Chapter 8: Difficult Choices

Boi ignored Ye Feng’s question and simply walked over to him, taking a look at the gun-like toy. “You can check out the product description. I’m not a salesperson; I’m just a game guide. How to use it exactly depends on you.”
“Product description?” Ye Feng glanced at Boi skeptically before reaching out to touch the gun.
“Super Gauss Gun, made on Ultraman Planet. A mid-to-low-end civilian weapon with an attack range of two kilometers and an energy release equivalent to 9 kg of T.N.T…” As soon as he touched the gun, such information popped into Ye Feng’s mind.
“T.N.T equivalent?” Ye Feng murmured to himself.
“Actually, the energy release here refers to the ultimate energy discharged at a two-kilometer attack range,” Boi explained.
“Nine kilograms of T.N.T equivalent—how much energy is that?” Ye Feng had no clear concept of this unit.
“On the planet you’re on now, a grenade has an equivalent of about 75 grams. Nine kilograms—calculate it yourself.” Boi finally provided a reference.
“So, the ultimate energy release is equivalent to the power of 120 grenades exploding?” Ye Feng quickly calculated the power of the Gauss Gun but couldn’t believe it. “You’re not trying to trick me, are you?”
“The products here can be tried out before purchase, free of charge. But only for the items you can see. Of course, some special items are exceptions.”
“Try it out?” Ye Feng wondered where he could try it when suddenly the surroundings darkened, with walls and a roof appearing around him and Boi, enclosing them.
In the distance stood a huge building with a peculiar shape, resembling a giant target with colorful rings surrounding the center.
“You can give it a try to see if it’s useful,” Boi said with a smile.
“You mean I should shoot that?” Ye Feng pointed at the uniquely shaped building in the distance.
“Yeah. This is the testing area. Don’t worry about breaking anything; you won’t have to pay for it.” Seeing Ye Feng’s expression, Boi guessed what he was hesitating about.
“That’s what you said!” With those words, Ye Feng felt more confident.
He picked up the Gauss Gun, aimed at the clear red dot in the distance, and pulled the trigger.

There was no sound as Ye Feng had imagined. He only faintly saw a transparent strip flash past the gun barrel, after which the part of the high-rise building hit by the shot shattered violently, and the entire building collapsed in a crash. Ye Feng stared in shock at what he saw. “Is this even considered a mid-to-low-end civilian weapon?” “That rating isn’t based on your world; it’s a comprehensive rating of all first-tier items, including weapons from other galaxies. Ten million dollars might be a large sum in your world, but for people on some planets, it might only be enough for a meal. No wonder such a weapon is classified as mid-to-low-end.” Boy’s explanation made Ye Feng frown deeply. He had thought that obtaining nearly 2,000 domain values was already an incredible achievement, but he never expected that this amount was actually just a drop in the ocean when compared to 2 million dollars. At Ye Feng’s signal, the trial room slowly disappeared. He put the Gauss gun back in its place and then casually glanced at the other items, remaining silent. “You don’t need to be too discouraged. Everything is difficult at the beginning. Although 2,000 domain values isn’t much, it’s still enough to do many things. Things will definitely get better over time!” Boy seemed to realize his earlier words might have been too harsh and spoke to comfort him. “Boy, are there any things here that can make one stronger?” Ye Feng suddenly turned to ask. “You mean…” Boy looked at Ye Feng skeptically. “Things like secret manuals or pills that can make someone stronger.” Ye Feng looked at Boy eagerly. “There are, but secret manuals are quite expensive. I advise you not to just buy one and start practicing. Everything here is worth its price. For the same type of item, those that require more domain values are of much higher quality. The same goes for secret manuals—don’t chase cheap deals, or you’ll regret it later.” Boy’s expression became serious. “If that’s the case, I’ll have to wait until I have more domain values to get a good manual for training.” Ye Feng sighed lightly. “Actually, there are also many drugs that can make one stronger, like gene drugs. These are expensive, but their effects are very noticeable. The only downside is that since many high-quality genes in these drugs come from other species, the genes aren’t pure. This is extremely problematic when practicing traditional cultivation methods, as many traditional methods can’t function with altered genes.” Boy explained.

