Newcomer Blind Box

There had never been such a thing as indecisiveness in this world. There was only a common human ailment—poverty.

At this very moment, Du Qifeng, who was practically seeing red with envy, deeply felt that truth, yet could do nothing about it.

It was worth mentioning that the middle-aged man in a suit not far away, wearing a Windsor knot and with a tear along the side of his clothes, had been muttering at the empty air for quite some time. In the end, he wore the respectful expression of someone facing a superior, though it also carried a hint of helplessness.

Clearly, his "proposal" had been rejected, or perhaps had received no response at all, forcing him to abandon his earlier plan.

Seeing the man finally return to the crowd, the college student, who had quietly been watching him and had vaguely thought that if the man succeeded, he might be able to copy his approach, was greatly disappointed. At the same time, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

—If possible, he truly did not want anything to do with "loans."

With the mindset of out of sight, out of mind, and under the influence of his remaining sliver of rationality, Du Qifeng barely forced his already somewhat muddled brain to keep working. He pulled his gaze away from those immensely tempting but currently unrealistic exchange options.

Looking was enough.

Those things were good, but they were not where newcomers like them should waste too much time.

Very quickly, following some of the "common knowledge" temporarily instilled by the Main God, Du Qifeng found the exchange search and filtering functions in the upper-left corner of the exchange panel.

—Manuals, weapons, protective gear, materials, curiosities, consumables, bloodlines...

Just like before, a single touch caused dense categories to expand downward. Too lazy to inspect them further, the college student relied on the information in his mind and mentally submitted a clear request to the filter—only display items that could be exchanged with the Universal Points he currently possessed.

...Clearly, it worked!

In the blink of an eye, although the exchange page still stretched farther than the eye could see, most of the options silently vanished. In their place, simpler entries sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain.

[Heavy Infantry Armor...]

[Plague Miasma Bag...]

[Luofu Introductory Mind-Calming Breath Cultivation Method...]

[Hand-Cannon-Type Automatic Prosthetic Limb Modification...]

[Magic Missile Scroll...]

[Basic Human Gene Enhancement Agent...]

...

[Name: Ten-Year Red Ginseng]

[Type: Consumable]

[Quality: Unranked]

[Description: A ginseng plant that grew for ten years in the wilderness after its roots were divided, faintly tainted with a trace of spiritual energy. Its roots are pale red. Consuming it directly nourishes the body and foundation, replenishes qi, and stabilizes the spirit.]

[Exchange Requirement: 20 Universal Points]

Randomly opening one or two entries was enough to leave him staring in fascination, especially at the exchange prices following them. They no longer seemed so unreachable, and Du Qifeng almost felt like a tough man brought to tears.

It had not been easy. There were actually options he could afford.

Of course, judging from the current page after filtering, the exchange items that remained were basically between "Unranked" and "First Rank." Occasionally, there was a relatively rare "Second Rank" exchange. Some strange entries Du Qifeng briefly noticed, such as [Evil-Warding Sword Manual—Kasaya Fragment Edition], [Blood-Burning Pill], and [Self-Destructing Voodoo Flesh Curse Solidification—Single Use], were obviously problematic at a glance—enough to make anyone wary.

But the college student had a quick mind.

Perhaps inspired somewhat by the fellow who had attempted to "borrow money" earlier, when he learned from the Main God's supplied "common knowledge" of a mission rule—[Based on your current Level-One User Authority, every seven days, numbered users may select a suitable mission world through this filter and participate in it to obtain rewards. The interval between any two mission worlds may not exceed one month, or you will be punished by the Main God...]—he confirmed that time was not as tight as he had imagined. Especially since on this special platform, it had effectively been extended to four times the "duration."

He stopped hurriedly filtering through exchange options.

Instead, he mentally asked the Main God questions such as whether information from exchanged secret manuals and cultivation techniques could be taught to others, whether someone else could exchange something on his behalf or whether several people could jointly fund an item, and whether Universal Points and Exchange Cards could be gifted or loaned to others. He received answers in turn: "Additional secondary dissemination authority for the relevant cultivation technique information must be exchanged," "Others may exchange items for you voluntarily," "Jointly funding an exchange is not permitted," "Universal Points may be traded, gifted, loaned, and otherwise handled as currency. Exchange Cards obtained by Level-One Authority users may not be used in such ways"... and so on.

