Jiang Ye managed to convince her stingy side and tossed away her sense of reason.
She took a deep breath, summoned the Island Prize Wheel with grand flourish, and paid 1,000 gold coins without hesitation for a chance to spin it.
Rubbing her palms together to warm them, she breathed on her hands. But just as her fingertips were about to touch the wheel, her sense returned at the last moment.
She remembered her luck when she had opened treasure chests alone before—the pitiful results she’d gotten.
No. She couldn’t do it this way.
Jiang Ye turned to look at Fan Xiaoche, who was squatting on the ground, building sand castles. She waved at her, calling her over.
“What is it, Master?” Fan Xiaoche asked obediently.
“Come here, Xiaoche, stay close to me,” Jiang Ye said.
She hadn’t forgotten that during her second dungeon chest opening, Fan Xiaoche had been standing right next to her, watching the chest with curiosity.
Maybe the good loot she’d gotten that second time wasn’t just luck.
After all, Fan Xiaoche’s trait was:
[Bringing the ocean sunfish on an adventure grants bonus effects such as warmth and healing. There is also a chance to trigger the passive skill "Dumb Fish Always Gets Lucky".]
A confident grin spread over Jiang Ye’s face.
“Hug me tight,” she said.
Fan Xiaoche blinked in confusion, but stepped up, reached out, and wrapped her arms around Jiang Ye’s waist.
The warmth spreading through her made Jiang Ye feel more certain and confident.
This time, she was going to say goodbye to bad luck for good!
With a flourish, she spun the prize wheel.
Her goal was the 10,000 gold coin prize.
The Island Double Card wasn’t too tempting since she needed to collect three to make it useful, so she didn’t expect too much from that.
As for the Deep-sea Behemoth Pet Egg...
Didn’t she already have two companions hanging off her?
Jiang Ye wasn’t interested in anything else.
She only wanted that 10,000 gold coins.
“Ten thousand, ten thousand, ten thousand!” Jiang Ye clasped her hands, shut her eyes tightly, and prayed with all her might.
She peeked open a slit, watching the wheel as it spun.
The pointer was wobbling right toward the very prize she’d prayed for. It seemed about to stop on the 10,000 coin slot.
At that instant, He Xiaoshang, who had been watching from the side with a hint of envy, walked over and reached out, hugging Jiang Ye around the waist as well.
Jiang Ye didn’t even have time to stop her.
In the next moment, the prize she’d been certain was hers, so close she could taste it... slipped right through her fingers.
She stared in disbelief as the pointer veered off to another option.
“Nooooo!!!”
Jiang Ye bellowed in utter heartbreak.
The cry startled both Fan Xiaoche and He Xiaoshang, who let go of Jiang Ye in unison and took a step back, looking at each other with a blank stare.
[System Notice: Congratulations, player, you have received one Deep-sea Behemoth Pet Egg!]
Jiang Ye stood rooted in place, unwilling to believe the outcome.
Ten thousand. Her ten thousand.
She’d just watched those 10,000 coins disappear before her eyes.
Back when her palms had held so many banknotes, she hadn’t known how to cherish them. She opened her hands and they were swept away by the wind.
If heaven would just give her one more chance...
Jiang Ye quickly stopped herself from following that train of thought.
No more! She’d rather die than spin again!
Fuming with embarrassment and anger, Jiang Ye slammed the prize wheel interface closed.
He Xiaoshang, still unsure what had happened, already sensed that he might have done something wrong.
He stood aside obediently, head down, staring at the grass by his feet.
“Sorry, Master,” He Xiaoshang apologized with pitiful eyes.
“It’s fine.” Jiang Ye took a deep breath, knowing there was no one else she could blame. At that moment, she felt the same way as parents tutoring their kids’ homework—frustration boiling up inside, a desire to rant, shout, and lose her mind, but all stifled at the sight of their kid’s innocent face and clueless little eyes.
Peaceful. Serene. Calm.
“It’s fine.”
Jiang Ye smiled.
Her misfortune was her own; it had nothing to do with the monk seal.
After all, the monk seal’s character details didn’t include a luck debuff.
Or maybe... was it because the ocean sunfish and monk seal didn’t get along? Did the monk seal’s presence weaken the ocean sunfish’s effect?
Jiang Ye shook her head, casting all that speculation aside.
Some things were better left uninvestigated.
There was only one thing that mattered now.
Jiang Ye opened her backpack and double-checked several times, but the “Deep-sea Behemoth Pet Egg” she’d just drawn was nowhere to be found.
She even reached out and patted the top right corner of her pack, as if thumping a broken TV to make it work.
Nothing.
That egg she’d drawn was still missing.
“What’s going on?” Jiang Ye was annoyed.
She checked all the other storage items in the game, but the egg couldn’t be found.
Had the game system scammed her?
That was a thousand gold coins!
Grinding her teeth in anger, Jiang Ye was about to call customer service for a reckoning when, out of nowhere, a Chubby Bird swooped down in front of her, flapping its wings. It stopped one meter away, hovering in the air like a round ball.
