The front desk guy took a deep breath, feeling that he had truly run into a lunatic today.
However, under the recording camera, he could only forcefully suppress his facial expression, smilingly calling room service and asking them to immediately check on the situation of the guest in 3116.
“Are you satisfied now? Can you delete the audio recording and video now?!”
Ma Xiaoli didn’t say a word, nor did she stop recording.
The front desk guy was so furious he wanted to tear her apart, but… he couldn’t! The camera was still recording! His rice bowl was at stake!
5 minutes later, the front desk telephone rang.
The guy picked up the call somewhat listlessly. Unsure what the person on the other end said, his complexion changed drastically. He actually abandoned his front desk duties on the spot, swiftly retrieved the medicine from the drawer, and sprinted off.
He didn’t even wait for the elevator, charging directly into the stairwell.
Just as Ma Xiaoli was about to chase after him to check the situation, the system spoke: 【Errand Mission 1 completed. Novice gift pack “As-You-Wish Lucky Carp Talisman” issued, 100 EXP reward credited.】
【Due to the host’s nosiness, 1 person and 19 people were saved in 0 days and 9 days respectively. Additional reward: Fate Card Draws * 20 times.】
As a heavens-cursed person, Ma Xiaoli hated hearing the words “card draw” the most.
Whether playing Onmyoji or Genshin Impact, whenever it came to drawing cards, when other people did a 10-consecutive draw, they could at least guarantee an S-rank (rare) card. But what about her?!
Let alone S-rank cards, she might not even be able to draw an A-rank card (an ordinary card slightly better than trash)!
Sitting on her electric scooter to compose herself, Ma Xiaoli asked: 【What can be drawn from this card pool?】
System: 【All dharmas are empty, neither arising nor ceasing; fate cards or not, everything is predestined.】
Ma Xiaoli: 【…Speak in human language!】
*Damn it*, if it wasn’t drawing pie in the sky, it was reciting Zen. Was any other bound system this improper?
System: 【Whatever you draw depends entirely on the host’s luck. This system assumes zero responsibility. After all, metaphysics can’t save bad luck, and pay-to-win can’t change fate—this is a universal truth.】
Well said, please don’t say it again next time!
System: 【Will you draw?】
Ma Xiaoli surrendered to despair: 【Draw, draw, draw!】
Just as her voice fell, a golden light flashed before her eyes, and the 20-consecutive draw had already concluded.
However, no matter how touching the light effects were, they couldn’t hide how absurd the results were!
Ma Xiaoli clutched her aching heart—none! Not a single useful card!
What she drew was either “Thank You for Your Patronage” or “Welcome to Come Again,” *ahhh*!!
System: 【The last time I saw a host with such terrible luck was… the last time. The host is simply a heaven-chosen, heavens-cursed person. However, you still have 1 opportunity to open a blind box. Open it now? Perhaps luck will turn around and you can hatch a flower.】
Ma Xiaoli snapped her head up, the words “competitiveness” practically carved on her forehead: 【Open! Open, open, open! Open it immediately! I refuse to believe I can’t pull a single useful thing! By the way, don’t I have an “As-You-Wish Lucky Carp Talisman”?】
System corrected: 【It is the “As-You-Wish Lucky Carp Talisman.” A reminder: this is a single-use consumable item…】
Ma Xiaoli: 【Use it! Use it immediately, it must be used!】
She refused to believe that with the buff of an invincible lucky carp, she could still remain completely unblessed by luck!
As her voice fell, brilliant golden light readable only by Ma Xiaoli burst open before her eyes once more.
A golden carp swam in midair, gradually turning into a sky full of star fragments that rained down.
A colorful egg resembling a Kinder Surprise popped out of a white blind box. The next second, the eggshell cracked open, bursting out a mushroom that was similarly iridescently colored. At first glance—it was just short of writing the word “Lethal” on its cap!!
Ma Xiaoli’s heart skipped a beat, a bad omen rising within her.
