Chapter 3: The Big Shot Is Going to Spin the Purple Wheel!

That middle-aged woman possessed no real power, yet she was not one of the Lifespan Tumor Worms. It was because she was a family member of a core member of the Optimist Club. With such a status, her complexion was naturally much healthier than those Lifespan Tumor Worms in the garage. The whole person radiated vitality and carried herself with confidence. She swept a contemptuous glance at Jiang Yi, then asked impatiently, "How much lifespan do you have left? Are you drawing from the white wheel or the green?"

Drawing from the white wheel costs one year of lifespan per attempt. The green wheel requires ten years for each draw. There are also blue, purple, and other higher-grade wheels. The grade of the wheel determines what can be drawn from it. For instance, the Longevity Pill drawn from the white wheel only extends one's life by a few decades, while the green wheel's Longevity Pill offers several hundred years.

Jiang Yi had only one year of lifespan left, so he could not draw from the green wheel. He stepped forward calmly, saying, "I'll draw from the white wheel." The woman saw his unwavering demeanor and asked no further, spitting out a sunflower seed and raising her chin, "If you're sure, come with me." With that, she turned to leave.

Just then, another voice echoed from the underground garage: "Aunt Liu, I want to draw too!" The tattooed man, who had earlier mocked the Lifespan Tumor Worms, stepped out from the garage. Aunt Liu glanced at him, her attitude unchanged, and asked the same question. The tattooed man replied, "I have twelve years left; I'll draw from the white wheel too." Aunt Liu nodded, then led Jiang Yi and the tattooed man away.

After they left, the other Lifespan Tumor Worms in the garage began to chatter:

"Didn't Luo Shan just eat Brother Liang's leftovers? Why is he drawing now? He's not hungry anymore!"

"Hmph, didn't you hear him just now? Being a Lifespan Tumor Worm leads nowhere! He wants to use the wheel to change his fate!"

"Honestly, how many Lifespan Tumor Worms have actually changed their fate by drawing from the wheel?"

"Hmph! He's just unwilling to accept his lot! Probably got riled up by Gao Chang before and Chen Liang today!"

"Some people really think they're special! Always imagining themselves as the protagonist of the world, destined to stand at its summit! But in reality? They're nothing!"

Clearly, those who had resigned themselves to fate did not believe Luo Shan could overturn his destiny through the wheel. They found his hope laughable. As for Jiang Yi... someone on the verge of death was not even worth their ridicule.

A few minutes later, Jiang Yi and Luo Shan followed Aunt Liu to the club's dedicated wheel-drawing area.

A month ago, the apocalypse game invaded, transforming the entire Blue Star into a digitalized world. The original land seemed to be shattered by some great force into countless fragments, scattered across a boundless sea. Jiang Yi's city, Jiangcheng, was one of these fragments.

"Jiangcheng" was the pre-apocalypse name for this city fragment. About a year after the apocalypse, this area was renamed Qingchuan Base. Other fragments were similarly renamed as various bases, and populations began to exchange resources on a large scale.

At that stage, the apocalypse was no longer pure catastrophe, but more like a world revived with spiritual energy and order. Under the new system, institutions like welfare centers, schools, hospitals, transportation, and other social functions were gradually restored. New laws were established, but in a world ruled by the strong, laws merely constrained the weak. Power always remained in the hands of the strong.

That, however, was the trajectory Jiang Yi recalled from his previous life. Now, in the early days of the apocalypse, Qingchuan Base was still called Jiangcheng. Many were still unaware of the wider world, and the fragments scattered across the endless seas had not yet begun to interact. At this time, Jiangcheng was like a beginner’s village in a game.

The future legends were also just then adapting to the new world, fighting monsters, drawing from the wheel, growing stronger, and developing their forces. After a month of apocalypse, various factions began to emerge in Jiangcheng. Groups that could be called factions had already grown to some scale, much like guilds in a game.

These established groups would set up dedicated "wheel-drawing areas." The fate wheel's outcomes were unpredictable—one might draw a Longevity Pill, or a deadly beast, or even trigger a terrifying beast tide or natural disaster. To minimize risk, a dedicated area was necessary.

According to the grade of the wheel, the wheel-drawing areas were divided into white, green, and blue zones. Of course, the apocalypse game had only invaded for a month. The Optimist Club was merely a third-rate minor force, so they had set up only white, green, and blue wheel-drawing areas.

The higher-grade purple wheel-drawing area was jointly established with two nearby clubs.

The sun was setting, the sky awash with blood-red clouds. The Optimist Club, the Landscape Club, and the Blood Swallow Club surrounded a region in a tripod formation—the purple wheel-drawing area, set up in cooperation by these three factions.

The three clubs were also allies. This purple area had once been a strawberry farm on Jiangcheng’s outskirts. The white greenhouses of yesteryear had vanished.

The leaders of the three factions had gathered here. He Zheng, head of the Optimist Club, was tall and sturdy—a former villa security guard before the apocalypse. Afterward, his luck soared, drawing powerful abilities from various wheels, and he used his old villa district as a base to found the club.

Yang Miao, leader of the Landscape Club, was slender—once a senior at Jiangcheng Suburban High School No. 2. Accordingly, the club's base was set at that school.

Wang Xueyan, leader of the Blood Swallow Club, was a university student from another city, and a rare female powerhouse in the apocalypse. Her looks before the apocalypse might have scored fifty out of a hundred, but after, with shortages and the harsh environment, no makeup, beauty filters, and a month without bathing, women without power suffered terribly, their appearance plummeting.

Yet Wang Xueyan, strong and well-supplied, could still apply a little makeup. In this post-apocalyptic wasteland, her original fifty points could now be taken as eighty! Unfortunately, while makeup could transform a face, it did nothing for her physique. Wang Xueyan's build was nearly as robust as He Zheng’s—seen from behind, one might mistake her for a burly man with long hair.

Now, these three leaders gathered here for a pact made when they formed their alliance: anyone wishing to activate the purple wheel must have all three sides present, acting as guardians together.

The effects of the purple wheel were perilous. Should it unleash a beast tide or disaster, the whole area would be affected. Joint guardianship minimized risk and facilitated information sharing.

This time, the request to draw from the purple wheel came from Wang Xueyan of the Blood Swallow Club.

Yang Miao, similar in age to Wang Xueyan, exhaled a ring of smoke and teased, “Sister Wang, your power grows ever stronger! Just a few days have passed, and you’re already ready to draw from the purple wheel again!”