Chapter 154: Special Prize
The asylum was the same as always - cold and empty.
Lin Ye headed toward the library. Although Mia had suggested he could explore other areas, this hospital had left a deep impression on him during the simulation missions. While he could return to the shelter at any time, he didn't plan to wander around here until his strength reached a certain level.
Besides, reading in the library steadily improved his mental energy, so there really was no need to roam around randomly.
Lin Ye entered the library. Today, Bob was inside reading. After greeting Bob, Lin Ye found an interesting book and began reading.
The recent simulation missions and system activities had left him somewhat mentally fatigued, and this morning provided the perfect opportunity to recover.
Lin Ye's attention became completely immersed in the book. He rarely relaxed this much outside the shelter. This was a simulation stronghold, barely counting as one of his territories.
Several hours later, Lin Ye put down the book and stretched his stiff body.
As he raised his hand, he bumped into an ice-cold cola that had been placed beside him.
"Mia?"
Lin Ye looked around. Bob had already left, and the library contained only him. "Mia?"
Little Ye's voice came from the library's glass window.
Lin Ye turned his head and saw Little Ye's face reflected in the window, where his own reflection should have been.
At this moment, Little Ye was lying on a lounge chair sunbathing, surrounded by clean sandy beaches.
"Are you on vacation?"
Lin Ye picked up the glass and took a sip.
"No, I'm trapped here. But it's fine - with your mirror, I can leave anytime. However, before I depart, I'll make a lasting impression on this place's owner."
Little Ye picked up a glass beside her and also took a sip of ice-cold cola.
"You should know when the mirror will disappear. Do you need my help?"
Lin Ye felt eager and ready. He had rested all morning and now brimmed with energy.
"No need. I'll leave before the mirror disappears. Actually, you can contact me anytime if you need help on your end. As long as there's something that can reflect a human face, I can appear by your side. It's just too bad I just finished handling matters here, otherwise we could have completed simulation missions together like before."
Little Ye spoke with regret.
"It's fine. There's still the system activity tonight. By the way, do you want to visit the game room? The attendant there has been wanting me to play a big game with them."
Lin Ye didn't like gambling, but that didn't mean he couldn't do it.
"I don't like gambling either... You can bring a small mirror with you. Just don't take any card items out of the shelter."
Little Ye reminded him.
"Of course, I'm not stupid. Card creatures are only that cute within the shelter."
Lin Ye had never considered taking card creatures out of the shelter. Although the Card Box had undergone the system's harmless processing, comparing it to the first card creature Goose's performance showed that these cards were gradually recovering their original power.
They might still be harmless, but they might also be performing harmless little actions in places Lin Ye couldn't see.
Lin Ye was just a low-level spiritual energy user without much experience. When facing an Abyssal relic, no amount of caution could be considered excessive.
For example, why did this mirror create Lin Ye's consciousness entity? If Little Ye hadn't existed, what would have happened next?
Would these card creatures truly help him wholeheartedly?
Lin Ye wasn't so certain.
After finishing the cola and eating the ice cubes, then returning "Ten Thousand Ingredients and Production Methods for Desserts" to the bookshelf, Lin Ye chose to return to the shelter.
...................
Just as he returned to the shelter, Little Black - whose size had almost reached that of an adult - pounced into Lin Ye's arms while making meowing sounds.
The little dog also lay beside the bed, emitting sounds remarkably similar to Little Black's.
Lin Ye played with both pets for a while, then tended to various plants before taking the small mirror and nutrient solution to the game room.
The game room remained unchanged. Lin Ye held the small mirror facing his face as he began wandering around the game room.
He didn't idle while wandering, continuously performing spiritual energy circulation as he walked.
"That prize machine ahead looks good. Let's try our luck."
Little Ye, who was still sunbathing at the beach within the mirror, suddenly spoke.
"You're the boss."
Lin Ye approached the prize machine. This unmanned device operated quite simply - just insert one red coin to draw various prizes inside. The grand prize was a relic, first prize was a set of ten basic rune cards, second prize was a high-level spiritual energy item, third prize was a single rune card, and the consolation prize was "Thank You for Your Patronage."
The machine's most prominent area displayed and explained the value of each reward.
"Are you sure you want to play this?"
Seeing this prize pool that didn't even offer souvenirs, Lin Ye felt completely unmotivated to try his luck.
This belonged to that category of scams that didn't even bother pretending - outright telling you it's a scam and leaving it up to you whether to fall for it.
"This isn't a scam."
Little Ye said with a laugh.
"Open robbery then. I'm familiar with that."
Lin Ye took out a handful of red coins. He might experience his first financial loss in the game room.
"No, this machine is quite fair. The game room is a system facility, so it won't cheat. This machine detects and quantifies your luck. If your luck is average, you'll only get 'Thank You for Your Patronage' no matter how many times you try. If your luck is sufficiently good, you'll inevitably draw something corresponding to your luck level... You really shouldn't waste red coins."
Little Ye sighed helplessly as she watched Lin Ye insert a red coin into the machine.
Their luck wasn't terrible, but it certainly couldn't be considered particularly good, fluctuating in the below-average range.
"Thank You for Your Patronage, Thank You for Your Patronage, Thank You for Your Patronage..."
The machine emitted somewhat mocking sounds while ejecting a paper slip reading "Thank You for Your Patronage" that fell to the ground.
The attendant silently appeared behind Lin Ye, happily joining the machine's voice in saying "Thank You for Your Patronage" to Lin Ye.
Lin Ye stepped on the paper slip, expressionlessly taking out a cat-shaped fortune cookie and putting it in his mouth.
"If you don't want to bring misfortune to the person who gave you these cookies, you'd better not insert any coins."
Little Ye looked surprisingly at the pocket containing animal cookies. She could sense the machine's desire for that bag of cookies - not craving the cookies themselves, but craving their maker.
"Huh? This machine doesn't just detect luck?"
Under the attendant's regretful gaze, Lin Ye cautiously withdrew his red coins.
"Of course. This is a fair machine that fairly converts your luck into prizes. So if your luck reaches a certain level, you absolutely must not insert coins into the machine."
Little Ye reached her hand out through the mirror's surface, took a red coin from Lin Ye's hand, and inserted it into the machine.
The machine remained silent for a moment before suddenly erupting with cheers that reverberated throughout the entire game room.
"Grand prize! Grand prize! Grand prize! Grand prize! Grand prize! Grand prize!"