Translator: AnubisTL
"What's wrong, second brother?"
At that moment, the office door swung open, and a man with a square face, dressed in camouflage fatigues, strode in. His brow furrowed as he glanced at the shattered champagne bottle on the floor, and he spoke with evident displeasure.
"You need to break this habit."
"You've been doing this since childhood—smashing champagne bottles on the table whenever you get emotional."
"How many times have I told you? That's not how you open champagne!"
"You're supposed to pop the cork, not smash the bottle!"
"If you act like this in public, you'll get noticed easily. Our family lacks sophistication; we're just a bunch of country bumpkins."
"Now, tell me what's got you so worked up. I could hear the commotion from all the way down the hall!"
The man in the suit, who had been sitting at the desk earlier, was still too agitated to speak clearly. He pointed at the tablet screen, stammering incoherently as he looked at his eldest brother, unable to articulate his excitement.
"So worked up you can't even speak? You're being ridiculous."
The square-faced man in camouflage sighed in exasperation. "You're embarrassing the Wu Family."
He leaned over to glance at the item panel on the tablet.
The moment he saw it, his pupils dilated sharply, his eyes instantly reddened, and he looked up at his younger brother with intense emotion. "Ababa?"
"Mmm-hmm!"
The man in the suit nodded vigorously, his voice trembling with excitement. "Ababa! Ababa! Ababa!"
"Ababa?! Ababa! Ababa!"
Confirmed by his second brother, the square-faced man in camouflage leaped up in a frenzy. He grabbed a bottle of champagne from the nearby wine cabinet and, with practiced ease, smashed it over his second brother's head.
Smash!
The bottle shattered instantly, sending fragrant champagne cascading down the man in the suit's head.
...
The blow seemed to snap the man out of his daze.
After sitting motionless in his chair for a long silence, the man in the suit finally pulled a clean white towel from a drawer and wiped the champagne from his head. He looked up at his eldest brother.
"Eldest brother," he said, "why haven't you broken your habit of grabbing champagne bottles to smash over my head whenever you get excited?"
"Ahem."
The square-faced man's expression turned slightly awkward. He chuckled sheepishly and hurriedly rubbed his second brother's head. "See? No harm done. No blood, no swelling. Sorry about that, man. I thought I'd gotten over this habit, but I lost control in the heat of the moment!"
The two brothers exchanged a glance before turning their attention back to the item panel on the tablet.
[Item Name]: Rabbit Badge
[Item Star]: Three-Star Item
[Item Details]: A badge shaped like an adorable little rabbit. Wear it on your left chest to have it protect you.
[Item Effect]: Your rabbit has its own emotions, divided into three states: Happy, Bored, and Sad.
When your Little Rabbit is Happy, it will absorb all attacks for you, granting you absolute defense.
When your Little Rabbit is Bored, it will still absorb all attacks, but its reactions will be sluggish, and it may fail to protect you from sudden attacks.
When your Little Rabbit is Sad, it will ignore all attacks meant for you.
[Item Description]: Telling jokes will cheer up your Little Rabbit. Prolonged neglect will make it sad. Also, if the Little Rabbit takes too much damage, it will die.
"Absolute defense!!!"
"No side effects!!!"
"No physical modifications!!!"
"Virtually no usage restrictions!!!"
"Almost zero activation requirements!!!"
These crucial details flooded the brothers' minds.
"Hah!"
"You don't need to say any more."
The square-faced man picked up a tablet and tapped the screen, instantly dialing his father's communication channel.
Moments later, an elderly man with a stern, ice-pale face appeared on the screen, seated behind an office desk. "Lengjing? What is it?"
"There's something."
Wu Lengjing nodded, his expression grave as he glanced at the secretary visible behind his father. "Secretary Li, please move the wine cabinet behind my father."
"Yes, sir."
Wu Lengjing, the eldest brother of the Wu Family, had been given his name by his father in the hope that he would always act with composure.
