Chapter 75

Ma Le didn't even go into the house; he ran straight downstairs and found a nearby internet cafe. He placed a ten-yuan bet and started searching for promotional information online.

Just now, Ma Xiaoxiao mentioned that the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, which reminded Ma Le. With the festival coming, major malls would inevitably offer discounts and promotions. Besides price cuts, the most common tactic used by malls was a lottery. Ma Le remembered that last year, one of his buddies had boasted about buying a 300-yuan pressure cooker and winning a two-person Hong Kong-Macau tour as the grand prize! So Ma Le also decided to give it a try, hoping to use the lottery to fulfill his parents' travel wishes.

After a quick search online, he found that this year's promotional activities were indeed very lively. Ma Le carefully filtered through the options and finally found three that seemed suitable. Since his father was taking a long vacation, a two or three-day trip wouldn't be enough. The three he chose all offered the chance to win a ten-day or longer two-person tour. After the trip, they could rest for a few more days, and with the more than a week he would spend in the hospital, it would be like he had been recovering for a month. By then, his father could just pretend to limp, and at most, people would think he had recovered quickly, not be shocked by it.

Of course, knowing where to get travel vouchers wasn't enough; he also needed good luck. Ma Le had already thought about this. He dialed the number he had just gotten, and after a ringtone, a gentle female voice answered, "Hello, Commander Ma, what are your instructions?!" It was Yu Xiaoning, whom he had just met that day.

Ma Le was amused by the serious tone of this young girl. Logically, someone with mind-reading abilities should be very shrewd, but this girl was surprisingly naive. Ma Le laughed and said, "Don't be so tense. I have a question for you. Your mind-reading should also have a predictive function, right? How accurate is it?"

Yu Xiaoning thought for a moment and said, "I think it's more like a premonition, not a mystical prophecy. It's more of a feeling about something that's about to happen, like a car accident. I often get a premonition beforehand, but it's not very clear. I just feel that danger is coming..."

Ma Le perked up and asked, "What about lotteries? How about that?"

Yu Xiaoning replied, "It depends on the type of lottery. My premonitions only work for things that will happen within a few minutes. If it's something like a lottery that takes time to draw, it won't work. But for instant lotteries, it should be fine. I've tried it before, and the success rate is pretty high."

Hearing this, Ma Le was overjoyed. He spoke in a tone that sounded like he was coaxing a child, "Exactly, it's an instant lottery! Xiaoning, do you have time off during the Mid-Autumn Festival? I guess you should be free, right? How about accompanying the commander for a stroll...?"

"Well..." Yu Xiaoning hesitated. Ma Le quickly added, "Do you have any family plans or a date with your boyfriend? Don't worry, it won't take long. Just give me a call when you're free, come help me with the lottery, and it'll be done in ten minutes. I'll even cover your transportation costs!" To his surprise, Yu Xiaoning said, "I don't mind accompanying you, but... can you loosen the test a bit?"

"Test?" Ma Le was puzzled, then he remembered the random challenge he had given her. He quickly replied, "Don't worry, don't worry. If you help me, I'll reduce the number of people you need to find by ten. You only need to find 40!"

Hearing this, Yu Xiaoning cheered, "Yay! Commander is so nice, when and where should we meet?"

"Ten o'clock tomorrow morning at Central Square!" "Okay! I'll get ready and see you then!"

After hanging up, Ma Le let out a long breath, another worry off his mind...

The next day, Ma Le didn't go out. Besides drafting a shopping list for the next day, he spent the whole day practicing the Nine Yang Divine Skill at home. He now knew that he had chosen the most tedious way to strengthen himself, but he didn't regret it. Ma Le had deeply tasted the benefits of real enhancement. Even if he had to choose again, he would still choose to practice this handwritten manual step by step.

On the third day, the first day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Ma Le arrived at the agreed location and saw Yu Xiaoning waiting there early. Today, Yu Xiaoning was wearing a long hoodie with a hood, tight jeans, and her long hair was draped over her shoulders, making her look pure and adorable, causing Ma Le to glance at her a few times more.

"Report, Commander, personnel in position, awaiting orders!" Yu Xiaoning gave a stiff military salute when she saw Ma Le. Ma Le laughed, "Are you done playing? We're just going shopping and helping me with the lottery. Of course, you can pretend to be my girlfriend to boost my face if we run into anyone I know!"

Yu Xiaoning blushed and wrinkled her nose at Ma Le in protest. Ma Le laughed heartily and, with a thick face, led the beautiful girl into the mall.

