Lin Fang signed where needed: transfer of ownership, loan reassignment, and exit agreement. It was all smoother than he expected. Almost too smooth. Money was also transferred instantly.
When it was all done, the man gave him a respectful nod. "The loan liabilities are now cleared. You'll receive confirmation via system mail in 24 hours."
Chen Yu added after a brief pause, "And remember, you have one month to vacate. After that, company contractors will begin demolition."
Lin Fang nodded wordlessly.
That earlier joy he felt suddenly disappeared at that reminder of vacating, and his eyes couldn't help but wander the store, a place he had owned for years.
As the client left the store, not bothering to take any product he had actually paid for earlier, Lin Fang went ahead and locked the glass door for what was likely the second-last time.
The street outside was still quiet.
Lin Fang climbed back up the stairs, sank into his old chair, and stared at the ceiling for a while.
The money, 1.15 million credits, sat neatly in his personal account now. But his thoughts weren't on it.
They were elsewhere.
He raised his hand. "System."
System Online
[Main Quests]
[Summoner Shop]
[Lottery Wheel]
He tapped the last one that he hadn't explored earlier.
The interface shifted. A circular wheel emerged on the screen, gold-rimmed, divided into 36 neat partitions. Each segment pulsed softly, some with icons, others blank.
Six of the slots had the design of an Pterosaur, labeled with multipliers: x1, x2, x3, x5, x10, x20.
Fifteen other segments showed shimmering coins in increasing values, x1 to x500.
One had the image of a question mark.
The rest? They were blank.
The system prompted while he was staring at the lottery wheel: Use 11x Summon Ticket?
He didn't hesitate. Lin Fang clicked on yes.
The wheel spun.
Bright and fast at first, then slower, heavier, and more deliberate toward the end.
After several tense seconds, the results appeared one by one:
*Lightning Pterosaur Shard x8*
*Coin x20*
*Lightning Pterosaur Shard x5*
*Lightning Pterosaur Shard x3*
*Coin x140*
*Blank*
*Lightning Pterosaur Shard x6*
*Lightning Pterosaur Shard x4*
*Coin x82*
*Blank*
*Blank*
*Ding!
[You earned, Lightning Pterosaur Shard: x26, Store Coins: +342]
"Not bad for a free 11x ticket…" Lin Fang muttered. He tapped on the Lightning Pterosaur Shard.
Monster: Lightning Pterosaur (Wind + Lightning Affinity)
Rarity: Epic
Assimilation Requirement: 100 shards
Progress: 26 / 100
He leaned back with his eyes narrowing in interest.
"A flying-type monster, but still has lower Potential than a direwolf." Then he shrugged in indifference, "But then again, Black is a beginner's gift. Obviously, the system would give me a pretty damn good one."
He glanced at the coin count: 1342.
Just enough for two more 11x draws. If he gets enough coins, it will be three turns, as each one costs 500 coins. He hesitated only for a second but eventually fell into temptation.
"One more round."
Confirm: Spend 500 Store Coins?
"Confirmed."
The wheel spun again, this time even more slowly, like fate was holding its breath. A while later, the results flicked across the screen:
*Ding! You earned, Lightning Pterosaur Shard: x44, Store Coins: +80
Lin Fang whistled low. "That brings me to 70 shards total… just thirty more to go."
He hovered his hand over the x11 button again. "Should I try one more round?"
But then his eyes flicked to Black, who had climbed up to the windowsill and was now clumsily trying to swat a sunbeam in curiosity.
His eyes lingered on the little direwolf for a few seconds before imagining a pup pterosaur flying all over the house.
Lin Fang couldn't help but smile at that thought. "Alright, let's do this." He clicked on x11 once again.
However, this time, the rewards are quite surprising.
*Ding! You earned Lightning Pterosaur Shards: x8, Store Coins: +102
"Just 8... what the..."
[Total Lightning Pterosaur Shards: 78 / 100, Store Coins Remaining: 524]
"Just twenty-two more," he murmured. "One more x11 spin left, but I might get there this time. I won't face bad luck every time."
Temptation tugged at him again. He hesitated only for a heartbeat before making his decision.
"Let's end this."
He tapped the x11 Draw button. 500 coins vanished in a blink.
The wheel spun.
Slower this time. The ticking dragged. His stomach churned slightly as the light circled, then slowed… and finally stopped.
*Ding! You earned Lightning Pterosaur Shards: x4, Store Coins: +38
Lin Fang froze entirely for a moment, this time, as if he had been struck by lightning. "What the…"
A strange silence filled the room, and the holographic screen displayed the final results of the draw so far.
[Lightning Pterosaur Shard Total: 82 / 100, Coins Remaining: 62]
********
"F**k."
He sat there, staring blankly at the screen for a moment, as if he had lost everything in a casino.
"I truly fuc*ed up…" His voice echoed in the apartment.
Black looked up from the windowsill, confused by the sudden outburst.
"I could've bought more Direwolf King eggs," Lin Fang muttered. "I could've just focused on selling one item. But instead…" He clenched his jaw. "I chased after the second one like a gambling idiot. When will you ever learn a lesson…"
It was a familiar feeling. One that left an old, bitter taste in his mouth.
Over the years, from education to business loans, Lin Fang took loans to revive the shop, and used that money to hire high-ranking trainers for training services, healers for medical services, and various influencers to promote on social media, etc. All of his attempts to make it big in a short time, instead of looking for steady growth, only resulted in enormous debts, a failed marriage, and eventually death. He failed back then, and now, when he finally received an opportunity to redo his life with strong support, he messed up again.
He sank into the chair, slowly, grabbing his head with both hands in depression.
"Now, I don't even have coins left to buy Direwolf King eggs. Do I have to use the money in my bank account to buy the coins?"
Just then… As if the system understood his feelings, it suddenly sent him a reminder.
*Ding!
A notification sound rang in his head.
And new writings appeared on the holographic screen.
[System Notification: "Upon binding the System to a shop location, the host will also have an option of purchasing the items from the summoner's shop directly for a certain credit limit. However, the system will charge the host 10% interest every week.]
His eyes widened. "Wait… what? 10% per week?"
He immediately stood up before reading the notification.
And he read it again.
"That means… 520% annual interest? Woah…" Lin Fang couldn't help but laugh and clap in disbelief. "No wonder the system is encouraging me to sell things. Haha…"
Putting away that despair, Lin Fang stood up slowly and walked toward the window where sunlight streamed in, gently lighting the direwolf's fur.
As he looked out across the city skyline, his reflection appeared faintly in the glass.
"Fine, we'll play however you want, system," he whispered to himself. "As long as I can rewrite this damned life of mine into better, I will do anything." He clenched his fists.
As if the mark of the summoner recognized his determination to achieve something, its glyph appeared for a moment in the center of his closed palm before disappearing again.