The system interface unfurled in mid-air, with two gacha pool icons floating side by side. The one radiating brilliant golden light required consuming "Pure Crystals" to exchange for draw chances; the rules indicated that ten crystals allowed for a single pull. Lin Xiao glanced at her balance—she currently possessed exactly fifty.
Lin Xiao didn't have much experience with this kind of gacha mechanism, but she had heard her mobile-game-obsessed classmates discuss it enough to know that failing to scrape together a "ten-pull" was generally considered a regrettable affair.
Fortunately, the system provided an additional prompt: to reward Lin Xiao for her first successful dungeon clearance, she would receive one free draw from the golden pool.
As for the other pool nearby, rippling with a cold, white light, it seemed somewhat peculiar. When Lin Xiao attempted to interact with it via her mind, the only feedback she received was the frigid text: "Conditions for drawing not yet met." It did not specify what exactly was missing.
She rested her chin on her hand, her gaze drifting between the two pools.
Visually, the golden one was clearly more tempting, representing guaranteed returns; the white one, on the other hand, exuded an elusive sense of mystery. Using crystals for draws meant that as long as she kept clearing dungeons, she could obtain a steady stream of resources. The system made no attempt to hide the fact that it was driving users with profit. For Lin Xiao, while the recent experience was terrifying, since it could bring tangible benefits, she was naturally willing to study this system that had appeared out of thin air.
—But why did it have to be her who stumbled upon this?
A cool evening breeze blew past, disheveling a few strands of her hair. Lin Xiao reached up to tuck them behind her ear. She looked into the distance; the sky was dim, the surrounding scenery shrouded in twilight mist. All was silent and deserted. In the distance, the Xiangyang Welfare Institute was reduced to a vague, dark silhouette.
Lin Xiao withdrew her gaze and, without further hesitation, selected the golden pool.
The golden icon swayed left and right twice. The next moment, as the light of an item illuminated, a line of system text materialized in the air. Before Lin Xiao could clearly read the content, a sharp, piercing pain suddenly struck deep within her brain, accompanied by an indescribable buzzing in her ears.
The intense pain and dizziness forced her to bend over uncontrollably, gasping for breath. Her vision went black instantly, and within seconds, sight was completely lost.
...
Perhaps three to five minutes passed, or maybe several hours, before the cold stiffness enveloping her body gradually faded. Lin Xiao stared at the gray stone bricks beneath her feet, taking a good while to realize she was looking at the ground.
She straightened up, one hand pressing hard against her forehead, the cold sweat on her palm mingling with the sweat on her brow.
Although her vision had returned, a strange resonance, akin to the fluttering of moth wings, still lingered in her ears. Lin Xiao keenly sensed that at the moment the draw ended, something had forcibly wedged itself into her mind, leaving her with some bizarre "knowledge" out of nowhere.
She turned around, staring at the lifeless office building in front of her.
In Lin Xiao's eyes, the surface of this old, abandoned building was now shrouded in a surreal, illusory halo.
In reality, the dungeon "Escape Room" had completely vanished from the office building after she cleared it. However, the knowledge that had just flooded her mind made her understand that a trace of the energy constituting the dungeon still remained on the spot, not yet fully dissipated.
A question flashed through her mind—what exactly was this so-called "energy"?
Lin Xiao gazed at the abandoned office building for a moment, feeling her eyes grow dry and swollen. She closed them. When she opened them again, a glimmer seemed to flash within her pupils, and the layer of unreality on the building's surface vanished, restoring the world to its original appearance.
...However, after careful comparison, Lin Xiao felt it wasn't entirely the same. As a prospective graduate who constantly overused her eyes, she had been teetering on the edge of myopia. Yet now, everything around her appeared exceptionally clear. It was as if glass covered in dust and cobwebs had been suddenly washed clean, making even the dust motes floating in the air distinctly visible.
Lin Xiao wasn't confused by her condition, because at this very moment, a prompt only she could see refreshed in mid-air—
[System: Congratulations to Player No. 775-820 for acquiring the permanent skill [Insight Eye (Lv.1)]] Note: Detection indicates the user's current mental strength is limited. Please avoid prolonged use.]