Today's promotion required a purchase of 2,000 yuan to get a lottery chance. Generally, buying clothes, electronics, and cosmetics was the easiest way to meet the requirement. However, these things were of no use to Ma Le. His main destination was the underground supermarket, where the receipts could also be exchanged for lottery chances.

While other people with beautiful girls would head to the jewelry and cosmetics counters, Ma Le, the oddball, led the girl straight into the supermarket and went on a frenzy in the food section. In the previous two worlds, Ma Le had suffered from being unprepared. While items from the mission worlds and Miracle City couldn't be brought to the real world, items from the real world could be brought into the mission worlds. However, there were restrictions: items worn on the body and stored in storage spaces counted, but no more than 100 kilograms could be brought in at once, and no heat weapons were allowed. This ensured fairness among adventurers, as some countries like the United States allowed civilians to carry guns. In the early stages, adventurers were still very vulnerable, and a single gun could create an overwhelming advantage. Without restrictions, early adventurers from countries like China and Japan would have been at a huge disadvantage if they encountered adventurers from the Middle East or the United States.

So, this time, Ma Le mainly planned to prepare food. Although he had the absorption talent, there were times when it was inconvenient to use. Food not only satisfied hunger but could also be used to gain the favor of characters in ancient worlds, where modern junk food might be seen as a miraculous delicacy. With such a low cost, why not do it?

After buying the food, Ma Le went to the sports goods section and bought a folding tent, a sleeping bag, a folding shovel, and various small items like flashlights and ropes. These survival items could save his life in a critical moment, were not expensive, and could be bought in the real world as a precaution.

After buying these items, he had spent about 1,800 yuan, still short of 200 yuan to qualify for the lottery. Ma Le thought for a moment and looked at Yu Xiaoning, who was vigilantly watching every passerby. He suddenly felt a bit guilty for dragging her out without any gesture. Thinking of this, Ma Le took Yu Xiaoning to the jewelry section and bought a pair of cheap earrings for her.

Yu Xiaoning didn't take them, just staring blankly at the jewelry box in Ma Le's hand. Ma Le then remembered that this girl, at 20, already owned a large apartment in the city center, a genuine rich and beautiful girl. How could she be interested in such a small trinket? However, once given, it couldn't be taken back. Ma Le grabbed Yu Xiaoning's hand and stuffed the jewelry box into it, saying, "Don't think it's worthless. I only had about 500 yuan left, and these two little things have already eaten up 80% of my assets. The commander is being quite generous. Just keep it as a memento, okay?"

Yu Xiaoning clutched the jewelry box and shook her head, explaining, "No, no, that's not what I meant. I've never had a boy give me something like this before, so I was a bit taken aback..." She held the jewelry box to her chest, blushing and lowering her head, her voice getting softer and softer until it was almost inaudible.

In most cases, such a slightly awkward and innocent atmosphere would make any boy blush and get excited, and a more proactive one might even hug her, while a more conservative one would at least help her tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear. Even a 2B youth would blush along with the girl to maintain the beautiful atmosphere.

But Ma Le was a peculiar youth: "Hahaha, you think I'm a 'boy'? The new intern at my workplace calls me Old Ma. He's older than me by a couple of months... My friends say I skipped from being a brat straight to being a man. What do you think, hahaha..."

Yu Xiaoning gave this big fool a glare, huffed, and turned to leave. Ma Le asked where she was going, and she replied irritably, "To the lottery, to draw your ten-day tour!" Ma Le scratched his head and said without a care, "You're going the wrong way, this way!" Yu Xiaoning turned back, glared at him again, stomped her foot, and walked back, passing Ma Le and heading to the lottery area. Ma Le watched her slender back and muttered, "A directionally challenged girl and still so haughty..."

The lottery process was simple. Yu Xiaoning didn't exaggerate; she was indeed very good at instant lotteries. She reached into the lottery box and felt around for a while. When she finally grabbed a ticket, a premonition of good luck came to her. Yu Xiaoning smiled slightly and pulled out the ticket. Indeed, a ten-day European tour for two was in hand.

Ma Le was incredibly excited when he got the travel voucher, feeling like he was about to fly. But Yu Xiaoning seemed even more excited. She eagerly leaned close to Ma Le's ear, tiptoed, and whispered, "I found the first one!"

"The first one?" Ma Le was still basking in the joy of winning and didn't quite understand. Yu Xiaoning tugged at his sleeve and pointed to a middle-aged man not far away, saying, "Him, I can't read his thoughts!"

Ma Le was startled. Could it be... He quickly pulled Yu Xiaoning and hurriedly squeezed through the crowd, scanning the man from a distance with the Miracle Emblem. Sure enough, there was no information at all!