Only then did he send the item panel to his father.
"Father, take a look at this item. We just—"
Before he could finish, he saw his father in the communication screen suddenly jump up, his eyes reddening with emotion the moment he saw the item panel. He immediately yanked open a drawer, grabbed a bottle of champagne, and smashed it over his own head in a frenzy.
"..."
Wu Lengjing, at a loss for words, remained silent for a moment before murmuring, "Secretary Li, didn't I tell you to remove the wine cabinet?"
"I-I didn't know there was still a bottle in the drawer!"
"Enough excuses!"
The elderly man in the screen threw the shattered bottle aside, his voice trembling with fervor. "Buy it! Even if we have to bankrupt ourselves, we must acquire this item!"
"What's their asking price? Eighty million? A hundred million?"
"Stall them! Don't let anyone else get involved."
"I'll contact them immediately. We'll sell that asteroid in our backyard—the one we use for vacations."
"Whatever the cost, secure this item at all costs!"
"Exactly, I agree completely," Wu Lengjing said, nodding firmly. "We must secure this item, no matter the cost. If we find the right buyer, it could bring us profits several times, even ten times, our investment!"
"Second brother, you contacted them. What's their asking price?"
"Yes, Zhending, what's their offer?"
The elderly man on the screen also turned his serious gaze toward his second son, who was dressed in a sharp suit.
"Huh?"
Wu Zhending finally snapped out of his daze and hurriedly projected his conversation with Chen Jiang into the air. "It's a company called Jiang Cheng Company. They're not selling it outright—they only offer it through a lottery."
Yes, his name was Wu Zhending, the second son of the Wu Family. His father had given him this name in the hope that he would remain calm and composed no matter what challenges he faced.
The group quickly reviewed the entire chat log.
Their brows furrowed simultaneously. "Not selling it?"
The elderly man on the screen frowned slightly, pondering for a moment before speaking. "Then buy a thousand lottery tickets first. Let's see what we're dealing with."
"Alright."
Buying a thousand lottery draws required ten thousand one-star items.
But for the group, this was clearly no big deal.
They had recently purchased an item blind box from the Ten Thousand Races Arena, which had left them with nearly a million useless items. Ten thousand items were like a drop in the bucket.
The only real expense was activating the Remote Space Transmission.
What puzzled them most was how such a cheap price could offer a chance to draw such powerful three-star items.
It didn't seem like a scam.
If it were a scam, they'd be after star coins, not worthless one-star items that couldn't even be sold.
Could it be that these one-star items, considered trash in their hands, could somehow be transformed into treasures by the other party?
Finally, just as Chen Jiang's side was preparing, a message arrived.
[I'll buy a thousand lottery draws first. Grant me access, and I'll transmit the ten thousand one-star items to you.]
[A stranger has initiated a Remote Space Transmission. Accept?]
"Yes."
A faint smile tugged at the corners of Chen Jiang's lips, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. Come on, come on! Dump all your useless one-star items on me!
The next moment—
A small white circle materialized above the tablet, and one-star items began to tumble down from the glowing portal.
Exactly ten thousand items.
Chen Jiang immediately turned to Scar Dog, who was standing nearby. "Is the setup ready?"
"Ready, ready!" Scar Dog replied eagerly.
Indeed, they had returned to the original site of the world tree. They were setting up a lottery-like contraption to make the other party feel more involved, gradually coaxing them into handing over all their one-star items. Or rather, persuading them to hand them over.
Once Scar Dog confirmed the setup was complete, Chen Jiang initiated a communication request. He spent ten thousand star coins to encrypt his location and coordinates at the highest level. Damn, this forum charges for everything!
"They're calling us. Should we answer?" Wu Zhending asked, holding up the tablet and glancing at his eldest brother and their father on the screen.
"Answer it, answer it," the father urged from the screen, his expression stern. "Remember to keep your composure. A company that can produce an item like this is no small operation. There might be future collaboration opportunities. Don't embarrass yourselves and disgrace the Wu Family."