“Dear player, long time no see!” Number 233 chirped in a voice as sweet as candy.
“Heh,” Jiang Ye said. “Done with your big important business?”
She hadn’t forgotten about this Chubby Bird.
Last time it said it had something urgent, disappeared, and never showed up again even when she looked for it.
Today, what a rare bird indeed.
“Hehe!” Chubby Bird didn’t mind Jiang Ye’s mockery at all. She glanced around the island and was shocked by how much it had changed, and by the state of Jiang Ye herself. “Looks like you’ve been having a good time here.”
“Sure,” Jiang Ye replied expressionlessly. “You came just in time. I wanted to ask where the item I just drew went.”
“What item?”
“Deep-sea Behemoth Pet Egg.”
“Oh ho ho!” Chubby Bird covered her beak with her wings and let out an exaggerated laugh.
“You rigged it,” Jiang Ye said, narrowing her eyes as sharp as an eagle’s, reading into that evasive glance.
“How could I!!!” Chubby Bird yelped, instantly defensive. Then she cleared her throat, softening her tone again. “It’s really simple to get the Deep-sea Behemoth Pet Egg. All the player has to do is follow the map’s arrow and find the egg in the ocean.”
Jiang Ye was puzzled as she opened the in-game map.
In this game, there wasn’t a direct navigation feature; players had to orient themselves according to the current topography and directions.
But when there was a quest or special event, a small arrow would appear on the map, looking much like a GPS icon.
Now, that symbol was indeed on Jiang Ye’s map.
She turned her body, facing the ocean.
The tip of the arrow pointed straight out to sea.
It glowed faintly blue, as though leading her to something.
“Go! Embark on your journey! In the blue ocean, there are legends, adventures, and all sorts of unexpected things waiting for you!” Chubby Bird 233 recited theatrically.
Jiang Ye gazed into the distance, unmoving.
Chubby Bird 233 watched her reaction, feeling smug. Yes, she could toy with any player she wanted in the palm of her little bird claws! She was the most formidable little bird around!
Brimming with confidence and hope for Jiang Ye’s next move, she watched as Jiang Ye simply closed the map with a blank look.
“Nope,” said Jiang Ye without hesitation. “Refund me.”
“Eh? Eh?”
“Your company’s prize wheel interface clearly said that winning would grant a pet egg. Nowhere did it say I’d have to go and hunt it down myself,” Jiang Ye said, every word taken seriously. “That’s false advertising.”
“Refund me.”
“You...!” Chubby Bird was about to die from Jiang Ye’s logic. All her soft, plush feathers practically exploded in anger.
Jiang Ye had already felt something off about this bird.
Now she took the initiative, plopping right down to sit.
“I don’t think much of that egg stuff anyhow. It’s better to just sit here, sunbathe, relax, and enjoy the sea breeze.”
“No no no,” Chubby Bird shook her head wildly.
“Oh?”
“I mean it’s just... It’s not appropriate!” Chubby Bird desperately tried to salvage the situation. “Look, doesn’t the name of the pet egg sound grand, isn’t it so tempting? Don’t you want to get it?”
“Nope,” Jiang Ye said with a lazy smile. “I have pets already.”
With a wave, Fan Xiaoche and He Xiaoshang immediately came over and snuggled up beside her like little animals, sitting quietly at her side.
Seeing this family of three so comfortable and serene, Chubby Bird felt like her tiny bird brain was about to explode.
“Then what do you even want?” Chubby Bird gave up.
“Why are you so insistent on making me go hunt down this pet egg?” Jiang Ye’s gaze was sharp.
Chubby Bird shifted her eyes all over, unwilling to answer.
“Can you actually give me anything I want?” Jiang Ye asked.
“If it’s within my abilities,” Chubby Bird stressed.
“Oh, then I want money.”
“Can’t give you that.” Chubby Bird surrendered.
“Useless,” Jiang Ye commented.
“Can’t you want something else? Why do you just want money all the time? Do you only play games for money? Don’t you want to experience any other joy the game has to offer?” Chubby Bird squawked.
“Nope. Just want money,” Jiang Ye said lazily.
“Come on, pick something else!” Chubby Bird, eager to finish her supervisor’s awakening task, pressed harder. “Don’t you love spinning the prize wheel? I’ll give you a free extra spin, how about that?”
At this, Jiang Ye perked up.
She sat up straight, staring at Chubby Bird.
“You like it? Then I’ll give you another one!” Chubby Bird, sensing a breakthrough, stoked the fire.
“You’re that powerful? You can give as many spins as you want?” Jiang Ye was curious.
“Hmph, of course! I have some authority, after all!” Chubby Bird bragged.
“Then give me ten.”
“Pfft—” Chubby Bird spat out blood. “Ten? Why not just rob me?”
Jiang Ye tilted her chin up, an especially bright smile in her eyes.
“Isn’t that what I’m doing?”
Ten spins wasn’t too much to ask for.
Back on Blue Star, whenever a game’s operations were in trouble, didn’t they send out ten pulls for free all the time?
Why should a pitiful player trapped in a bug like her not get ten spins too?