This is a case where the logical and trinary operators can help,

$db = $host eq 'dell'
  ? DBI->connect("DBI:mysql:nikos_db", "root", "")
  : DBI->connect("DBI:mysql:nikos_db:50free.net","nikos_db","obscure")
  or print font({-size=>5, -color=>'Lime'}, $DBI::errstr) and exit 0;
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