"Do you understand?"
"Rest assured, Father," Wu Lengjing replied, his square face radiating composure. "My second brother and I know exactly what to do."
"Good."
"Answer it now."
"Yes, sir."
Soon, Wu Zhending projected the communication interface from the tablet into the air. He settled into a nearby chair, his eldest brother beside him, while their father's communication window hovered between them.
The three men stared intently at the connected call, their expressions as serious and tense as if they were about to watch a crucial film.
"Greetings, everyone," a magnetic male voice announced.
A man appeared on the screen, wearing a brown, hard-brimmed felt hat, a white shirt, and dress pants. His clothes were stained with blood, yet the stains didn't appear messy or dirty; instead, they lent him an inexplicable, almost artistic air.
The slender, all-black cane with a white tip that he held exuded an air of refined elegance.
The man's face carried a weathered look, a blend of youthful features and the marks of time.
While not conventionally handsome, he possessed an undeniable charisma.
In that moment, the three Wu Family members sitting in their chairs instinctively straightened their postures, determined not to appear like country bumpkins.
"Ahem."
Wu Zhending casually retrieved a cigar from the nearby humidor, deliberately positioning the cigar brand within the camera's view before speaking.
"Let's begin. I'm the one who contacted you. This is my eldest brother, and the figure floating behind us is our father."
"Very well," the man replied, his expression maintaining a polite smile as he addressed them. "Please say 'start.' Once you do, the roulette wheel behind me will spin and stop after five seconds, landing on an item that will be yours."
He spoke with the demeanor of a perfect gentleman, his tone impeccably courteous.
Only then did Wu Zhending shift his gaze from the man to the room behind him.
It appeared to be a square chamber, its walls adorned with various Easter eggs. Behind the man stood a roulette wheel displaying roughly thirty to forty items.
At the center of the spinning wheel was a pointer shaped like a longsword, its rules simple and clear.
"Are there only thirty or forty items here?"
"Sir, you misunderstand. There are thirty-eight items on the wheel in total. Whenever you win an item, a new one will automatically replace it. You don't need to worry about that."
"Alright."
Wu Zhending didn't press further. He had come with these thousand lottery chances primarily to test the waters.
"Begin!"
As Wu Zhending's command echoed, a lively tune filled the room, and the spinning wheel began to rotate.
Soon, it came to a stop.
An item tumbled off the wheel and landed on the floor.
With a casual wave of his hand, a white light flashed, and the item instantly appeared in the man's palm.
Quickly, an item panel materialized on the communication interface:
[Item Name]: Pure Water
[Item Star]: One-Star Item
[Item Effect]: Every day at midnight, this bottle automatically refills to its full capacity of 550ml.
[Item Description]: This item could save your life in certain situations.
"Congratulations, sir! You've won a one-star item."
"Would you like to claim it now, or wait to claim all your winnings later?"
"Hmm..."
Wu Zhending gazed thoughtfully at the item before him. "It seems somewhat useful, Eldest Brother. Do you think trading ten one-star items for this is a good deal?"
"It's... alright, I guess."
"Not exactly a loss, but not a win either."
"Uh... Host?" Wu Lengjing stammered after a long pause. "This is too slow. Could we speed it up?"
"Of course," the man on the screen replied with a calm nod and a smile. "You can do ten-consecutive draws for faster results."
"Or you could try the intermediate roulette."
"The intermediate roulette has a higher chance of yielding three-star items, and the advanced roulette even offers a chance to obtain four-star items."
"Is that so?" Wu Zhending paused, then quickly asked, "How much do the intermediate and advanced roulettes cost?"
(End of the Chapter)
📖Read [MCC3KM] ahead on Pa.treon@AnubisTL upto c256. [+4.5k]
🌐Read for FREE Upto Ch198 on the Site. Visit P@treon for details.
🔥Translated [1.5k+] Chapters and [3.04M+] Words.