Ma Hongjun's Report

When Ning Rongrong stepped out, the sun over the pedestrian street had already begun to dip toward the west.

She walked toward the academy along the bluestone path, her steps light and airy, her blue skirt swaying rhythmically with her stride.

Ma Hongjun sat on a bamboo chair in the alleyway opposite, watching Ning Rongrong emerge from the claw machine shop.

He had been sitting there for nearly an hour.

Due to the angle, Ma Hongjun couldn't see what was happening inside the shop. He only knew that Ning Rongrong had entered, stayed for a long time, and no one else had gone in or out during that time.

Ma Hongjun waited until Ning Rongrong's figure disappeared around the street corner, then waited another five minutes to be sure she wasn't turning back before rising from the bamboo chair.

He brushed the dust off his backside, pulled the hood of his gray jacket lower, and walked toward the "Happy Claw Machine" shop across the way.

Reaching the entrance, he peered through the glass.

A young man in gray-blue work clothes sat behind the counter, swiping at something on a soul guidance device of unknown model.

Ma Hongjun pushed the door open and walked in.

Jingle. The small bell hanging on the door chimed.

Qin Chuan looked up.

Another customer. This time, it was a strange male student. Round face, small eyes, wearing a gray jacket with the hood pulled up—he looked rather suspicious.

"Afternoon, Boss," Ma Hongjun said politely. "Smoke?"

He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered it over.

Qin Chuan glanced at it. "I don't smoke."

Ma Hongjun tucked the pack away. He didn't light one either, just held a cigarette between his lips and bobbed it up and down. He wandered around the shop, eyeing the six claw machines glowing with colorful lights.

There were three in the standard section, filled with plush toys like rabbits, cats, and dogs. The three in the high-end section held more exquisite, vibrant dolls.

Ma Hongjun muttered to himself. Ning Rongrong came all the way here to hang out in this dump for nearly an hour? And she even brought food?

He recalled Dai Mubai's instructions: find out the reason behind their sudden increase in strength.

Ma Hongjun walked up to the counter.

"Oh, I want to play the claw machine. How does it work?"

Qin Chuan set down his soul guidance device and pointed to the crystal ball.

"Place your hand on the crystal ball and follow the prompts that appear."

"Got it."

Ma Hongjun reached out his right hand and pressed his palm against the crystal ball.

The sphere lit up.

A voice flooded into Ma Hongjun's mind.

[Congratulations, system registration successful! Welcome to the Happy Claw Machine!]

[Basic Info: Ma Hongjun, 19 years old, Level 65 Soul Emperor.]

[Standard Section: 1 Gold Soul Coin for 3 attempts. High-end Section: 100 Soul Power EXP for 1 attempt. Maximum of 6 attempts per day.]

That's it? Ma Hongjun waited for two seconds, but there was nothing else.

Even Qin Chuan didn't know that the bonus prizes were restricted to women only, let alone anyone else.

Ma Hongjun felt a wave of disappointment. He had expected the crystal ball to reveal some earth-shattering secret, but it was just a standard set of instructions for a claw machine.

Wait, the high-end section was way too expensive.

"Boss, the high-end section costs 100 Soul Power EXP for just one try? Your prices are daylight robbery."

Qin Chuan shrugged. "Nothing I can do. The machine sets the price, not me."

Qin Chuan knew that while he received a commission in Soul Coins from players, he couldn't collect the Soul Power EXP.

Ma Hongjun's mouth twitched. 100 Soul Power EXP was enough to cover three days of his cultivation.

Still, to complete his mission, Ma Hongjun gritted his teeth.

"Fine, I'll start with the standard section."

He pulled out a Gold Soul Coin and pressed it against the crystal ball. The coin was absorbed, and three bronze game tokens rolled out.

Ma Hongjun took the tokens and walked to the first machine in the standard section. He inserted a token, and the joystick popped out.

He pushed it around aimlessly, aimed at a small red bird plush, and pressed the button.

The mechanical claw descended, but it was off-target. It missed.

Second token.

