Minor Pickpocketing Art

His Majesty was so vigorous!

The young palace maid watched Daji leave on unsteady feet, then recalled the miserable cries that had echoed from the room. Two rosy clouds rose on her cheeks, and a little anticipation glimmered in her eyes.

"Let's see how this Spin-to-Win works first, then decide whether to buy a stalk of Dao-Merging Grass..."

Meanwhile, after watching Daji leave, Di Xin propped up his chin and pondered for a moment, then turned his attention to the system interface and opened Spin-to-Win.

Spin-to-Win was exactly like the Big Prize Wheel he had used before. Its nine squares were labeled [Dao-Merging Grass, advanced Suiren Tranquil Heart Method, Spirit Jade Gourd, low-tier Three Heads and Six Arms, Scatter Beans to Create Soldiers, Thirty-Nine Minor Mystic Art, Immortal Binding Rope, Invisibility Talisman], and, of course, Thanks for Playing.

However, beneath this Thanks for Playing were the prominent words "(not a secret technique)."

A one-in-nine drop rate seemed pretty high!

Di Xin was tempted, but when he glanced at the fine print beneath the wheel-"Each draw costs 500 negative emotion points"-he sucked in a sharp breath.

This system was a damn swindler!

He currently had a whopping 17,280 negative emotion points, but if he spent them on draws, thirty-four spins would wipe him out!

"Let's try a few draws and test the drop rate!"

After a moment's hesitation, Di Xin finally decided to try a couple of spins first. If they proved hopeless, he would stop overthinking it and obediently exchange his negative emotion points for Dao-Merging Grass in the Bargain Mall.

With that thought, he mentally pressed the round button in the center of Spin-to-Win. The wheel immediately whirred into motion. When he shouted stop in his mind, the pointer began to slow.

[Thanks for Playing!]

Motherfucker!

Five hundred negative emotion points, gone just like that!

Couldn't this system show a little humanity, a little decency, instead of being so utterly shameless?!

Di Xin was speechless. He wished he could drag the system out and punch the shameless bastard right in the head. Thanks for Playing at every turn-could they still get along peacefully in the Primordial World or not?!

Those five hundred negative emotion points hadn't come easily! Every time, he had to rack his brains to infuriate people, only to squander them just like that!

But if anyone asked him to stop, he really couldn't.

The Big Prize Wheel was poison!

Heh. Keep going!

The little wheel went round and round... Thanks for Playing spread its wings and flew...

Thanks for Playing!

Thanks for Playing!

Motherfucker, why were his hands so unlucky? Why was his luck so cursed?!

Was the system rigging the draws?

Di Xin tried nine more times in a row, and every single result was Thanks for Playing.

What a goddamn rip-off of a system!

On the final attempt, the pointer spun around and, after he called stop, finally landed on Dao-Merging Grass. A wisp of mist stirred, then a lush green stalk of Dao-Merging Grass appeared before the Big Prize Wheel. The system had even thoughtfully set off a few little fireworks around it.

"Finally..."

Watching those little fireworks, Di Xin finally smiled. But the moment he saw that his negative emotion points had fallen to just +11,780, his face darkened.

Five thousand five hundred negative emotion points for one stalk of Dao-Merging Grass. Just how much of a rip-off was this system?!

After all, Dao-Merging Grass cost only five thousand a stalk in the Bargain Mall.

He strongly suspected that Spin-to-Win was a trap the system had deliberately set to reclaim his negative emotion points.

It had to be!

[Dao-Merging Grass has been placed in the Inventory. It can be retrieved at any time with a thought.]

"Retrieve!"

With an exclamation of aching teeth and aching heart, Di Xin reached out and retrieved the Dao-Merging Grass from his Inventory.

Though the system was a rip-off, the Dao-Merging Grass looked quite appealing.

It was lush green and even glowed a little, giving him the distinct impression of a verdant, sprawling grassland.

To eat or not to eat-that wasn't even a question!

Without any hesitation, Di Xin stuffed the Dao-Merging Grass into his mouth. It immediately transformed into a stream of air and entered his body.

Then he felt as though a shackle had been unlocked somewhere inside him, leaving a sensation of lightness and agility.

More precisely, the tips of his right index and middle fingers felt light and nimble. They even tingled a little...

But for some reason, that sensation kept giving Di Xin a rather unpleasant premonition.

