"Aaaaaah—!"
"Why isn't she coming home yet?!"
"It's fine, though! Keep going! I can still save up!"
Qi Huahua continued her struggle to push forward, gathering raw ore to buy liquid gold.
Frost Snow Project not only rewarded raw ore for quests, but every time the investigator level increased, players could also claim a one-time reward, alternating between liquid gold and flowing silver—liquid gold could be used on all banners, while flowing silver was restricted to the standard banner.
Hooked by these rewards, Qi Huahua was full of drive.
However, as her level increased, the leveling speed slowed down drastically, and saving up pulls became increasingly difficult.
After yet another ten-pull without a five-star, Qi Huahua stopped holding out for a full ten-pull, instead starting to pull the moment she accumulated five liquid gold.
Once her level was too low to progress the main story, and she started exploring field chests and doing limited-time events, she transformed into a total gambler, rolling the gacha the second she got a single liquid gold.
Her wails echoed endlessly throughout the livestream room:
"Dream Builder, I'm begging you, take pity on this poor soul!"
"Tong Que, I love you so much, why won't you come home?!"
"Why is she still not dropping? I'm only twenty pulls away from pity!"
Some viewers couldn't bear to watch anymore and showered her with gifts, telling her to whale.
Yet Qi Huahua still refused: "No! My mom taught me since I was a little kid that I shouldn't waste money on games!"
The viewers filled the chat with ellipses.
A captain who couldn't bear it any longer offered an idea: "Dream Builder's own Dream Ferry App has an event where inviting people to register also gives liquid gold. You can get up to ten pulls from it. Do you want to join?"
The cat-ear loli representing Qi Huahua on screen jerked her head up: "Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
"I'm gonna max out those invites right now!"
"Hold on while I grab my invite code!"
Qi Huahua's execution was instantaneous as she bolted over to register on Dream Ferry.
Once she secured the registration QR code, she pasted it right on top of her virtual avatar's head.
After that, this cat-girl loli pointed at the code above her head, wagging her fluffy cat ears as she said, "Right here, right here!"
"Look over here! Everyone who hasn't registered yet, come help the cat-girl out!"
"I'm kowtowing to you all, thanks meow!"
The viewers were very accommodating, scanning and registering one after another.
Before long, Qi Huahua had pulled in over six hundred new users for Dream Ferry—far exceeding the one hundred needed to claim all the rewards.
Qi Huahua eagerly claimed all the rewards and once again opened the gacha page with grand ambitions.
"Ninety pulls for pity, I've already seeded seventy, I am definitely getting her this time!"
"Blow those suonas! My waifu is crossing the threshold!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Qi Huahua's virtual avatar froze for a few seconds, and then festive suona music genuinely began to play in the livestream room.
Amidst the sound of suonas, Qi Huahua pressed the ten-pull button.
One Fei Yun, one four-star sniper rifle, and eight three-star weapons.
Thus, the suonas seamlessly transitioned from a joyous wedding procession to a funeral march.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!"
Qi Huahua lost her mind: "That's eighty pulls!"
"Eighty pulls and nothing?! I'm gonna throw up aaaaaaah!!!"
Viewers who didn't play the game rushed to comfort her.
Meanwhile, battle-hardened ACG Game players expressed not a single ripple in their hearts, even finding it somewhat amusing—
"Too normal."
"A classic gacha feature, how can you call yourself a gamer without tasting this?"
Veteran players of Frost Snow Project even stepped up to offer their perspective: "Be content. At least the five-star character pulled now has her drop rate boosted to 75% for the current up banner. You don't have to worry too much about losing the 50/50."
"Simply a great philanthropist of the ACG world."
"Philanthropist my ass!" Qi Huahua finally snapped.
"I can't take it anymore! Crimson-Green Mod—Launch!"
She switched to the top-up interface, completing a 648 top-up in just six seconds.
She was so proficient that she looked nothing like someone who never spent money outside of the monthly card.
Amidst a cascade of question marks from the chat, Qi Huahua skipped all rituals and completed the final ten-pull at light speed.
The crystal shattered amidst golden light.
Qi Huahua burst into wild laughter.
A heavily wrapped-up character leaped out from the crystal.
Her arrogant laughter abruptly stopped.
The livestream room fell dead silent.
Only the old character in her combat outfit remained on screen, looking around—that was Olga, who hadn't been reworked yet.
