Chapter 32: A New Lottery Draw (Requesting Support for the New Book)

Li He felt a little nervous, hoping that the damned system wouldn’t act up this time and would let him draw his prize in peace.

“System,” he called softly.

Swish!

The system interface suddenly appeared in his pupils, a simple page of data, utterly unremarkable.

Li He didn’t bother looking at the negative emotions or anything like that. Instead, he went straight to the string of red numbers continuously bouncing in the lower left corner.

999+…

The page shifted. The simple data fragments shattered, instantly replaced by rapidly flashing notifications.

[Negative emotion value +0.01 from Zhang San]
[Negative emotion value +0.03 from Xiao Ye]
[Negative emotion value +0.1 from Wang Ke]
[Negative emotion value +0.1 from Zeng Ying]
[Negative emotion value +0.1 from Liu Da]
[…]
[…]

Li He was stunned on the spot.

The first few were fine, but what was with that last one? Liu Da was his own editor, yet he was generating negative emotion points? Where was his sense of responsibility? Does he believe I’ll even sign my next book with him? Li He was fuming.

He had intended to indulge himself in the negative emotion notifications before the system started acting up with the prize draw, but his good mood was instantly ruined.

Li He lost interest in reading any further and exited directly.

Swish!

The interface reconfigured, the simple data panel reassembling itself like a broken mirror restored.

[Name: Li He]
[Age: 20/44]
[Negative emotion value: 465,200]
[Skill: Piano, Grade 9]
[Inventory: Songs: “A Bridge of Fate,” “Ten Years”]

“Ten Years” had been the first song he drew, though he’d yet to find a suitable performer for it. “A Bridge of Fate” was from his second prize draw.

Glancing at his negative emotion points, Li He smacked his lips. Over four hundred thousand—not bad at all.

“Dissolve Sorrow” alone had earned over six hundred thousand points in a short period, but that was because the song had a much wider audience. Plus, with celebrities promoting it, many fans had been dragged into the emotional pit by their own idols, unable to extricate themselves.

But “Battle Through the Heavens” was different. Though it had been making waves these past few days, it was only a fleeting moment in the spotlight. When it was still on the new release list, Li He hadn’t dared to change the plot or withhold chapters—he’d been on his best behavior with updates. Besides, “Battle Through the Heavens” hadn’t yet become a cultural phenomenon, so the number of “victims” was much smaller. Harvesting more than four hundred thousand negative emotion points was already quite an achievement.

Don’t let me down, damned system… Li He was itching to try his luck, clenching his teeth inwardly as he shouted:

“Ten draws at once!”

The spinning wheel whirred at high speed, rubbing out a few sparks of lost dignity.

Li He was already used to this. After all, it was the system’s first time functioning as a system—some flaws were to be expected.

No one is perfect, and there’s no such thing as a flawless system.

Swish!

[Negative emotion value +10]
[Negative emotion value +10]
[Negative emotion value +10]
[Bronze treasure chest ×1]
[Negative emotion value +10]
[…]
[…]

A ten-draw streak, and all he got was a bronze chest with a special effect worth about thirty cents.

Even though he was already familiar with the system’s quirks, Li He couldn’t help but be annoyed. Why did it have to be a ten-draw for a bronze chest? If that’s the case, why not let a single draw cost a hundred thousand negative emotion points? He really couldn’t figure it out.

In the end, Li He concluded: Drawing a bronze chest with a single hundred-thousand-point draw would break the host’s spirit.

Damn it!

“Ten more. Ten more. Ten more.”

The wheel spun at high speed again.

Swish!

[Negative emotion value +10]
[Bronze treasure chest ×1]
[Negative emotion value +10]
[…]
[Negative emotion value +10]
[Bronze treasure chest ×1]
[…]
[Bronze treasure chest ×1]
[Negative emotion value +10]
[Negative emotion value +10]
[…]
[…]

Whew!

Four bronze treasure chests floated quietly.

People always say that wine becomes more valuable with age. Li He wondered if letting these bronze chests sit in the inventory might turn them into silver chests eventually.

But as it turned out, the bronze chests couldn’t even be stored—they had to be opened, and only then could the resulting items be put away. Utterly absurd.

“Open them,” Li He said expectantly. What would come out this time?

Swish!

Light and shadow swirled, and the four chests opened simultaneously.

[Piano sheet music: “Canon”]
[Novel: “Martial Universe”]
[Capsule: “Strength and Fitness Capsule”]
[Capsule: “Thick, Black, Lustrous Hair Capsule”]

A long moment passed in silence.

Li He dropped to his knees in defeat. Aside from the piano piece, what was the point of the rest?

He already had “Battle Through the Heavens,” and now the system gave him “Martial Universe”? He had a system—why was he being forced to recycle old content? Shouldn’t he be pioneering a brand-new genre and harvesting fresh negative emotion points by now? How could things be so… off?

Then there were the two capsules, which left Li He dumbfounded. “Thick, Black, Lustrous Hair Capsule”? That was obviously for hair loss prevention. How thoughtful of the system. Thank you so much!

“At least there’s a piano piece,” Li He muttered, not wanting to say anything more.

Since the first prize draw had given him a Grade 9 piano skill capsule, he hadn’t yet had a chance to show it off. Now, with “Canon,” he could finally start collecting negative emotion points through piano music.

He swallowed both capsules at once—no need for water, very convenient.

In the next instant, a warm current surged through his body, and before Li He could react, he felt brimming with strength.

He glanced at his reflection and was startled.

Perfectly defined nine-pack abs, a body in golden proportion, a sharper, more handsome face, and a head of thick, jet-black hair that would make any programmer green with envy.

This…

“I really am too handsome,” Li He praised himself sincerely—a model’s physique, no doubt about it.

Though his body had always been handsome, years of depression and lack of exercise had left him frail. But now, Li He felt he could compete in the next sports festival.

At that moment—

His phone rang.

Li He picked it up. It was a video call from Jiang Qi.

He pressed to connect.

The video call went through.

Jiang Qi, looking demure and polite, greeted, “Teacher Gabe.”

Then, she froze.

Teacher Gabe looked… a little different. Somehow… more handsome, and in much better shape.

Am I seeing things? Jiang Qi shivered.

Li He smiled warmly, his tone friendly. “Jiang Qi, is there something you need?”

“It’s like this, Teacher Gabe,” Jiang Qi said, “I’m planning to release my first album in June, with ‘Bubble’ as the lead single.”

Li He said nothing. Jiang Qi wouldn’t be calling just to announce a single—there had to be more to it.

—

(Post first, revise later)