In the hour she sat in despair after learning of her late-stage stomach cancer, the original host had thought of many things.
She had considered whether or not to try treatment.
But after inquiring about the cost of treatment.
She had basically decided to give up.
Because she knew very well that if she wanted treatment, she would likely have to sell her home, spend all the money saved for her children's weddings, and even sell the house she had just put a down payment on, to afford even a period of treatment—not a cure, just treatment for a while.
And afterward, the family would likely have to go into debt.
To continue treatment.
This way, the chances of her children's weddings falling through would undoubtedly be extremely high, as no one would want to marry into a family that was penniless and in debt for their mother-in-law's medical expenses.
Or marry a wife who was penniless.
And needed to use money for her mother-in-law's medical treatment.
Marriage and starting a family were about living life together and supporting each other, not about one party engaging in poverty alleviation for the other.
Even if the children's weddings falling through could be grudgingly accepted, money wasn't that easy to borrow. She didn't know how much money her husband and children could borrow from outside, but she was certain that she herself wouldn't be able to borrow much, or even if she could, she wouldn't be able to ask, because she knew the situation of her relatives and friends all too well.
First, her father had passed away, and her mother's pension was barely enough for herself. Her elder brother ran a restaurant, and his house was rented. The rent and brand usage fees alone accounted for most of his profits each year.
Recently, his son was preparing to study abroad, and he had even sold his old house to raise money.
Her younger brother had a higher education and a higher income. He had four houses, also with one son and one daughter. But the old house wasn't valuable, and no one wanted it. Of the other three houses, one had recently had its mortgage paid off, which they were keeping for their retirement. The other two were still being mortgaged, with the intention of giving one to each child. Most of his monthly income was used to pay the mortgages and cover his children's education expenses.
He also had little savings.
The original host truly couldn't bring herself to ask her younger brother to sell a house and lend her money, so borrowing money was naturally out of the question.
Besides, most of her friends were around her age, and their children were either at the age of marriage or about to be, or were being pressured by them to get married. For example, one friend's son had just gotten married, and the mortgage for the new house was still being paid by the couple.
Situations like this were not uncommon.
It wasn't that she couldn't borrow any money at all; for something as serious as this, she could likely borrow money. But the original host was unwilling to ask, unwilling to make others difficult because of her situation.
Moreover, if she borrowed that much money, how would she pay it back? If she were certain she could be cured and could return to work normally after recovery, that would be one thing.
At worst, she could bear the debt herself.
But the reality was that the original host was not certain she could be cured, nor could she guarantee it wouldn't recur. She truly didn't want to leave her children with a pile of debt when she was on her deathbed, having given them nothing else.
Considering all these factors.
The original host ultimately decided to forgo treatment.
Therefore, the original host was truly kind, so kind that she didn't want to hurt anyone or make anyone feel troubled. After much thought, she realized that only by hurting herself was it easiest to make a decision, and only her own life was the least important.
Even her dying wish was for her death to be ruled as an accidental drowning, so that her family wouldn't be burdened with guilt upon knowing she had cancer.
After sorting through the memories, Ding Yun, for the first time in a long time, couldn't utter a word of感慨 (gǎnkǎi - lamentation/sigh). She didn't know how to comment on the original host; she couldn't even bring herself to call her stupid.
In the end, all her emotions could only be transformed into a long sigh.
"Alas~"
Just then, Ding Yun suddenly felt a sharp pain in her stomach, and her internal organs twitched faintly. She slowly came back to her senses and quickly used her mental power to sever her pain nerve signals. She still didn't rush to treat her illness.
Instead, she began to examine the random golden finger.
[Myriad Worlds Gourmet Sign-in Device]
"This is a very comprehensive, truly Myriad Worlds Gourmet Sign-in Device. Gourmet foods from all the myriad worlds may appear as random sign-in rewards.
Three meals a day, thus three sign-ins are possible per day.
However, please note that the criteria for judging gourmet foods vary across different worlds. Foods suitable for silicon-based lifeforms may not be edible for carbon-based lifeforms. Foods suitable for devils may not be edible for humans. Foods from zombie worlds are not guaranteed to be non-toxic. Therefore, after obtaining gourmet foods, please read the instruction manual carefully and judge cautiously whether they can be taken out for use.
Furthermore, users can offer gourmet foods to the Myriad Worlds Gourmet Sign-in Device to exchange for Gourmet Points. Gourmet Points can be redeemed for sign-in opportunities. Ten Gourmet Points can be used to choose an afternoon tea or supper sign-in opportunity.
One hundred Gourmet Points can be used to select the type of gourmet food. One thousand Gourmet Points can be used to select the world of origin for the gourmet food. Ten thousand Gourmet Points can directly specify gourmet foods that have been previously signed in and obtained.
Additionally, this Gourmet Sign-in Device can be upgraded. Signing in for a hundred years can upgrade it into a Myriad Worlds Gourmet Mall, where any gourmet food can be purchased with Gourmet Points. Alternatively, one can directly upgrade by charging ten thousand units of merit or ten thousand units of luck.
Or by accumulating ten billion Gourmet Points.
This can also lead to an upgrade.
Young boys and girls, work hard to top up!"
Good heavens, even the instruction manual left Ding Yun speechless. This randomly assigned golden finger was clearly a pay-to-win one. To joke, ten thousand units of merit or ten thousand units of luck converted into original currency would be enough to buy nine-thousand-year-old flat peaches directly, and a basket of three-thousand-year-old flat peaches.
This golden finger was probably designed specifically for those who were ignorant but had high destiny, weren't they? It was practically shouting "trick people for merit and luck" and "deceive" written on its forehead.
Ding Yun certainly had no intention of paying. She would rather spend a hundred years signing in than spend ten thousand units of merit or ten thousand units of luck to upgrade.
Therefore, after binding this golden finger, she very naturally ignored the top-up payment page.
And directly, as it was still past eight o'clock.
And still within the breakfast time frame.
She clicked the breakfast sign-in button on the sign-in device.
[Congratulations on successful breakfast sign-in. This time, you have obtained a special breakfast from a magic plane, a low-level Holy Light White Horse from the Papal Holy Knights, and a bundle of low-magic holy light fodder.]
It had to be said, this Myriad Worlds Gourmet Sign-in Device was truly out of line. It had built up a lot of hype beforehand, mentioning magic planes and papal holy knights and whatnot.
And in the end, it only gave a bundle of fodder.
She wasn't a horse, and even if she were vegetarian, she didn't need to eat fodder. Ding Yun originally intended to press the delete button and destroy the fodder, but then she thought that after all, it was the first item she had signed in, and the fodder was accompanied by the word "Holy Light." It might have healing effects. Even if the healing effect was poor, she could extract some Holy Light energy to use.
Therefore, Ding Yun still took out the fodder.