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Drawing lots was something that Xu Hao had always been unwilling to face, yet it was a trial he had no choice but to endure. Back in his old life, when playing the game, he was the kind of unfortunate player who had to rely on the big guarantee almost every single time just to get a specific character.
For a player who was not a big spenderâa "micro-krypton party"âbeing "black" meant that you couldn't possibly collect all the characters. You always had to make difficult choices, deciding which roles to pull and which ones to skip entirely. The high-tier goals, like multiple life constellations, the fabled "full life," or obtaining the character's signature five-star weaponâthose were the dreams of the wealthy, and Xu Hao didn't even dare to consider them.
His poor luck had carried over with him. As a result, he basically had zero hope for the golden finger lottery mechanism provided by the Erchuang live broadcast room. He expected a continuous stream of junk.
"Hey, let's just try it. I really hope it's not too outrageous," Xu Hao muttered, sighing deeply. He closed his eyes, steeling himself, and clicked on the draw card page within his interface. The interface itself was incredibly flashy, a complex and confusing screen that looked like it contained a million different possibilities. The available options were almost comical in their variety, covering anything you could imagine from different dimensions.
He checked his status. The number of draws remaining was 1.
"Phew. Okay, let me think. Master Engraver's black silk... no, Keqing's black silk, please, bless me. Let's make this pull a lucky one!" Xu Hao prayed silently, trying to manifest some positive energy. With a deep breath and a decisive mental command, he activated his single lottery pull. I just harmed Master Keqing in the video, so maybe she'll somehow bless this draw out of pity? he thought.
Suddenly, a dazzling light ignited within the clouds on the screen. Three meteors began to fall from the heavens, and Xu Hao's eyes widened with hope. But as they got closer, they all began to glow with a bright... white light. He felt a phantom pain in his chest. White. The lowest rarity possible.
The notifications popped up one after another.
[Congratulations to the host, you have obtained a set of Keqing's black silk.]
[Congratulations to the host, you have obtained a box of Devil's Claw Energy Drinks, endorsed by Vergil.]
[Congratulations to the host, you have obtained lipstick number 142 of the same style worn by Ningguang.]
Xu Hao: (âŹïżŁçïżŁ)
"Well, that's just great. Is this all? This is my amazing reward for entertaining all of Teyvat?" The three items were, predictably, the lowest possible quality, common as dirt and classified as Grade D. He was a time traveler! He was supposed to be the chosen one! How could his luck be this abysmal?
"This is not logical!" he mentally yelled at the interface. "This definitely violates all known laws of time and space and probability!"
However, after his initial burst of rage subsided, he looked at the rewards with a sigh. Well, Master Keqing's black silk... ahem. I can keep this as a personal collection. It is a unique item, I suppose. Next, he considered Ningguang's lipstick. Of course she owned at least 142 shades. As expected of a powerful and wealthy woman, she probably collected them like other people collected slimes.
Finally, there was the magic claw energy drink endorsed by Vergil. The system text called it "Devil's Claw" and mentioned Vergil, though it misspelled it as "Powwaren." Is drinking this going to make me act all 'serious illness' like him? Will it make me want to throw tiles or something? Xu Hao glanced around Wanmin Restaurant, making sure that Master Mao and the others were busy with their tasks and no other customers were paying him any attention. With a slight mental command, he removed one of the bottles from his system space. The drink was packaged in a sleek blue can, and on the front was a confident, stylized image of Vergil, the Power of the Underworld.
Xu Hao popped the tab and took a experimental sip. The taste was familiarâthe same as the common energy drinks he used to get. He took a few more gulps. Nope, I don't feel anything. No overwhelming desire to fight my brother or to sit in a plastic chair in the middle of a dimension-rending battle. He realized it was just a joint repackaging deal, a common drink that happened to have a cartoon Vergil on the label. He quickly finished the can and placed the empty bottle back into his system space.
Xu Hao paid the bill, thanked Xiangling as she rushed past with another order, and left Wanmin Restaurant. Directly across the main entrance and diagonally to the right was the Liyue branch of the Adventurer's Association. He spent a significant portion of his month in this part of town; with his strength, registering as an adventurer and taking on crusade commissions to fight monsters was an effective way to earn Mora.
The commission office of the Liyue association was not a simple open-air booth like the player was used to in the game. Instead, it was housed within a small, sturdy building that had been converted into a cozy hall. Inside, there were a few tables and chairs where adventurers could rest, enjoy a hot meal, and discuss their current assignments.
Although Teyvat was relatively safe within the main city walls under the protection of the Seven Gods, the wildlands remained incredibly dangerous. Common monsters like Hilichurls, slimes, Pyro Regisvines, Cryo Regisvines, and infant Geovishaps could be found almost everywhere. Therefore, commissions like clearing monsters and providing guard duty for merchant caravans were issued every single day.
However, most of the adventurers who were capable of accepting such life-threatening commissions were holders of Visions, the chosen few blessed by the gods. The vast majority of standard adventurers were relegated to simpler, non-combat tasksâthings like running simple errands, delivering urgent letters, and assisting with exploration of minor ruins.
Xu Hao walked into the hall and greeted a few of the familiar adventurers. They nodded to him, but their conversations quickly returned to the same topic: the second creation video they had just witnessed. "Did you see what they did to Yuheng Keqing?" "Yeah, I can't believe they turned her into a beef offal vendor!" Xu Hao couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt, and he mentally sent another apology to the poor Master Carver. He kept his expression neutral, though, and walked to the main counter.
"Welcome to the Stars and the Abyss, Mr. Xu Hao," the Kanban lady, Katheryne, greeted him with her standard, perfectly professional smile. Although the Adventurer's Association had a reputation for having hidden dragons and crouching tigers among its ranks, there were still very few individuals with Xu Hao's raw combat ability who bothered to register and work as active adventurers.
"Good afternoon, Katheryne. It's the same request as always: straightforward, clear, and a high-paying commission." Xu Hao returned her greeting and took a seat on one of the chairs by the counter, waiting for her to look through the active requests.
Speaking of Katheryne, most adventurers and travelers suspected she was an artificial human, or a series of identical artificial humans. The main piece of evidence was the unique keyhole pattern on the collar behind her neck, which was visible on every Katheryne in every nation of Teyvat.
After all, it was impossible for Katheryne to have septuplets, with one sister running every branch of the association. Therefore, smart adventurers had also inferred that there had to be an incredibly powerful and mysterious existence behind the entire Adventurer's Association.
Katheryne sorted through several high-difficulty commission orders on the board behind her. To take on such an order, an adventurer had to prove their strength. Ordinary adventurers neither had the capability nor the qualification, so she would not let them walk to their doom. Of course, if an adventurer was absolutely persistent in seeking their own death, she wouldn't stop them; that was their choice.
She placed a few papers on the counter for Xu Hao to look at. "Here are some commissions that were placed just this afternoon. A rich businessman, Li#, is hiring a private tutor. His son has already angered more than a dozen gentlemen and driven them off, so the salary is incredibly high. Miss Ningguang, the Tianquan Star, has offered a massive reward for any information regarding the Erchuang live broadcast room.
The specific amount of the reward will be determined based on the authenticity and value of the information provided. However, she also adds a stern warning: if you deliberately send false information, you will be sued by the Liyue Qixing's own legal counsel."
"The second young master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild," she continued, "hopes to find a novel author with fantastic ideas and an adventurous spirit to exchange inspiration with. If your ideas are good enough to inspire his next work, he will pay a minimum of ten thousand Mora. Also, you might get to meet the guild's youngest master, who is quite a character."
Katheryne finished reading the top requests and waited for Xu Hao to make his choice.