Xia Chen danced with ecstatic joy. Ten draw chances meant a guaranteed prize! For someone as poor and unlucky as him, this was a rare opportunity.

“Tongban, what rarity is the guaranteed prize?” Xia Chen asked, his head not yet clouded by sudden happiness. He wanted to be clear before starting.

[The prizes in the gold reward pool include energy water, various seeds, gems, magical seeds, and other ordinary items.]

Xia Chen’s eyes lit up. Energy water was listed first, so it had to be something good. Just like in his old games, the best and hardest-to-get rewards were always placed at the front to entice players.

“What is energy water? Is that the guaranteed prize?” he asked.

[Energy water is a product of diluting liquefied special energy. It can increase the probability of magical seeds growing into magical plants.]

Xia Tongban’s explanation was serious, but then came the snark: [Energy water is extremely rare. In the host’s words, it’s the exclusive reward of lucky dogs. Please face reality and don’t harbor illusions. The guaranteed prize for a ten-pull is a seed the host doesn’t currently possess. If you collect enough seeds, the guaranteed prize for a ten-pull might become a certain kind of artificially cultivated and evolved seed.]

Xia Chen let Xia Tongban’s mocking words drift past him. The guaranteed prize explanation set his heart alight. A seed he didn’t have wasn’t as exciting as energy water, but it was still practical. And that last sentence… did Tongban imply that with enough seeds, even a hybrid rice seed wasn’t impossible?

“Draw! Draw! Draw!” Xia Chen couldn’t wait. He clicked on the gachapon.  After a moment’s thought, he took out the water he stored for his vegetables and washed his hands. Then, hands clasped, eyes closed, he muttered a few prayers—he didn’t even know which deity he was addressing.

After his prayer, Xia Chen rubbed his hands together, a surge of nervousness hitting him. “I’m starting,” he told Xia Tongban, and tapped the ten-pull button below the gold reward pool.

Xia Tongban’s special effects were always impressive. Golden light infused the gachapon, twisting it a few times before it burst open. Items jumped out, suspended in the air before Xia Chen.

His heart pounded. This felt as thrilling as a high-risk sport!

The light faded. Xia Chen took a deep breath and examined his ten-pull prizes.

Xia Tongban hadn’t lied. The magical seeds did sound impressive, but unfortunately, they were the bottom level. Xia Chen got six of them in one pull, making his heart sink.

Apart from these six magical seeds, he also drew five gems, which was better than the former. Xia Chen’s attention was focused on the remaining three types of items.

At least the five gems were better than the seeds. But, his attention quickly shifted to the remaining three items. Three more seeds—who knew what sort of plants they’d grow? These must be the guaranteed prize Xia Tongban mentioned. Now, the two items beside the seeds truly made Xia Chen question his life.

“Sprite… and a water gun? Tongban, are you celebrating Children’s Day early?” He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Sure, Xia Tongban said there’d be ordinary items, but he never thought it would be this kind of ordinary item!

Xia Tongban retorted: [This isn’t some regular Sprite, and that’s definitely not a water gun.]

Xia Chen scoffed. “So what’s special about it?” He took the Sprite. Honestly, a carbonated drink was a welcome surprise after all this time. But as soon as the bottle was in his hand, a name popped into his mind: [Sprite from ’82]

Xia Chen’s hand that was about to pull the cap froze. He said in disbelief, “What the hell? Sprite from ’82? Can I even drink this? No, wait, did Sprite even exist back then?”

Xia Tongban defended itself: [It’s from the emoticon pack, of course it’s drinkable! Absolutely identical to the original.]

Xia Chen sputtered. After a moment, he asked, “If it’s identical to the original, why does it have a year?”

[Isn’t that what you humans do? Add a year and suddenly it’s precious, worth a higher price!]

Xia Chen was speechless. That was… weirdly logical. Suddenly, he was dying to try this ’82 Sprite.

With his interest piqued by Tongban’s godly remark, Xia Chen stored his precious Sprite into the warehouse and picked up the last item. It looked like a handmade bamboo water gun, something he’d seen in videos. But Tongban was adamant it wasn’t.

Sure enough, when he picked it up, it wasn’t a water gun. It was a firearm, the ancestor of guns. However, this wasn’t a case of the older the better. Modern, properly manufactured firearms could still explode; this thing could probably take his whole hand off. 

