"Hahaha, now is the time of your death, Apocalyptic Dragon!"
A man in heavy armor laughed.
In his hand, he held a huge warhammer that shone with a rainbow aura.
He pointed it at a dragon the size of a skyscraper.
The dragon's dark scales reflected a faint purple light under the twilight sky.
The dragon roared. The man's hammer started to grow longer and thicker in his grip.
He swung with all his strength and hit the dragon's head.
Bam. Bam.
Bright stars burst out from the impact. Each star struck the dragon and stunned it.
Its reptile eyes turned into swirling lines, as if it was dizzy and confused.
The man used the opening and started his final attack.
His whole body glowed with a fiery aura. More stars and rainbow lights wrapped around the hammer.
The hammer's shadow fell over the dragon like a final judgment.
Just then, a loud voice shook the entire world and made the man freeze.
"ALEX, can you stop playing already!"
The world went dark. The apocalyptic dragon vanished.
Alex felt his body jolt as the VR safety system took over to protect his brain and break the deep connection.
I knew it. Even an apocalyptic dragon is not as scary as my mom.
Who else would forcefully pull someone out of a direct connection? Yeah, only my mom.
I spent ten thousand dollars to get the Star Rainbow Hammer to solo the Apocalyptic Dragon, and my mom spent ten million dollars on the best device just so she could destroy my whole world anytime, he thought.
Luca, his mother, looked at her son's blank, daydreaming face and smacked his head with the phone in her hand.
"Why are you still daydreaming like that?" she asked.
Alex's face twisted in pain. He rubbed the sore spot on his head with one hand.
"Mom! You shouldn't hit me like this.
You know that. It's domestic violence.
I can sue you," he said.
"Domestic violence? Sue me?
Are you kidding me?" she shouted. "You shameless boy, are you sure you are a man?
You only laze around all day playing games.
If you want to do that, at least earn some money from the game.
How could any woman like a man like you?
When I first met your father..."
Here it comes, the long speech again, Alex thought.
He sighed and let his mind wander.
He had heard the same speech many times. He could already guess every line that would follow.
It was not that he did not want a girlfriend. The problem was that every girl he met only came for his money.
His mother always told him how she and his father started with nothing, how they struggled, rose to success, and fell in love.
Alex also wanted to experience something like that.
As for a job, why do I need one? I was born into a rich family anyway, he thought.
Luca saw her son spacing out again. He was clearly not listening.
Her anger rose even more.
She stomped hard on his foot.
Alex screamed in pain.
"I don't care anymore!" she said. "Today, you will find a job, or I will block your credit card!"
"No! Mom, not my credit card.
If you block it, how can I buy the latest chapter of my novels?" Alex said.
How can I fill the void in my social life then, he added in his mind.
"Then, my dear son," her tone turned cold and sharp, "go find a job.
Don't be a parasite."
"Wait, Mom, I am not a parasite.
Don't you know I am contributing to society?" Alex said.
"If I don't buy those chapters or game items, do you know how many people could not eat?
I single-handedly allow hundreds, maybe thousands of people to live.
This lets them pay their bills and send their kids to school.
We do not even need to mention how the money they spend goes back into the economy.
So I am not just enjoying life, Mom. I am helping people."
He spoke with a proud look.
"You what?
Just how much are you spending every month?" Luca asked.
Ehm. Mom, the hammer I bought for that one boss alone was already twenty times the average salary, Alex thought.
He did not dare say it out loud.
It sounded exaggerated, but it was true. He really did spend that much every month.
In many games, people knew him as the God of Whales.
In the online novel community, people called him the God Reader.
If he picked up your book, he would drown it in gifts and paid boosts. The book would become popular everywhere.
The total money he spent each month could buy a small house in cash.
But even that was nothing compared to his mother's spending.
Unlike him, his mom was busy with charity.
She often went out to give free food and toys to children in orphanages.
Her donations reached tens of millions of dollars every month without much effort.
She watched her son fall silent and saw that the talk was going nowhere. She decided to end it.
"Enough nonsense.
I will give you three days.
After that, say bye-bye to your credit card," Luca said.
In truth, she did not care about the amount he spent. They had enough wealth to last seventy-seven generations.
Even with all their expenses, his father had left behind a business empire that brought in billions of dollars every year.
What she really worried about was that her son had no purpose in life.
She feared that one day he might go down a wrong path.
She had seen similar rich kids end up in jail or even dead because they tried crazy things out of boredom.
BANG.
Critical hit.
1,000,000 damage.
After his mom left, Alex did not look for a job.
He went straight back into the game and returned to the apocalyptic dragon fight.
His character had died and lost the hammer. He bought another one.
This time, he finally managed to kill the dragon.
[Congrats to the Whale God for becoming the first to defeat the Apocalyptic Dragon solo!]
Many announcements and notifications filled his vision. He felt proud that he had beaten the final boss alone.
He opened the global chat and started to laugh as he read the comments.
"Well, looks like Mr. WhaleGod just soloed the final boss.
Who needs skills when you have a credit card, right?"
"Breaking news: Whale defeats final boss using the deadliest weapon of all, his wallet."
"I heard he threw so much money at the boss that it died of a paper cut from dollar bills."
"Why grind for gear when you can just buy your way to glory? #WhaleLife"
"Do you think he realizes the real final boss is his monthly credit card statement?"