Chapter Four: The First Exchange—A Lottery Ticket?

Of course, this referred to after the system had grown; at the moment, the black hole was still an adorable little baby, and all it could swallow were some lifeless objects. The things it could be exchanged for randomly wouldn't be particularly powerful, either.

Helping the black hole baby grow and level up was actually quite simple—just feed it until it was full each day. The more it devoured, the sooner it would mature. That wasn't difficult: from time to time, just let it swallow some items, and that would be considered feeding. The more energy an object contained, the better it was for the black hole baby's growth. If it ever got too hungry, it might pop out and start gobbling up random things on its own, just as it had earlier.

It was said that, upon reaching a certain level, the black hole baby could even assume human form, which made Yan Xuan exceedingly curious.

At this moment, Yan Xuan could hardly focus on work, all his attention fixed on the system.

There wasn't much else in the office, but there was certainly no shortage of papers and small objects. Taking advantage of the fact that his colleague beside him was buried in work, Yan Xuan stealthily picked up some inconspicuous items from his desk, mentally issuing the devour command.

Sure enough, each item devoured produced devour points, and the number of points varied based on the item's value and quantity.

Yan Xuan also discovered another detail: a stack of papers, when devoured sheet by sheet, each yielded points, but if they were stapled together, the points diminished.

Just like that stack of documents from earlier.

Yan Xuan played with growing delight, watching his devour points climb rapidly. Suddenly, his colleague shot him a suspicious glance. "Yan Xuan, have you seen my signing pen?"

Yan Xuan froze.

That pen... he seemed to have just pilfered it, taken it apart, and fed it to the black hole. Watching the points increase had been so thrilling that he hadn't even noticed the pen belonged to his desk mate.

Forcing a laugh, Yan Xuan opened his drawer, pulled out a pen, and tossed it over. "Haven't seen it. Use mine."

The joy of devouring sent a faint tremor through Yan Xuan's hands as the points approached one hundred.

Ninety-seven. He was about to make his first exchange!

Ninety-eight...

Ninety-nine...

One hundred.

Done! When the points reached a hundred, the exchange button changed from gray to black.

Yan Xuan took a deep breath and silently recited: Exchange!

[Ding. Consumed one hundred devour points. Congratulations, you have randomly exchanged for an item…]

[Ding. Consumed one hundred devour points. Randomly exchanged for item: Lottery ticket *1]

Yan Xuan: ??

A lottery ticket? A lottery ticket from another world was just a scrap of paper to him!

Granted, with the system at a low level, it was impossible to know what would come out, but wasn't this a bit too much of a letdown?

Yan Xuan hurriedly checked the system inventory. In the tiny grid, just like a game pouch, the first slot now contained a paper-like item that did indeed resemble a lottery ticket.

He took out the ticket and his eyes widened.

It really was a lottery ticket—a Double Color Ball, no less. The draw was tonight?

But wasn't the whole point that the exchange items were supposed to be randomly generated from the myriad worlds of the universe? Why would a lottery ticket unique to Blue Star's Xia Nation appear?

Sure, the jackpot was five million, but that was just a pie in the sky. Who didn't know the odds of winning were next to nothing?

Yan Xuan grumbled inwardly as he turned to his workday on the computer. If he didn't finish, he'd have to work overtime again, and he had no desire to stay until eleven or twelve at night.

"Yan Xuan!" someone shouted from across the room. Yan Xuan quickly tucked away the lottery ticket and looked up at the person hurrying toward him. "Where did you hide that contract just now?"

Yan Xuan frowned, replying seriously, "Supervisor, I haven't seen any contract. You know contracts aren't under my care. I've only been here a few months, handling the most basic retouching tasks. I don't have access to the final contracts."

The supervisor sneered. "I've searched the entire office inside and out, and I still can't find that contract. Are you telling me you didn't hide it?"

"Supervisor, that's a serious accusation," Yan Xuan raised his voice, making several colleagues look up from their work. "From the moment you set that file on my desk to the moment you came looking for it, not even two minutes passed. I haven't left my seat. How could I have hidden your contract?"

All eyes turned to the supervisor.

Everyone knew the supervisor had a relative he wanted to bring into the company, and squeezing out the newly regularized employee was an open secret among the veteran staff. Tougher demands and heavier workloads were routine tactics to drive newcomers away; nobody was surprised.

But this situation was different. This was a blatant attempt to frame someone!

Such tactics left a bad taste in everyone's mouth, and several glances were tinged with disdain. Still, no one spoke up for Yan Xuan. In the workplace, it was better to mind one's own business; no one would risk offending a supervisor for a newcomer.

"You..." The supervisor's finger trembled, but he couldn't find words, for he genuinely wasn't sure whether Yan Xuan had hidden the contract. "Stand up!"

"Supervisor, if you keep wasting my time like this, I won't be able to finish today's assignments," Yan Xuan replied.

"That's your problem. If you can't finish your work, it's because you're not competent enough!" the supervisor retorted self-righteously, yanking Yan Xuan to his feet and rummaging through his workspace.

Yan Xuan's desk was left in utter chaos, with some items even being deliberately tossed to the floor.

His brow twitched with barely suppressed anger. If he weren't so desperate for money and reliant on this job, he would have already landed a punch on the supervisor's face, teaching him a lesson about why the flowers are so red.

Across the aisle, a young woman witnessed everything. She bit her lip, picked up her phone, and began typing out a message.

"What is going on here?" came a cool, clear female voice from behind.