Check out my new translation!
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"It can explode, that much is true…"
Seeing the looks on Guinaifen and Li Sushang's faces, Sylvester spoke slowly.
"It's just that it doesn't explode into money. It explodes your account. That 10% chance means that all the money in your account—regardless of whether it came from the Curio or not…"
He clapped his hands, then opened both empty palms toward them. "All of it. Zeroed out."
Guinaifen: "Huh?"
Li Sushang: "Huh?"
Hearing Sylvester's explanation, Guinaifen and Li Sushang were stunned.
W–wait, it could do that?
This was too cruel! It didn't matter where the money came from—it would wipe everything clean. Even lotteries weren't this vicious!
At least with a lottery, once you paid, whether you won or not, they wouldn't take your money again.
But this [Galactic Grand Lotto] was way more intense—you might be a millionaire one day and a penniless pauper the next morning.
Guinaifen eyed the slip of paper, her thoughts spinning rapidly.
Eh? What if I bind it to a brand-new card with no money on it, and withdraw everything the moment it hits? If I always keep that card at zero balance, then even if it wants to explode, it'll have nothing to explode!
She shared her idea with the others.
Li Sushang cheered, "Little Gui, you're a genius!"
"Hehe, I'm alright, I guess."
Her best friend's praise delighted Guinaifen, and her face relaxed into a satisfied grin.
Then she turned to Sylvester.
Whether or not this little loophole was viable, it was best to verify it. She was already prepared for the possibility that the Curio had some kind of hidden drawback.
Like perhaps forbidding you from moving money out before the explosion triggered.
But surprisingly, the result matched her hopes.
"That idea is fine—it works completely."
Sylvester affirmed her plan, then added, "Or rather, this is exactly within the intended rules. If people were forbidden from spending money or managing it, then the Curio would be nothing but a guaranteed loss—just a prank item."
"Oh, right," he added. "Once the [Galactic Grand Lotto] explodes once, it can never be used again—it becomes an ordinary scrap of paper."
"So that's how it is."
Guinaifen pinched her chin thoughtfully.
This Curio was different from what she first imagined.
At the beginning, she assumed it was an unstable long-term meal ticket, but now it seemed more like a luck tester.
Ten percent and twenty percent—neither big nor small.
In theory, there could be someone absurdly lucky who hits that twenty-percent prize every single day, earning a million Credits daily.
But if something like that really happened to her, she'd live in constant fear—she'd be afraid a heavy starskiff might suddenly swoop around a corner and reunite her with her destroyed homeland.
That kind of luck is lifespan-shortening!
But if your luck was terrible, and the account exploded on the first day, then that million-Credit trash can opening would be nothing but paying for a heart-attack experience—throwing money straight into the abyss.
However… the good outcome still had a higher probability than the bad one!
As long as she could get two million from it, that would line up perfectly with the odds—big profit, right?!
Even just one million wasn't a loss.
She refused to believe that her luck could actually be so bad that she'd lose everything. Absolutely impossible!
As long as she believed she would win, she definitely would win!
Guinaifen encouraged herself.
"Alright, thank you, Shopkeeper Sylvester. I know what to do now."
She returned to the counter and continued selecting trash cans.
But this time, she didn't get that sudden spark she felt earlier.
So she began mumbling a little rhyme, tapping one trash can per syllable. When she reached the last word, the trash can she tapped became her next target.
"Hehe, show Little Gui what you've got!"
She lifted the lid—blue light flared.
Guinaifen shouted with joy. This time she had to get a Curio with a fixed value, right? Even reselling it would be great.
The glow dissipated, and another slip of paper fell into her hand—shaped just like the [Galactic Grand Lotto], only with a slightly different color.
"What's this?"
Seeing its shape, Guinaifen instinctively felt uneasy. These two looked way too similar.
Sylvester, recognizing the Curio, said with a faintly amused tone, "This one is the [Cosmic Grand Lotto]. Its rules are similar to the Galactic version, but the prize isn't Credits—it's a random currency from somewhere in the universe, equal in value to one million Credits."
Watching her two Curios, Sylvester found the situation amusing.
This thing caused me so much love and hate back in the day. Didn't expect to see one again in person.
"Hmm…"
Holding up both lotto slips, Guinaifen felt her luck was… difficult to judge.
What was this? Opening trash cans was supposed to test luck once—but now after the first test, it wanted to keep testing?
One after another—would it ever end?
"Little Gui, with this situation… do you still want to keep going?"
Li Sushang, who had been watching from the side, was getting nervous too. Her words asked for Guinaifen's thoughts, but her tone revealed she was already losing her nerve.
Guinaifen grew quiet, deep in thought.
Moments later, she firmed her resolve.
Even though both Curios were highly unpredictable, she had still earned two blue Curios, which already put her luck above most people.
And since the general direction was good, the small details didn't matter.
Have faith—charge all the way!
Facing Sylvester, she declared, "Shopkeeper Sylvester, two more!"
Sylvester smoothly scanned two-hundred-thousand Credits. "Alright, please go ahead."
Guinaifen grabbed two trash cans. As if preparing for a grand challenge, she rolled her wrists and twisted her neck.
After warming up, her mind steadied considerably.
Taking a deep breath, she seized both lids and pulled them up at once.
Blue light and purple light rose together.
Seeing it, all the fog in Guinaifen's mind vanished—replaced by overwhelming joy!
This was purple! Surely these wouldn't be unreliable Curios again?
Money didn't matter anymore. She had livestreamed Yanqing and Yunli's battles—Curios of that level could raise her strength to something well-known even across the entire Luofu!
That was far more valuable than money!
And she was not the only one excited. The moment Li Sushang saw the glow, she shot to her feet.
How could she not know the power of purple Curios?
Yanqing and Yunli's blades were so strong, their fame had already spread across the Cloud Knights!
Her own family sword was usually something to be proud of, but compared to those weapons, it was completely outshone—almost no different from a beginner apprentice's blade!
As the glow faded, she rushed to Guinaifen's side, eager to see clearly from the closest distance.
In Guinaifen's two hands lay a long staff and a bundle of scrolls.
[Izumo Staff:Raise it with mercy, or raise it mercilessly—never both at once. It slightly increases the power of charged-attack staff techniques, and grants a special striking effect: those hit by it feel double the pain.]
[Binding Art:Said to be a technique passed down by immortals; once used, it renders a target unable to move.]