The Road to Wealth

The Road to Wealth

Sunday morning.

"I've reported it for two weeks already. Why hasn't the landlord come fix the toilet yet...?"

In the cramped bathroom, bare-chested Luo Jun pressed the broken flush button twice, then grabbed a washbasin, filled it from the tap, and poured it into the toilet. He also sent the Landlord another message urging him to hurry up, only to receive a perfunctory reply: "Got it."

"You're lazy as hell!"

Grumbling, Luo Jun walked out of the bathroom into a narrow, dimly lit studio apartment. It was barely over twenty square meters. Dampness had left mold stains in the corners, and the window was blocked by high-rises, making it impossible to see the morning sunlight...

Even with these awful conditions, the rent was six hundred yuan a month... Yet Luo Jun had no choice. This was his home... at least, his temporary home.

Luo Jun's deceased parents had left him an apartment, but he had sold it to pay for Grandfather's medical treatment. After that, he could only live in rentals. Fortunately, he could apply for a housing subsidy, which brought his rent down to just over a hundred yuan. He also worked part-time regularly, so rent was not an especially heavy burden on his life.

"I won't have to live in this dump much longer!"

Luo Jun stretched, explosive strength filling every inch of his body.

Yesterday, before getting off work, he had deposited fifty thousand yuan into the bank. Luo Jun's savings had reached an all-time high, and whenever he thought of the number in his account, he could not help grinning foolishly.

Now that he had the Dice of Heavenly Secrets and had cultivated Vital Energy, his future was no longer as bleak as before. What awaited him was a vast, boundless world. Lying in bed last night, Luo Jun had kept imagining a wonderful future, tossing and turning until four in the morning before finally falling asleep.

Yet even after staying up so late, he still woke up bright-eyed and Energy Replenishment.

"Is this the benefit of high attributes and Vital Energy?"

A sharp gleam flashed in Luo Jun's eyes. His Agility Attribute gave him finer control over his body, his Perception Attribute sharpened his sight and hearing, while Strength and Spirit allowed his physical and mental fatigue to recover faster!

Combined with the circulation of Vital Energy within him, this feeling of being reborn was incredible!

Filled with soaring ambition, Luo Jun opened his completely empty refrigerator and pursed his lips.

"I'm about to have money anyway. I'm eating out today!"

With that, Luo Jun quickly changed clothes, opened the door, and headed out.

"One Jianbing Guazi, add a sausage and an egg... Extra scallions and extra spice!" As he spoke, Luo Jun took out a phone with an absurdly shattered screen and scanned the QR code.

He had picked up this phone along with his reward money when he left the branch yesterday. The phone had fallen from the Fifth Floor with him, and he had thought it would definitely be wrecked. To his surprise, only the screen had shattered, and it could still barely function. A small blessing in misfortune.

Holding the deluxe Jianbing Guazi, Luo Jun took a satisfied bite. Feeling the chili sauce, egg, and ham sausage mingling in his mouth, he was so happy that he hummed aloud.

"I've only got fifty thousand in savings, and I already dare to add sausage and egg. If I make five million, wouldn't I have to add a chicken cutlet too?"

With beautiful dreams of the future in his heart, Luo Jun touched the Wealth Ring on his hand and turned to look at the Lottery Station by the roadside!

After returning home last night, aside from circulating his Vital Energy and envisioning the future, Luo Jun had spent the entire night considering how to use the Dice of Heavenly Secrets System to gain the greatest possible profit!

After thinking it over, buying lottery tickets still seemed like the most profitable option!

With the Wealth Ring and the basic attribute adjustment, anything related to money gave him at least a ten percent chance of success!

Combined with his current Luck Level of six, a probability of over one in ten was perfect for betting on lottery tickets with extremely low odds of winning!

This was a golden opportunity to get rich!

On average, he could win one ticket out of fewer than ten. Spending twenty yuan every two days for a shot at five million—could life get any better?

He had arranged to visit Master with Old Yuan tomorrow, Monday. He could not exactly go empty-handed, so Luo Jun was counting on earning himself a grand gift today!