This time he aimed carefully; the claw grabbed the bird's wing and lifted it up. But halfway to the chute, it dropped.

"Damn it," Ma Hongjun cursed.

The final token also failed to win anything.

Ma Hongjun stared at the red bird inside the glass, a vein throbbing on his forehead.

No, I have to try again.

He fished out another Gold Soul Coin and exchanged it for three game tokens.

The sixth time.

Ma Hongjun channeled a sliver of soul power into his fingers, pushing the joystick with rock-solid stability. The mechanical claw descended with precision, its three iron fingers closing to clamp onto the head of a brown turkey plushie.

The claw released, and the turkey dropped into the exit chute.

The lights at the bottom flashed, followed by a ding.

It was just an ordinary turkey doll.

Ma Hongjun turned it over and over, inspecting it several times, squeezing it, sniffing it, and even holding it up to the light.

There was nothing to it. He had spent two Gold Soul Coins just to get a fuzzy turkey.

"What the hell is this?" Ma Hongjun stuffed the turkey into his pocket, cursing under his breath.

Qin Chuan, watching Ma Hongjun's disappointed expression from behind the counter, felt a twinge of guilt.

"Friend, it's about the participation; as long as it's fun, that's what matters."

Ma Hongjun twitched his lips but didn't say anything.

The sky darkened, and the lanterns along the pedestrian street began to light up one by one. Qin Chuan stood up and stretched.

"Sorry, brother, I'm closing up."

Ma Hongjun grunted in acknowledgment and walked out of the shop.

He stood on the pedestrian street, clutching the turkey doll in his pocket, his mind racing.

The shop really did look like an ordinary claw machine arcade. The prompt on the Crystal Ball was normal, and while the price was a bit steep, there was nothing special about the content.

But why would Ning Rongrong go out of her way to spend an hour there? And even bring food?

Ma Hongjun couldn't figure it out.

He glanced back at the shop, now with its lights extinguished. The five crooked characters for "Happy Claw Machine" on the sign were blurry in the twilight.

"This boss... he's definitely not simple," Ma Hongjun muttered before turning and heading toward the academy.

The lights were on in the third-floor boys' dormitory.

When Ma Hongjun pushed the door open, all three of them were there.

Tang San was sitting on the bed by the window, a fresh plaster on his waist, leaning against the wall while reading a Blue Silver Grass Advanced Cultivation Manual.

Oscar was hunched over the table, fiddling with his newly bonded front tooth in a small mirror. It was a temporary resin prosthetic, stark white and a noticeably different shade from the real teeth next to it.

Dai Mubai was lying on his side on his bed, a patch over his left eye, his right eye fixed on the ceiling.

Hearing the door, all three looked at Ma Hongjun in unison.

"You're back?" Dai Mubai looked at him with his right eye. "What did you find out?"

Ma Hongjun closed the door, pulled a chair into the middle of the room, and let out a long sigh.

"I found something. There's definitely more to it."

Tang San closed his book and leaned forward.

Ma Hongjun recounted the day's events from start to finish.

"Happy Claw Machine?" Tang San frowned. "What kind of shop is that?"

"It's just for catching dolls," Ma Hongjun said, pulling the brown turkey plushie from his pocket and placing it on the table. "There are six machines inside. You insert a token and use a claw to grab the dolls. I tried it; spent two Gold Soul Coins and caught this."

The three of them focused their gazes on the turkey.

Oscar reached out and squeezed it. "It's just a regular plushie."

"Exactly, as ordinary as it gets," Ma Hongjun said. "The prompt on the Crystal Ball is also simple—it just tells you the price per play and the daily limit of six times."

Dai Mubai sat up on his bed, his right eye staring straight at Ma Hongjun.

"But you said Ning Rongrong stayed in that shop for nearly an hour. A young lady from the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, going to a run-down shop off-campus to stay for an hour? Just to catch these things?"

Ma Hongjun shook his head. "I feel like something's off, too. But the angle was bad; I couldn't see what she was doing inside."

Tang San was silent for a few seconds, his fingers tapping against the bed frame.

"And the boss? What's his background?"