After bathing, changing, cleansing his hands, and lighting incense, Suifeng sat up straight with a serious expression. "System, begin the lottery!" [Affirmative.]
A large spinning wheel appeared in his mind, divided into five sections: Skills, Equipment, Items, Pets, and Random.
Seeing this for the first time, Suifeng relaxed a bit—at least there was no "Thank You for Participating" option.
He thought back to his school days when he used to buy iced red tea and always got "Thank You for Participating" under the bottle cap. The legendary "Try Again" prize always seemed like a myth.
Until one day—
It was a lovely day with clear skies, sunny with some clouds, local showers in some areas, a southeast wind of force 3–4, and good air quality.
Suifeng had just bought an iced red tea. One glance at the "Thank You" under the cap made him scoff and toss it in the trash. "Pfft, what a scam."
Just then, a student from another class came in to buy water. Suifeng vaguely recognized him—supposedly the class rep. Others called him Qin Shi.
Qin Shi paid 2.5 yuan, opened his bottle, and raised an eyebrow.
Suifeng chuckled, "Didn't win either? I'm telling you; it's a scam. Don't sweat it."
"Nope, I won. 'Try Again,'" Qin Shi shrugged helplessly.
Suifeng, a little sour: "Heh, lucky. Though yeah, the odds are low. It's rare to win once."
As Qin Shi turned to ask the shopkeeper for another bottle, he smiled dazzlingly at Suifeng, his pearly white teeth shining in the sunlight. "Low odds? I guess not. Boss, I won again."
The slightly chubby shopkeeper looked at the cap, muttered, "What luck," and handed over another bottle.
Suifeng stared at Qin Shi's smile, which suddenly seemed... oddly smug. At the time he didn't get it, but ten minutes later, he did.
In front of Suifeng, the shopkeeper, and stunned classmates, Qin Shi won 18 bottles in a row.
When he opened the last one and saw "Thank You," he shook his head and muttered, "Ugh, bad luck for once."
Hearing this, Suifeng gritted his teeth. Does this guy even hear himself? I've never won once in my life and this guy gets 18 in a row?!
Suifeng had been critically struck by a Luck Emperor, and the trauma stayed with him for years.
Looking at the mountain of bottles, Qin Shi sheepishly took a sip of the one he didn't win from and said to the other students, "Help yourselves—my treat."
The surrounding students eagerly grabbed drinks, all thanking him cheerfully.
Qin Shi sauntered away, back to class with grace. As he left, he turned back to smile at Suifeng and said, "See? Winning's not that hard."
Suifeng's inner fury boiled. Holding back only made it worse. So, without hesitation:
"Boss, give me a full crate—that one of iced red tea."
The shopkeeper laughed, "Alright, big spender Suifeng!"
As one of the school's known rich kids, every corner store owner recognized him.
"Thank you," "Thank you," "Thank you again"—
Every bottle cap said the same. Suifeng stared in disbelief at the chubby shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper shrugged, palms up, tilting his round head to signal helplessness.
Still unwilling to admit defeat, Suifeng opened another crate. Same result.
That day, October 18. Sunny with scattered clouds, local showers, southeast wind force 3–4, air quality good.
Event: Attempt to smuggle into Europe failed—deported back to Africa.
Looking at the two crates of iced tea on the table, he waved his hand generously to nearby students:
"Water's on me. Take what you want."
His classmates gratefully grabbed the bottles, calling out, "Thanks, Young Master!"
Suifeng turned and slowly walked away under their gazes, steps hollow and dull, casually revealing the Rolex on his wrist. He glanced down at the time.
Murmuring to himself: "Sigh... class is about to start again."
Flashback ended.
Back to the present—Suifeng's lottery was over. The pointer had quietly stopped on the "Items" category.
[Item has been delivered to inventory. Please check.]
Suifeng immediately checked his backpack and found a jade-white xiao (flute). He pulled it out and examined it.
It was entirely snow-white, about two feet long, with eight holes and intricate carvings of orchids, chrysanthemums, and bamboo. It was elegant and not an ordinary item.
After checking all around and finding nothing else special, he asked, "System, what's this broken flute even good for?"
[Its only trait is that it's indestructible.] "And?" [That's it.]
Suifeng was speechless. "It's a flute! Who cares if it's indestructible? It's not like I'm gonna use it in a fight!"
[Also included: A flute-playing guide and the top ten classic solo flute tunes.]
"Well... thanks, I guess."
A whole month of anticipation, and the reward was a flute. Truly, when it came to lotteries, Suifeng was still that same unlucky boy—nothing had changed.
Forget it. Learning to play the flute is a nice hobby. It can soothe the soul. Or, to put it more pretentiously—maybe it's the perfect accessory to show off taste and elegance.
The next day, Suifeng resumed daily training. These were some of the last peaceful days in the Douluo Continent—soon enough, that peaceful pace would vanish.
He'd grown used to the weighted vest. After a full day of training, his strength only improved slightly. He shook his head helplessly. What a trash host I am—progress is so slow.
"Hey, Tang San, long time no see!"
"Mm." Tang San responded coldly with a nod.
"Why so grim? Your dad's still alive and well, isn't he?" Suifeng teased casually.
"Looking for a beating?" Tang San leaped up, flinging two curved pebbles at Suifeng like crescent moons.
Suifeng ducked backward, evading them with a perfect limbo move.
Then joked, "Yo, just two days, and your technique's gotten real fancy. Even your shooting form's weirder now."
Tang San didn't fully understand, but something about Suifeng's half-smiling face made him feel like it wasn't a compliment.
He launched into Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step, trying to close the distance hand-to-hand. No matter how or where he shot, he couldn't hit Suifeng.
This frustrated Tang San deeply. After training his throwing skills for two lifetimes, he still couldn't land a hit on a six-year-old? How is a genius hidden weapon master supposed to accept that?!If ranged attacks aren't working, then melee it is!
Tang San rushed in, expecting Suifeng to dodge or run. Instead, to his surprise, Suifeng didn't move. Smiling calmly, Suifeng raised his hand and snapped his fingers. "Snap—"
A blade of wind energy formed and shot straight at Tang San.
Tang San, caught off guard by Suifeng's unexpected counterattack, couldn't dodge in time. He quickly activated his Mysterious Jade Hand, placing the glowing white palm in front of him.
Tang San thought bitterly: "So this is the end for me..."
They say your life flashes before your eyes when you die. Tang San suddenly thought of his past life—devoted to hidden weapons, only to die alone in Ghostly Cliff. He'd reincarnated into this world to revive the Tang Sect, and now it was all over?
And after mastering so many hidden weapon techniques, I still don't have a girlfriend. All that skill and no use for it... I, Tang San, am not satisfied!!!
If there's a next life, I just want one great, passionate romance. Even if it's with a ghost, like Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian—I'll accept it!!!
As emotions surged, Tang San lost all composure.