In Wang Dingshan’s hand, the scratch-off card—like a dark red monster’s hide—slowly opened a pair of drowsy, flat diamond-shaped eyes.
{Three times daily, one person each time. Donation of 1N principal.}
{Two scratches available today.}
–Right, I’ve already used my one chance.– Wang Dingshan slapped his forehead. –That leaves just two draws for you two.–
–I don’t care, I’m first.– Joan’s eyes sparkled as she locked gazes with the monster, pulling a coin from her shorts pocket.
A glint of curiosity flickered in Yang Zicang’s eyes.
The Scratch-off Enightmare’s gaze suddenly landed on Yang Zicang. After looking him up and down, it exclaimed in surprise:
{Oh? The Sokoban master is here, of all places.}
Hearing that vaguely familiar voice, a string of ellipsis trailed across Yang Zicang’s mind.
–1N Void Zero Chronos coin—exactly.–
Joan’s coin, sent spinning into the air, transformed into a streak of dark gold light with a whoosh and hovered before the Scratch-off Enightmare. It blinked, swallowed the light in one gulp, then slowly spat out an energy light card with a texture like a –boosting contract-—just like a real, dainty lottery ticket.
Yang Zicang turned to the girl, who was about 1.6 meters tall, and asked, –What was that coin you just used?–
–Oh, you mean that. It’s a privilege for our company employees. As long as you’ve received your salary, you can take them out from any pocket, bag, drawer, or other places at will when you meet someone, but you can’t just manifest them out of thin air. Just like a magician.-
Joan answered while taking the lottery ticket, sensing the information on it, then excitedly scratched the coating with her fingernail, making a –scratch scratch- sound.
–What prize?- Wang Dingshan and Feng Ming both leaned in.
— Thank you for your patronage.
–Tch, what a piece of crap.-
Joan tossed the lottery ticket at her feet. As soon as it hit the ground, it quickly dissolved into points of light and vanished.
–Who wants to go next?- Wang Dingshan looked at the remaining two.
Yu Yusheng shook his head. Feng Ming glanced at the others, smiled, and also pulled out a similar coin.
–Come on, selling scratch-offs. Let’s see how my luck is today.-
Feng Ming scratched the scratch-off and took a look.
— Third prize.
— Congratulations, you have earned a free chance to scratch again.
— Today’s attempts exhausted. Please try again tomorrow.
–Damn, this thing of yours is a scam, isn’t it?-
{Bet placed, no take-backs. No trouble, please.}
Wang Dingshan spat, –Don’t hurt my Lele’s feelings.-
Feng Ming put it into his pocket: –But getting another scratch tomorrow isn’t bad. See you, I’m heading west.-
–I’ll be leaving too,- Yu Yusheng said.
–Hey, I don’t believe this. Yang Zicang, aren’t you the second prize winner? I want to see who’s the lucky one—the lucky boy or the beautiful girl.-
Qiong’an stubbornly insisted on sticking with them, and Wang Dingshan couldn’t drive her away no matter how hard he tried.
The exotic ruined city ahead stretched for about a mile or so—once a grand metropolis. Inside, remnants of residential districts, squares, and colossal unknown structures stood tall.
–This is what’s left of the ancient exotic realm.-
Yang Zicang gazed at these alien-style colossi and could feel the glory they once held.
The three chatted as they advanced, encountering only a few slime-like monsters along the way, easily dispatched. But not long after entering the city, the ground suddenly trembled—clearly, some massive creature was charging toward them.
–Watch out!-
Boom!
Rubble flew everywhere as a twisted silhouette the size of a house smashed through the building at the corner ahead.
Its body was packed with stones of all sizes, each impact against the buildings and ground thundering with shuddering roars.
–What a terrifying beast!- Seeing the rock monster’s savage momentum, Wang Dingshan immediately turned and fled.
–Run!-
Qiong’an and Wang Dingshan bolted. After two steps, she noticed Yang Zicang wasn’t following. Cursing under her breath, she gritted her teeth, spun around, and grabbed his arm.
–What are you gawking at? That thing has a massive impact force. If it hits us, we lose the initiative. Dodge its edge first.-
But Yang Zicang stood firmly on the ground, unmoved.
–Hurry up!- Wang Dingshan also ran back.
–Thirty meters.-
–What?-
–Twenty-five meters.-
–You need to be extra careful in the cleanup team. If the creature you see is actually a psychic attack, it’ll be too late to escape! Hey, Wang Dingshan, give me a hand—we’ll carry him.-
Its massive body came crashing in like several trucks piled together. At that speed, forget about resisting—even just standing nearby was difficult.
The two grabbed Yang Zicang by the shoulders.
–I won’t die.- The Moxel on Yang Zicang’s chest flickered.
[Because I am the great Quadrilateral, I can quadruple amplify! 10000N!]
[Grav-Arc!]
Just before the monster drew close, a black dot flashed in the air, and a red beam descended like a streak of light.
Boom! The ferocious giant monster exploded as if struck by divine punishment. A shockwave swept through, scattering countless rocks.
[I canceled out 1000N.]
[Trajectory control.]
Facing a scene reminiscent of that moment on the ancient bridge, despite being unable to completely avoid the number of exploding rocks, Yang Zicang remained calm and composed. The situation was like that month, but he was a completely different person.
