He lifted his watch to check the time, and it was already 11:30 PM.
In another half hour, Zhang Xiaoman could start the new day's lottery, so he decided to wait a bit longer.
Pacing to the window, he looked through the glass toward the direction of the small island in the lake.
It should be safe there now, right?
Recalling the recent events made Zhang Xiaoman's heartbeat start to quicken.
"The Shadow Demon's control is not only fast but also very stealthy. Encountering such a monster for the first time, I couldn't even react..."
He mentally replayed the scene.
"If it happened again, could I do better?"
Zhang Xiaoman wondered to himself.
"And that white Light Ball the system called a 'small Space Node', could it be that monsters were coming out of there? What is this, world fusion? Or a dimensional invasion?"
He analyzed some of the intelligence he had gathered today, trying to find more answers.
"Why didn't the Shadow Demon leave the island? Was it guarding that node, or perhaps the open area around the island prevented it from moving?"
He shook his head vigorously. Many things were difficult to guess; he needed more material.
As time quietly passed, Zhang Xiaoman welcomed the new day amidst his focused thoughts.
Upon opening the system panel, he saw the lottery button, now reactivated, and took a deep breath before pressing it.
"Congratulations, you have obtained a gray item—socks worn by Yasuo."
"..."
"What is this nonsense?"
Seeing this system prompt, Zhang Xiaoman felt a chill in his heart.
A spatial vortex appeared, and two gray socks fell to the ground,
Followed by an indescribable odor.
He had planned to go forward and check, but his face changed in a flash when the smell was released, and he immediately jumped back.
"What the hell is this smell! Since when could Yasuo release poison!?"
Zhang Xiaoman kept his distance. He covered his nose and looked at the socks on the ground as the attribute panel appeared:
[Socks Worn by Yasuo]
——Still retaining the scent of happiness.
"My happiness my foot!"
To prevent his room from turning into a gas chamber, Zhang Xiaoman, with the fastest speed of his life, grabbed the socks, stuffed them into a plastic bag, sealed it, went downstairs, and threw it in the trash, all in one go.
Half an hour later, Zhang Xiaoman finally got rid of the strange smell in his room. He collapsed on the bed with a look of profound regret on his face.
He felt incredibly guilty about his decision to wait for the lottery.
He decided he would never force himself to wait for lottery times again and would just leave it to chance in the future.
The only thing he was thankful for was that he hadn't been sitting on his bed while he played the lottery...
"Now I finally understand why Yasuo's E can also deal damage..."
...
Noon.
Zhang Xiaoman would never wake up before the sun was well up in the sky whenever he rested at home. His mother had a simple word to describe this behavior—pig.
By now, Zhang Xiaoman had already had lunch. After the meal, he had given his mother the set of three Extraordinary Items he had prepared for her yesterday, briefly explaining how to use them and their origins.
Once his mother understood the whole story, she naturally had a moment of shock, and only after Zhang Xiaoman earnestly assured her that he was completely unharmed did she joyfully go off to play with the items.
Seeing her happily rubbing the hearthstone, Zhang Xiaoman quickly reminded her,
"Mom, you must always carry the Holy Water with you, and that hearthstone, if you want to use it to teleport after work, make sure to find a place with no people around, and also watch out for cameras..."
His mom made a reassuring gesture and said, "Your mom is a university professor, and a Qidian Reading Saint, after all; do you think I don't understand these simple principles?"
As she spoke, she waved her hand and continued,
"Plus, do you think I'm as lazy as you? I'm still planning to ride my bike to work every day to exercise. I probably won't need to use these things often. But you, now that you know about the changes outside, you should be more careful. Fighting monsters, although rewarding, is also risky, and you're still too fragile..."
She had hardly finished speaking when she suddenly disappeared from in front of Zhang Xiaoman.
Zhang Xiaoman was stunned, and before he could react, his mother's voice already came from the next room.
"This is amazing! I actually teleported directly to my bed!"
After saying this, she walked out of the bedroom and continued,
"Son, you can't be soft-hearted when you see a monster, remember. With great power comes great responsibility. Seek fortune amidst danger! Fight monsters, upgrade, and rise to godhood... Oh, and next time you get something new, don't forget to bring one for me too."
Zhang Xiaoman: "..."
Although he knew his mom was just joking, Zhang Xiaoman had already developed a clear plan.
Considering the Extraordinary Items he currently held, Zhang Xiaoman felt it was not enough to use them traditionally; he needed to think of more efficient methods, otherwise, it would be difficult to fully tap into their combat power.
Taking a cab, he headed straight for his destination—the toy city.
Yes, he was here to buy toys!
However, these toys were not for playing, but rather the crucial weapons in his plan!
Indeed, his target was the widely used toy, the Water Gun.
So far, the only effective method Zhang Xiaoman had to kill monsters was Holy Water.
But since the Holy Water was contained in tiny bottles, he didn't want to get face-to-face with a monster and then splash water on its face.
This approach was not only particularly dangerous but also extremely hazardous, and could become even more perilous...
Well, what Zhang Xiaoman really wanted to say was that his life was important, and he aimed to be a ranged fighter.
So, after a night of deep contemplation, Zhang Xiaoman decided to use the Water Gun as his weapon, thereby transforming from a melee fighter into a ranged one.
However, due to the scarcity of Holy Water, ordinary water guns naturally could not meet his needs.
First, ordinary water guns could lead to wastage as the water just spilled on the ground after being fired.
Second, there was too little water, and the guns couldn't shoot far. One bottle of Holy Water was only about an ounce, approximately thirty milliliters.
In this case, the water amount was too low, and the water pressure inside the water gun was not enough to shoot far.
But this was not going to stop him. Zhang Xiaoman had already set his eyes on a type of alternative water gun, the bead-loading water gun.
This type of water gun shot Water Absorbing Beads, which would absorb water and swell in size, nearly as big as a pearl.
And these beads would burst upon hitting the target, splashing the contained water outward.
Moreover, this type of gun had a long range, high speed, and could be equipped with infrared targeting, which perfectly met Zhang Xiaoman's current needs.
Thus, once he had the means for ranged attacks, even if he faced the same two types of monsters again, his chances of winning would greatly increase.