March 7th folded her arms and stared at Kevin in silence.
"You know that's not the Stellar Core I'm talking about. Are you happy with yourself right now?"
Kevin grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. "Very."
March 7th sighed in defeat. Hopeless. Absolutely hopeless.
After another half hour, everyone had finished the hot pot.
March 7th stretched. "Alright, now that we're full, it's ti to get to work."
Kevin shook her head. "No rush! One more thing first!"
She turned to Yuri and pulled out 30 Stellar Jade. "Yuri, give three Trash Can scratch cards!"
Without hesitation, Yuri bought three scratch cards for Kevin.
Except for March 7th, no one else had ever seen these before, and they all looked at Kevin like he had lost his mind.
Kevin, however, didn't care. He was just excited to open the legendary Trash Can scratch cards again.
Three scratch cards appeared before everyone.
Kevin examined them with profound interest, pondering which trash can to handle first.
Clara, watching from the side, was confused. "Uh...Yuri? What is uh...Kevin doing? Why is he so obsessed with those scratchers?"
Yuri hesitated. What should I even say? That this is just one of his weird habits? He decided it was best not to badmouth him in front of the others.
Instead, he turned to Rios. "Rios, take Hook and Clara outside for a bit."
Rios obediently picked up the two kids, placed them on his back, and walked out of the house.
anwhile, Kevin had made his choice.
"Alright! I choose you! Open up!!!"
A golden light flashed in the room.
Kevin squinted through the brightness. "Co on! Golden Legend!!!"
As the light faded, the result was revealed—another can of surströmming (fernted herring), exactly like last ti.
Kevin's smile twitched. "No... Not again...!"
But she still had two more chances.
"Alright! Second one! You're up! Give sothing good!!!"
Another golden flash—and this ti, a durian appeared.
Kevin blinked. "Huh? What's this? Did I finally get sothing good?"
Yuri looked at the durian and smirked. "That's a fruit. It's nutritious and tastes great. But value-wise? I sell 10 of these for 1 Star Coin."
Kevin went stiff.
I struck out again?! The Stellar Jade he had earned from fighting monsters and opening chests—gone! Just like that!
March 7th, seeing an opportunity, put on a sly grin. "Aww, Kevin, I feel bad for you. Tell you what—I'll buy that durian from you. I'll even be generous and pay ten tis its value!"
Kevin's heart shattered into a million pieces.
I spent 1,000 Star Coins... and got sothing worth 0.1?!
Kevin collapsed onto the floor, wailing. "Why did I do this?! My Star Coins! It hurts! It hurts so much!!!"
Seele, watching Kevin's breakdown, leaned toward Yuri and whispered, "Is he... okay? Does he have a screw loose?"
Yuri sighed. "Think of him like a gambler who just bet everything he's ever had and lost..."
Seele nodded in understanding. "Oh, like those guys at the boxing gym who bet big on beating in a fight and then proceeding to lose everything?"
"Yeah, Exactly."
At that mont, March 7th's voice cut in.
"Hey, Seele, can I borrow your scythe?"
Yuri and Seele turned to see March 7th holding up the durian with a smirk.
"This thing has spikes. I want to cut it open and see what's inside. Wanna try it together?"
Seele, intrigued, handed over her scythe. "Sure. Let's see what's inside."
March 7 placed the durian on the table and swung the scythe twice.
CRACK!
The durian split open, releasing its signature aroma.
Seele's eyes widened in horror. "Ugh! What the hell is that sll?!"
Then she noticed her scythe... coated in durian scent.
Her pupils shrank. No... not my scythe...
Seele quickly snatched it back and sniffed it.
Ugh. Ugh. UGH! IT STINKS!!!
anwhile, March 7th, Dan Heng, and Kevin recoiled, holding their noses.
"What is this thing?!" March 7th gagged.
Yuri, on the other hand, was unfazed. "Relax. Once you eat it, you won't mind the sll anymore."
