"No justice in the heavens, no humanity in people, my first-prize ticket!!!"
"Gods, I came to Interastral City alone, got roped into a 999-year contract, and I don't even have a place to call home!"
Su Chen's face darkened. "Don't slander me! I gave you a place to stay, but you refused to move in, always trying to bunk with Acheron. Have you even found her?"
"Wahhh~" Kiana looked at Su Chen pitifully. "Then give me back my lottery ticket."
"Me?" Su Chen pointed at himself, incredulous. "You barge into my office, and I didn't even tear up the ticket. Why're you coming at me?"
At that moment, March 7th and Stelle covered their faces, not daring to make a sound.
Seeing the awkward silence, Stelle sidled up to Su Chen. "Help me ask how much the ticket's worth. Just deduct it from me and March 7th's wages."
Su Chen nodded. What else could he do? But he'd have to cover the mess himself.
"Kiana, what's this first-prize ticket from? How much is it worth?"
Kiana wiped her nose. "Lemme think.
I remember I drank a soda, got a free hotpot meal as a reward, went to eat the hotpot, scratched a ticket for a gym membership voucher, went to the gym and entered a raffle, won a Wuling Hongguang car, and since that was the shop's 10,000th car, I got…"
Su Chen wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling his system was utterly ordinary in the face of Kiana's luck!
From now on, he'd bring Kiana and Aventurine for any gacha games.
"Enough, enough…" He quickly raised a hand to stop her. "Just tell me the result—how much is the first-prize ticket worth?"
"When I was on my way, Topaz told me it's probably enough to buy an entire Belobog."
Done for!
Even selling Stelle wouldn't cover that!
Su Chen glanced around, his gaze landing on March 7th and Stelle.
Selling these two wouldn't even come close.
But…
"Kiana," Su Chen whispered, stepping closer. "I've got an idea. I'm planning to build a school here, called St. Freya. Bring over your companions, your aunt, great-aunt, dad, mom, sisters—how's that sound?"
"Don't rush to say no," he continued. "I'm organizing a Best Shop Election, and I'll make an exception to give you a spot."
"Can it be an eating contest?"
"Eating's boring. How about a cooking contest? I'll get Acheron to be your sous-chef, deal?"
"Deal!"
With that, Kiana vaulted out the office window.
"Hahaha!" Jing Yuan clapped his hands. "Classic Su Chen, turning a dead end into a masterstroke. Only you could pull that off."
"Sigh." Su Chen deliberately glanced at Stelle. "What can I do when I'm stuck with a sister like this?"
Stelle pouted. "Sorry. I was reckless."
"If—and I mean if—one day I'm gone, I hope you'll tone it down a bit. You're not just a sister to me, you know."
Stelle: ???
— —
Two days later.
miHoYo Interastral Film City.
"My youth's been wasted on patrols." Qingque strolled down the street, the shops' shouts louder than ever.
"Rent discs here! Cereal Sibling Video Store, you deserve it!! Top up 100 credits, get 5,000 back!"
"Coffee time! Himeko's hand-brewed coffee—one sip and you ascend! Must-have for home, travel, and cultivation!"
"Crazy Crazy Thursday! Jing Yuan's fried chicken is the real deal!"
"Victoria Housekeeping, begrudgingly at your service. What're you staring at, soul-forsaken?!"
"Jiaoqiu's Gourmet Shop! Eat once, sweat buckets; eat twice, you're flat on your back!"
"Cunning Hares! If you can dream it, we can do it—never underestimate our bond!"
…
"Come one, come all! Chest-crushing boulder show! Sisters, don't panic—my hammer won't hurt you a bit!"
"Give me back my skewers!"
"Ahhh!!!"
"Sisters, hold on, hold on!"
…
"Game boosting! Let me be your silver finger! Pure manual, no hacks guaranteed!"
"Aventurine's Proxy Pulls! Any game, guaranteed ten-pull double gold—no big guarantee needed!"
"Feixiao's Tavern! Welcome… hic… welcome… heh, Moze, let's spar a couple rounds…"
Qingque paused, looking at Fu Xuan. "Lady Fu, things up ahead seem a bit… dangerous, don't they?"
"Er, upon reflection, you're quite right. Besides, the boss is nearby, so it should be fine."
They quickly changed course, breathing a sigh of relief once far from the tavern.
"Phew~" Qingque shook her head. "Lady Fu, I really can't figure out what Boss Su Chen's aiming for with this event."
"Sigh, I don't know either. All I know is someone opened a mahjong parlor, right?"
"Aaah?" Qingque scratched her head. "Who's that clever? Wait, isn't that Sampo over there? He's running a shop too?"
Fu Xuan glanced at the Old Shaky-Leg Uncle's shop ahead. "Looks like someone we need to keep a close eye on."
"And Sparkle—what's she up to?"
Deep in the alley, Kiana was bustling about, organizing kitchen tools.
Su Chen had promised she could join the event, so she chose to open a diner.
"Hehe, we're eating good today. Maybe I'll even get to taste big sis Acheron's cooking! But she went to buy ingredients—why's it taking so long?"
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
"Too perfect!" Sparkle eyed her props. "My treasure box is finally ready!"
"Is this thing even legit?" Sampo eyed the box skeptically.
"Of course it's legit! Would Director Sparkle scam you?" Sparkle flashed a sly grin. "I've developed a game called Eat 100 Little Gray Hairs If You're Sparkle. It's a VIP system—6 credits unlocks VIP1, cutting ad pop-up time by 30%. VIP2 for 30 credits, another 30% off ad time.
Plus all kinds of revival items—players won't be able to stop!"
"And if they uninstall?"
"Put the phone in the treasure box—it'll force-download and force-charge!"
Sparkle and Sampo exchanged a grin, no words needed.
Just then, the shop door was kicked open.
"See, what'd Old Sampo say? Customers already knocking!"
They looked toward the door.
Acheron stood there, holding a pile of groceries, her face expressionless. "Hm? Excuse me, where's my kitchen?"