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

Chapter 71: All Life Skills Maxed Out

Back at the villa, Yuan Bao couldn't wait to rush into the kitchen, put on an apron, and prepare to show off his culinary skills.

Little 9, like a little follower, floated around on the side, muttering from time to time: "Master, you should add more scallions, ginger and garlic to this steamed grouper to remove the fishy smell and enhance the aroma. The taste is absolutely amazing!"

Yuan Bao smiled and agreed, his hands moving non-stop as he skillfully processed all kinds of seafood.

Soon, the kitchen was filled with an enticing aroma. The steamed grouper was as white as jade, and the tender fish meat looked as if it could be broken with a touch. The braised sea fish had a thick sauce and a bright red color, and every piece of fish was covered with a rich aroma. The seafood soup was the essence of the sea. In the milky white soup, various seafood were faintly visible, and the fresh aroma was overwhelming.

Yuan Bao and Xiao 9 thoroughly enjoyed the sumptuous seafood feast.

Little 9 ate until his belly was round and full, and it was even a little difficult for him to float in the air. He still couldn't help but praise, "My lady, your cooking skills are truly top-notch. You are amazing. I have fallen into a den of delicacies."

Yuan Bao laughed so hard he almost fell over, looking at its comical appearance.

But in her heart, she was thinking about these fresh seafood. She would have Little White make a lot to store so that she could take them out for her family to enjoy when she returned to the real world.

Unfortunately, the game world is set in the 90s, so Mr. and Mrs. Yuan won't be able to enjoy these delicacies for the time being.

Suddenly, Yuan Bao's abrupt question broke the silence: "Little 9, life skills, including: gathering, fishing, alchemy, cooking and crafting, right! I've already maxed out fishing, alchemy and cooking, or I should max out the others too."

As he spoke, Yuan Bao's eyes gleamed with excitement and anticipation, as if he could already see the glorious scene after he became an all-around life master.

Little 9 was startled by this sudden idea, then spun around in the air, its eyes shining like two stars, and excitedly echoed, "Wow, Master, your idea is so awesome! Let me tell you, if you also max out gathering and crafting, then you'll truly become an omnipotent god in this game world."

Take gathering as an example. By then, the mountains and plains will be full of rare herbs and minerals. You can pick or dig them up to get top-quality materials. You won't have to worry about not having enough raw materials for making medicine.

"And the craftsmanship—the quality and appearance of the tools they create are absolutely enough to make others drool with envy. If you sell them on the market, your profits will skyrocket." Little 9 said, gesturing wildly as if she could already see Yuan Bao possessing all sorts of top-tier resources.

As Yuan Bao listened to Xiao 9's vivid description, she became increasingly tempted and nodded repeatedly: "It does sound really good, but my points didn't come easily. Isn't it too risky to upgrade so many skills at once? What if there are places later where I need more points?" She frowned slightly, a hint of hesitation on her face.

Seeing that Yuan Bao was wavering, Xiao 9 quickly moved closer, blinked her big eyes, and earnestly persuaded him: "Young master, how can this be called an adventure! This is a sure-fire investment. Think about it, you've already reached the maximum level in fishing, alchemy, and cooking, and you've already tasted the benefits, haven't you? The daily income from selling seafood, the convenience of alchemy, and the ability to cook delicious dishes at will."

If we upgrade the collection and processing techniques, it will be a perfect closed loop. We collect raw materials, process them, and then sell or use them ourselves. This revenue chain is interconnected, and in the future, points will flow into our pockets like rain.

Moreover, with these maxed-out skills at your disposal, you'll be much more confident whether participating in competitions, completing missions, or exploring new maps—this is a long-term strategy.

Yuan Bao pursed her lips, thought for a moment, and then her eyes gradually hardened: "What you said makes sense. You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. Let's do it!" She clenched her fists, as if to encourage herself.

Seeing that Yuan Bao had made up his mind, Xiao 9 jumped up in the air with joy: "I knew you had guts, Master! If this succeeds, you will definitely be able to do whatever you want in the game."

"Come, come, let me show you the specific points needed for the upgrade, and I'll make sure everything is clear to you." As it spoke, it projected a virtual panel in the air, which detailed that gathering was currently at level 5 and required 2750 points to reach the maximum level of 70;

The crafting skill is currently at level 1, and the maximum level is 20. It requires 290 points to reach the maximum level.

It takes a total of 3080 points to upgrade both life skills from their current level to the maximum level. You currently have points; once both skills are maxed out, the remaining points will be used.

Yuan Bao looked at it carefully, took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, okay, okay, upgrade them all! Remembering all this data in the game is a headache, but Xiao 9 is so kind of you! I just need to know that I have enough to spend." After saying that, she tapped the panel with her finger, and with a few flashes of light, system notifications sounded one after another, informing her that her gathering and crafting skills had been successfully upgraded to the maximum level.

Little 9 cheered excitedly: "That's great, Master! Now you're a master of life skills!"

Yuan Bao, however, was not immersed in this joy. She frowned slightly, stood up thoughtfully, looked straight at Xiao 9, and said with some doubt, "Hey? Xiao 9, I feel like something's not right. It's like something crucial is missing. Can you help me figure it out?"