“Of course, if the gene drug you inject only serves to enhance genes rather than introducing new genes for genetic modification, then the impact won’t be significant.”
“Gene drugs…” This time, Ye Feng didn’t ask Boy again but thought to himself, and countless shelves reorganized once more.
Bottles of potions in various colors dazzled Ye Feng.
“Is this thing so cheap? I thought my domain value wasn’t enough!” Ye Feng laughed.
“I know why you think that. On Earth, research on this kind of thing is still in the experimental stage, and it hasn’t been mass-produced yet. So on Earth, it’s inevitable that it’s expensive. But in reality, on many advanced planets, it’s already been mass-produced, and some planets have even commercialized it for civilian use,” Boy explained with a smile.
“Hmm, red enhances strength, blue enhances mental power, white enhances speed—just 300 domain values are enough for these three bottles. And this golden one…” Ye Feng picked up a small bottle containing golden liquid in surprise. “Perfect Genes…”
“That’s right, Perfect Genes. This actually doesn’t count as a genetic modification product because it’s not the result of scientific research. Instead, it’s a formula developed over thousands of years by a great sorcerer in the Theseri star region. After taking this formula, genes aren’t enhanced immediately but gradually fill in their defects, making them perfect. If the average gene health level of normal people in a world is 7 out of 10, then Perfect Genes can raise it to 10. And there are no side effects.” This time, Boy didn’t rush Ye Feng to read the product description but gave a detailed explanation himself.
“Considering this effect, it’s actually quite cheap. But at this price, I still can’t afford it. Seeing the four 9s shown for the required domain value, Ye Feng helplessly put the product back on the shelf.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll reach 2,000 domain values so soon. 10,000 won’t be hard either,” Boy reassured him.
“I’ll take a look at the pills next!” As soon as Ye Feng finished speaking, the shelves changed again.
“Is this red pill for increasing strength? It’s so cheap—only 5 domain values?” Ye Feng picked up a fiery red pill from the shelf.
“It is cheap, but I suggest you read the instructions carefully…” Boy shook his head helplessly at Ye Feng’s excited expression.
Ye Feng carefully read the instructions for the pill:

First-order Power Source Pill: It only takes effect when the required strength level is reached; taking the same pill repeatedly is ineffective. Its effects cannot be combined with those of gene drugs!
The strength of a normal human is calculated at 5 points.
After taking Pill 1, strength increases to 10, with a required threshold of 5 points.
After taking Pill 2, strength increases to 15, with a required threshold of 10 points.
After taking Pill 3, strength increases to 20, with a required threshold of 20 points.
……
After taking Pill 8, strength increases to 45, with a required threshold of 640 points.
After taking Pill 9, strength increases to 50, with a required threshold of 1280 points.
After taking Pill 10, strength increases to 60, with a required threshold of 5120 points.
Higher-numbered pills cannot be viewed due to insufficient threshold requirements……
“It seems I was indeed too happy too soon,” Ye Feng said, looking at the rows of numbers. He could easily calculate the cost required to increase his strength from 90 to 100—it would need 81,920 points in threshold value…… And to go from 100 to 200, it would cost an exorbitant 1,638,400 points……
“Don’t forget, this only increases strength. There’s also speed and mental strength. Without sufficient speed, even with high strength, one can only get beaten by stronger opponents. Without enough mental strength, the reaction nerves can’t keep up with the body, making it impossible to coordinate strength and speed properly,” Boy reminded from the side.
“In that case, to truly achieve the desired strength, these values need to be multiplied by three,” Ye Feng said. He picked up two other pills and glanced at their descriptions, realizing the calculation method was exactly the same as that of the Power Source Pills.
“It’s up to you to decide whether to use pills or gene drugs,” Boy said, watching Ye Feng from afar. “Gene drugs are cheaper and can increase the value by 50 points at once, which is the limit that a normal human body can handle. To make further progress, one has to accumulate threshold value to exchange for secret manuals. With pills, there’s no such concern. One can practice the manuals anytime and use pills anytime. However, the downside is that strengthening strength, speed, and mental strength to 50 points each would require nearly 8,000 points in threshold value, which is almost ten times the price of gene drugs.”
“I’ll choose……” Ye Feng’s gaze wavered between the two types of products on the shelf……