Chapter Forty-Three: The Grand Lottery!
Zhang Wenhao had long been eagerly awaiting the system’s first lottery draw. According to the rules, once the lottery was initiated, the user would have a chance to randomly acquire any skill within the system. This meant that everything from ordinary life skills costing only fifty points to supernatural abilities worth hundreds of thousands or even millions could potentially be drawn. At this moment, what skill he would receive depended entirely on luck.
Thrilled, Zhang Wenhao immediately responded to the system, “Start the lottery now!”
As the system announced the start, Zhang Wenhao’s consciousness was immersed within the system’s space. Before him appeared a massive rectangular display, with the names of countless skills flashing across it. From the unimpressive argon arc welding, to aircraft piloting, financial management mastery, and even top-tier physics skill bundles, the skills flickered rapidly, sending Zhang Wenhao into a state of excitement.
“The lottery system is now starting!”
After this prompt, the skills on the display began to rotate at lightning speed. Zhang Wenhao had his own coveted targets—such as the top assassin skill package; mastering this would further strengthen his abilities. There was also the stock and futures master skill, which would grant him early mastery in the art of making money. If he was lucky enough to obtain a supernatural skill, that would be even better—things like talisman crafting, turning stone into gold, or even spells that only existed in works of fiction.
The rotation sped up until Zhang Wenhao could no longer make out the names, and a moment later, the system prompted, “Now slowing down: 10, 9, 8, 7…”
The speed gradually decreased, and by the countdown’s third second, it was one skill per second.
On the third second, the screen displayed “Top Assassin Skill Package,” and Zhang Wenhao felt a pang of disappointment—clearly, this skill had slipped through his fingers.
On the second second, to his astonishment, the screen showed “Teleportation”—a fantastical skill he would not have the chance to master.
On the final second, Zhang Wenhao’s heart was in his throat, anticipating the imminent reveal of his destined skill.
Suddenly, four words appeared that nearly drove him mad, as if his heart was bleeding: “Embroidery Skill.”
Was this some sort of joke? Was he, a grown man, supposed to take up embroidery in his spare time?
Zhang Wenhao was deeply disappointed. Just then, the system announced, “Zero!”
He breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for another chance and spared from learning a skill that only women seemed interested in, worth merely fifty points.
The screen’s text began scrolling, and “Embroidery Skill” was soon replaced by another line at the very bottom, which then jumped into view: “Top-tier Medical Skill Package.”
“Congratulations, user! In your first system lottery, you have won the Top-tier Medical Skill Package valued at 16,000 points. The skill package will now be decompressed and instantly stored in your brain.”
“Decompression starting.”
About thirty seconds later, a crisp notification sounded.
“Ding! Top-tier Medical Skill Package decompression complete. Lottery concluded. When your accumulated points reach ten thousand, you may participate in the second lottery!”
A flood of medical knowledge surged into Zhang Wenhao’s mind. This skill package contained nearly every skill in its category: cutting-edge modern medicine, ancient Chinese medicine refined and improved for the future, and traditional medical techniques from many countries and regions. In an instant, Zhang Wenhao became a master of all human medicine.
“Ah…” Zhang Wenhao felt a bit disappointed. In his view, the top-tier medical skill package was far less practical than the top assassin package. What he urgently sought was strength; medicine, frankly, had never been his interest.
Yet, on second thought, compared to the collapse-inducing embroidery skill, obtaining the medical package was cause for celebration. After all, it was an extra reward from the system’s lottery, costing him not a single point, and to receive a 16,000-point skill package felt like stumbling upon a hidden fortune.
His consciousness returned to his body. Watching his jubilant parents before him, Zhang Wenhao found his mind overflowing with professional medical knowledge. He no longer simply looked at people with his eyes, but examined his parents’ health from the perspective of a top doctor.
On the surface, his parents seemed in excellent health. Yet, middle-aged bodies often harbored hidden ailments. Even with advanced medical skills, he couldn’t judge their condition just by sight.
After dinner, the family sat on the sofa chatting. Zhang Wenhao naturally took a seat between his parents and, quietly, checked their pulses. Chinese medicine was a mysterious discipline, vastly different from modern Western medicine.
To begin with, Western medicine diagnoses based on symptoms, especially those involving internal organs. Even frequent modern medical check-ups only detect problems after organ pathology occurs. Chinese medicine, especially pulse diagnosis, is different—a skilled practitioner can detect subtle changes in the pulse that signal impending illness. Whether deep or shallow, fast or slow, even the slightest variation in pulse strength reveals hidden issues within the body.
With the top-tier medical skill package, Zhang Wenhao could accurately capture every signal his parents’ pulses conveyed. He was relieved to find them both in excellent health. His father, a former soldier, maintained good exercise habits; though over forty, he remained robust. His mother’s habits ensured the family’s diet was healthy, so both were in fine shape.
Zhang Wenhao thought to himself: this medical skill package wasn’t so useless after all. Though he had no intention of practicing medicine, mastering it provided an invisible but powerful insurance to those closest to him. In these times, medical care was not only expensive but notoriously difficult to access.
Difficulty—that was the most terrifying thing!
In major hospitals, an expert appointment could cost several hundred or even thousands, and it was hard to say whether those so-called experts truly possessed advanced medical expertise. Even if they did, their medical ethics were another unknown.
By now, it was Friday night. Zhang Wenhao had arranged to treat Su Ruoran to dinner tomorrow evening, and already had a detailed plan in mind. This time, he wanted to surprise her, so he decided to cook a memorable meal himself.
Though Zhang Wenhao had no culinary experience, the super learning system could solve that. Spending one hundred points to exchange for top-tier Chinese cooking skills was a bargain.
Without hesitation, he entered the system, found the Chinese culinary skill, and redeemed it, leaving him with 590 usable points.
With his cooking ability addressed, Zhang Wenhao had already scouted a venue—a hotel apartment in Jiangcheng available for daily rental. Each unit was fully furnished, equipped with a kitchen and clean utensils. All he needed was to buy ingredients and he could prepare a sumptuous meal. Though the daily rent was six hundred and eighty yuan, to give Su Ruoran an unforgettable surprise, Zhang Wenhao decided to use his years’ worth of New Year’s money. This time, no matter what, he was determined to make it a night she would never forget.