Chapter 4: The Lottery of Traversal

Ma Jun was truly speechless at Xiao Hua’s words. What did any of this have to do with being a scoundrel? He had only acted impulsively and coldly because he was still caught up in the resentments of his past life; did that mean he had to be branded with the label of scoundrel forever? Shaking his head, Ma Jun lit a cigarette and exhaled a cloud of smoke, muttering to himself, “I want to draw a prize.”

A roulette wheel appeared before his eyes, divided into six segments: one box of Scoundrel-brand condoms, one Stamina Pill, one Scoundrel-brand suit. The more Ma Jun looked, the angrier he became. This Xiao Hua was too unreliable. What a little brat!

Fortunately, the next prizes were a Qian Kun Ring, a Lingxi Pill, and an Eternal Youth Pill. With a fifty percent chance, he refused to believe his luck could really be that bad! Gritting his teeth, Ma Jun waved his hand and spun the wheel. His eyes locked intently on the pointer as the wheel gradually slowed, his excitement mounting to the point where he barely dared to breathe.

“Congratulations, Scoundrel, you’ve won a Qian Kun Ring!” Xiao Hua’s voice rang out. “Since it’s your first time drawing, you’ll also receive a Lingxi Pill and an Eternal Youth Pill as a special bonus.”

“Try calling me scoundrel one more time! You little brat!” Ma Jun shouted loudly.

“Boo hoo hoo,” Xiao Hua burst into aggrieved sobs, though whether they were genuine was anyone’s guess. “Fine, I won’t call you that anymore. Why are you so mean to me? My old master was always kind to Xiao Hua, but you’re a bad man!”

Ma Jun felt a wave of exasperation. This brat! He had no choice but to relent. “Alright, alright, I won’t be mean to you anymore. But please, stop calling me scoundrel. I don’t expect you to call me master, just call me big brother.”

“Uncle!” Xiao Hua immediately chirped, grinning. “From now on, I’ll call you uncle.”

“Whatever,” Ma Jun shrugged. “Alright, hand over my prizes.”

Moments later, Ma Jun found a ring and two pitch-black pills in his hand. The ring had no decoration, simply a silver band, and the pills were about the size of a fingertip.

Lazily, Xiao Hua introduced them. The Qian Kun Ring contained a space measuring ten meters square inside, capable of storing inanimate objects. The Lingxi Pill, when taken, allowed one to understand all languages. The Eternal Youth Pill would keep one’s appearance from aging, to prevent trouble in the future if he spent too long in other worlds and returned looking like a middle-aged man.

“You’ve thought of everything,” Ma Jun nodded in satisfaction. He swallowed both pills. Immediately, his mind felt sharper. A quick search for languages of various countries online, and he understood them at a glance—truly worthy of the name Lingxi!

Next, Ma Jun slipped on the Qian Kun Ring. Under Xiao Hua’s direction, he dripped blood on it to claim ownership. With a thought, a pack of cigarettes in his hand vanished, only to reappear moments later.

After playing with it for a while, Ma Jun lost interest.

By now, it was already midday. The whole morning had been spent digesting all this astonishing information. He checked out of his hotel, found a noodle shop and ate to his heart’s content, then lit a cigarette and strolled slowly back to campus.

Military training had been held in an army camp in his previous life, but this time, it was at the school. It was lunchtime, and all the students in camouflage uniforms were heading to the cafeteria.

“Hey, Old Ma, come on, let’s eat!” On the way, he ran into Gu Xinghua, who had his sleeves rolled up and waved eagerly.

Ma Jun walked over, smiling. “I’ve already eaten. You guys go ahead.”

“Come on now!” Gu Xinghua threw an arm around Ma Jun’s neck and glanced around. “I heard you and Yan Rong had a falling out?”

News traveled fast—obviously Yan Rong herself had spread it!

Ma Jun felt a mix of emotions but managed a weak smile. “Yeah, it’s nothing really. We just broke up.”

“For real?”

“For real.”

“No way! They said you did everything you were supposed to do last night. How did you suddenly break up right after? You don’t look like a scoundrel at all, so why—”

They talked as they entered the cafeteria, which was bustling with students in camouflage uniforms. Many people glanced their way and started whispering.

“Hey, isn’t that the guy who writes songs?”

“I heard he just slept with his girlfriend and then dumped her!”

“That’s just cold!”

“Who knows? They say the girl’s quite pretty—one of the best-looking in our year.”

Now Ma Jun had truly become the scoundrel, suffering the same treatment Yan Rong had once received. But back then, many had mocked him for being cuckolded; this time, all the blame was heaped upon himself.

Ma Jun paid it no mind and sat down with Gu Xinghua at a table.

The crowd grew restless. Ma Jun turned to look and saw Yan Rong entering. She looked wan and weary, her eyes red-rimmed. Accompanied by several female classmates, she spotted Ma Jun and hurried over.

“Ma Jun…” Yan Rong stood before him, on the verge of tears. “Were you joking this morning? Everything was fine before. Why did you suddenly say those things?”

Ma Jun was silent for a moment. He stood up, exhaled deeply, and smiled. “Yan Rong, I wasn’t joking, and I don’t regret it at all. Honestly, I do feel a bit guilty, but now that I’m the one being blamed, I feel a little better. There’s nothing more to say.”

“Ma Jun…” Yan Rong covered her mouth as tears streamed from her eyes. Seeing Ma Jun’s cold expression, she was overwhelmed with complex emotions and turned to run away.

“How could you be like this? Shame on you!” one of Yan Rong’s companions shouted furiously.

Ma Jun simply smiled and left as well.

Walking along the tree-lined path of the campus, Ma Jun smoked in silence, his expression blank as he strolled. Perhaps he had gone too far. He could have just broken up cleanly—there was no need to drag things out.

“Uncle, have you thought about how, if news of this gets out after you become famous, it’ll be quite the scandal?” Xiao Hua said gleefully.

Ma Jun couldn’t help but laugh. “In the entertainment industry, it’s all smoke and mirrors—no one can tell truth from fiction. With the right packaging, even a pig can become famous.”

“So your goal is to become a pig?” Xiao Hua giggled.

“Stop mocking me, you little brat!” Ma Jun shook his head. “Let me ask you, how does time flow in the worlds I travel to compared to the main world?”

“Don’t worry. For now, the worlds you can visit are all low-level ordinary worlds, so the relative flow of time is negligible. When you enter higher-level worlds in the future, you can spend energy points to adjust the time flow!”

“Those techno-nerds are amazing, inventing something like this,” Ma Jun sighed.

“To keep you motivated, you’ll have to travel to another world at least once a month. So now, as your boss, I order you to set off for a new world immediately!” Xiao Hua declared arrogantly.

Why the rush? Ma Jun shrugged helplessly. To be on the safe side, he bargained with Xiao Hua for a little more time.

He hurried to a supermarket, bought a pile of instant noodles and bottled water, and stored them in the Qian Kun Ring. After some effort, he also procured a short knife about the length of his forearm. Back at his dormitory, he lay on his bed, heart pounding with excitement and anticipation, pulled up the system panel, and in the world travel section, pressed the “Traverse” button!