From Gold to Bronze-Gao Xu's Daring Play

There'd been a glitch, and recommendations had crept up painfully slowly all morning. I'd suffered for nothing...

This is today's second update. I hope you'll all show your support!

Gao Xu's swagger didn't stun anyone, but the moment the golden chest appeared, it instantly held the room's attention!

"Th-this... It's gold... This is a lottery chest awarded only for an S-rank clear!" Shang Yan, standing behind Mr. Yi, drew a sharp breath. His usually steady hands trembled slightly as he stared at the chest.

A clear rank of B or higher came with one lottery draw. B rank awarded a bronze chest, A rank a silver one, and S rank a gold one. Bronze chests were common, and silver ones appeared now and then, but this was the first time he'd ever seen a gold chest.

"Ahem!" Gao Xu coughed twice, drawing everyone's eyes away from the chest and back to him. His expression turned serious. "I hope you'll all swear to the Dimension that you won't sell what you're about to see to an intelligence agency or reveal it to any other Reincarnators!"

Oaths sworn in the Dimension carried great weight, and breaking one brought extremely serious consequences. The others exchanged glances, but their curiosity got the better of them. Grumbling, they each swore as asked.

Gao Xu nodded in satisfaction and opened the chest in front of everyone. A golden wheel appeared inside, divided into different sections. Ordinary items took up the largest share, about 50 percent. Equipment and skills each occupied 20 percent, while the remaining 10 percent was reserved for special items.

Qin Fen swallowed enviously and murmured, "It doesn't even have a chance of giving you nothing. S-rank lotteries really are something else!"

The B-rank bronze lottery had a 50 percent chance of yielding nothing, while the A-rank silver chest still had a 20 percent chance of coming up empty. The odds weren't high, but with bad luck, you could still get nothing. Only the S-rank gold lottery guaranteed a prize. How could he not be envious?

A prompt had already appeared on Gao Xu's Emblem, asking whether to begin the lottery. To everyone's surprise, he smiled faintly and announced, "Choose to lower the lottery rank and fix the prize category!"

"Hidden option 'Lower the lottery rank and fix the prize category' activated. Executing!"

As everyone watched in stunned silence, the gold chest suddenly dimmed and gradually faded to silver. The wheel's options narrowed to special items alone, which now occupied 100 percent of the wheel instead of dropping to 80 percent.

"You—you—you... What are you doing? You're wasting a priceless treasure!" Shang Yan and Qin Fen leaped to their feet at almost the same time, trembling as they pointed at Gao Xu, unable to get their words out.

"It's not over yet~" Gao Xu wagged a finger. Amid everyone's horrified stares, he spoke again. "Choose to lower the lottery rank further and fix the prize itself!"

"Hidden option 'Lower the lottery rank further and fix the prize itself' activated. Executing!"

"Warning: Bronze is the lowest rank. Using this type of operation again will cause the chest to disappear, forfeiting the lottery."

Gao Xu had already closed his eyes, searching through the endless list of rewards for what he wanted. The onlookers, meanwhile, stood frozen like clay statues, staring blankly at the shabby bronze chest.

"Done!" Gao Xu soon breathed a sigh of relief. A flash of light, and a letter appeared in his hand. He immediately set it to display:

Shen Qinghong's Plea for Help: Special item. Shen Qinghong, head escort of the Sanyuan Escort Agency, was transporting a highly valuable shipment when word of it leaked out and the notorious Twelve Zodiacs set their sights on it. Knowing he could not face them alone, he sent out a plea for help, hoping the heroes of the martial world would lend a hand. Using this letter in the Dimension allows you to specify entry into the Handsome Siblings world. The main quest will involve protecting the Sanyuan Escort Agency. Maximum party size: 15.

In theory, the biggest problem had been solved, and everyone should have been celebrating. Instead, they all grimaced with pain, the corners of their mouths twitching as they cursed someone as a wastrel.

But with Gao Xu's knowledge and cunning, was he really the type to make a losing deal?

Gao Xu knew perfectly well that an S-rank gold chest didn't guarantee an S-rank item. The rewards were undoubtedly valuable—a gold piece of equipment wouldn't be unusual, and with luck, even a dark gold piece of equipment or an item was possible. But there was a catch: such prizes demanded extremely high attributes. In his current state, Gao Xu had no chance of using them!

If Gao Xu were a veteran Reincarnator with deep reserves, he'd never spend a lottery chest on this. But he'd only been through one story world, and his foundation was thin. What good would a powerful item do him right now? Let it sit in his Emblem's storage, just to look at?

Besides, after Gao Xu had paid such a steep price to secure the best possible conditions for killing Wei Wuya, were they really going to accept his sacrifice without giving anything in return?

Mr. Yi and Qin Fen quickly caught on. They exchanged rueful smiles and each sent Gao Xu a trade request.