Boom, crack, snap, crack…
–Uh!- Amid the overwhelming rubble, Wang Dingshan turned his head and closed his eyes, but his hands skillfully formed a clasp and pulled apart, creating a fluctuating deep red force field. The sound wave force field completely blocked the strong impact of the oncoming waves, but the rubble pierced through.
[Grid expansion, hundred positions!]
[I canceled 3R, 1R, 7R…]
Joan also solemnly withdrew her fist and raised her leg, ready to kick away the large rubble bursting toward them.
But these huge amounts of rubble instantly flew past the two, exploding on the ground on both sides of the trio, forming a shockwave that avoided all three.
The two’s countermeasures were essentially useless.
Smoke and dust raged. Yang Zicang, with his hands nonchalantly in his pockets, stepped forward and pulled up the only standing object from the scattered stones on the ground.
Wang Dingshan fanned the dust with his hand and turned to look; in the haze was a refined long spear.
–Hey. Did you do this? Cough, cough.-
Joan ran over quickly, staring at the scratches on the ground, unable to calm herself.
–Damn, I was wondering why you were so lucky. Turns out you have real strength to back it up,- Wang Dingshan said in surprise.
{Yang Zicang gets 4 points. Good psychological quality when facing giant monsters, not bad.}
Captain Fu’s voice rang out.
{Wang Dingshan gets 2 points. Joan did nothing, 0 points.}
–Ah, I just didn’t have time!- Joan’s head drooped.
She indeed had done nothing.
But on her lowered face, her eyes glared viciously at Wang Dingshan, who was grinning back at her.
–It’s all because of your damn scratch-off ticket, you jinx.-
–Heh, I don’t bother arguing with women.-
Around the corner, there were six or seven monsters similar to the ones Joan had attacked earlier. They were likely the minions following that large monster.
Once they spotted the trio, these creatures charged over, some fast, some slow.
–I’m not losing this time!-
Joan surged forward with agile grace, her long, powerful legs driving her ahead.
Wang Dingshan barely kept pace behind her.
As for Yang Zicang, the Silver Lance in his hand retracted into the Grav-Arc, then in an instant shot out from beside a monster with a swoosh.
Thump thump thump—three figures were pierced through.
–What the hell, you’re cheating!- Joan fumed as she saw the spear strike from afar. How was she supposed to score like this?
Wang Dingshan laughed. –I told you not to follow. Ah, I get it—you’re only unlucky because you tagged along. There’s nothing here for you.-
–Just wait till we get back. I’ll find you and beat you up.-
Joan threatened Wang Dingshan, but inwardly she wondered if he wasn’t right. Maybe this really had nothing to do with her.
She really shouldn’t have come.
Yang Zicang didn’t take out all the monsters.
By the time they reached the end of the street, he had already scored 22 points, while the other two had 12 and 14 respectively.
……
History and Literature Department.
Han Mingxiao lifted his gaze from a scroll densely inscribed with mathematical symbols and formulas.
He sensed for a moment, then closed his eyes.
At the same time, Zoro, who had just pulled down a book, suddenly noticed that the man with slicked-back hair and an oval face was standing beside him like a ghost.
–It’s almost eleven. Still reading so late?-
–I can’t sleep. It’s a habit I developed in the Lost-Frequency Zone.-
Han Mingxiao paced with a nod. He stopped and looked at Zoro gently. –He hasn’t come these past few days. Didn’t you inform him?-
–I’m sorry, Mr. Han.- Zoro closed the book he had just opened to the title page. –I asked several group leaders and section chiefs, but none of them knew about the dream synchronization device. So I couldn’t convey this information to him.-
–I see.-
Han Mingxiao smiled.
–It’s all right. Kids these days are cautious, and that’s a good thing.-
He looked up at the bookshelf in front of Zoro. –You strolled around again before coming to this shelf today, and still didn’t find what you wanted? What are you curious about? Some microfilm that recorded scenes from the past? Or those scrolls with secret techniques?-
–I’m just wandering around. Nothing special.-
Han Mingxiao laughed. –You’re not being honest.-
–But after all, the so-called Lost Illusions Company isn’t as harmonious as it appears on the surface. Wherever there are people, it’s the same. How could I not know that?-
He turned toward the other end of the bookshelf and vanished behind it after just a few steps.
Zuo Luo watched his figure receding into the distance, his brow furrowed. A silver ring glowed on his chest; he was about to contact his team leader to ask about this man, but then remembered that everyone should be resting at this hour.
Suddenly, the book cover twitched like an animal’s muscle. Zuo Luo flinched and stared down at the book in his hands.
Nothing happened.
–An illusion?- he murmured under his breath.
Han Mingxiao’s walking form passed straight through the bodies of the two people in the aisle, but they—engrossed in their reading—saw nothing.
He abruptly halted, turned his head, and looked toward a row of bookshelves.
There stood a girl who was both cute and subtly alluring. Her slightly upturned eyes in particular were lively and pure, instantly endearing.
Jiao Ma turned her head to face the man who was staring at her.
–Hello, my name is Han Mingxiao.-
The man gave her a slight nod.
–Han… um, greetings. Might you be the Steward, sir?-
–What makes you think so?-
–I met the Steward once before. He wore a cloak made of this same fabric—I’ve never seen it anywhere else, so it left a deep impression.-
–I see. Girls really are sharp-eyed.-
Han Mingxiao walked toward Jiao Ma.
–Fate has brought us together. Take this as a gift.-
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