Chapter 49: The Lottery

After much deliberation, Qiao Mian decided to show the game some respect.

He would spend money.

Although most of the prizes offered tremendous benefits to him, their importance varied. His gaze swept over the Auction House and the Plane Incubator. Compared to the others, these two were the most crucial for him. The Ancient Holy Body and the "Great Derivation Method" could certainly enhance his power, but the colossal amount of game coins required was not something he could muster quickly. The Traversal Talisman was also tempting, but he hadn’t even sorted out Fantasy Park yet and had no time to wander through other planes. As for giving it to others...

After drawing such an item, he’d have to spend a considerable sum of game coins every time he used it. He wasn’t quite that lavish.

The Plane Travel Ticket could attract more customers, but he was already receiving only five hundred people daily—he couldn't even satisfy Earth’s demand, so there was no need to expand his clientele for now.

The other items were even less relevant.

Qiao Mian glanced at his game coin balance. After exchanging all his popularity points, his assets now totaled over six hundred eighty thousand.

"I need to reserve one hundred fifty thousand for expanding the Scripture Pavilion," Qiao Mian mused.

That left just over five hundred thousand at his disposal.

Should he save up a bit more?

Staring at the prize wheel before him, Qiao Mian felt restless. He couldn’t wait even a quarter of an hour. Moreover, he’d just told Wang Lang there would be a two-day closure and given the staff a break—backing out now wouldn’t be good.

"Anyway, there’s nothing particularly terrible here," he thought.

Once again, he focused on the Auction House and the Plane Incubator. These two were hard to choose between. With an Auction House, Fantasy Park would undergo a qualitative transformation—a set of Iron Man armor thrown out would surely incite a frenzy. Even the most impressive martial arts would be overshadowed. Then he could continue to seek out unique items from the Transformers universe and auction them, accelerating his accumulation of game coins—perhaps he’d level up to grade three before long.

The Plane Incubator, though, was even more valuable.

"If I allocate two hundred fifty thousand to each, their combined probability approaches seventy percent..."

"Let fate decide," Qiao Mian thought.

With a seventy percent chance, he figured he wouldn’t be unlucky. As for which one he would get, destiny would determine that. Either way, he wouldn’t lose. Even if the odds favored something else—unless it was that dust collector—he’d only feel a slight regret.

With this in mind, Qiao Mian immediately selected "Plane Incubator" and "Designated Scene (Auction House)," spending two hundred fifty thousand game coins on each to boost their chances to nearly thirty-five percent apiece.

Once done, Qiao Mian took a deep breath and pressed the "Start Prize Draw" button.

The screen flashed, and the pointer stopped.

Qiao Mian was speechless. The prize draw felt utterly devoid of ceremony.

He nervously looked at where the pointer landed—between the Plane Incubator and the Auction House.

Seventy percent probability, and at least nothing bizarre happened.

"Zero, what’s the result?" he asked.

Zero’s icy voice replied, "Congratulations, player. You’ve drawn the Plane Incubator."

"That works," Qiao Mian exhaled gently.

A pop-up appeared before him:

[New item acquired. Would you like to add it to the shop?]
[Yes] [No]

Qiao Mian clicked "Yes."

At once, "Plane Incubator" appeared in his shop.

Unlike other items, this new addition was golden in color. The others were marked in white.

He looked at the new item, and its description flowed into his mind.

"For player use only..."

"After use, you can spend ten months to generate a random plane’s connection channel."

"Price: one million game coins."

"You can spend coins to accelerate generation. Specific cost depends on game level; currently, reducing the incubation period by one month requires one million coins."

Qiao Mian quickly sorted out the key information about the Plane Incubator.

The main points were the lengthy incubation period and the steep price.

Though he could spend coins to shorten the cycle, the cost was still enormous.

"I really am too poor," he thought, frustrated.

He’d been prepared for this.

Sitting silently on the stegosaurus’s back for a while, he watched as the creature aimlessly carried him to the riverbank, drinking calmly among a group of carnivorous dinosaurs. Qiao Mian couldn’t help but smile.

He leaped from the stegosaurus’s back and landed on the slightly uneasy tyrannosaurus beside him.

"To the fitness plaza," he commanded.

The tyrannosaurus sprinted off.

"Let’s deal with the Scripture Pavilion first," Qiao Mian thought. "I can consult with Dragon Maiden and Granny Sun about suitable candidates for its management."

Dragon Maiden was entertaining guests at her residence.

Naturally, the guest was the only unofficial employee in Fantasy Park—Liang Xiaoyu.

The streamer had already turned off her broadcast upon entering.

She placed the takeaway dishes one by one on the table, while Granny Sun and Dragon Maiden helped open them.

Each was a refined dish served in porcelain plates.

These had all been arranged by Liang Xiaoyu’s parents, flown in directly from a five-star hotel.

Because of Fantasy Park’s unique status, the nation hadn’t objected and even offered some assistance.

Old Liang had paid a hefty fee for the delivery.

The enticing aroma made even Dragon Maiden, usually so composed, swallow quietly.

She had tasted twice before—both times gifts from Liang Xiaoyu.

After savoring Earth’s cuisine, she couldn’t help but feel embarrassed recalling her own attempts to cook for Qiao Mian.

Her cooking, which she considered decent, paled in comparison to these delicacies.

She imagined that someone as divine as Qiao Mian surely ate food no worse than this every day.

It was only after Granny Sun’s subtle persuasion that she nervously continued to invite Qiao Mian over and personally cooked for him.

To improve her skills, she watched many cooking videos.

Her culinary talents had greatly increased, but there was still a gap compared to the hotel’s fare.

Once everything was arranged, the trio took their seats.

Liang Xiaoyu animatedly recounted the story she’d seen earlier: in the Monkey Kingdom, an Allosaurus had frightened a monkey until it wet itself, then an enraged inspector threw it off a car, and tourists in Dinosaur Park chased after Transformers, creating a farcical scene.

Granny Sun quietly focused on her meal.

Dragon Maiden smiled at the corners of her lips, occasionally responding, her chopsticks moving so quickly they left afterimages.

"By the way, now that you’re on break, would you like to go out for a stroll?" Liang Xiaoyu asked.

Dragon Maiden looked to Granny Sun, intrigued.

"Mr. Qiao said you can move about freely. Jazz and Bumblebee seem to be planning to enjoy some concert," Granny Sun replied. "I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you went out."

After swallowing the last piece of fish, Granny Sun continued slowly, "Mr. Qiao said last time that you’d look wonderful with twin tails and a sailor suit. They have such clothes outside, don’t they?"

Liang Xiaoyu was shocked. "He said that?"

Asking Dragon Maiden to wear twin tails and a sailor suit!

Such a lecher!

Why pretend to be a gentleman in front of me?

Liang Xiaoyu’s heart fluttered.

She’d seen Mr. Qiao’s "true face" a few times recently and found him quite attractive, fueling her fantasies.

Dragon Maiden was baffled by her overreaction. "Is there a problem?"

Granny Sun gave the streamer a cool glance before continuing her meal in silence.

Liang Xiaoyu opened her mouth. "Then I’ll take you out for a walk?"

"Just put on a different outfit; no one will recognize you."

Dragon Maiden thought for a moment. "I’ll ask Mr. Qiao."

Liang Xiaoyu was about to say, "Why bother asking him," when a knock sounded at the door.

...