Chapter 24: Lucky E and the Power of Money

Wen Nan was astonished.

He had already used the Sleep Capsule and Nutritional Supplement, ready to go all out, and yet, on his very first try, he hit a golden treasure chest?

Was luck really this extraordinary?

“Hurry up!”

“Open it! Let’s see what’s inside!”

“What kind of treasure did you get?”

The three people behind him began urging him on, their eagerness surpassing even Wen Nan’s excitement at winning.

Suppressing the flutter in his chest, Wen Nan maintained a calm and collected façade. With a snap of his fingers, he issued the command in his mind to open the chest.

The gleaming golden chest bounced twice in midair. With a click, the latch dropped off and the lid sprang open.

Inside lay a cloth pouch, about the size of a palm.

Wen Nan’s expression darkened, a faint sense of foreboding rising in his heart. He opened the pouch and found it stuffed full of… gold coins?!

Congratulations! You’ve drawn a “White” prize — Coin Pouch!

Coin Pouch Contents: 51 gold coins.

Accept? Reject? Sell Back?

Wen Nan: …

Any prize, if sold back to the prize pool, would yield 50 gold coins. So what was the difference between this pouch of coins and a “thank you for participating”?

What was with this UI design, making even the “White” prize chests look so dazzlingly golden?

The other three exchanged awkward smiles.

Shao Ling: “Why bother putting a White prize in a treasure chest?”

Huang Tao: “Is the game designer trying to be funny?”

Fatty: “Looking on the bright side, it’s like getting a ‘thanks for participating’ at a forty-nine percent discount. I guess… it’s not that bad?”

Wen Nan shrugged, saying nothing, and added the 51 coins to his account.

It didn’t matter; he wasn’t short on money.

Snap!

Another snap of the fingers sent the wheel spinning for a second round.

Another golden chest dropped down.

Congratulations! You’ve drawn a “White” prize — Coin Pouch!

Coin Pouch Contents: 51 gold coins.

Accept? Reject? Sell Back?

Wen Nan: …

Twice in a row.

No matter, on to the next!

Snap!

With another snap, a third golden chest appeared.

Congratulations! You’ve drawn a “White” prize — Coin Pouch!

Coin Pouch Contents: 51 gold coins.

Accept? Reject? Sell Back?

Wen Nan: …

Whatever, keep going!

Snap!

Fourth chest, still a coin pouch.

Snap!

Fifth chest, yet again a coin pouch.

Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!

Wen Nan drew ten times in a row, and each time, he received a “White” coin pouch!

Wen Nan: …

Is this endless?

The eleventh draw—

Congratulations! You’ve drawn a “White” prize — Nutritional Supplement!

Nutritional Supplement: This item rapidly replenishes a contestant’s daily energy requirements, equivalent to a 2,500-calorie meal…

Accept? Reject? Sell Back?

“Amazing!” Fatty clapped enthusiastically beside Wen Nan. “You spent only 100 coins and drew a Nutritional Supplement worth 200 coins! You’ve hit the jackpot!”

Wen Nan: …

How can anyone brag about that?

Well, at least it’s a bit better than a pouch of 51 coins.

He stored the Nutritional Supplement in his equipment reserve, and quickly launched the next round.

Snap!

As expected, another coin pouch.

Snap! Coin pouch.

Snap! Coin pouch.

Snap! Nutritional Supplement.

…

After successfully collecting 196 coin pouches and 21 bottles of Nutritional Supplement, two-thirds of the onlookers behind Wen Nan had drifted away.

Shao Ling, the bespectacled one, and Huang Tao, the athlete, concluded that the so-called lottery wheel was nothing more than a money-grabbing gimmick and lost interest in watching.

The two quietly returned to their bunks and soon fell asleep, continuing their daytime nightmares.

Only Fatty remained steadfastly by his grandfather’s side. No matter how many coin pouches Wen Nan drew, he stayed loyal; whenever Wen Nan got a Nutritional Supplement, he would clap and cheer.

But eventually, even the cheers faded.

In the stillness of night, the dormitory was filled only with snores, teeth grinding, and the crisp “snap! snap! snap!” of opening treasure chests…

All that endless “White” made Wen Nan suspect he was developing snow blindness. Just then—

Congratulations! You’ve drawn an “Orange” prize — Attribute Experience Card!

“Orange!” Wen Nan whispered, turning to Fatty, only to find him slumped over the desk, fast asleep with drool pooling beneath him.

Wen Nan shook his head helplessly and opened the prize.

Attribute Experience Card: 100-point attribute experience card, valid for three hours.

Accept? Reject? Sell Back?

So this was the same experience card from the earlier newbie pack.

It