He scooped out a piece and took a bite, chewing with a satisfied expression. "Mmm, this is good. I should buy more later."
March 7th watched in shock. "Yuri, how can you eat sothing that slls that bad?!"
Yuri shrugged. "Durian is like that. Slls awful, but tastes amazing. Want to try?"
March 7th shook her head furiously. "No way!"
Yuri swallowed his bite and smirked. "How about this—if you try it and don't like it, I'll give you 100 Star Coins. Deal?"
March 7th hesitated. If it's really that bad, I still get 100 Star Coins. No harm in trying...
"Alright, fine. But just a tiny bite!"
Yuri ripped off a chunk and handed it to her. "No half-asures. Eat it properly."
March 7th hesitated, then squeezed her eyes shut and took a bite.
Chewing... processing...
"Wait a minute... This is actually kinda good?"
She imdiately grabbed another piece. "Yuri, gim more!"
Yuri chuckled and passed her another chunk.
Dan Heng, seeing March 7's reaction, figured it couldn't be that bad. He took a piece and tried it as well.
"Not bad."
Seeing this, Kevin hesitated, then grabbed a piece.
"I spent 1,000 Star Coins on this. Even if it's bad, I have to eat it!"
She took a bite... then another... and another.
Soon, everyone except Seele was happily eating durian.
Seele, anwhile, was still glaring at her scythe in despair.
"It slls... it reeks! How am I supposed to use this now?!"
Seele returned after washing her scythe, only to find Yuri and the others happily eating durian.
Even Hook and Clara had been called back, and the two little ones were sitting on stools, munching away with satisfied smiles.
Seele wrinkled her nose at the lingering stench in the air, waving a hand in front of her face. "Ugh, how can you guys eat sothing that slls this bad?"
Clara broke her share of durian into two halves and handed one to Seele. "Seele, try it! It's really delicious."
Seele hesitated, glancing at the others. They all seed to be enjoying it just fine.
Besides, she thought, I've eaten way worse things in the lower city. If they can eat this, so can I.
She took the durian from Clara's hand and popped it into her mouth.
Her eyes widened. "This fruit is so good! How can sothing that slls so awful taste this amazing?!"
It wasn't long before they had devoured every last bit of durian.
Kevin licked his fingers, still craving more. He turned to Yuri with pleading eyes. "Yuri, I had such terrible luck with my scratch cards today. How about treating to so durian?"
At that, everyone except Dan Heng turned expectantly toward Yuri.
With a sigh, Yuri bought ten more durians—it only cost 1 Star Coin in total.
Seele glanced at the durians, then at her freshly cleaned scythe, and hesitated.
Should I use my scythe to cut them open again? But if I do, it'll stink, and I'll have to wash it all over...
In the end, her hunger won out over her reasoning, and she sliced open a durian with a few quick swings.
Kevin's reflexes were sharp—before Seele could react, Kevin had already snatched the whole opened durian. "Hehe, thanks, Seele! Mmm~ delicious!"
The others quickly grabbed their own durians, lining up one by one for Seele to cut them open.
Resigned, Seele swung her scythe chanically, cracking open one durian after another.
Within seconds, everyone was happily feasting again.
Seele sat on a stool, stuffing durian into her mouth like a starved animal. Her face was sared with fruit pulp, making her look like a cat.
March 7th swallowed her bite and, out of the corner of her eye, noticed sothing. "Hey, Kevin, you still have one more scratch card left."
Kevin perked up. "Oh, right!" He hurriedly finished his durian, then opened the lid of his last Trash Can scratch card.
A golden light flashed, and the trash can vanished—leaving behind a single ga cartridge.
Yuri picked it up and scanned it with his system.
[Special Item: Sekiro (Hell Difficulty Edition) Ga Cartridge]
Reward for Completion: Vibrating Sword Skill
(This cartridge can only be used to claim the reward once.)
Yuri raised an eyebrow. Interesting. This doesn't seem overly powerful, but the Vibrating Sword skill is no joke. Not only does it look cool, but it's also incredibly effective in combat.