Qi Huahua completely broke down: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! Dream Builder!!!!! Why must you torture me!!!!!j"
The viewers rushed in to mock her at once:
"Hahahaha, you hit that 25% chance!"
"Where are the clippers? Quick, start clipping! You've got your material!"
"Isn't this just another form of luck?"
"Out of all the streamers I've watched, you're the first one to lose the 50/50 on hard pity."
"Too tragic hahahaha."
"Think on the bright side, your next pity is guaranteed to be Tong Que!"
"Just how much does Tong Que not want to see you hahahaha, I got her in twenty pulls!"
"Throw the European-server flexer out!"
"Why don't you just let it go? A forced melon isn't sweet."
"I don't care! I want her!" Qi Huahua could barely maintain her streaming persona.
"I don't care if she's sweet or not, today I'm wrenching this melon off the vine!"
"My turn—Gacha!"
Ten pulls! Twenty pulls! Thirty pulls!...
All the way until the sixth ten-pull, when golden light finally burst forth from the crystal once more—
Tong Que, the red-haired big sister, swayed her slender waist with elegance as she stepped to the front of the screen.
The camera panned from bottom to top, circling around this jeweled red-haired femme fatale in a 720-degree rotation before finally resting on her disdainful, almond-shaped eyes.
Qi Huahua took a deep breath.
And slowly let it out—
"Woo—wa!"
"Finally feels good!"
She couldn't wait to enter the character page, dragging the viewing angle left and right, switching weapons, and checking the talent page to admire Tong Que from different perspectives.
As she looked, she kept letting out a steady stream of hehehe giggles.
It made the viewers break out in cold sweat, and the fans who made her livestream clips went into full overdrive.
Then, Qi Huahua discovered that Tong Que's outfit interface not only featured both old and new costumes, but also an unlockable [Interactive Scene] beneath the new outfit.
"What is this?" She clicked on it.
System Prompt:
"Do you wish to spend 1,280 diamonds to unlock the Golden Sound Jade Vibration exclusive interactive scene—Golden Wind Jade Dew?"
Golden Sound Jade Vibration was the name of Tong Que's new outfit.
—By contrast, the old outfit was perfunctorily named Combat Outfit.
"Interactive scene? Golden Wind Jade Dew?" Qi Huahua blinked, "Isn't that just a bridal chamber?!!"
"128 yuan? So cheap?"
"Cat-girl is gonna whale first, brothers!"
The viewers chimed in to advise her to be rational: "Don't act impulsively. What interactive scene? For all you know, it's just a dynamic background."
"It's not even a new outfit, they dare to sell a background for 128?"
"Even if you're short on cash, you shouldn't pull this kind of stunt. Isn't this just harvesting the players like leeks?"
"Hold on a second, what does Golden Wind Jade Dew have to do with a bridal chamber?"
Yet Qi Huahua couldn't hear any of it by this point: "Confirm purchase!"
Regrettably, the purchase failed.
System Prompt:
[Sorry, your diamond balance is insufficient. Would you like to top up?][Yes] / [No]—Qi Huahua:?
She quickly realized: the 648 she had just topped up had all been converted into liquid gold, and furthermore, it had been spent to the point where only her last ten pulls remained...
"Hiss—"
Qi Huahua drew a sharp breath.
After hesitating for a moment, she slowly said: "Alright, I'll top up another 128."
"The 128 pack still has the first top-up double bonus. If I top up 128, Dream Builder will match it with another 128."
"128 minus 128 equals zero."
"From a mathematical standpoint, I'm losing absolutely nothing. It's the same as spending zero money and getting 2,560 diamonds for free!"
"I'm making a killing here!"
The viewers all had question marks floating above their heads.
Yet Qi Huahua had already convinced herself, nimbly placing her top-up order and securing the Golden Wind Jade Dew interactive scene.
Once the purchase succeeded, she clicked it again to enter the loading screen.
Qi Huahua kept up her hehehe giggles, fully convinced she was about to witness a bridal chamber candlelit scene.
Yet once the loading finished, what appeared before her eyes was a Chinese-style pavilion surrounded by lanterns under the night sky.
In the center of the pavilion sat a small square table, adorned with wine vessels and light snacks.
Candle flames flickered as Tong Que sat peacefully across from her, gently playing the guqin.
Two magpies huddled together on the eaves, against a backdrop of a brilliant starry river.
Listening to the melodious zither music by her ear, Qi Huahua slowly produced a question mark above her head: "Hold on, where's my bridal chamber?"
Before you continue