445: Chapter 445 Where did all this trash come from?

With a long 'beep,' the iron box's screen lit up with a brilliant green glow.

Chen You stared at the 100% progress bar, took a deep breath, and hovered his finger in mid-air, hesitating to press down.

Hill leaned in, smiling broadly: "Boss, the exciting moment has arrived."

"Would you like me to play an exclusive opening BGM for you? It only costs an extra 500 gold coins..."

"Get lost." Chen You squeezed the words out from between his teeth.

He slapped the red button with his palm.

The iron box shook violently, spraying out a cloud of colorful, cheap confetti.

Accompanied by a harsh, synthesized electronic sound, the box finally opened, revealing a parchment scroll emitting a dazzling golden light.

Chen You frowned.

"That's it?" Chen You pointed at the somewhat worn-looking parchment, "Fifty thousand gold coins, and you give me a piece of paper that's too tough to even wipe my ass with?"

"Boss, check the attributes before you judge." Hill took half a step back, maintaining a safe distance.

Chen You reached out and grabbed the parchment.

The moment he touched it, a row of golden system notification boxes popped up before his eyes.

[Item Name: Super Experience Scroll (Consumable)]

[Quality: mythological-grade]

[Effect: After use, the bound character's experience gained from killing monsters increases by 1000% for the next 24 hours.]

[Restriction: This item cannot be traded, cannot be dropped, and the effect does not disappear upon death.]

[Note: Time is money, and money can buy ten times the time.]

Chen You's pupils constricted sharply.

Ten times the experience? Lasting 24 hours?

He had originally thought this broken box would spit out a few tens of millions of experience points at most, or perhaps give some pill that would grant an instant level-up.

He hadn't expected that Hill would actually pull out a trump card this time.

Fifty thousand gold coins, plus the 'one cut' effort from twenty players, in exchange for a ten-times experience buff.

Although it wasn't as practical as the previous direct exchange of gold coins for experience, it was certainly worth the price.

"Boss, your luck really makes me... jealous."

Hill looked at the scroll, a flash of astonishment crossing her eyes; clearly, even she hadn't expected this broken machine to produce an item of this caliber.

Chen You grabbed the scroll and stuffed it into his backpack without changing his expression.

He turned his head to look at the twenty players, including Half-City Smoke and Sand, who were still standing nearby, stunned.

"Alright, you guys aren't needed anymore, scatter." Chen You waved his hand.

Half-City Smoke and Sand swallowed hard and asked boldly: "God You... what did you just draw? That golden light, was it a divine artifact?"

"Just a few double-experience cards." Chen You lied without blinking, "This broken machine is a huge scam, you guys better never play it in the future."

The players suddenly realized, casting disdainful glances at Hill one after another, and then walked out of the Supreme Tower with their arms around each other's shoulders.

They were still discussing which tavern they should spend their hard-earned single gold coin at.

Once only the two of them were left in the lobby, Chen You's expression changed immediately.

"Hill, open another Supreme Training Room for me."

Hill resumed her professional smile: "As you wish."

Entering the training room, Chen You used the Super Experience Scroll immediately and transformed into a ruthless monster-grinding machine.

Time ticked away second by second.

Three hours later.

[Congratulations, your level has increased to 47!]

Eleven hours later.

[Congratulations, your level has increased to 48!]

Twenty-three hours later.

[Congratulations, your level has increased to 49!]

Twenty-four hours later, Chen You's avatar exited the training room.

Although he couldn't push through to level 50 in one go, he was already very satisfied.

In one day, he had crossed three levels, and his main body had also reached the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

This level 50 was indeed a major hurdle; the experience required was equivalent to the previous three levels combined and then some.

Hill was standing behind the counter, holding a rag, carefully wiping the surface.

"Boss, out of seclusion?" Hill put down the rag and revealed a standard smile, "Looking at your complexion, your cultivation has greatly improved."

"Don't try to get familiar with me." Chen You walked to the counter and tapped the desktop with his fingers, "That broken box, give me another go."

Hill didn't agree immediately; instead, she clasped her hands in front of her and slightly restrained her smile.

"Boss, as your most loyal personal investment consultant, I must remind you of one thing."

Hill's tone was serious, "Within the laws of the Source Realm, there is an implicit rule called 'Conservation of Luck'."

"You drew a mythological-grade Super Experience Scroll last time, which has already overdrafted a great amount of your fortune."

Chen You raised an eyebrow: "What does that mean? Are you afraid I'll draw until I go bankrupt?"

"No, I'm afraid you'll smash my shop." Hill said bluntly, "If nothing good comes out this time, you cannot blame me, and you certainly cannot demand a refund."

"This is the rule of the blind box."

Chen You sneered.

"Stop the nonsense, I'll accept whatever comes out."

Chen You waved his hand, "But I don't want to do that stupid thing of having twenty people line up to press the button again."

"You just want to make money, and I'm here to give it to you. Name a price, and I'll buy out the progress bar for this round directly."

A hint of somewhat forced embarrassment appeared on Hill's face.

"Boss, some things cannot be replaced by money; the necessary operational steps are a prerequisite for treasures to appear."

Chen You didn't reply.

Hill paused, then smiled again.

"However, as our premium customer and a repeat buyer, you deserve some preferential treatment!"

Hill reached under the counter and pulled out a golden card slot embedded with rubies.

"A special 'VIP Assistance-Free Direct Pass Edition'. No need to recruit people, no need to wait. You only need to pay 39,999 gold coins to directly start a ten-draw guaranteed Supreme Blind Box."

Chen You stared at the glittering card slot, his mouth twitching.

It even got a price reduction? I always feel like there's a trap!

"Ten draws?"

"Yes, ten draws." Hill nodded, "Nine items of random quality, plus one guaranteed legendary-grade or higher artifact. It's absolutely worth the price."

Chen You didn't hesitate any longer, directly deducted 39,999 gold coins from his backpack and slapped them on the counter.

"Open it."

Hill skillfully swept the gold coins into the card slot.

The black iron box emitted a low rumble, and immediately after, the screen erupted with a dazzling, seven-colored light.

No confetti, no cheap electronic sound, no buildup whatsoever.

"Bang!"

The box lid popped open.

Nine gray, dull light orbs flew out first and landed on the counter.

Chen You clicked on them casually.

[Low-level Hemostatic Grass], [Damaged Iron Sword], [Moldy Dry Rations]... all gray trash; they weren't even worth a copper coin combined.

Chen You looked at Hill with an expressionless face.

Hill remained calm: "Buildup, this is all buildup for the guaranteed grand prize! Please look at the last item."

Inside the iron box, a cluster of dazzling purple-gold light slowly rose.

Chen You held his breath and reached out to grab that cluster of light.

The light dissipated, and a palm-sized, dark gold, antique-looking... wooden fish lay quietly in his palm.

It was accompanied by a small hammer that was neither metal nor wood.

Chen You was stunned.

He flipped it over and looked at it twice, confirming that this thing was just a wooden fish used by monks.

"This is the guaranteed grand prize you were talking about?" Chen You asked through gritted teeth.