So much time had passed, and he also felt that he really hadn’t played well back then.

Well, if he has to take the blame, so be it.

That’s just his personality—he couldn’t be bothered to clear his name or argue about it anymore. Besides, William Thompson’s attention wasn’t even on that right now.

All those miraculous flashes of inspiration at key moments in the last match, and the emergency maneuvers his hands pulled off even faster than his nerves could react, made him truly feel the existence of [Spider Sense]. At this moment, William Thompson was also a bit curious about the system’s reward.

Sure enough.

As soon as the game’s results screen popped up, a soft “ding-dong” sounded in William Thompson’s mind.

“Ordinary mission—mission complete.”

“The host successfully motivated a teammate who had given up, reignited their desire to win, and led the team to victory. Mission completion: 80%. Base points reward: 300. Extra points reward: 60. Current total points: 360.”

Hearing this, William Thompson instantly breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t some kind of masochist—he definitely didn’t want to be punished by the system and end up bedridden just because his completion rate wasn’t high enough.

He remembered the system’s earlier explanation: as long as you hit 60% completion, the mission counts as done. He’d hit 80%, so no wonder there was a bonus points reward.

With points in hand, William Thompson felt like he had money to spend. The most primal shopping urge in humanity immediately began to stir within him.

He wasn’t planning to upgrade [Spider Sense] proficiency for now—he didn’t have nearly enough points to level it up even once, so he’d just have to grind it out slowly.

Remembering the system’s points shop, William Thompson couldn’t help but tap into it in his mind’s interface.

He had to admit, the system’s shop interface was pretty plain—nothing like the LOL shop with all its discounts, raffles, or mystery stores popping up from time to time.

[Consumable Skills]: One-time use skill consumables that let you instantly have a certain skill for a short period.

[Permanent Skills]: Permanent skills that can be improved through proficiency.

[Special Skill Items]: Grayed out and not yet available, no description for now.

[Lottery Center]: Spend 100 points for a chance to draw.

The host has a 1 in 10 chance to get a normal skill, a 1 in 100 chance for a rare skill, a 1 in 1,000 chance for an epic skill, and a 1 in 10,000 chance for a legendary skill. (The host can use special items to increase lottery odds.)

Just now, William Thompson had noticed that after entering the system space, time outside slowed down dramatically, as if the two weren’t even in the same dimension.

So William Thompson wasn’t in a hurry to start the next game. He browsed the shop with great interest, and the first thing he clicked on was the permanent skills.

A minute later, William Thompson exited with a dark look on his face.

No way around it—

There was only one word for these skills.

Expensive!

Even the ordinary skills started at two or three hundred points, and many were things like driving, singing, or even beauty, hairdressing, and cooking...

Damn it!

If I wanted to learn cooking, wouldn’t I just go to New Oriental? Why would I waste points here?

The rare and epic skills above that were actually useful, but they were way out of reach for William Thompson’s measly handful of points.

Next, he checked out the [Consumable Skills].

Since consumable skills didn’t have proficiency, you didn’t have to grind them yourself—they were top-tier right from the start.

After a few glances, William Thompson realized they weren’t much cheaper than the permanent skills.

At that moment, he finally understood just how valuable that newbie gift pack he’d just received really was.

Shaking his head, he remembered the last words of an old gambling addict from an online forum.

There’s no hurdle in life you can’t get over.

And if there is—

Just bet on it!

Soon, William Thompson’s gaze landed on the [Lottery Center].

Half a minute later, William Thompson, having just blown 100 points, was left teary-eyed with a “Thank you for participating.”

He pressed F to queue up for the next ranked match in the canyon, happily starting another game...

......

The afternoon passed quickly.

By dusk, the last rays of sunlight slipped along the street walls and disappeared, and the area in front of the internet café suddenly dimmed.

In the chill of late autumn, a girl with a neat ponytail, wearing a plaid wool coat and anti-chafing cuffs, stood at the entrance of the internet café with her backpack, hesitantly biting her lip.

She peeked quietly inside, thought for a moment, then opened her phone again and gently tapped the screen to compose a message:

“Um... cousin, did you see my package in the living room today?”

Chapter 6: Cousin’s Computer Parts?

After sending the message, there was no reply for a long time.

Thinking of the things she’d bought online yesterday, a faint blush crept over the girl’s oval face, and she instantly regretted her carelessness in leaving it in the living room.

She looked down at her phone again—the screen was black, still no reply.

The girl couldn’t help but grip her phone tighter, gently closed her eyes, and under her wispy bangs, her long lashes trembled slightly, as if she were fighting some fierce internal battle.

Wuwuwu!