Ding!
Top-up successful! Obtained 12,960 Oneiric Shards.
As Asta topped up the maximum "648" pack without even blinking, the staff members were dumbfounded. Then, the process repeated.
Ding!
Ding!
"Why can I only pay for this tier one by one? It's quite a hassle," Asta sighed with a hint of dissatisfaction.
Someone next to her had already pulled out a calculator. A moment later, the person's hands trembled as they held the screen up to her face.
"Station Lead, stop! Please stop!"
"It's already over 200 million!"
"Oh."
"My hand is getting a bit tired anyway, so I'll stop here for now."
Asta glanced at the calculator and then happily opened the Warp interface. A researcher nearby, who was filming a video, asked tentatively, "Um, Station Lead, can I livestream your Warp process to the rest of the colleagues?"
"Sure, if you think it'll help them."
"Thank you, Lead!"
The news of Asta spending 200 million Credits spread like wildfire through the various group chats.
In the "Madam Herta Fan Club" chat:
"Is this real? 200 million? She's so young, where did she get that kind of money?"
"Word is she was going to spend more, but her hand got tired."
"She must have lost her mind and used public funds, right? Otherwise, how could she have that much?!"
"I just checked Asta's profile in the game. It lists a keyword: 'Inherited Family Business.'"
"Could Miss Asta be the daughter of some massive corporate tycoon?"
"Forget Herta, I'm going to cling to the rich lady's leg!"
"My biggest rival right now is Peppy!"
System Message: You have been kicked from the group.
In the Master Control Zone, the screen normally reserved for station news was now surrounded by researchers. The screen was broadcasting Asta's pulls. Looking at the long string of Stellar Jades in the corner of her screen, the staff felt their throats go dry.
"That's more than the balance in my bank account!"
"Alright, this is going to be a show."
"Our Lead is actually this rich?"
"She's going to break the gacha pool!"
"I wonder what other 5-star limited characters there are besides Himeko..."
Asta didn't waste time talking. She went straight to the pulls. She wasn't doing this for the views; she just wanted Himeko.
The first ten-pull gave her Dan Heng. Eidolon +1.
The second ten-pull yielded the Light Cone "Day One of My New Life," which featured March 7th's image. Asta studied it for a moment and equipped it on her own March 7th.
She kept pulling.
"This is a bit slow."
"Oh? There's a skip button in the corner."
Asta immediately started skipping the animations. Her eyes were fixed solely on Himeko.
The third ten-pull: The Destruction Light Cone "Woof! Walk Time!"
Seeing the cover art, Asta laughed. "They even put Peppy in the game?"
"Developer, you really know your stuff!"
"I'll take this Light Cone. It'll make a fine addition to the collection."
The fourth ten-pull gave her Sushang and Natasha. Sushang had already been seen on Guinaifen's stream, so she didn't cause much of a stir. However, Natasha caught people's eyes.
"A new 4-star? I wonder if she's strong."
"She's not from our station. Is she another Xianzhou character?"
Anyone else would have stopped to research a new character, hoping for a powerful 4-star. But Asta only had eyes for Himeko. She noted that Natasha was Physical and followed the Path of The Abundance before moving on.
Because the next ten-pull was the 50th pull the guarantee. A 5-star was mandatory.
Perhaps it would be Himeko herself.
Flash!
Amidst a burst of golden light, the five-star symbol appeared. However, it wasn't the icon for The Erudition. It was the symbol of The Nihility.
On the screen, a man wearing black-rimmed glasses appeared. He reached out with one hand while holding a cane crafted from dark red and black-gold in the other. Red lightning crackled around him.
*[Welt (New), Imaginary Type, 5-Star, The Nihility]*
"It's a new 5-star!"
"Isn't that... isn't that the guy from the Express Crew?!"
"Makes sense. Welt is the only Express member left. It wouldn't make sense for everyone else to be playable except him."
"He looks pretty ordinary. Why was he set as a 5-star?"
"What are his abilities? What's his Ultimate like?"
Seeing that her beginner guarantee wasn't Himeko, Asta wasn't disappointed. In fact, she looked quite happy.
She smiled and explained to the crowd, "Don't underestimate Senior Welt. He's a man of many secrets and a very trustworthy friend."
"But for now, I won't be demonstrating his skills. You'll pull him eventually anyway."
"Right now, I still want to get Himeko."
The researchers nearby clicked their tongues in awe. Her dedication to Himeko was truly moving!
But thanks to Asta's "testing," the players on the station now knew that Himeko wasn't the only 5-star available; there was also this Mr. Welt.
They could only hope he was a strong character. Otherwise, if they "lost" their pity to him and didn't have Asta's "money-power," they'd have to restart their accounts in tears.
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