Upon hearing this, Little 9 tilted its head, its eyes full of confusion. It circled around Yuan Bao in the air once and hurriedly replied, "What's wrong with that, Master? Everything looks perfect to me! You have everything you could ever want now, and your skills are maxed out. How impressive is that?"

Yuan Bao gently shook his head, stretched out his finger, and patiently explained while pointing: "Little 9, look, our life skills include gathering, fishing, medicine making, cooking and crafting, a total of 5, right? You have no objection to this, do you?"

Little 9 nodded her head vigorously, replying without hesitation, "Yes, my lady, this is a sure thing, there's definitely no problem with it, but what problems could it possibly cause?"

Yuan Bao slightly raised his chin, his eyes gleaming with contemplation, and continued, "Look, take fishing for example. We not only have clever little spirit beasts specifically responsible for fishing, but we also have sea fishing and lake fishing; and then there's cooking, with the adorable Little White. Logically, we should also have corresponding spirit beasts responsible for gathering, medicine refining, and crafting to make it a complete system, don't you think?" As Yuan Bao spoke, he looked at Little 9 with expectant eyes, hoping it would give a satisfactory answer.

Little 9 was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized, patted its round "head", and said with a grin: "Oh! I thought it was some huge problem. After all this time, it turns out that this is what you mean! Don't worry, it is available, but we have to wait for the system to be upgraded again before the mall will open the exchange option for the relevant spirit beasts. Please be patient and wait."

Yuan Bao nodded slightly after hearing Xiao 9's explanation, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes: "Haha, I see! I knew it! You need both! Then I'll wait until I've accumulated enough points to upgrade the system! Hooray!"

"Little 9, I used to see that my daily earnings from the market were around 18. Now that I've added sea fishing, I can make around 25 a day! And there will be gathering, medicine making, and crafting in the future. Then I can really just relax and do nothing."

"Sure, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just relax and play the game. Our missions range from relaxing and idyllic to tense and exciting. No matter what the mission is, if you can't get through it, it's only temporary. You can control the pace yourself."

Just as Yuan Bao and Xiao 9 were discussing their ideas, a crisp yet slightly mysterious system notification suddenly rang out, breaking the tranquility of the room: "A new hidden quest has been quietly triggered:"

Hidden Quest 1: Given that your gathering skill has been successfully upgraded to the maximum level, a hidden quest to find gem veins has been unlocked.

Deep within that mysterious and unknown land lies a dazzling gemstone vein. Once found, you can freely collect a wide variety of gemstones from it.

Hidden Quest Two: Since your crafting skills have reached the maximum level, you are now triggered to create a top-grade agarwood bracelet. However, this is not something that can be accomplished overnight. You need to start this journey of craftsmanship by planting agarwood trees yourself and watching them grow from a seedling into a fragrant bracelet on your wrist.

In addition, the main storyline has also been updated. Please continue to overcome obstacles and achieve excellent results in the upcoming high school entrance examination. Remember, the better your grades, the richer and more enticing the rewards—like a treasure waiting to be unlocked.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Bao tilted his head slightly, a thoughtful glint in his eyes, and quickly began to weigh the options in his mind.

After a moment, she methodically formulated an action plan based on the urgency of the task: "The high school entrance exam is the most important thing right now, as it concerns my future studies. I need to focus on completing the main task of the high school entrance exam first."

After the exams, a long vacation will follow, and then I can devote myself wholeheartedly to these two fascinating hidden tasks, studying them diligently and refining them step by step.

She paused, as if suddenly remembering something, and a slight smile appeared on her lips, with a hint of playfulness in her eyes: "Of course, I can't waste this little bit of free time before going to sleep. I can go and find a suitable auspicious place to plant the seeds of the agarwood tree, which will be a good start for the subsequent tasks."

Little 9 listened attentively and nodded repeatedly, floating around in the air, excitedly echoing, "Your Highness's plan is absolutely perfect! It takes into account both your studies and the exciting adventures in the game."

Once you return victorious from your high school entrance exam, we'll go all out and head towards those mysterious missions; we're guaranteed to reap a rich reward.

Yuan Bao glanced at it with a smile, his eyes full of determination and expectation: "Of course. Now, let's see where we can plant a tree."

After saying that, he opened the micro map, saw the plot of land in the Secret Forest, clicked teleport, and the screen switched to teleport Yuan Bao and Xiao 9 over.

Upon arriving at the secret forest, Yuan Bao knew that this was the most suitable place to plant agarwood trees.

Filled with anticipation, Yuan Bao eagerly opened the game store and carefully selected and purchased precious agarwood seeds.

She carefully selected a flat, sunny spot with fertile soil, carefully squatted down, and gently buried the seed in the soft soil. After burying the seed, she carefully covered it with a thin layer of soil, gently patted it down, and made sure that the seed could take root firmly in the land.

Once everything was ready, he watered and fertilized the sapling, adjusted the time accelerator to 10 years, and watched it grow in fast-forward in front of Yuan Bao. The sapling sprouted, grew, grew taller, stretched out branches, became stronger and thicker, and continued to grow.

After doing all this, Yuan Bao returned to his bedroom in the villa, took a relaxing soak in the spiritual spring hot spring, and then fell asleep peacefully.