"Hey, the busy man knows how to come back, huh?"
"Tsk tsk, did you go out and make a fortune?"
Watching Cao Yi take a twenty-five Lifen coin from Lin Long's wallet, Liu Guifen chuckled and casually accepted the coin.
"Remember to pay the rent in five days."
"Otherwise, I'll throw all your junk out of the house."
Liu Guifen was always sharp-tongued and harsh.
Today, she was only being "polite" because she saw there was money in Cao Yi's wallet.
If it were those tenants who owed rent, Liu Guifen would have already cursed their ancestors for eighteen generations.
Even though Liu Guifen was so "nasty," no one in Sick Locust Hutong dared to offend this little old lady.
This was thanks to her eldest son's considerable assets and status in the "rich district" of Zhuohong City.
It was also thanks to her eldest daughter marrying a civil servant working in the city government.
And thanks to her second daughter marrying the official sheriff in charge of Sick Locust Hutong.
Even though Liu Guifen's apartments were slightly overpriced, they were still in high demand in Sick Locust Hutong.
Because even real gang members didn't dare to openly cause trouble in this rental apartment.
Cao Yi ignored Liu Guifen's reminders and taunts, filling a kettle with two liters of water.
"Just taking this little bit of water, is it enough for you to drink?"
"It's enough, Aunt Liu."
Liu Guifen, looking disappointed, gave Cao Yi two ten Lifen coins and two two Lifen coins in change.
No wonder the rich get richer.
Because they never waste a chance to make money.
"Remember to return the kettle."
In fact, Cao Yi didn't plan to continue living in Sick Locust Hutong.
Not even for five days; he was leaving tonight.
If he weren't so desperately thirsty, Cao Yi would have preferred to have a drink at the tavern rather than buy overpriced water from the old lady.
"Damn it..."
Cao Yi carried the kettle in one hand and pinched his nose with the other, enduring the pungent smell as he made his way up to the fifth floor.
He occasionally had to kick aside or avoid some clutter.
Cao Yi's room was 513.
A small single room of about fifteen square meters, with a window facing the airshaft, the monthly rent was six Copper Marks.
Even with the window open, the room remained dim and required a kerosene lamp for lighting.
Near the window, there was a small coal stove.
If Cao Yi was willing to endure a lot of coal smoke, he could choose to set up a pot and cook at home.
Unfortunately, since moving into this apartment, Cao Yi had never once lit a fire.
And because Cao Yi rarely brought food home, the indoor air was relatively "fresh."
Cao Yi sat on the only chair in the room, rinsed a cup with the water he had just fetched, and then drank three large cups in quick succession.
Nearly half of the two liters of water was gone immediately.
Cao Yi glanced at his pocket watch; it was already eleven o'clock.
He tossed the watch aside and lay on the bed, feeling utterly defeated.
Playing "Land of Divine Descent" for just one morning, the amount of cursing was enough to rival a whole day in Zaun.
Even more so.
Zaun's curses were at most cyber mothers.
But in "Land of Divine Descent," it had almost risen to the concept of real mothers.
So tired, so hungry, so sleepy...
Even though he had eaten two large steamed buns in the morning, it couldn't keep up with the higher consumption.
[Player has not yet named the character.]
The sudden cold mechanical voice made Cao Yi's body tremble, instantly waking him up a bit.
"Chancellor Cao!"
(Emphasizing here, the ID is not wrong.
It's just that the world view is large, and the early stages need a lot of plot setup, so stay tuned for more.)
Without much thought, Cao Yi summoned the Player Interface and directly input his most commonly used game ID.
Hehehe...
[Naming successful.]
After lying down for another two minutes, Cao Yi finally struggled to sit up from the bed.
"Claim quest rewards."
[Quest rewards being calculated...]
[You have received Basic Force Essence *14... Due to the player not currently being a Classholder, the Basic Force Essence cannot be claimed. The reward is temporarily stored in the Quest Interface and can be retrieved at any time.]
[Due to the player having a 40% extra quest reward, the player's luck will be significantly increased during the Random Chest draw.]
[Please roll the lucky dice to draw a chest. The higher the dice roll, the higher the chance of drawing a high-rank chest.]
A six-sided dice image appeared in Cao Yi's mind.
Quite flashy...
"Roll."
The dice wobbled and finally stopped at three.
Damn!
My luck got a discount?
Extra luck?
Does that mean I could only roll a one or two originally?
[You have received C-rank Treasure Chest *1.]
The higher the level of the chest, the greater the chance of obtaining high-quality items.
But this does not mean that high-level chests will always yield high-quality items.
Nor does it mean that low-level chests will never yield high-quality items.
No matter the player's luck, at least one item from the chest will match the chest's level.
In principle, an E-rank Treasure Chest can only yield one item, while an S-rank Treasure Chest can yield six items, with intermediate levels corresponding accordingly.]
A beautifully crafted silver-blue chest engraved with mysterious symbols appeared out of thin air in Cao Yi's hands.
Whoa!
Is this pure silver?
How much is this worth?
Cao Yi's first thought was that he was going to get rich.
The excitement of potential wealth even overshadowed his desire to complain about "lotteries" and "guarantees."
But unfortunately, Cao Yi was disappointed the next moment.
When Cao Yi solemnly opened the chest, a silver-blue radiance filled the room.
[You have received Class Card: Fate Warlock *1.]
[You have received Rune Secret Pact: Thunderclap Blast *1.]
[You have received Arturo Strauss's Potion Notes *1.]
A luxurious card two sizes larger than a playing card.
A piece of beast hide scroll.
An ancient book scroll.
These three items replaced the silver-blue chest, appearing splendidly on Cao Yi's bed.
As for the chest, it vanished as mysteriously as it had appeared.
Cao Yi's hands weakly grasped at the air, his expression dazed.
So Cao Yi only had the right to open the chest, not to own it.
After being stunned for a good half minute, Cao Yi finally snapped back to reality.
Class Card?
Cao Yi picked up the luxurious card, feeling its cold surface.
The front of the card depicted a mysterious figure in a black robe, their face completely shrouded in the shadow of a hood.
The back of the card was composed of countless chaotic, disordered lines.
At a glance, Cao Yi felt dizzy.
In the next moment, Cao Yi seemed to see countless vague dynamic images.
Sky, stars, earth, mountains, oceans.
A bizarre dreamscape.
Chaotic and disordered lines extended wildly in these images, weaving into an unseeable "eye," forming an indescribable "web."
[Class Card: Fate Warlock.
Those who attempt to control fate will ultimately find themselves controlled by fate.]