Unexpectedly, the system actually showered flower petals for her: 【Congratulations to the host for drawing an SR-rank rare item, “Love at First Sight Dreamy Rainbow Mushroom”! Eating this mushroom will give an unexpected BUFF stacking effect!】
Ma Xiaoli swallowed her saliva, striving to sound deep and profound: 【…Returning through rebirth, I truly carry a heavy burden!】
Here it was, the legendary ultimate weapon meant to go on a total rampage, execute a comeback, and slap white-eyed wolves in the face!
Just hearing the name of this item sounded like the rhythm of becoming the team’s favorite!
From now on, she would walk Luo Xiaoxiao’s path and leave Luo Xiaoxiao with nowhere left to walk!!
Ma Xiaoli grabbed the mushroom and without a second word, swallowed it!
The system gasped for breath between sentences again: 【However, this BUFF stacking effect is ineffective on humans.】
Ma Xiaoli shuddered. The mushroom stuck in her throat, neither going up nor down, and she nearly choked to death on it!
After much effort, she pounded her chest and swallowed it down, her face turning green.
Her grand-aunt’s phone call came in at this exact moment.
Staring at the caller ID for a few seconds, Ma Xiaoli barely suppressed the rage in her heart—after her parents divorced, neither was willing to take care of her. They only left her the marital apartment in the city center and let her grandmother come from the countryside to look after her.
Ma Xiaoli grew up following her grandmother, and their relationship was quite deep. But the good times didn’t last long. Her grandmother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer during her freshman year of high school. Although the condition was stabilized through medication and chemotherapy, her grand-aunt’s family moved into her home under the pretext of taking care of her grandmother.
Her grand-aunt’s precious eldest grandson not only occupied her bedroom, but also nonchalantly took it for granted that she should board at school.
Afterward, her grand-aunt even claimed that grandmother’s poor health made taking care of her very exhausting. Thus, under the banner of helping grandmother take care of her, she took away Ma Xiaoli’s bank card—her parents provided her with living expenses every month, all of which were in this card.
Her grand-aunt was also a master at emotional manipulation. Whenever Ma Xiaoli asked for the bank card for tuition and miscellaneous fees, her grand-aunt would stare at her with an “you are so sensible-less” look.
“Your grandmother’s treatment burns through money like crazy. Your dad is a white-eyed wolf who doesn’t give a single cent. I can only use the living expenses your parents give you to advance her medical fees first… The insufficient portion is still supplemented by me quietly taking from our household expenses. Your cousin-uncle and cousin-aunt both have grievances about this. So Xiaoli, you have to be frugal and not spend money recklessly…”
Back then, her skin was thin. Having not experienced the harsh beatings of society, she was naive and simple-minded, even feeling particularly grateful to her grand-aunt. She felt that the other party was a great person who was willing to endure the cold glares of her son and daughter-in-law just to protect grandmother.
Moreover, she was worried about grandmother’s medical fees, so she never dared to casually ask her grand-aunt for money after that.
Thus, while her grand-aunt’s family usurped her home like cuckoos in a nest, feasting and enjoying luxury, she—a wealthy second-generation kid—didn’t dare participate in school-organized activities or go out with classmates, but instead worked bitterly outside for living expenses…
After the apocalypse arrived, she even kept grandmother and her grand-aunt in mind, eagerly rushing back to pick them up.
In the end, she didn’t get to see grandmother. Instead, this family had been clinging to her to suck her blood, causing trouble for her, and even teaming up with Luo Xiaoxiao to trick her out of the city and push her into a swarm of zombies!
Although at the very last second, her superpower exploded and dragged them into the swarm of zombies as well, still!
A grudge of life and death—how could it be brushed aside so casually!
“Xiaoli, tomorrow is the weekend. Come home for dinner tonight. Grand-aunt made your favorite dishes and brewed slow-cooked soup. Staying outside all the time leaves you with zero nutrition. Come back to nourish yourself, alright? Grand-aunt misses you too.”