Gao Xu accepted the 5,000 points and 3,000 points they offered without batting an eye, then waved the letter. "That settles the cost of the quest scroll. As for the special item's added value, count it toward my team contribution. Don't ask me to pay for supplies. I have one last demand!"

The two team leaders understood that he'd said demand, not request. They answered in unison, "Go ahead!"

"I want first pick of the items in Wei Wuya's chest!"

As soon as Gao Xu finished speaking, Qin Fen asked with a pained expression, "Brother, which one of us is the boss here? Why does it feel like our positions have switched?"

"Everyone's used to the worker being weak and the boss being strong..." Gao Xu smiled leisurely. "But when the worker holds the initiative, a reversal of roles isn't strange at all!"

"Looks like Brother Gao has bigger plans in mind!" Qin Fen nodded thoughtfully, then readily agreed. "Fine, I have no objections!"

Mr. Yi naturally agreed as well. After they signed a contract with rather extensive permissions, they discussed when to enter the world.

"Having this letter doesn't mean everything's settled. We still have a lot to prepare. As for the two vacant slots, you can divide them up however you like. I don't need them!" Gao Xu considered it for a moment, then suddenly smiled and winked. "We can wait until the Dimension opens the Handsome Siblings world on its own. After we watch our living Good Samaritan, Brother Hou, enter the world, we can use the scroll. There's no rush..."

Everyone broke into a sweat and silently mourned the white-robed man. The person before them was simply not someone they could afford to offend!

In the days that followed, Gao Xu began enjoying the privileges of being a Worker Alliance founding member. He claimed they all needed to work harder to prepare for the boss fight, but in practice, he had members of Mr. Yi's team take turns running errands and keeping watch at the trading area, gathering all kinds of information and reporting it to him.

He sweated through his skill training in the training ground while information from the trading area kept flowing from Su Mei's little mouth. He managed to handle both without missing a beat.

And, as it turned out, he really did find two great bargains:

Spirit Pet Bracelet: Blue equipment, inferior quality, accessory. A bracelet that can hold a spirit pet, with one pet slot inside. A spirit pet inside the bracelet loses loyalty very slowly and can appear on its own to protect its owner at a critical moment. Cooldown: 1 minute. Exchange value: 1,000 points.

Compared to the pitch-black, silent spirit space, a spirit bracelet that let her observe her owner's movements was undoubtedly better suited to the lively Su Mei. The bracelet sold for 3,000 points in the Dimension, a price most Reincarnators couldn't afford. The seller had lost his spirit pet and suffered a severe drop in strength, so he had no choice but to sell the bracelet and recoup some of his losses.

He had asked for 2,800 points, slightly below the Dimension's price, but nobody had shown interest for days. After all, spirit pets were rare in the first difficulty level, and even Reincarnators who had one might not be willing to buy a bracelet for it. Gao Xu only asked about it the first time, then left the seller waiting for a few days. When he returned to discuss the price, negotiations went much more smoothly. In the end, he bought it for 2,300 points.

Manual: Flower Dance. Special item, inferior quality. Teaches the movement technique Flower Dance (incomplete). Requirements: Agility 15, Insight 15, and a Reincarnator of the Ancient Martial Arts system.

Flower Dance (incomplete): B-rank active skill, low tier, signature skill of the Twin of Brothers world. Flower Dance is a light-footed movement technique from the Flower Sect, one of the Six Paths of the Demon Gate's Two Factions. It emphasizes graceful turns and fluid changes of direction, making its user appear elegant and carefree. This is an incomplete version, so its power is reduced. Increases movement speed by 10 percent and allows the user to turn or change direction freely in midair, ignoring gravity and inertia. Its effects cannot stack with bonuses from basic skills. Costs 1 spirit every 3 seconds. No cooldown. The skill automatically stops when the Reincarnator's spirit drops to 1.

Light-footed movement was exactly where Gao Xu was weakest. As a Reincarnator of the Ancient Martial Arts system, he couldn't do without either internal energy or movement techniques. Though Flower Dance was an incomplete manual, it was highly effective. The movement speed boost and ability to change direction freely were extremely useful. More importantly, its incomplete state made it affordable given his current finances.

Gao Xu seized on its two major flaws—the demanding learning requirements and high spirit cost—to bargain. The manual would normally sell for at least 7,000 points, but few Reincarnators in the first difficulty level could raise their Insight to 15, so the seller had been unable to get rid of it. After several rounds of bargaining, Gao Xu bought it for 5,300 points. He put all four of his free attribute points into Agility, meeting the requirements exactly. At last, he had his first active skill.

Gao Xu spent money like water. The 8,000 points he'd just earned were nearly gone in the blink of an eye. Amid the fast-paced, tightly scheduled days, the opening of the Handsome Siblings world soon arrived...