New Knowledge

It was late at night, and far fewer people were entering or leaving the residential complex at this hour.

Hu Lixin sat behind the table set up outside the security booth, facing the road beyond the complex entrance.

Cars lined both sides of the road. Every now and then, one or two people out for a night run passed by outside the row of vehicles, their footsteps rustling softly.

Behind him, half the lights in the complex had gone out.

The children who had been running wild through the complex had all been called home by their parents and grandparents, and the chirping of unknown insects had become the main melody of the night.

Hu Lixin had started his night shift. He would be staying here all night, keeping a close eye on the area around the gate. If food delivery riders came, he had to register them and ask which building and apartment they were going to before allowing them into the complex.

He also had to inspect vehicles whose license plates were not in the access-control system, register them as well, and remind their drivers that they could only stay briefly before using the remote to raise the barrier at the garage entrance.

In addition, he had to coordinate with the patrolling security team.

If he got too bored, he could chat with the people watching cars by the roadside outside to pass the time. They had to stay up all night too.

If nothing unexpected happened that night, it would pass amid these trivial tasks.

At this time of year, the outdoor breeze was neither cold nor hot—the best season of the year—and pulling an all-nighter was a little easier to endure.

But if it rained, it would not be nearly so pleasant.

When the weather was too hot, there were too many mosquitoes.

And when it was too cold, no matter how thick his clothes, pants, and shoes were, even with a "Little Sun" heater by his feet, only a quarter of his body could feel warm. Everywhere the "Little Sun" could not reach remained freezing cold—a true case of fire and ice.

This job could not exactly be called easy, but for his family, Hu Lixin was willing to bear that hardship.

He even felt that, as someone without any particular skills, he was already very happy to have found a job with decent pay and benefits at his age.

If he had any other wish, it was that his child would not follow in his footsteps. Poor grades and a low level of education made it hard to find work later on. Although security guards earned a decent wage, he did not want his son to end up becoming a security guard too.

That meant Hu Lai had to study hard now. Otherwise, wouldn't all the money Hu Lixin had borrowed to send him to Dongchuan Middle School have been wasted?

It was just that... whenever he thought of Hu Lai's placement test results when he had first enrolled, Hu Lixin felt somewhat irritated.

He did not believe his son was stupid. Hu Lai must have failed to study seriously and work hard, which was why he had ended up with such grades.

It was normal to need time to adjust after arriving in an unfamiliar new environment. He would wait a little longer, until Hu Lai gradually adapted to it...

With that thought, Hu Lixin turned back and looked at the countless lit windows behind him.

Honestly, both the environment and property management of this complex were excellent. Hu Lixin himself wanted to become an owner here too, so that every day when he left for work and came home, security guards would salute him at the gate.

But clearly, the exorbitant housing prices here were beyond what he could afford.

Still, he hoped that one day, his son would be able to afford a similar home and give his wife and child a better life.

Hu Lai had already washed up and lay down on his bed. The bedroom light had been turned off, and aside from the moonlight streaming in through the window, his room was pitch-black.

He had not drawn a lottery while doing his homework that evening. Instead, he had patiently waited until now.

For this moment, he had even taken a particularly thorough shower before bed.

He knew that before doing something important and sacred, the ancients would burn incense, bathe, and change clothes.

He did not have the means to burn incense right now, but bathing and changing clothes were still possible.

In hopes of bringing some good luck to what he was about to do, he had conducted a highly ritualistic bath with a pious heart.

He had even used twice as much body wash as usual.

Now, smelling fragrant all over, Hu Lai knelt on his bed with his palms pressed together and bowed toward the west. "Jade Emperor, Queen Mother of the West, Buddha, Guanyin... all you great gods passing by, please be kind and bless me so I can draw what I want!"

Only after completing this ritual did he close his eyes and enter the system.

In the system store, Hu Lai intended to exchange all the points he had for lottery tickets.

But he paused in surprise first—the familiar store had changed somewhat.

