Learning to play games, a 40-year-old woman achieves a remarkable turnaround.

Chapter 299 The Game of Number Devouring

The old man laughed heartily after hearing this, patting his son's shoulder beside him: "Girl, what are you saying? If it weren't for that pill you gave me yesterday, this old body of mine would probably be meeting the King of Hell already!"

The middle-aged man smiled gently and said, "Ms. Yuan, the country is currently promoting a talent cultivation program for traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. Folk TCM doctors like yourself, with genuine skills and expertise, can certainly obtain their professional qualifications through apprenticeship."

Yuan Bao and his elder brother also learned about this channel from General Manager Lin, but they were not ready yet and planned to apply after the store opened.

Bao Guo interjected at the opportune moment: "We plan to have a professional traditional Chinese medicine doctor on staff, and my younger sister will mainly be in charge of health maintenance and conditioning."

The old man's eyes lit up: "That's perfect! Our group has a Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute that can provide you with apprenticeship registration. Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself yet—"

He pulled out a gold-embossed business card. "My surname is Zhou, and this is my son, Zhou Mingyuan. He's the general manager of a medical device company."

Yuan Bao took the business card, and the words "Zhou's Medical Group" embossed in gold were particularly eye-catching.

She suddenly remembered something: "Wait, Zhou's Medical? The one that developed the intelligent TCM diagnosis and treatment system..."

Zhou Mingyuan smiled and nodded: "I didn't expect Ms. Yuan to have heard of it too. Actually, we've been looking for truly talented TCM practitioners to collaborate on developing new products."

The old man said impatiently, "Girl, the formula for that pill of yours..." Before he could finish speaking, his son gently pressed down on his shoulder.

Zhou Mingyuan smiled apologetically: "My father was too impatient. Ms. Yuan, we would like to invite you to participate in the new drug development as a technical consultant, of course, in a formal form of cooperation."

Yuan Bao and his elder brother exchanged a glance.

This sudden opportunity caught Yuan Bao off guard, but she remembered that most of the ancient prescriptions in the system were already being used in cooperation with Lin Guodong, and that President Lin had protected her information very well.

Therefore, Yuan Bao was somewhat worried about cooperating with the Zhou family, but he decided to observe first.

“Mr. Zhou, we are very interested in this proposal,” said Bao Guo, the representative. “However, our shop is just starting out, and we may need some time to plan…”

"I understand, I understand." Zhou Mingyuan took out his phone. "How about we add each other on WeChat first? We can talk in more detail after you've settled in here."

After seeing the Zhou family father and son off, Baoguo rubbed his hands excitedly: "Little sister, the Zhou family is a leading enterprise in the city's medical industry, and they also have a certain reputation and fame nationwide. Should we cooperate with them?!"

Yuan Bao seemed thoughtful: "Brother, I'm thinking... we've already partnered with President Lin. There's no need to rush things with the Zhou family..."

She lowered her voice, "I'm worried that if I have so many prescriptions, and if the information falls into the wrong hands, our family will never have peace again."

Bao Guo immediately understood: "Yes, that's true! By the way, I'll contact President Lin right away to finalize the apprenticeship qualification."

Just then, Yuan Bao's phone beeped.

It was a WeChat message from Zhou Mingyuan: "Ms. Yuan, my father asked me to convey that he is very much looking forward to the opening of the TCM therapy shop, and he wants to be the first customer. Attached is a list of materials required for apprenticeship registration for your reference."

Yuan Bao: "Okay, thank you, Grandpa, and thank you, President Zhou."

After a mundane yet fulfilling day in the real world, Yuan Bao logged into the game before going to bed.

Entering the game world, I woke up in a cozy courtyard house. There were only ten days left before I had to register at Beijing University.

After finishing breakfast, I went back to my room, closed the door, and entered the space alchemy room. I then purchased the recipes for advanced recovery potions and top-tier recovery potions from the shop.

With her current top-notch TCM skills, she quickly refined the two recovery potions.

Yuan Bao stretched out of the space.

Desperate for some lighthearted fun, she cried out, "Little 9! What dungeons are fun that also allow me to earn points?"

With a soft "pop," a round, chubby cat-like panda happily circled around Yuan Bao twice.

"My dear master~! Don't you want to play the story dungeons anymore?"

Yuan Bao rubbed his temples: "Don't even mention it. Those violent dungeons make me want to vomit just looking at them. I only have ten days left before university registration, and I want to find some easy dungeons that I can play to earn points."

A ripple-like pattern appeared on the surface of Xiao 9's body, a characteristic it exhibited when connecting to the main system database.

"Filtering... Keywords: leisure, points rewards, low stress..."

A few seconds later, Little 9 suddenly jumped up excitedly, "Found it! A dungeon that's absolutely perfect for Master's current state!"

"Oh?" Yuan Bao became interested and sat up straight cross-legged.

"This dungeon is called 'Demon Tower'," Xiao 9 said, as a holographic text appeared before Yuan Bao's eyes. "The name sounds a bit scary, but it's actually not the fighting type at all!"

Yuan Bao raised an eyebrow: "Demon Tower? Sounds like you have to fight monsters layer by layer."

"No, no, no," Little 9 quickly explained, a smiley face appearing on the sphere, "This is a number strategy game. The main system just updated this instance, and it's said to be inspired by some kind of mathematical game from ancient Earth!"

As Xiao 9 explained, the task panel in front of Yuan Bao automatically unfolded, displaying detailed information about the "Demon Tower" dungeon.

Colorful holographic images rotate in the air, constructing a three-dimensional model of a multi-layered pagoda.

"Look, this is the structure of the Demon Tower." Little 9 pointed a beam of light at the image. "The tower is divided into several levels, with the numbers increasing as you go up. Each level has several 'demons'—actually, they're just cute number carriers."

The image is magnified to reveal details inside the tower.

Sure enough, there were several small monsters of different shapes wandering around on each floor, with glowing numbers floating above their heads, ranging from single digits to hundreds.

"Players will receive a random initial number upon entering," Little 9 continued, "and then you need to continuously 'jump' to monsters with numbers smaller than yours within a time limit. Each successful jump will cause your number to absorb the monster's value and grow."

Yuan Bao stroked his chin thoughtfully: "So this is... a number-devouring game?"

"You could say that!" Little 9 bobbed happily. "At the end of the game, your final number will be converted into system points at a certain ratio. In other words, the higher the number, the more you get!"

The holographic image transforms to demonstrate the game process.

A little man marked "15" jumps next to a demon marked "8". After they make contact, the number above the little man's head changes to "23", and the demon disappears.

"Sounds pretty simple," Yuan Bao said with a smile.

"Simple, but full of strategy!" Little 9 said mysteriously. "The higher the tower, the larger the number of demons, but you need to plan the best route to absorb as many as possible within the limited time. And..."

Little 9 suddenly lowered its voice, though it didn't actually need to speak: "It's said that a special reward is hidden at the top of the tower, but no one has ever reached it!"

Yuan Bao's eyes lit up. She liked challenging games, especially intellectually stimulating ones that didn't require real combat.

"Is there a trial mode? I'd like to try it out first."

"Of course!" Xiao 9 immediately brought up another interface. "The beginner trial layer is ready. This is a simplified three-tiered tower to familiarize players with the mechanics. Want to enter now?"

Yuan Bao nodded: "Of course, take me to see what's so special about this so-called 'Demon Tower'."

Little 9 spun merrily, its surface rippling with the distinctive blue waves of teleportation: "Loading dungeon... 3... 2... 1... Enjoy the game, my lord!"

With a flash of light, Yuan Bao entered the Demon Tower filled with numerical mysteries.