The impoverished Xu Dengming activated her [Observation Eye] and carefully examined her fate, confirming that there was not the slightest possibility of suddenly saving money.
Following the lottery pool’s requirements, she solemnly paid thirty colorless crystals.
The balance instantly decreased, and the previously inconspicuous white lottery pool seemed to awaken by some force, emitting a soft, radiant glow from within.
Xu Dengming instinctively glanced at the frosted glass window of the hospital room.
Only her own reflection remained on the window; the light from the lottery pool did not seem to extend into reality.
The white light gradually brightened but was not blinding.
Instead, it gave off a sense of peace and purity, reminiscent of plants stretching their branches in the spring rain.
Xu Dengming, who was undergoing treatment for mental trauma, found that the faint stinging sensation in her brain began to slowly disappear as she saw this light, and her mood gradually became calm.
Ten seconds later, the light on the white lottery pool completed its cycle from bright to dim, and then it spat out a small, unremarkable box.
Xu Dengming opened the box and found the piece of “dead flesh” she had thrown in earlier.
The “dead flesh” lay quietly in her backpack, having shrunk in size but otherwise remaining largely unchanged.
In addition, Xu Dengming also obtained a skill from the box-
[System: Congratulations to Player 009-000 for obtaining the skill [Forced Transaction (5)].]
[Friendly reminder: This skill is not suitable for direct equipping. If you wish to use it, you can fuse it with [Fate’s Box]. The level of [Fate’s Box] must not be lower than 5 during fusion, or it will fail. ]
The system’s prompt was worded without any emotional bias, but Xu Dengming couldn’t help but sense a push to spend money.
To use [Forced Transaction], she first had to fuse it with [Fate’s Box], and to upgrade [Fate’s Box], she had to draw cards from the golden pool to obtain experience packs.
Xu Dengming couldn’t help but curl her lips.
She had worked so hard to intern in a dungeon, only to end up working for the lottery pool.
It was utterly ridiculous.
The evaluation system did not affect Xu Dengming’s card-drawing actions.
After a ten-draw, the items in her backpack became more abundant-
[System: Congratulations, you have obtained [Skill Enhancement Experience Pack (Primary Deluxe Edition)] ×5]
[System: Congratulations, you have obtained [Healing Potion (Primary)] ×2]
[System: Congratulations, you have obtained [Healing Potion (Intermediate)] ×2]
[System: Congratulations, you have obtained [Mental Recovery Pill] ×1]
Xu Dengming propped her chin with one hand and carefully studied the items she had drawn this time.
The experience packs were clearly regular items in the lottery pool, but the upgrade from primary to primary deluxe edition made them more useful.
As for the [Mental Recovery Pill], it was a drug specifically designed for mental treatment.
Unlike the previous healing potions, which had a more comprehensive healing range but were not particularly effective for mental recovery, the new item had a stronger focus on mental healing.
The [Mental Recovery Pill] contained three pills and came with a manual, though the small bottle’s surface did not display a production date.
The manufacturer’s drug number appeared quite formal at first glance.
The instructions also warned users that the maximum dosage for adults should not exceed one tablet every half hour, otherwise the effectiveness would be greatly reduced.
Xu Dengming understood that, from a gaming perspective, this was called the drug cooldown.
She thought that the results of this lottery still had a clear purpose: users needed to level up, so experience packs were provided; users were in poor mental states, so specialized medications appeared, all filled with encouragement for Xu Dengming to continue living.
Under such circumstances, the system didn’t show the slightest intention of dispensing cash, indicating it truly didn’t have any.
After the items fell into her backpack, Xu Dengming immediately consumed four deluxe experience packs, raising both [Box of Fate] and [Eye of Observation] to level five, then attempted to fuse the former with [Forced Transaction].
The entire fusion process lasted five minutes.
Since being hospitalized, Xu Dengming’s appetite had been affected by her psychological trauma, and she rarely ate, mostly relying on nutrient injections for support.
Her stomach always lacked a sense of fullness, but now she felt as if she were eating.
Her hunger was temporarily soothed.
-[Forced Transaction] was a delicious appetizer, chewed, swallowed, and finally merged with [Box of Fate].
[System: Congratulations to Player 009-000 for obtaining the permanent skill [Box of Fate (Variant)].]
[System: Detected that the user has acquired a special ability. The personal information panel will be automatically updated.]
[System: Automatic update completed.]
Unlike the skill before fusion, the newly born [Box of Fate (Variant)] gained a new characteristic: after successfully intercepting a segment of fate, it could transfer that fate to another target.
If two ants were walking side by side, and the unfortunate Ant A was about to be stepped on by a passerby in five seconds, Xu Dengming could use [Box of Fate (Variant)] to intercept the fate of being stepped on and assign it to Ant B.