After roughly getting a preliminary grasp of the exchange rules and restrictions of this "Main God Game," and understanding that Exchange Cards roughly took the place of functions such as "purchase authority" and "side plots,"

he quickly realized several differences from his "preconceived notions." He promptly turned to find the other few "acquaintances" beside him, intending to warn them and discuss matters with them.

At a time like this, they absolutely could not impulsively exchange something just because it looked flashy. It would be all too easy to stumble into a trap.

After all, they had gotten along fairly well in the zombie world earlier. They had faced mortal danger together, and there had been no situations like "slacking off at the critical moment" or "you trick me, I sell you out." They could at least be said to share a bit of life-and-death camaraderie.

But the moment he turned his head, he saw He Qiu two or three steps away, holding a grayish, half-palm-sized rectangular object in both hands. He kept rubbing and turning it over, his face wearing an incomparably complicated and uncertain expression.

...It was the vivid, grave look of someone who had urgently rushed into a hotel restroom due to a sudden need while out, only to discover that every stall was occupied. That expression kept shifting and brewing across the tiny space of his face, making anyone who saw it feel a sudden sense of foreboding.

"Uh... Brother He, have you already exchanged something? What did you buy?"

Seeing the expression on He Qiu's face, as though he had swallowed an entire bowl of bitter herbs and had no choice but to wear Liandry's Torment, Du Qifeng walked over in confusion. Just as he was about to offer a few words of comfort, He Qiu let out a faint sigh.

"I didn't buy it... I drew it from the box, and this is what I got... Forget it. See for yourself."

Looking utterly drained and unable to explain it in a few words, he simply extended the item in his hand toward the curious college student so he could take a proper look.

Before he even understood what was going on, Du Qifeng's expression soon became subtle as well.

[Name: Dwarven Ironwork (Total Weight: Ten Kilograms)]

[Type: Material]

[Quality: Third Rank]

[Description: A cast iron block formed alongside the Lonely Mountain Dwarves' attempts to smelt metal from lava in Middle-earth. Its material is sturdy and naturally possesses a small amount of fire resistance. It can be used to forge various fine weapons and equipment.]

[Additional Notice: Items produced from this blind box may be sold to the Main God. Recovery price: 300 Universal Points. (Note: Recovery price is 20% of the original value.)]

???

After reading the scan information, the baffled young college student finally somewhat understood why He Qiu wore such a complicated expression.

This inconspicuous rectangular lump, no bigger than a large supermarket chocolate bar, was gray and dull, without much shine visible on its surface. Yet simply holding it in his hand revealed that it weighed a full ten kilograms. Its density was obvious.

Not to mention that judging from the recovery price offered by the Main God, this was a... costly raw material worth a full 1,500 Universal Points?

Well, material. That word explained everything.

Having just figured out the problem and put himself in the other man's shoes, Du Qifeng's face seemed to twitch as well.

He Qiu's expression was even more pained.

The item was indeed valuable.

But fundamentally, it was still an unprocessed metal material. For newcomers like them, who now wanted to split every penny in two, other than throwing it to the Main God for recovery, there seemed to be no more direct or effective method of quickly turning it into immediately usable resources.

After all, they clearly could not find a suitable dwarf right now, complete with a furnace and forge, to handle such a small metal ingot with somewhat extraordinary properties.

...Yet if he truly sold it, it would be painfully hard to let go. The recovery price, only a mere twenty percent—a fire-sale price—really was far too wasteful!

How irritating!

Even Du Qifeng nearly could not stop himself from cursing.

But at a time like this, it did not seem appropriate to advise someone whether to sell or not sell. Du Qifeng could only briefly remind him about the exchanges, then informed the other three people nearby as well. Only then did he turn back and search through the information section of his personal panel for something important he had accidentally missed after spending too much time in the exchange section.

...[Additional Reward for Clearing the Newcomer Trial (Claimable)]

Unlike the previous Newcomer Trial clearance evaluation, this separately categorized notification quietly remained under unread messages.

If He Qiu had not reminded him, he still would not have noticed it!

Slapping his forehead, Du Qifeng learned his lesson this time. He did not rush to open it. Instead, he roughly reviewed the entire information section first. Only after confirming that he had not missed anything important did he turn his attention to that separate reward message—

[Additional Reward for Clearing the Newcomer Trial: One Random Draw (Unique · Only obtainable when each Visitor clears the Newcomer Trial for the first time)]

[Quality: ???]