The originally empty shelves were still empty, but they were a little better than before, because beside the lottery ticket—the only product—there was now another item: a small green glass tube lying quietly on the shelf.

When Hu Lai's gaze swept over it, he discovered that it was actually...[Stamina Potion].

Yes, it was the [Stamina Potion] he had used up that morning.

He had not expected it to appear in the store, and just like the lottery tickets, it had a price listed beneath it: 1000.

A lottery ticket cost five hundred points, while a [Stamina Potion] cost one thousand points.

Considering that the [Stamina Potion] could previously only be obtained through the lottery, with each draw costing five hundred points and no telling how many draws it would take to get one, a price of one thousand points did not seem too expensive. It was only equivalent to two lottery tickets—meaning two draws guaranteed one [Stamina Potion].

So the store could actually sell things other than lottery tickets...

I knew it. There's no way the official store of such a powerful system cheat could be this shabby!

Hu Lai was delighted to discover this new feature of the store, but he did not dwell on it. He still remembered why he had entered the system.

After exchanging all his points for four lottery tickets in the system store, Hu Lai entered the lottery interface. The large spinning wheel with its flashing marquee lights appeared before him.

There were still no bunny girls.

The interface was so bare-bones it was almost heartbreaking.

With a pious heart, he used his first lottery ticket.

Then he got a bottle of...[Stamina Potion].

Hu Lai, inside the system, stared speechlessly at the small bottle of [Stamina Potion] floating before him.

Fine. Better than getting a straight-up "Thanks for participating."

That was how Hu Lai consoled himself.

Then he used another lottery ticket.

All you big shots, please bless me...

Ten minutes later, Hu Lai stared blankly at the four bottles of [Stamina Potion] floating in the system space before him.

In fact, he had been staring blankly for nearly three minutes already.

He had exchanged his remaining two thousand points for four lottery tickets. He had even specifically bathed and changed clothes, making sure he smelled nice and fresh.

And these four lottery tickets had gotten him these four things?!

After staring blankly for a long while, Hu Lai finally moved. He abruptly slapped the pillow away. As if that still wasn't enough to vent his anger, he threw the blanket aside and hammered the bedframe with his fists, producing a series of dull thuds.

What the hell were four bottles of [Stamina Potion]?!

I knew this thing supposedly had a high drop rate, but I never thought it would be this high! Is this stuff really that easy to pull?!

And the official store sold this thing for a thousand per bottle. I fucking thought that was cheap at the time. Four lottery tickets got me four bottles—so this thing is only worth five hundred points a bottle?

Shameless profiteer!

This morning, I was heartbroken over wasting one bottle of [Stamina Potion], and tonight you let me pull four bottles of [Stamina Potion]! Is this your way of making it up to me?

Well, thanks to your ancestors for eighteen generations!

But I want [Training Boost Potion]! I want [Training Boost Potion], the kind that can improve my training results!

Hu Lai roared at the system in his heart.

As always, the system gave no response, like a mute—or a deaf man.

But as he looked at the four identical bottles of potion before him, then thought of their price in the official store, Hu Lai could sense a certain malice from the system...

Just like when he had first discovered that he could even draw "Thanks for participating."

Weren't the systems of those protagonists always tripping over themselves to serve their masters? So why did this system keep stabbing him in the back from time to time?

Was this system here to help me reach the pinnacle of life, or to watch me make a fool of myself?

Hu Lai was filled with grief and indignation. The bedframe beneath his pounding fists let out a continuous series of muffled thuds, like a drumbeat.

Until his mother's shrill voice rang out from beyond the door: "Are you going to sleep or not!!!"

Only then did Hu Lai yank up the blanket, wrap himself in it, lie back down, and become quiet as a mouse.

Tonight, he had learned something new—[Stamina Potion], which currently wasn't very useful, was easy to draw, while the powerful [Training Boost Potion] was probably very difficult to get...

It was truly expensive knowledge. It had cost him two thousand points, along with twice his usual amount of body wash and shampoo.