Of course, this operation would also be influenced by the target’s own characteristics and the degree of inevitability of the intercepted fate.
Moreover, like the original skill, the interception and assignment of fate couldn’t last too long.
If the fate of an elderly ant dying of old age was assigned to a healthy ant, the latter’s body would rapidly deteriorate, but this assignment would hardly exceed a minute, and after the assignment ended, the deteriorated state could gradually improve.
However, as Xu Dengming’s skill level increased, the duration of related skills would also extend.
Xu Dengming lay on the hospital bed, quietly digesting her feelings about the new ability.
When she obtained [Box of Fate (Variant)], Xu Dengming felt as if she had been immersed in an endless warm bath, wrapped in a lazy warmth.
Like a seed beginning to sprout, a flower turning into a fruit, Xu Dengming felt that she hadn’t equipped a skill, but had naturally grown one.
The new skill was like her limbs and internal organs, naturally a part of her.
The system prompt before her eyes also seemed to turn into a user manual about Xu Dengming herself, its existence merely to help her better understand her changes.
Her mood became calm and joyful.
Xu Dengming rested one arm under her head, her brows relaxed and her expression calm.
Upon careful reflection, she realized that she had experienced similar sensations when acquiring skills in the past, though not as pronounced as this time.
Previously, she had to figure out how to use her skills on her own, but now, it seemed that the moment she gained a new ability, Xu Dengming instinctively understood how to utilize it.
She then opened her personal information panel and, unsurprisingly, found that the updated content was her “Mental Value.”
Her current data read: “106/120 (Mild Insanity, Rapidly Improving).”
Not only participants who accidentally entered the dungeon, but everyone in the world suffers from mental damage to some extent.
The sources of this damage are not limited to dungeons but also include negative emotions from daily life, such as fright, annoyance, and depression.
These emotions, like the grayish-black fate in Xu Dengming’s eyes, continuously erode a person’s sanity.
Proper rest can help restore one’s mental state.
For example, if Xu Dengming hadn’t returned from the dungeon with a bunch of debuffs, a mere fourteen-point mental depletion could have been fully recovered with a good night’s sleep.
However, there is a threshold to a person’s recovery capacity.
If one is constantly immersed in negative emotions, the damage will become irreversible, ultimately leading to a reduction in the upper limit of mental value.
Mental value is a highly useful metric for both ordinary people and ability users.
Previously, the system had not shown the specific numerical value to Xu Dengming.
She speculated that the reason might be the system’s initial low energy level, which caused some temporarily unnecessary functions to remain blocked.
Since the system wanted her to keep entering new dungeons, clearing dungeons was likely a way for the system to gain energy.
After Xu Dengming cleared the Nest Park and obtained “Dead Flesh,” the system acquired enough resources for self-updating.
Xu Dengming further researched and discovered that using [Eye of Observation] and the original [Fate’s Hour] also consumed mental energy, though not significantly.
Unless she viewed too much content at once, it wouldn’t have a noticeable impact on her.
Observing fate consumed the least mental energy, while intercepting fate required a bit more.
However, if Xu Dengming wanted to assign the intercepted fate to a new target, the consumption would skyrocket to a level she couldn’t afford without risking insanity.
Xu Dengming estimated that swapping the daily lives of two ants would only consume about ten points of mental value.
If she were to swap ants with humans, it would cost at least twenty points, and if the target had high mental strength or was also an awakened individual, the cost would be even higher.
The light from the white lottery pool had a soothing effect on the mind.
When Xu Dengming woke up the next morning, she felt a long-lost sense of vitality.
On the system panel, the “Mild Insanity” status had been successfully dispelled.
It was a cause for celebration.
After several nights of waking up in the middle of the night, she finally had a relatively high-quality sleep.
In the afternoon, the nurse came by for a check-up: “You’re looking good today.”
Xu Dengming replied politely, “Because the treatment here has exceeded my expectations.”
The nurse was pleased to hear this: “I’ll pass your compliments on to Dr. Nan.”
The “Dr. Nan” she mentioned was one of the attending physicians responsible for treating the survivors from the Nest Park.
Due to the large number of patients under his care, he was often elusive, and his interactions with Xu Dengming were limited.
Xu Dengming made a request, blinking her eyes: “I’d like to have a longer walk outside today.”
The nurse readily agreed: “Sure, but make sure it doesn’t exceed two hours, and don’t wander too far.”
She added, “The hospital will monitor you for a bit longer. If everything’s fine, you can apply for discharge.”
Xu Dengming, who had previously been restricted to walks of no more than half an hour, once again felt the joy of freedom.
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