With that in mind, Luo Jun wolfed down the Jianbing Guazi in his hand and strode into the Lottery Station.

"Boss, print me a lottery ticket. A random pick is fine!"

The moment he said those words, the Dice of Heavenly Secrets System in Luo Jun's mind began activating!

"Buy a lottery ticket that can win the jackpot!"

Having stated the event he wanted, Luo Jun waited for the pleasant sound of the Dice of Heavenly Secrets rolling.

However, what sounded in the end was not the dice, but a cold Prompt Sound:

"Ding. The outcome of this event is insufficiently related to your current actions. Unable to determine."

"Relatedness? What kind of nonsense is that?"

Luo Jun froze. Then, information concerning the rules of the Dice of Heavenly Secrets appeared in his mind.

Like complexity, relatedness was also an attribute that affected the Dice of Heavenly Secrets' determinations.

Relatedness was mainly influenced by two factors.

First, the system could only determine events in which Luo Jun had a high degree of involvement.

In other words, Luo Jun's actions had to play a certain role in the event for him to use the Dice of Heavenly Secrets.

Events that he could not influence, such as whether it would rain or whether a train would be delayed, could not be determined.

Second, the Dice of Heavenly Secrets could not determine things whose results would not appear immediately.

This was similar to complexity. Complexity prevented it from determining events that would take effect after some time because too many steps were needed to achieve the goal. But some things could not be determined simply because their effects were delayed, even if they were not particularly complex.

For example, if he were fighting someone and casually threw a banana peel beneath their feet, the Dice of Heavenly Secrets could determine whether they would step on it.

But if he threw a banana peel onto the road and asked whether someone would step on it tomorrow, the Dice of Heavenly Secrets could not determine that.

Together, the two factors of involvement and immediacy determined how related Luo Jun's actions were to an event's outcome. Only when the relatedness reached a certain threshold could the Dice of Heavenly Secrets make a determination.

Looking at lottery tickets again, the drawing would happen tomorrow, so it already failed the immediacy requirement. As for involvement, no one knew how much his choice of numbers affected whether he would win.

Naturally, the Dice of Heavenly Secrets could not determine an event like that.

As for exactly how much relatedness was required, there was no clear standard. Luo Jun would have to figure it out gradually.

At least for now, getting rich overnight through lottery tickets was impossible...

His dream of five million had shattered... But Luo Jun was still unwilling to give up. He tucked away the ticket he had just bought and shifted his gaze to a festive box beside it!

It contained a kind of instant lottery ticket: Scratch Cards.

Several hundred cards were stacked in a red box. Customers could draw however many they bought themselves, like raffle tickets. It was also a popular way to play.

This should work!

In terms of relatedness, there were several hundred tickets in a box, and he could pick one based on his own feeling. He had far more control than he did over a lottery ticket.

As for timing, he could scratch it immediately after buying it and get the result on the spot. It certainly would not time out.

If five million would not work, then thirty or four hundred thousand would be fine!

Thinking this, Luo Jun activated the Dice of Heavenly Secrets on that box of Scratch Cards. An event formed in his mind: "Buy a Scratch Card that can reveal a grand prize of over one hundred thousand yuan!"

"Ding! This event is a Mandatory Event. Unable to use the Dice of Heavenly Secrets!"

Damn, he had forgotten about that!

It was easy enough to understand. Although the cards had not been scratched yet, the Scratch Cards had already been printed. The numbers and patterns beneath them would not change. If there was no grand prize in this box, then the Dice of Heavenly Secrets could not alter reality...

There wasn't even one grand prize in such a large box? Then what if I tried asking whether there was a one-thousand-yuan prize?

But determining Mandatory Events also consumed an attempt, and he only had four left now.

He had wasted one opportunity only to learn that this box did not contain a one-hundred-thousand-yuan grand prize. What a huge loss!

At this rate, even using up all five attempts would be pointless.

"Hey, what's wrong, Young Man?"

