I Took a Huge Loss, Seriously!

"Cough, cough. Sorry, watching you all put on such a good show got me in the mood to act too."

Seeing all the players staring at him with strange expressions, Li Si lowered his hands with a cough, adjusted the collar of his suit, and put on a serious expression again.

"All right. Anyone who wants to pay for a lucky draw, come over here and hand me the money. Then stand behind the red line and choose a box. No crossing the line!"

At last, Li Si had straightened himself up and gotten serious.

"Are we doing this or not?"

The first few players glanced at one another, and none of them chose to be the first to try.

But people always held on to a bit of hope. The greatest delusion in life was thinking, "I'm always the exception." What if they won on their very first try?

Paying five thousand for something worth twenty-six thousand was tempting, and everyone wanted a special piece of battle armor.

Besides, even if they didn't win, it wouldn't have much impact. Most players had over twenty thousand in starting funds, so spending five thousand wouldn't hurt too badly. Nearly everyone had enough spare money for two or three tries.

Some human instincts were always the same. If people wanted to convince themselves of something, they could always come up with ten thousand reasons.

The stalemate didn't last long before the first person stepped forward.

He was a middle-aged player, gritting his teeth as if he were taking a gamble. He didn't say much. He simply counted out a stack of bills from his pocket, slapped them into Li Si's hand, then stood at the edge of the red line and began choosing.

There wasn't much to choose from, really. All the cardboard boxes were the same size and color. In the end, it all came down to luck; at most, you could pick one that looked a little more appealing.

"There are fewer than a thousand boxes, and there are two or three hundred people here. If I don't win this time, I'll wait until everyone else has had a turn, then try again. Buy enough times and I'm bound to win. As long as I hit within five tries, I'm making a profit."

The middle-aged player gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, working out a plan in his mind.

"Wait, is this shifty merchant NPC... winking at me?"

Just as the middle-aged player was about to choose a box at random, he caught sight of Li Si, who was standing nearby and repeatedly giving him sideways glances.

"I get it!"

A flash of understanding and delight surged through him. "He wants me to be a plant, to let me win first and get everyone else excited! A merchant really is a merchant."

"I'll take that one—the last box in the left corner!"

Without hesitation, the middle-aged man pointed at the box Li Si kept glancing toward.

"Of course."

Li Si gave the middle-aged man an approving look, walked over, picked up the box he'd chosen, and handed it to him.

"Heh heh, thanks, boss!"

The middle-aged man grinned and opened the box slowly, his heart pounding with excitement.

The next moment, the smile froze on his face.

"You... you...!"

The middle-aged player stared wide-eyed at the completely empty box, then looked at Li Si in disbelief. A metallic sweetness rose in his throat.

"You shifty merchant!"

He pointed at Li Si with a trembling right hand and roared.

"What does that have to do with me? You chose the box yourself. Are you drawing again or not? If not, please move aside and stop blocking everyone else!"

Li Si, the very picture of righteousness, rebuked him.

"I'm drawing again! If I don't make you lose so much you're coughing up blood today, I'm quitting the game!"

The middle-aged man's eyes went bloodshot. He counted out another five thousand and slapped it into Li Si's hand, then looked around wide-eyed before choosing a box that felt right to him.

But... it was empty again.

"Again!"

With bloodshot eyes, he threw down another five thousand, and another box was placed in his hands.

Empty...

"Again!"

The middle-aged man was so furious he nearly had a heart attack. Blood vessels bulged across his eyes, and his trembling hands paid out once more.

This time, he took much longer to choose. He stared so hard his eyes didn't blink for a full two minutes. At last, under the other players' amused gazes, he picked one.

He got one!

The middle-aged man's heart leaped.

The instant he took the box, he could tell it was heavier than the others.

He opened it carefully. Sure enough, a set of ragged clothes lay quietly inside.

"I won! Hahaha, I won! Hahahaha!"

The middle-aged player laughed with delight. "You shifty merchant! So what if you tried to mislead me? I still won! Hahaha!"

"Ah, yes, yes. I took a huge loss. You got twenty-six-thousand-worth of battle armor for twenty thousand. I'm practically bleeding money."

Heartache, regret—Li Si's face displayed every emotion to perfection. But no matter how you looked at him, he seemed to be grinning.

"Poor guy. That shifty merchant's nearly talked him into losing his mind. Has he never played a gacha game before?"

The surrounding players looked at the middle-aged man with pity. As they resolved to learn from his example, their hands were already reaching for their money and placing it in Li Si's hands.

Draw, draw, draw!

Getting twenty-six-thousand-worth of equipment for twenty thousand was a bargain no matter how you looked at it!

"Take your time, take your time. Don't worry, everyone will get a chance to open a box."

Seeing the players waving their bills, Li Si beamed and directed the two security guards to keep things orderly.

"Wow, look at this lucky young man! He won on his first try! His first try!"

"Another winner! Look at this gentleman—he watched for a full twenty minutes before making his move, and he won right away. Luck really does favor the prepared! Let's see who the next lucky winner will be!"

"Only three prizes left! Three left, so hurry and take your chance! There aren't many boxes left!"

Li Si happily counted the bills while cheering and stoking the players' excitement.

There was hardly any need to stir them up. Nearly four hundred players were here, while he had prepared fewer than a thousand boxes. They'd be sold out after about two tries per person.

As it happened, one box was left at the end, and one set of battle armor still hadn't been drawn.

Since that box was practically guaranteed to win, it sparked a scramble among the players. The atmosphere grew so heated that it nearly turned into a brawl.

But as a great merchant who believed in keeping the peace and making a profit, how could Li Si possibly allow such an ugly incident to happen?

To prevent a violent altercation and maintain the fairness of the lucky draw, he put the box away without the slightest hesitation, standing righteous and resolute as countless players watched in anger and despair.

Then... he sold it at a twenty-percent discount to an unlucky player who never seemed to win, no matter how many times he drew.