's not just for monster hunter, it's useful for Stardew Valley too?"
"Yes, it's a pity I don't have that much money, otherwise I would have bought a copy too. At least it makes the start a bit easier!"
"How much do you guys have? I have seven or eight hundred gold here. How about we team up, pool our money to buy a guide, and then start playing together?"
"Oh, that's a good idea, that's a good idea! I also have over a thousand gold here."
"I have some too, enough, enough! Let's go, let's go find the boss to buy the guide!"
As Jia Baolai listened, his eyes suddenly gleamed with excitement, and he quickly got up, rushing to the counter ahead of the others.
At this moment, he saw several other players at the counter, seemingly also intending to buy the guide, currently haggling over the price.
"Boss, your game guide is good, but can't you make it a bit cheaper?"
"Or, just this once would be fine, I'm a bit tight on money recently."
Su Ran was writing the game guide with his head down, saying as he wrote, "Since the price is set, everyone has to pay the same. I can't change it!"
Upon hearing this, those players were quite helpless, hesitating.
"You need to haggle for something this cheap?"
Jia Baolai, who had arrived later, was already impatient. He quickly stepped forward and said in a rich tone, "Poor people, move aside! Boss, I want to buy the guide!"
With that, he waved his hand and casually pulled out a thick wad of gold notes from his sleeve, stunning everyone around him.
"What's the problem?"
"It's about how to defeat the Thief Wyvern!"
"Hmm?"
Su Ran couldn't help but look up at Jia Baolai: "Are you sure this kind of problem requires buying a game guide?"
"Yes, hurry up, boss!"
Jia Baolai urged him indifferently.
Su Ran said no more and quickly wrote him the guide. Then, Jia Baolai, after reading it, ran back joyfully.
Su Ran hadn't paid much attention, and at this point, he started attending to other players.
But after a while, Jia Baolai came rushing back again.
"Boss, another guide for the Thief Wyvern!"
Su Ran was startled: "Was that guide useless?"
Jia Baolai said with some pleasant surprise, "Don't you say, it really was useful! After reading it, I indeed knew how to fight that Thief Wyvern!"
Su Ran was even more puzzled upon hearing this: "Then why are you still buying a guide?"
Jia Baolai said indignantly, "But I just killed one Thief Wyvern, and immediately I was surrounded by several more Thief Wyverns! This time I want to ask you for a way to deal with multiple Thief Wyverns."
"Can't you apply what I wrote in the previous guide by analogy?"
"No!"
Jia Baolai said as a matter of course, "It wasn't written in your guide!"
Su Ran was stunned, speechless, and finally had to write him another guide.
However, less than ten minutes later, Jia Baolai came running over again: "Boss, boss, I want to buy a guide again!"
Su Ran asked with a strange expression, "You're not here to ask me for a guide on the Great Jagras, are you?"
Jia Baolai said in surprise, "Huh, how did you know? Yes, that Great Jagras is too disgusting!"
Su Ran: "…"
Then, for the next period of time, Jia Baolai ran back and forth more than a dozen times, essentially buying a guide for every step he took in the game.
He managed to advance the game's progress at a snail's pace, relying on the miraculous effect of the game guides.
This made Su Ran, despite earning a lot of contribution points, feel a bit exasperated.
Is this what they call being bad at something but still addicted?
Well, who told him he had the power of money.