[Note: "Ahem, I suppose there is no need to say much. That's right, this is the random blind box included in the newcomer gift package. The time has come to test your luck. Whether you draw a treasure chest or a mimic, sneak into Europe or hunt with a spear, it all depends on whether this hand of yours has been blessed..."]

The young college student's eyes lit up.

If this place had allowed him to bathe, change clothes, and wash his hands, he would definitely have followed the "mystical" pre-pull rituals used by his roommates who loved mobile games.

—It cost nothing, so he might as well believe in it a little!

Following the principle that it was better to do too much than too little, Du Qifeng silently prayed with even greater sincerity than when he had frantically begged his professors to show mercy and pull him through before final exams. He paid respects to the Buddha, the Daoist Venerable, Allah, God, Zeus...

He looked around, confirmed that no one should be able to disturb him, and endured the obvious weakness and soreness still lingering in his muscles. Following the customs of certain places, he clasped his palms together and began rubbing his hands fiercely.

With an intensity no less desperate than drilling wood to make fire, he kept at it until the skin on his palms had visibly reddened from the burning sensation. Seizing that freshly heated "lucky touch," he decisively gritted his teeth and selected the one-time draw option.

Was it a mule or a horse? This would decide it... Open!

Yet in that very instant, accompanied by the clear selection, Du Qifeng's personal interface vanished in the blink of an eye!

No, that was not quite right. The flat light screen, seemingly woven from halos of light, had directly melted away before his eyes with lightning speed.

In the blink of an eye, all that remained in its place was a blurry, dark liquid halo!

Within the hazy, dazzling light, the thing seemed to have no definite outline. Or rather, the moment his gaze attempted to focus, that outline quietly began to blur and melt, like a drop of paint falling into water, naturally displaying a dizzying sense of flow.

...Like a miniature vortex.

No! What the hell was this?!?

Startled by the sudden change, Du Qifeng froze in place for a while. But when he noticed that the people around him seemed not to have noticed the scene at all...

As though realizing something, the college student blinked a few times. After hesitating for several moments, he finally cautiously extended a hand toward the blurry halo.

—And so, "it" blinked back at this unfortunate child, who looked so eager and whose eyes still carried a clarity unpolluted by knowledge.

Within the haziness, where endless lights and shadows seemed to flicker, a tiny sphere of light was gently "spat" out from the vortex and drifted down into the waiting man's palm like a snowflake.

Then, the hazy vortex that had briefly appeared quietly dispersed, and the personal interface woven from halos of light unfolded before the user once more.

Only the newcomer who had just received a "newcomer gift package" had no mind to care about that. He stared in surprise at the true form that emerged from the softly shattering sphere of light in his hand—

What emerged was a small round shield, not even larger than a fist. It was mottled gray-brown, covered in pits and dents, with many obvious signs of damage and repair. There was even an extremely conspicuous serrated crack along its rim, stretching from the center of the shield all the way to its edge. It had almost cut deep into the metal plating at the shield's center, through the incomplete crescent pattern.

[Name: Poor Man's Shield]

[Type: Protective Gear/Item]

[Quality: Second Rank]

[Description: From the Dota-Derived World Setting, an old-fashioned shield that has endured countless battles and looks exceptionally worn. Many heroes have relied upon this inconspicuous old companion when first setting out on their own legendary paths...]

[Traits: Difficult to damage. The wearer has a chance to block a small amount of physical damage.]

[Note: "I heard this thing bears a trace of blessing from IceFrog, the legendary Spirit of Creation... Haha, I don't believe such drunken nonsense! Ymir, another drink! This round is on me!"]

[Additional Notice: Items produced from this blind box may be sold to the Main God. Recovery price: 120 Universal Points. (Note: Recovery price is 20% of the original value.)]

Looking at the old silver-brown round shield, less than half an arm in size, repeatedly overlaid with metal plating over wood, and clearly worthy of being called a battle-hardened veteran beneath its scar-covered surface, Du Qifeng fell completely silent.

For some reason, a faint but ominous premonition kept frantically reminding the newcomer who had received this practical gift—perhaps from this day onward, he would never be able to shake off the words "poor man" again...