At this moment, Valerius was already waiting outside.
Beside him stood the prize machine.
After handing a coin to each of them, Valerius turned to Shenhe.
"You draw first. Let's give Zhu Yuan a demonstration."
Since the Zenless Zone Zero side were new players, Valerius decided to let Shenhe go first so he could explain everything clearly.
"Alright."
Shenhe nodded, long legs carrying her to the machine. She held the coin for a moment—then fed all ten points in at once.
"Rewards are tiered," Valerius explained softly beside Zhu Yuan.
"Level 10 is the highest, Level 1 the lowest. The number of coins you insert determines the tier of the reward."
"I see."
Zhu Yuan immediately understood.
Ten points didn't mean ten separate low-tier pulls.
It meant she could gamble them all for a top-tier prize.
Seeing Shenhe go all-in at once, she guessed—
Level 1 items probably weren't impressive.
So what would a Level 10 reward look like?
Shenhe pulled the lever.
The machine roared to life.
And then—
A burst of radiant, five-colored brilliance exploded outward.
The livestream erupted.
[Keqing: That glow again! It's another rule skill!]
[Ningguang: Same special effect as Yunli's!]
[Ganyu: A Level 10 rule skill… Shenhe's luck is excellent.]
[Xianyun: As expected of my disciple.]
Liyue was celebrating.
They still remembered Yunli's absurdly powerful rule skill.
Now Shenhe had drawn a higher-tier one.
It had to be terrifying.
Even others were stunned.
[Jing Yuan: Another rule skill?]
[Yanqing: I have a feeling this is stronger than "Great Strength, Miracles Happen"!]
[Black Tower: Interesting.]
[Ruan Mei: I'd love to dissect and research it.]
The rainbow light slowly faded.
A milky-white orb floated before Shenhe.
"What… is this?"
She turned to Valerius.
Explain.
Valerius smiled.
"Oh, this one's interesting."
"This is a rule skill."
"It's called: The Power of 'I Reckon.'"
"Simple effect."
"No matter the situation—if you genuinely reckon you can do it, then you can."
Shenhe blinked.
Still confused.
What did that even mean?
Valerius sighed and gave examples.
"Say you face an enemy far stronger than you."
"You're completely outmatched."
"But you reckon that one spear thrust should kill them—"
"Then that thrust cannot be dodged."
"Or suppose an unavoidable attack is coming."
"If you reckon that standing still should make it miss—"
"Then it will miss."
"That's the Power of 'I Reckon.'"
"Understand now?"
Shenhe was still processing.
Zhu Yuan, however—
Understood immediately.
And she felt a chill.
This was terrifying.
If she had this ability, she could sit in the Public Security Bureau and simply reckon—
"All criminals in New Eridu will turn themselves in."
Wouldn't that solve everything?
The livestream exploded into chaos.
[Yanqing: If I reckon my sword beats Yunli's greatsword—does it work?]
[Fu Xuan: If I reckon the General retires tomorrow—does that count?]
[Feixiao: If I reckon I can wipe out all Abominations in one slap?]
[March 7th: I reckon I win the next game and get 10,000 points?]
[Silver Wolf: I reckon I see Idrila on the next planet?]
[Paimon: I reckon I can beat a wild boar?]
[Lumine: That one's impossible. Leave it to me.]
The entire chat spiraled into absurd hypotheticals.
Valerius raised a hand.
"Of course, there are conditions."
"You must truly believe it's possible."
"If even you think you're spouting nonsense, the skill won't activate."
"And it only applies to yourself."
"You can't reckon someone else alive or dead."
That calmed things slightly.
This wasn't absolute reality manipulation.
It required genuine conviction.
If you didn't believe—you couldn't trigger it.
Shenhe carefully stored the orb instead of absorbing it.
"You're not using it now?" Valerius asked.
"I will bring it back for Master to decide."
She still didn't fully grasp it.
Better let Xianyun evaluate it.
"Fair enough."
The livestream continued debating.
[Ningguang: If Shenhe fought Yunli now, who wins?]
[Jing Yuan: Hard to say. Shenhe's skill may be stronger—but she must truly believe.]
[Black Tower: If she doubts herself, it's useless.]
[Kuki Shinobu: This suits Boss perfectly.]
[Kamisato Ayato: …You're right.]
[Thoma: No objections.]
[Silver Wolf: So this skill is for people with zero self-awareness.]
[Jing Yuan: Thank goodness Arataki Itto didn't get this.]
[Ruan Mei: Agreed.]
[Luocha: If Itto had this, he'd be invincible.]
Everyone paused.
Because that was true.
If Arataki Itto got this—
He'd simply reckon he could win.
And he'd actually win.
Somehow—
The scariest part of the skill
Wasn't its rules.
It was who held it.
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