Chapter 2

2

Setting the bowl down made Valerie visibly sigh with relief.

"Go ahead and contact support first, babe. I'll go make the bed for you."

"Don't forget to finish the soup. Taking care of your stomach comes first."

Her footsteps faded as she walked into the bedroom.

I picked up the bowl and took a small sip.

My stomach instantly knotted up.

The sensation immediately dragged me back to the excruciating pain of late-stage stomach cancer from my previous life.

Picking up a spoon, I slowly pushed aside the berries and ginseng slices.

At the bottom lay tender pieces of stewed chicken.

Beside them were thick chunks of raw ginger, a handful of dried cardamom pods, and several whole Sichuan peppercorns.

My hand froze.

Ginger is pungent and intensely irritating to a damaged stomach lining.

Cardamom is hot and creates internal inflammation when consumed long-term by someone with digestive issues.

Peppercorns are equally fiery and harsh.

In small amounts, these ingredients might be harmless in everyday cooking.

However, stewing them in concentrated doses for hours extracted all those harsh compounds directly into the broth.

For a stomach that was already struggling, this was nothing short of slow-acting poison.

In my past life, when the doctor diagnosed my terminal stomach cancer, he had frowned and asked about my diet.

I had told him that my wife made me daily wellness tonics to heal my gut.

The doctor had simply shook his head, warning that some folk recipes did more harm than good.

Back then, I even defended Valerie, claiming she only had good intentions.

Hah.

Good intentions.

As it turned out, that "loving broth" had been paving my road to the grave from the very beginning.

I swallowed the rage and hatred burning in my chest; it wasn't time to show my cards yet.

Besides the project bonus I had just dumped into the game, Valerie held all my past salary, bonuses, and savings.

If I confronted her directly, I wouldn't see a dime of it.

I had to be patient. I had to wait and plan.

I set the bowl down and returned to the computer. A pop-up suddenly flashed on the screen: [Notice on Strengthening Consumer Protection and Refund Policies for Minors in Gaming].

It was standard corporate policy detailing identity verification and strict refund protocols for unauthorized purchases made by underage users. My eyes skimmed across it lazily, and just as I went to close the tab, my fingers halted.

"Minors"... "Non-rational high-value transactions"... "Identity verification"... "Refund appeals"...

A slight smirk tugged at the corner of my lips.

I just found the perfect way to get my money back.