"Kevin, you actually got sothing valuable this ti. If you bought this from , it'd cost you 3,000 Star Coins. Congrats, you made your money back."
Kevin's head shot up. "For real?! This thing is worth that much?!"
March 7, Dan Heng, and Seele leaned in curiously.
Yuri explained, "If you beat this ga, you'll unlock the Vibrating Sword skill. It lets you deflect attacks without taking any damage."
"But," he added, "it has limits—it's only effective against opponents at a general's level or lower."
Kevin examined the cartridge in his hands. Deflecting attacks? Sounds cool, but...
Compared to a precise technique like Vibrating Sword, Kevin preferred raw, brute force.
He liked smashing things. Like using the Judgnt of Shamash—big sword, big swings, big damage.
Then, a lightbulb went off in Kevin's head.
"Wait! I just thought of a way to make a ton of money!"
March 7th raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What's your plan?"
Kevin smirked. "Not telling!"
Before anyone could press Kevin further, He bolted out of the house with the ga cartridge.
March 7th simply shrugged and went back to eating durian.
Outside the house.
Kevin held the ga cartridge in one hand and his phone in the other, quickly typing a ssage.
Kevin:Silver Wolf! Silver Wolf! I got a ga cartridge! You want it?
Silver Wolf:A ga cartridge? Kevin, you don't usually have the kind of gas I like.
Kevin:Oh, trust , you'll like this one.
Silver Wolf:Heh. Alright, I'm listening. What's special about it?
Kevin:It's super hard!
Silver Wolf:Perfect. I love a challenge.
Kevin:It's got top-tier combat chanics, great controls, amazing gaplay—
Silver Wolf:And? That's it?
Kevin:The best part? Beat the ga, and you get a real-life skill from it.
Silver Wolf went silent for a mont before replying.
Silver Wolf:Now that's interesting. How much?
Kevin:C'mon, what's money between friends?
Silver Wolf:Kevin. Don't waste my ti. Na your price.
Kevin:Fine. No credits. Give 80,000 Stellar Jade.
Silver Wolf:Stellar Jade? I only have a few dozen. You sure you want that?
Kevin:Yep!
Silver Wolf:Alright. Opening a portal now.
A few seconds later, the space in front of Kevin distorted, and Silver Wolf's projection appeared.
"Long ti no see, Kevin."
Kevin grinned, eyes locked on Silver Wolf's pocket. "Long ti no see! Here's the cartridge. Now, where's my Stellar Jade?"
With a snap of her fingers, Silver Wolf made the ga cartridge disappear. In its place, a small bag containing 40 Stellar Jade appeared in Kevin's hand.
"Here. If you need anything else, ssage ."
Before Kevin could respond, Silver Wolf's projection vanished.
Kevin tossed the Stellar Jade in his hand, looking smug.
"Heh, I'm a genius. Made 40 Stellar Jade just like that! That's four more Trash Can scratch cards, baby!"
With a spring in his step, Kevin headed back inside the clinic.
But instead of imdiately spending his Stellar Jade, Kevin decided to save up. Once he had enough for ten scratch cards at once, he would do a big pull.
After a short rest, March 7, Kevin, and Dan Heng left the clinic to search for clues about the Stellar Core.
March 7th had wanted to ask Yuri for help, but he declined. He had other plans—specifically, heading back to the Astral Express to take Hook and Clara along for so fun.
Astral Express – Observation Car.
"Hiko! Welt! We're here!"
Ying and Paimon stepped through a portal, and Paimon cheerfully waved at Hiko and Welt.
Hiko greeted them with a smile. "Paimon, Ying, what brings you here?"
Paimon huffed. "We ca to buy stuff from Yuri! We found a bunch of Primogems yesterday and we're ready to spend!"
Hiko chuckled. "Ah, I see. Well, bad timing—Yuri isn't on the train right now."
Paimon's face fell. "Huh?! No way!"
Hiko laughed at their disappointnt.
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