Try Buying a Lottery Ticket

“You’ve successfully captured the kidnappers. Reward granted—Luck Points +10!”

Luck Points?

Hearing this reward echo in his mind, Xu Mo was momentarily stunned.

The system’s rewards could enhance his brain, boost his physical strength, and even sharpen his senses—that much he could accept. But rewarding something as abstract as luck?

What exactly did an increase of ten Luck Points mean? Was it enough to win the lottery jackpot?

With that thought, Xu Mo decided to stop by a lottery shop after work and spend two yuan on a ticket. Even if he didn’t hit the jackpot, he might still win a second or third prize…

With both kidnappers having confessed, Xu Mo didn’t linger in the interrogation room and quickly left.

But as soon as he stepped out, he felt something under his foot.

Looking down, he saw a phone.

Well, well… his luck really had improved!

Finding a phone right outside the interrogation room.

However, since this was inside the police station and Xu Mo was an officer, he couldn’t just keep the phone for himself. He immediately bent down to pick it up and asked,

“Who dropped their phone?”

As soon as he spoke, a few passing officers glanced in his direction.

One of them recognized the phone. “Captain Xu, that looks like Old Zhou’s phone.”

“Old Zhou’s?” Xu Mo examined the phone briefly before handing it to the officer. “Take it to him, then.”

“Got it,” the officer replied, taking the phone and walking away.

Xu Mo then returned to his office.

…

Before he knew it, it was time to clock out.

Xu Mo tidied up and left the station.

But today, instead of heading straight home, he drove to a lottery shop.

He was going to buy a lottery ticket.

Even though Xu Mo wasn’t exactly strapped for cash these days, he still wanted to give it a shot.

Even if he didn’t win the jackpot, scoring a second or third prize would be nice.

Mostly, he just wanted to experience the thrill of winning.

Xu Mo knew nothing about the lottery. He’d never bought a ticket before and was completely clueless about how it worked.

As soon as he entered the shop, he was overwhelmed by the variety of lottery options.

The shop owner, noticing the customer’s confusion, smiled and asked,

“Looking to buy a ticket?”

“Yeah,” Xu Mo replied with a smile. “But I’ve never done this before. Could you explain how it works?”

The owner nodded and began a brief explanation.

“If you’re aiming for the big prize, go for the Double Color Ball. It’s the lottery with the biggest jackpots so far. It’s simple—just pick a few sets of numbers and place your bet. Each bet costs two yuan, and if you’re lucky, you could win hundreds of millions.”

“The Double Color Ball has a set draw time, though. If you want instant results, try scratch cards. I’ve got ones for five yuan, ten yuan, twenty yuan… Different types, different rules, but they’re all straightforward. Scratch them off, and you’ll know right away if you’ve won. But the prizes are usually smaller compared to the Double Color Ball.”

Got it. If you want a big prize, go for the Double Color Ball… Xu Mo summed up the owner’s advice in his head.

A man needs dreams, or what’s the point of living? If you’re buying a lottery ticket, you might as well aim for the jackpot.

“I’ll take the Double Color Ball. How do I play?”

“Just give me seven sets of numbers, and I’ll print your ticket. When the draw happens, you can check the results to see if you’ve won,” the owner explained.

To make it easier for Xu Mo to understand, he even pulled out an old, voided ticket as an example.

“See, you just pick seven sets of numbers—that’s fourteen digits in total. Six red balls and one blue ball. How you pick the numbers is up to you, and whether you win depends on your luck… Of course, you can either choose your numbers or let the machine pick them randomly. If you don’t want to pick, I can generate random numbers for you.”

Xu Mo thought for a moment, then said, “Let’s go with random. Easier that way.”

“Sure. Each bet costs two yuan. How many bets do you want?” The owner added with a smile, “You can buy multiple bets with different number combinations to increase your chances. But if you think your luck’s really good, you can just buy one bet and multiply it. The jackpot’s over five million yuan. Multiply it by ten, and you’re looking at fifty million. Multiply it by twenty, and you’re hitting a hundred million.”

Ten times for fifty million, twenty times for a hundred million… What if I multiplied it by a hundred?

If I hit the jackpot, I’d be set for life! Xu Mo couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement and licked his lips.

With a wave of his hand, he declared, “I’ll take one bet, multiplied by a hundred!”

“Coming right up,” the owner replied with a grin.

But behind his smile, the owner was silently cursing Xu Mo.

*Idiot. Doesn’t know a thing, goes for random numbers, and multiplies by a hundred?*

*If you’re going to dream, at least do it right!*

*If you win, I’ll eat the public toilet across the street!*

After years of running the lottery shop, he’d seen all kinds of people, and Xu Mo was just another clueless dreamer.

Clueless and dreaming of striking it rich overnight—pathetic!

At least if he’d picked his own numbers, there’d be some effort involved.

But random numbers?

That’s just pure fantasy!

Soon, the owner printed the randomly generated ticket and handed it to Xu Mo, adding a reminder.

“Take good care of this ticket. It’s not registered or replaceable, so if you lose it, it’s gone… Oh, and you’ve timed it well. The draw for this round is at 9:15 tonight. Make sure to check the results online.”

Xu Mo sensed a hint of disdain and mockery in the owner’s seemingly kind reminder but chose to ignore it. He simply nodded, took the ticket, paid, and left the shop.

After Xu Mo was gone, the owner shook his head and let out a cold laugh.

“Another daydreamer… Multiplying by a hundred? The prize pool isn’t even big enough for that!”

…

By the time Xu Mo got home, it was already past six in the evening.

He had dinner by seven, played on his phone for a while, and before he knew it, it was nine. Only fifteen minutes remained until the draw.

Just a little longer, and the results for this round of Double Color Ball would be announced.

Xu Mo’s heart was racing. He couldn’t help but feel excited and pulled out the ticket from his pocket to take another look.

This caught the attention of Zhou Qiaoqiao, who was sitting nearby.

Curious, she leaned in to take a closer look…