Chapter 8: Better luck next time
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He couldn't stop the words from forming inside his mind.
"They're all locked up in wooden cages, on a trafficker's carriage, probably about to be sold or killed… and they're busy talking about paths… PATHS !!!."
He clenched his teeth.
"Shouldn't they be thinking about escaping?. Or better still. Shouldn't they scream for help or something? Shouldn't they cry or panic?. Shouldn't they do anything other than sit here and admire that Ren Tie guy?."
He stared at Ren Tie again while Ren Tie kept breathing calmly after his breakthrough. It looked like he was trying to get used to this new level of power slowly.
Yin Zhe's thoughts snapped like a twig.
"This place. These people.. they're all insane."
His fingers tightened around the wooden bars. Which made a low crack came from the old wood.
He didn't even look like he cared. Then he glanced at the others again. Ren Tie was sitting at the side while closing his eyes with pride.
Wen Chong looked like he had just witnessed a divine sign. On the other hand Bao Zi quietly repeated Ren Tie's words like they were divine scriptures. While Tian Zuo was nodding his head like he was a monk in training.
Yin Zhe sighed again.
"sigh…"
"It isn't necessary to pick a path," he thought to himself. "Not for me. And not right now."
His eyes sharpened, and something cold formed in his chest.
"If paths limit you… then I don't need one path." He thought.
He closed his eyes and breathed in slowly. Completely forgetting about the system.
"For I, Yin Zhe… will take all the paths in one go."
His heart slammed inside his chest. thump… thump… thump. as a new determination spread through him.
He wanted to get stronger and survive by all means. To not die as a villain.
Yin Zhe had froze back then when Ren Tie shouted "silence", but now he had slowly lowered his head and stopped banging it against the wooden bars. His forehead was throbbing. thump… thump… The pain echoed in his skull like a reminder of how ridiculous he must have looked. He rubbed his forehead and let out a soft "sigh…" as he tried to calm his breath.
He forced himself to look back at the system panel floating in front of him. The screen was glowing faintly, like a blue solid and straight fog made of light.
The next message blinked into place:
[Congratulations on drawing the Reactive System.]
[Reward: 10,000 Reactive Points (RP).]
[Reward: 10 Golden Tickets.]
It appears that Yin Zhe had gotten the reactive system. That was why he was so furious.
Yin Zhe blinked twice. And then he blinked again.
"Huh…?" he whispered. The corner of his mouth twitched. "Wait… wait… I got points?. And tickets? Hmmm... what are they for?... Wait Golden tickets?.. does this mean another chance for me to make another draw using the wheel?"
A wave of relief washed over him so fast he almost laughed. He bit his lip to hold it in the laughter. His hands shook slightly as he stared at the reward numbers like someone staring at free treasure dropped from the sky. He had a grin on his face.
"So this system isn't that bad after all…" he whispered. "It's… it's actually giving me a second chance. Uhh 10 golden tickets.. perhaps 10 chances.. hehehe... Awesome?"
His chest grew lighter for a moment. Maybe getting a weird Reactive System wasn't the end of the world. Maybe he could work with this.
Then suddenly.
The wheel interface disappeared from Yin Zhe's view.
pop!!!.
It was gone. Just gone. It disappeared.
The panel just closed before Yin Zhe's eyes like someone had slapped it away.
Pang!!.
Yin Zhe choked on his own spit. "Gah!!... Gulp... "
He strongly coughed twice. cough! cough!.
His eyes widened like they were about to pop. "This damn system!. Damnit... what are you doing to me?!"
He furiously slapped the floor out of frustration. Pang!!!.
He pointed at the empty air and spoke in a loud voice that everyone could hear. "Why would you disappear the wheel now?!.. Ahhh!. Damnit.. giving me false hopes... What kind of tricky system is this. I thought I could spin again!. I have golden tickets now! Ten whole tickets!"
His voice cracked with frustration. The frustration from earlier was nothing compared to now. It felt like he had been tricked by a system. He grabbed his hair and pulled on it. "Maybe I could've gotten an Active system… or Resonant… but no… I got scammed.. ahhh. This is bullsh*t"
He groaned. "No… this system is truly… evil. It's a scam. A walking scam."
The system responded with another calm message:
[Shop Unlocked.]
[Skill Slot Machine Unlocked.]
The message made Yin Zhe pause and he squinted. "Shop?. Skill slot? What now… I might as well just check it out?"
He pressed the glowing icon for the skill slot machine. The image opened up. And what was inside looked very much like a casino screen from Earth. except it was lighter like a phantom, and with soft floating colors. The middle of it looked like a slot machine with three reels.
A wooden handle stuck out from the side, it was shaped like a lever. The glowing frame pulsed lightly with bright lights.
Yin Zhe stared at it.
"Hmmm…"
He pressed two fingers to his forehead and thought. "it unmistakably looks like a slot machine from earth... System!! Are you serious?. The wheel from earlier. and now is a slut machine. It all feels like Gambling.. Gambling?!"
He grabbed the bridge of his nose.
"This system is definitely a scam," he whispered. "full scam. A total rip-off. A— a— hpmh!"
He looked again at the golden tickets floating beside the slot machine. There were Ten of them. Each one shimmered like a real ticket shaped from golden dust.
He sighed. "Fine… let's try one."
He reached out and inserted one golden ticket into the slot machine. The ticket dissolved like sand touched by wind.
The reels inside the slot machine lit up.
Flick… flick… flick…
They began to spin.
Swords.
Arrows.
Flames.
Water.
Wind blades.
Spears.
Some of the symbols he didn't even recognize.
Everything rolled through, each of the image were flicking past in quick motions.
"Come on… please work… and give me something worth my time and mental health" Yin Zhe whispered. He clasped his hands together and prayed. He looked like someone that is praying for the last bus home.
The light started to dim slowly.
The machine clicked once. twice. Thrice.Then the reels finally stopped. Yin Zhe leaned closer to see the results and he saw that nothing had matched. There were three different symbols. Not a single line. Or pair. Not even two close ones.
The system message flashed:
[Better luck next time.]
Yin Zhe's face darkened so fast it was almost funny.
"What do you mean better luck next time?! Ahhh! You useless machine! You are useless.. tsk.."
He slapped the floor again. Pang!
Yin Zhe used his forehead to hit the wood in front of him hard. Thud!. He squeezed his own cheeks out of pure frustration.