[Insight Eye (Lv.1): A special eye that can, to a certain extent, see the essence of fate. Note: Due to the user's low level, this skill is highly susceptible to interference from external forces. It cannot peek at high-level abilities or see through disguises.]
...
Qingteng District was located in the outer city of Sanye City, near the suburbs. Although still some distance from the true outskirts, the rent was relatively low. For fourth-year university students who had finished all their credits and didn't mind spending a bit more time commuting, the area held immense appeal.
Lin Xiao currently studied at the Outer Campus of Sanye City Information University. Because the school emblem resembled the capital letter 'E', students habitually referred to it as 'Xin Da' (Info U).
After finalizing her thesis, Lin Xiao moved from the school to Room 403 of Chenguang Apartments in Qingteng District.
Her roommate, Wang Ruofei, moved in with her, taking the room right below 403. Unlike Lin Xiao, whose primary consideration in choosing a place to live was financial, Wang Ruofei, who hailed from the Inner City, lived here because of a disagreement with her family regarding her future path.
When Lin Xiao returned to Chenguang Apartments, the sky outside was completely dark. The lights in the apartment hallway were dim and murky; several wires hung haphazardly on the outer walls. Everything exuded an air of cheapness and poverty.
Chenguang Apartments used to be somewhat livelier, but just last week, tenants on the first and second floors died unexpectedly at work. The children they left behind were sent to welfare institutions willing to accept them.
In Sanye City, residents over twenty years old without offspring were subject to heavy taxes, but students who successfully entered university could obtain tax breaks.
Lin Xiao climbed to the third floor and happened to run into Wang Ruofei, who lived in Room 303.
Wang Ruofei, who had come out to throw away trash, rubbed her eyes and looked at Lin Xiao with mild surprise: "I thought you were out job hunting? You're back pretty early today."
In reality, it was nearly seven o'clock. Wang Ruofei's judgment was clearly based on Lin Xiao's usual daily routine.
Lin Xiao: "I gave it a try, but the position didn't feel quite right."
Wang Ruofei, who knew all too well how undemanding her classmate was when it came to employment choices, asked curiously, "How 'not right' could it be?"
Lin Xiao paused for a moment, then spoke the truth: "The kind of 'not right' where I wanted to directly eliminate my colleagues."
Wang Ruofei: "..."
She felt that the treachery of the workplace environment in the Outer City was increasing by the day.
Wang Ruofei came from the Inner City, and her family had arranged a job for her early on. However, this adventurous university student resolutely rejected the offer at hand, determined to let life beat her down using her own capabilities.
Lin Xiao's attitude toward this was neither support nor opposition; given her own track record of failures on the job hunt, it was difficult for her to offer anyone constructive advice.
After throwing out the trash, Wang Ruofei strolled back home to continue browsing forums, promising to call Lin Xiao along for an interview once she found a suitable position. After saying goodbye to her classmate, Lin Xiao walked straight up to the fourth floor and opened the door to 403. It was a cramped studio apartment, less than twenty square meters in total. It had a simple one-room layout with few belongings, fully highlighting the owner's temporary mindset of being "ready to move at any moment."
Lin Xiao tossed herself onto the sofa, her body sinking deep into the soft cushions. She stared at the ceiling, pondering the day's experiences once more.
Whether it was the bizarre dungeon or the game system that subsequently appeared, both were magical enough, filled with dangerous characteristics entirely distinct from a "stable life."
And then there was that skill named [Insight Eye]...
Lin Xiao casually summoned her system interface, and her eyebrows suddenly raised.
She discovered that in the balance column, the number of Pure Crystals had inexplicably increased by one.
Zijing Street.
As one of the earliest established streets in the Outer City of Sanye City, Zijing Street had undergone the complete process from obscurity to prosperity, and from prosperity back to desolation. Most of the buildings on this street were red-brick structures, their aesthetics appearing quite archaic.
At eight o'clock in the evening, lights representing overtime work spilled from the window of No. 44 Zijing Street.
Gao Yuan put down her coffee cup, rubbed the space between her eyebrows with a hint of fatigue, and then took off her glasses.
This was a very tidy, very normal office. On the desk sat a pot of artificial greenery, reflecting the aesthetic taste of the logistics department's procurement staff.
He Ping stood up