Plus, the scamming Xia Tongban didn’t even give him any bullets. The barrel was empty. Even if he wanted to use it, he had no chance.

Xia Chen sighed, tossing the ancient relic into the storage. “Well, at least it’s a collectible.”

“Let me see what good stuff the guaranteed prize is.” Xia Chen said with a grin.

“Now, for the guaranteed prize.” There was a grin in his voice. Honestly, the peak excitement of the draw was over. The prizes weren’t insanely lucky, but they were decent—proof that his hand-washing and prayers had sort of worked. 

It wasn’t so bad that it was unacceptable. He still remembered Tongban saying that the probability of drawing magical seeds was about eighty percent. He’d only gotten six of those magical seeds, so he could barely be considered a normal person now.

With that in mind, he picked up the seeds without much thought. There were still so many he didn’t have yet, so the odds were in his favor so he was likely to draw useless seeds like celery, bitter melon, or cilantro. He wouldn’t plant those anyway!

However, when the new seed’s name appeared, Xia Chen was stunned. “Tongban,” he asked, his voice trembling, “Am I seeing things? Are these… sugar beet seeds?”

Sugar beets! The key ingredient for sugar! With sugar beets, they’d never go without sweets again. His nephews could roll around in mountains of sugar!

[Yes.]

Xia Tongban’s mechanical voice had never sounded so dependable. Xia Chen’s eyes practically turned red with excitement. “Tongban, you’re the best! From now on, we’re biological brothers. If I have candy, I’ll save a piece for you. Wait, can systems eat candy?”

Xia Tongban, unmoved, replied coldly: [I don’t eat. Please don’t try to bribe the system. Also, do you know how to extract sugar from sugar beets?]

Xia Chen: “……”

Well, no, he didn’t.

Suddenly, Xia Tongban began an impassioned sales pitch: [The secret method of making sugar from sugar beets, only one gold, only one gold!]

Xia Chen: “……”

What kind of stuff have you stored, bro? A proper high-end alien system learning TV shopping of all things.

He remembered he hadn’t checked the system mall at noon. Sure enough, “The Secret Method of Making Sugar from Sugar Beets” was for sale, priced outrageously above everything else.  Next to it were radish seeds for a mere five copper coins. The difference starkly illustrated the value of knowledge.

After a moment of remorse for his past ignorance, Xia Chen closed the mall. He put away the sugar beet seeds and his other prizes into the warehouse.

[You’re not buying it?] Xia Tongban rarely had doubts. The system mall refreshed randomly. If he didn’t buy it this time, who knew when it would refresh again next time.

“No, I’m poor,”  Xia Chen declared with righteous indignation. He was still paying off his debt.

Xia Tongban fell silent, and the currency display on the main interface began to flash wildly.

Xia Chen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He knew he had enough money. The gift packs had given him two gold, one silver, and a hundred copper coins. After paying his debt, he still had over a gold piece and two silvers. But buying the book would return to pre-liberation poverty overnight again.

“Alright, alright, stop flashing. I know I can afford it,” Xia Chen explained. “But making sugar requires tools I don’t have. Buying the guide now is useless. We need to be rational, Comrade Tongban.”

In truth, he wanted it badly. Even if he couldn’t use it now, it would be good to buy it and keep it. But he truly didn’t have the funds. Sigh, the curse of poverty. Xia Chen, once a wealthy young master, again felt its sting. 

Outwardly, he maintained a facade of practicality. “Potatoes and corn are each a single gold coin. It’s better to buy food than a guide I can’t use.”

He maintained a lofty tone, even lecturing Xia Tongban, but inside, his heart wailed: I really want to eat candy, sob sob sob!

After wailing in his heart, he added while brimming with tears, “Tongban, I’ll buy potatoes and corn next time they’re available.”

Xia Tongban silently turned off the flashing icons, probably hurt by the host’s stinginess. The system remained quiet after that.

Xia Chen organized the warehouse. After some contemplation, he retrieved the can of Sprite, opened it, and took a sip. The familiar burst of carbonation brought a rush of refreshment, living up to the advertisements.

Putting down the Sprite, Xia Chen returned to the room and took a tea cup. He poured more than half a cup of Sprite and stored the rest back in the warehouse in a separate slot.

Whatever was stored in the warehouse would come out the same. It would remain perfectly fizzy. He would take a sip whenever the craving arose. How blissful!

🌻🌻🌻

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