The Overwatch System

"System—no, Athena, what exactly is the Overwatch System?" William asked curiously.

"War and disaster tore the world apart, shrouding it in endless darkness. A new hope dawned, and heroes from all over the world gathered to protect the peace. They were Overwatch..."

William couldn't help clicking his tongue. He was sure he'd heard that chuuni line somewhere before.

"Although the legends of Overwatch have become a thing of the past, their abilities and spirit have been passed down. From the moment you triggered the Overwatch System, you became a member of Overwatch."

"You need to unlock Overwatch equipment, weapons, skills, and more to grow stronger and become a true hero!"

"I don't like being called 'host.' From now on, just call me William."

Athena paused, presumably to record William's name. "All right, William. The Overwatch System has successfully bonded with your soul. If you have any questions, why not take a look for yourself?"

As Athena spoke, a blue floating panel appeared before William. It looked just like a video game interface, with five modules: Heroes, Personal Information, Missions, Map, and Store.

William opened the Heroes module first. A series of hero icons appeared before him, just like in the game. He saw familiar faces: D.Va, Hanzo, Lucio, Soldier: 76, Mercy...

But unlike in the game, all the icons were grayed out, and William couldn't select them to view more detailed information.

"Athena, how do I unlock new heroes?" William asked.

"There are three ways to unlock heroes. First, complete missions. Whether they are main or side missions, the Overwatch System will reward you with Loot Boxes according to the circumstances. Loot Boxes have a chance of containing heroes."

"Second, level up. Every time you gain a level, the system will also reward you with a Loot Box."

"Third, the Store. You can also buy new heroes there, but they are expensive, so I don't recommend making any purchases."

William sighed. It looked like the best way to unlock heroes was still to open Loot Boxes. But he wasn't in a hurry. Since the Overwatch System already belonged to him, he had plenty of time to explore it. With that thought, he opened the Personal Information module.

Personal Information:

Overwatch: William

Level: 0

Coins: 0

Energy: ??

Skills: ??

Items: ??

Heroes Unlocked: 0

The screen was full of zeros and question marks. There wasn't much else to say.

Next, he entered the Missions module, only to find that there weren't any missions he could accept. He saw that the missions were divided into three types: Main Missions, Side Missions, and Hidden Missions.

He'd played plenty of games, so of course he knew what main and side missions were. But what did "hidden" mean?

"Hidden Missions are exactly what their name suggests. They don't trigger under ordinary circumstances. They only become available when certain events occur. Once you complete a Hidden Mission, the system will give you a generous reward."

Before William could ask, Athena had already answered. Now that the Overwatch System was bound to his soul, Athena knew what he was thinking.

Next to the Missions module was the Map. But when he opened it, all he saw was a blank screen. Athena immediately explained, "The Map module can only be used when a mission is active. While you're on a mission, it will guide you to the right place and help you avoid unnecessary trouble."

William pursed his lips. He'd thought he could use the Map all the time, so he'd never get lost. But it was obvious the system wasn't going to make things that easy for him. A map that only worked during missions was no use to him right now.

Finally, there was the Store. When he opened it, he saw two options: Heroes and Loot Boxes. He browsed the heroes and saw that they all had different prices.

Soldier: 76 was the cheapest, priced at 10,000 Coins, while D.Va was the most expensive. Unlocking her cost 100,000 Coins.

That was right—ten times as much as Soldier: 76. William wasn't too happy about it. Soldier: 76 wasn't his main, but that was still way too cheap. And why was his main hero the most expensive?

"I warned you earlier. Heroes in the Store are expensive, and I don't recommend buying them."

"Expensive? This is outright robbery!" William said, seeing the "30% off for a limited time" label above the heroes. They were still this expensive after a limited-time discount. The original prices must have been terrifying.

After looking over the heroes in the Store, William turned to the Loot Boxes. They looked just like the ones in Overwatch, except these were grayed out, with a 0 displayed beneath them.

In other words, he didn't have a single Loot Box.

"Honestly, I hate opening Loot Boxes the most..." William said miserably. The Loot Boxes before him seemed to have stirred up some unpleasant memories.

He remembered how, during the anniversary event, he'd really wanted Soldier: 76's legendary skin—the cool-looking Strike Commander Morrison. He'd spent over 500 yuan opening Loot Boxes like crazy, but he still couldn't get it.

All he got was blue skies and white clouds, or purple. Five times, he'd gotten a legendary, and every single one had been Coins. In the end, he could only buy the skin with Coins.

It wasn't just Overwatch. Back when he was obsessed with Onmyoji, he'd really wanted SSRs, especially Ibaraki Doji and Arakawa. He'd pulled every support SSR there was, but never the Shikigami he wanted. His only damage-dealing SSR was Yoto Hime, whom he'd gotten by trading in a duplicate.

Sigh... It's all tears from here.

William felt like he had terrible luck with gacha and Loot Box games. If the only ways to unlock heroes in the Overwatch System were Loot Boxes and limited-time purchases, he was done for.

"What else can you get from Loot Boxes besides heroes?" William asked after calming down.

"Before I answer that, I think you've forgotten something important."

"What?" William frowned. Had he forgotten something?

"Today is Wednesday," Athena continued.

"Wednesday?" William tried to remember what was so important about Wednesday.

Suddenly, it hit him. He'd forgotten about work!

He was working as a delivery driver for a pizza shop in Brooklyn, and every Wednesday was the shop's promotion day. They always got a lot of orders.

If William remembered correctly, he was going to be late!

Good luck couldn't save the unlucky, and spending money wouldn't change his fate~