Seeing Luo Jun staring blankly at the Scratch Cards, resting his chin on his hand one moment and making strange faces the next, without spending any money, the owner grew impatient and urged him.

"Oh... It's nothing, it's nothing..." Luo Jun waved his hand and left the Lottery Station while thinking. The owner watched him in utter confusion, wondering what had gotten into the kid.

As he walked down the street, Luo Jun thought to himself:

In other words, to maximize the Dice of Heavenly Secrets' money-making function, three conditions had to be met.

First, it was best if it involved something like a drawing, where his actions directly influenced whether he won.

Second, it needed to be an instant-win situation with no delay.

Third, he needed to make sure that the prize pool really contained a major prize.

Where could he find an event that met all three conditions?

As Luo Jun walked and pondered, he suddenly heard an advertisement from the side of the street:

"Wanlong Mall's anniversary celebration is giving back to customers! A huge profit-sharing prize draw! Spend two hundred yuan to receive one Raffle Ticket! A hundred percent chance to win! All kinds of wonderful gifts await you, with a maximum grand prize of fifty thousand yuan in cash!"

Luo Jun's ears twitched at the ad. He turned his head and saw that a mall Not far away was decorated with lights and banners as it held an event.

"This is perfect. Let's take a look!" Luo Jun immediately quickened his pace and entered the mall. In the open area just inside the main entrance stood a stage, upon which sat a transparent drum as tall as a person. It was filled More Than Half full with Raffle Tickets. Every ticket was only the size of a bandage, packed so densely that there had to be tens of thousands of them.

At that moment, a Little Girl walked up, grabbed the crank, and turned it several times with effort. Once the tickets in the drum had been mixed evenly, she opened the drawing slot and reached inside to pull out three tickets.

A staff member beside her announced the results on the spot. The Little Girl had won two sixth prizes and one fourth prize, taking away two packs of tissues and an umbrella...

Luo Jun ran over to the promotional board beneath the stage. It listed prizes of different grades. The fourth, fifth, and sixth prizes had no quantity limit and were all cheap Little Gadgets. The third prize was an air fryer, with at most ninety-nine available. The second prize was a floor scrubber, with at most eighteen available. The first prize was a double-door refrigerator, with at most three available. As for the Special Prize, it was the advertised fifty thousand yuan in cash, and there was only one.

This was perfect. It met every requirement!

Luo Jun's eyes lit up. Turning to the staff member responsible for registering customers and handing out Raffle Tickets, he asked, "Has the Special Prize been drawn already?"

"Not yet!" the staff member answered with a smile. "Our event will last three days, and today is only the first day. The Special Prize is still in the drum and hasn't been drawn."

Hearing that, Luo Jun relaxed and continued, "If I spend two thousand yuan today and exchange it for ten raffle tickets, can I draw four today and save the rest for tomorrow?"

"This..." The staff member paused, and Luo Jun immediately explained, "I'm a bit superstitious. If I draw a few and don't win anything, I'll think my luck is bad today and come back tomorrow after changing my luck."

"That should be fine..." the staff member said with a smile. "You can exchange your receipts for raffle tickets at the service desk. They'll remain valid for the next few days, so you can come draw whenever you like."

"Great!" Luo Jun clasped his fists to the staff member. "Thank you!" With that, he headed into the mall without looking back.

Luo Jun had done the math. He had at least a ten percent chance of winning, which meant he would probably draw the prize within ten tickets. That meant he would need to buy around two thousand yuan worth of things.

Honestly, given Luo Jun's financial situation, the Last Time he had spent this much was when he rented this apartment and paid the deposit. Although he had more than two thousand yuan in his account now, spending it like this still hurt badly.

Since he had to spend it anyway, he might as well buy something useful...

Luo Jun thought for a moment and pulled his shattered-screen phone from his pocket.

He had gotten it as a bonus for topping up his phone bill during the first semester of his first year of high school. Even if it had not fallen and broken, it was probably nearing the end of its life anyway...

A two-thousand-yuan phone... Just thinking about it was a little exciting!

End of Chapter