The door closed, and the room fell silent.
Lan Xiaoke flopped onto the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as if she hadn’t fully processed everything that had just happened.
Somehow, she had ended up living in this house, with a room of her own.
Not only had she escaped the school building she’d lived in for decades, but now she even had meals, accommodation, and entertainment covered.
Wasn’t this all a bit too good to be true?
“There’s gotta be some kind of scheme behind this,” Lan Xiaoke muttered, resting her chin on her hand with her fingers curled like a seven. There’s no such thing as free lunch. For now, she’d just take things one step at a time.
Well, since she was here, might as well play on the computer.
Lan Xiaoke’s eyes gleamed with excitement as she spotted the computer not far away. It had been ages since she’d last gotten her hands on one.
“Woo-hoo!!!”
“Let’s check out World of Warcraft!”
“Huh? Why is it down for maintenance?! Wait, what was my account info again?”
……
In another room, Ye Chuan sat on the edge of his bed, fiddling with his phone. Since the Universal Landlord APP had unlocked several new features, he figured he should study them carefully to make the most of them.
First up was the Alchemy and Medicine system.
When Ye Chuan tapped into it, the interface looked dull and gray, with only two options available—
[Alchemy]
[Medicine] (Locked)
The Medicine option was darkened and unusable for some reason, but Ye Chuan didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he focused on the Alchemy function.
Upon entering, a shabby, dust-covered furnace appeared before him, its corners draped with cobwebs.
[Furnace: A worn-out, ninth-hand alchemy furnace, previously used by an elderly alchemist (Mundane Grade)]
[Recipes]
[Insert Materials]
Ye Chuan scanned the options and tapped on [Recipes], finding entries like Tiger Strength Pill and Deer Blood Pill—mostly pills he’d taken before.
“Oh? Then Auntie’s condition shouldn’t be a big problem anymore, right?” A faint spark of hope lit up in Ye Chuan’s eyes. If he could craft these pills himself, he wouldn’t have to rely on Bai Qianshuang’s sunflowers to drop rare items for him.
But there was one issue—
He didn’t have any materials.
Ye Chuan tapped [Insert Materials], only for a pop-up window to appear.
[No materials detected in inventory. Spend 6,000 to purchase raw materials?]
His finger froze mid-air before slowly retreating.
Yikes…
Something about this didn’t feel right.
Six thousand?
Seriously?
But then again, considering how effective those pills were, plenty of people would probably be willing to pay that much.
And hey, he did have a million now. What’s a measly six thousand?
Screw it—he’d splurge!
[Purchase successful.]
[Begin refining?]
[Deer Blood Pill has a 30% success rate, 60% failure rate, and 10% chance of furnace explosion (Success rate depends on pill quality, furnace quality, alchemy level, etc.)]
Furnace explosion?
It’s not a guaranteed success? And only a 30% chance?
Ye Chuan narrowed his eyes. He’d heard before that alchemy was expensive, but it had always been an abstract concept—until now. Seeing the actual price tag gave him a visceral understanding of just how costly it could be.
Six thousand could buy several smartphones! And this was just for one attempt at alchemy.
Maybe he should just wait for Bai Qianshuang to drop the Deer Blood Pills for him.
“Wait… knowing how this app operates, it’ll probably stop dropping Deer Blood Pills from now on, won’t it?” Ye Chuan had a sinking feeling about this, as if the game was nudging him toward spending money.
If success rate depended on furnace and pill quality, then upgrading the furnace should improve his odds.
[Upgrade furnace quality? Cost: 5,000.]
Since he’d likely be using this furnace a lot in the future, Ye Chuan silently confirmed the upgrade.
[Furnace quality upgraded successfully!]
[Furnace: A battered eighth-hand furnace (Low Grade)]
[Upgrade furnace quality? Cost: 10,000.]
Screw it—upgrade again!
[Furnace quality upgraded successfully!]
[Furnace: A battered seventh-hand furnace (Mid-Low Grade)]
[Upgrade furnace quality? Cost: 50,000.]
Screw it—keep going!
[Furnace: Verdant Blaze Furnace (Mid Grade)]
[Deer Blood Pill now has a 99% success rate, 1% failure rate, and 0% chance of furnace explosion (Success rate depends on pill quality, furnace quality, alchemy level, etc.)]
Ninety-nine percent—now that’s more like it.
With such favorable odds, Ye Chuan spent another 6,000 on materials and started the refining process.
[Pill refining in progress. Time remaining: 23:59.]
[Spend 1,000 to speed up?]
Ye Chuan ignored the speed-up option. As long as the refining succeeded, he could wait.
What were the chances he’d hit that 1% failure rate anyway?
Exiting the alchemy interface, Ye Chuan turned his attention to the Guaranteed Draw Card in his inventory.
A guaranteed top-tier reward was undeniably tempting, but the question was—should he use it on physique or spiritual roots?
For physique, he already had the Azure Dragon Holy Body, a top-tier quality that could only be obtained through guaranteed draws.
If he used the card now, he could get another top-tier physique and attempt a fusion for the elusive 10% chance at a Mythic-grade physique.
But the risk was enormous. If the fusion failed and his stats downgraded, not only would he miss out on the Mythic tier, but he might even lose his top-tier physique altogether.
After a long silence, Ye Chuan decided to play it safe and use the card for a guaranteed spiritual root instead.
It was the most cost-effective choice.
Swiping to the spiritual root draw page, Ye Chuan activated the Guaranteed Draw Card—but just as he was about to confirm, he hesitated.
“Wait… maybe I should trust my luck?”
You can’t lose every time, right?
Screw it—go all in!
Ye Chuan switched back to the physique draw and tapped the button!
With the card’s effect in play, golden light shimmered across the screen as the reward materialized.
[Congratulations! You’ve obtained the Triple-Layered Crystal Body. Added to inventoryGold.]
Without even checking the description, Ye Chuan immediately unequipped his Azure Dragon Holy Body and fused it with the new one!
“Come on!”
The moment he pressed [Fuse], Ye Chuan shut his eyes tight.
A few seconds later, he cautiously peeked—and his face lit up with excitement at the sight of a crimson glow. “Red! I see red! Did I get it?!”
He opened his eyes fully.
[Congratulations! You’ve obtained the High-Grade Flaming Mystic Body. Added to inventory.]
Ye Chuan: “……”
The Flaming Mystic Body’s icon gleamed a fiery red, casting its glow onto Ye Chuan’s deadpan expression.
As if mocking him: “Guess who’s back!”
Ye Chuan stared silently at the screen, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
This is why gambling addicts always lose. He’d gotten way too carried away.
Taking a deep breath, Ye Chuan’s gaze hardened. In a fit of stubbornness, he initiated a 200x draw!
Screw it!
With a million in the bank, there’s no way he wouldn’t pull a Mythic physique!
Twenty thousand vanished in an instant as the draw interface erupted with dazzling light!
A flood of notifications followed—
[Congratulations! You’ve obtained…]
[Congratulations! You’ve obtained…]