[System notification: The Host has been detected consuming Dao-Merging Grass and has acquired a small quantity of Minor Pickpocketing Art fragments, a minor Dao of the Eight Hundred Side Doors. Completion: 5/3000. The Host can currently use the Minor Pickpocketing Art to steal mortals' belongings. Friendly reminder: Stealing is illegal. If caught, you will be severely punished!]

Di Xin: ???

For a moment, he had absolutely no idea what to say!

What did it mean to be ripped off? Without a doubt, this was it!

He had wondered why his fingertips were itching. It turned out they were itching for him to steal something.

But what use was this lousy Minor Pickpocketing Art? Was he, a mighty tyrant, supposed to become a petty thief and steal from his subjects?

Besides, what did people in this era even have worth stealing?

From what he had seen at the altar, plenty of people in Chaoge City wore nothing but a loincloth!

Even if they invited him to steal, he would be afraid of dirtying his fingers.

[System notification: As Great Dao law fragments of the Minor Pickpocketing Art have been detected within the Host, a new product has been added to the Bargain Mall: Ordinary Dao-Merging Grass, 5,000 negative emotion points per stalk. If the Host wishes to further improve the Minor Pickpocketing Art, Dao-Merging Grass specifically containing Great Dao law fragments of the Minor Pickpocketing Art can be purchased for 6,000 negative emotion points!]

The very next moment, something happened that made Di Xin cry foul even more loudly: another stalk of Dao-Merging Grass had actually appeared in the Bargain Mall.

And its price was a staggering six thousand negative emotion points.

Motherfucker! Back in the future, big data had gouged him as a regular customer when he ordered takeout. Now that he'd come here, this lousy system was gouging him too!

At least the takeout services did it sneakily. This thing did it openly, right to his face! When it came to shamelessness, it really was the champion!

Di Xin was now speechless beyond measure. He had seen black-hearted swindlers before, but never one this black-hearted!

"Heh. Don't think you can swindle me out of a single hard-earned negative emotion point!"

Di Xin sneered twice and, without another thought, spent five thousand negative emotion points on a stalk of Ordinary Dao-Merging Grass. He retrieved and swallowed it, determined to cleanse his cursed luck.

"Hmm???"

But the moment he swallowed it, Di Xin felt his fingertips grow even itchier. They even slipped uncontrollably into his clothes and scratched...

[Congratulations to the Host on earning the Second Bloom Achievement: Acquired Dao-Merging Grass with the same attribute twice consecutively. Reward: None! Minor Pickpocketing Art completion: 8/3000!]

"Giving me the same Dao-Merging Grass is bad enough, but the fucking amount is random too? Two points less than last time..."

In an instant, Di Xin was on the verge of tears.

The greatest rip-off in the world was getting gouged once, switching platforms, and then-congratulations-getting slaughtered all over again!

The second cut was even crueler than the first, sinking three inches deeper into his flesh.

Lonely, lonesome, cold!

Rage, tremble, cry!

The Primordial World was treacherous; the system was even worse!

He was so tired!

He was sick of it!

Just let the Primordial World be destroyed!

At that moment, he felt he wasn't a tyrant at all, but a genuine little lamb, still wet behind the ears-and ripe for slaughter.

"Your Majesty, I've brought the craftsmen and ore you requested..."

Just then, Bi Gan's voice came from outside the door.

Amid the wind and rain, what did this little pain amount to?

Wipe away the tears. Life had to go on. Man could conquer heaven! Down that toxic motivational soup! Let's go!

Hearing that voice, Di Xin wiped away his tears, rose, and walked out of the room. He immediately saw Bi Gan standing outside with two fairly burly men.

"Hmph!"

As he passed Bi Gan, Di Xin immediately shot him a vicious glare and delivered a cold snort.

[Negative emotion points from Bi Gan: +200...]

Bi Gan was utterly bewildered, unable to understand what he had done wrong.

"Hmph!"

Just then, Di Xin glared viciously at him again and gave another cold snort.

[Negative emotion points from Bi Gan: +500...]

After killing Weizi and Jizi, did this tyrant no longer even care to keep up appearances?!

Was he going to kill me next?

Bi Gan's hands and feet trembled. He cried out to heaven in his heart, wishing Wen Zhong would return right now and give this cold, heartless, unreasonable tyrant a couple of lashes.

"Do you two know how to forge iron?!"

By then, Di Xin had walked up to the two craftsmen, whose bodies bore scorch marks and burns. Looking down at them kindly, he slowly posed his question.