Lucky Block

"Clang, clang, clang! Lucky Block! Let's play a little blind box game before bed."

Chen Ming pulled out three Lucky Blocks: one was the classic yellow question mark Lucky Block, one was a colorful question mark Lucky Block, and one was a sea-blue question mark Lucky Block.

"What are these things?"

Dong Qianqiu looked at these strange blocks with curiosity. Could there be something special about these little cubes?

She didn't know what a Lucky Block was, but Di Qiu'er, having shared memories with Chen Ming, knew exactly what they were.

"It's like opening a blind box. If you break it, it might drop something special."

Di Qiu'er explained. Hearing this, Dong Qianqiu nodded, though she wondered what such a small block could possibly contain. A little doll? Or maybe a small toy?

"Qianqiu, Qiu'er, you two pick one each."

Chen Ming placed the three blocks in front of them. Di Qiu'er casually picked the blue Lucky Block, Dong Qianqiu chose the colorful one, and Chen Ming took the yellow one.

"Let's go outside to open them; I don't want to blow up the house. Oh, and Qianqiu, remember to set a waypoint on your mini-map."

"How do I set one?"

Dong Qianqiu was a complete novice who knew very little about this world. Chen Ming found joy in guiding a beginner and immediately stepped behind her to instruct her with confidence.

"Just call out 'map' in your mind and it will pop up. Then click below the map—yes, click 'Create Waypoint' and name it 'Home,' or 'Doghouse,' or 'Shark Den,' whatever you like."

Under Chen Ming's guidance, Dong Qianqiu quickly learned how to use the map and sighed in amazement once again.

"So magical. Can you really teleport no matter how far away you are?"

"You have to be in the same dimension to teleport. For example... you can only use the waypoints here while you're in My World. Once you're on Tiandou Planet, you can only use the waypoints on Tiandou Planet."

Chen Ming explained the limitations of the map, but this only shocked her further.

"This teleportation ability—can I use it when I return to Tiandou Planet too?!"

"You can. Just remember to use it discreetly. If someone with ill intentions sees it, they'll think you have a spatial treasure."

Chen Ming nodded to confirm it would work, but warned Dong Qianqiu to be careful. Hearing this, she nodded to show she understood.

"Let's go. We should open them further away so we don't blow up our home."

As Chen Ming spoke, he swept her up into a princess carry. Dong Qianqiu's face instantly flushed with a rosy hue, and she subconsciously wrapped her arms around him.

A pair of golden dragon wings unfurled, and he flew out of the palace. Di Qiu'er did the same, and the three of them flew out of the palace grounds one after another, landing in a flat area far away.

"I'll go first to set an example."

Di Qiu'er set down her Lucky Block first. Under Dong Qianqiu's curious gaze, she punched the Lucky Block, shattering it, and a golden trident fell out.

"What is this?"

"This looks like... Lord Poseidon's Golden Trident?!"

Di Qiu'er picked up the trident with a question mark floating over her head. Dong Qianqiu was the first to recognize it as the Seagod Trident.

"Ugh... it's useless."

Di Qiu'er tossed the trident to Chen Ming, who caught it. In My World, no matter how heavy an item was, it could be used once it entered the inventory.

"It'll be perfect for knocking Tang San on the head later. Qianqiu, you go ahead."

Chen Ming turned his gaze to Dong Qianqiu, signaling her to open her blind box. She nodded, placed the colorful Lucky Block down, and mimicked Di Qiu'er by swinging her soft, pink fist at the block.

Bang!

Cracks appeared on the Lucky Block, but it didn't shatter, so Dong Qianqiu threw another punch.

Whoosh!

The next second, the whistling sound of fireworks erupted. Dong Qianqiu was startled, jumping back and looking up to see several red fireworks blooming in the sky.

"Qianqiu, looks like you've got good luck; you opened something good."

Chen Ming gestured for Dong Qianqiu to come back. She walked over, confused, and saw a pile of metal on the ground: white iron ingots, golden gold ingots, and blue diamonds.

"Did I open all of these?"

"That's right, you opened them all. They're yours."

Hearing this, Dong Qianqiu walked over, and all the minerals were instantly absorbed by her. She opened her inventory and saw the three types of metal.

"The white ones are iron ingots, used for making gear. The golden ones are gold ingots, which can also make gear but are quite weak; we usually use them to make Golden Apples. Diamonds are also used for gear."

Chen Ming gave a rough explanation of the minerals' uses. Dong Qianqiu listened intently while fiddling with a crystal-clear diamond.

"Alright, my turn."

Finally, it was Chen Ming's turn to open his box. Under the watchful eyes of Di Qiu'er and Dong Qianqiu, Chen Ming placed the yellow Lucky Block down and shattered it with a single punch.

A pile of red objects suddenly flew out. Chen Ming's pupils constricted. He turned, sprinted over, and grabbed the legs of Dong Qianqiu, who was still watching the show, lifting her up.

"Eh? Eh?! What's happening?"

Dong Qianqiu was lifted by Chen Ming and slumped over his shoulder. Startled by the sudden turn of events, she looked at the flashing red blocks with the letters 'TNT' written on them, her eyes filled with confusion.

"It's a bomb, run!"

Chen Ming explained, and Dong Qianqiu finally realized what was happening as Chen Ming carried her away at high speed.

BOOM!

With a deafening roar, and under the watchful eyes of Dong Qianqiu, a deep crater was blasted into the ground ahead, causing her pupils to dilate in shock.

"Are you telling me these blind boxes can contain bombs?! That's so dangerous!"

"Logically speaking, the odds of pulling a bomb should be incredibly low, so why did I run into one?"

A question mark appeared over Chen Ming's head as well, and he then leaned down to set the petite Dong Qianqiu back on the ground.

Di Qiu'er had already bolted away long ago, and watching Chen Ming flee while clutching only the Little Shark after triggering the bomb, she said with a sour tone:

"Chen Ming, you value romance over friendship!"

"Me? Value romance?"

Hearing this, Chen Ming was completely dumbfounded; he pointed at himself in confusion, only to receive a firm confirmation from Di Qiu'er.

"Yes!"

"And I neglect my friends?"

"Exactly!"

Receiving Di Qiu'er's double confirmation, Chen Ming immediately became displeased and retorted indignantly.

"How exactly am I valuing romance over friendship?"

"Just now, when the TNT flew out, you only grabbed her and ran, completely ignoring whether I lived or died."

Di Qiu'er crossed her arms over her chest and pointed an accusatory finger at Chen Ming; truly, love really does fade away.

"Didn't I warn you?"

"The TNT was practically landing on my head, and you didn't say a thing!"

"You shouldn't need my protection, right? Qianqiu is still a little newbie, so she definitely needs me to look after her."

"Valuing romance over friendship!"

Chen Ming tried to justify himself, but Di Qiu'er remained fixated on him favoring romance over friendship; Dong Qianqiu felt that these two were like bickering enemies, yet their bond was clearly genuine.

"Ahem, I'll make you something delicious tomorrow."

"Really? Then I'll show mercy and forgive you."

Chen Ming managed to coax the little Auspicious Beast with a single sentence; it must be said that foodies are truly easy to appease.

ps: The third update for March 1st, totaling six thousand words.