Damn it! William Clark almost smashed the washbasin in the bathroom at that moment. What the hell! You’re supposed to be a magical system, so why is there even a “Thank you for participating” trap option on the wheel! Can you even work properly or not!

How am I supposed to spin this damn thing!

He only had 701 negative emotion points in total, and he just blew 100 of them. But honestly, he couldn’t bring himself to stop now—after all, this was the only thing he could do in this system at the moment.

Heh! Spinning again!

The wheel spun once more… “Thank you for participating!”

“Thank you for participating!”

“Thank you for participating!”

Participate my ass! William Clark clicked five more times in a row, and every single time it was “Thank you for participating!”

Is my luck really this bad? Can someone tell me what the actual odds are for getting “Thank you for participating”?

Right now, William Clark didn’t even know what the other things on the wheel were—he only ever saw “Thank you for participating.” How much of a scam is this system?!

Last try. The wheel spun again, and William Clark shouted “Stop!” without hesitation. When the wheel stopped, William Clark saw the mist at the pointer’s position clear away—not “Thank you for participating,” but a red fruit that looked a lot like a plum.

“Marrow Cleansing Fruit has been stored in the inventory. Items in the inventory can be retrieved at any time with a thought.”

“Retrieve.”

The Marrow Cleansing Fruit. William Clark looked at the fruit that appeared in his palm—it looked delicious. So, does eating it mean it can cleanse the muscles and marrow?

Eat it or not? There was no need to hesitate. William Clark popped the fruit into his mouth, and as soon as it entered, it melted into a warm current that flowed into William Clark’s body.

This little house didn’t have heating, so it was always a bit cold to shower in winter. But suddenly, William Clark didn’t feel cold at all—he just felt a wave of heat all over his body and started sweating profusely.

This feeling… it was as if his body had become more transparent, somehow magical!

The weakness that had always clung to William Clark because of his poor health was completely gone, as if this fruit had unlocked all the shackles in William Clark’s body.

Never mind whether he could become one of those legendary figures who could move mountains and fill seas—just this one fruit that improved his body was enough to make William Clark overjoyed.

Usually at school, the PE teacher would kindly let William Clark stand aside and skip running. When classmates played basketball or soccer, William Clark was too embarrassed to join in.

He always looked sickly, and even felt a bit lacking in confidence when talking to girls…

As Little Clark would say, with such a weak body, what’s the point of talking to girls…

At this moment, William Clark checked his balance again—only 1 point left. Easy come, easy go.

He checked his income record again, and suddenly there was 1 more point: negative emotion from Grace…

So petty… William Clark thought this system was pretty magical, at least it let him know who held a grudge against him, right?

“William Clark, come out and eat noodles!” Little Clark called from outside.

William Clark instinctively shouted back, “Remember to add some chopped green onions!” They grew green onions in their own yard—might as well use them.

Then William Clark watched as his income record showed more resentment from Little Clark, +10, +10, +10…

William Clark took a sharp breath—suddenly his teeth ached a little… If it were anyone else, they’d probably rush out to coax the little girl outside, but William Clark wasn’t like most people…

“Add some cilantro too!” William Clark shouted.

+10, +10, +10…

William Clark figured that this brat Little Clark could probably provide half of his daily negative emotion points!

Thinking about it, William Clark happily went out to eat instant noodles. The more he looked at Little Clark’s sulking face, the happier he felt.

“William Clark, you used to be the one who cooked instant noodles for me!” Little Clark said with a dark face.

“It’s fine, from now on you can cook them.” As soon as he finished speaking, William Clark saw another 20 points added to his record, and he was overjoyed.

But he couldn’t always bully this kid—after all, in this vast world, it was just the two of them relying on each other.

The snow outside was falling harder and harder, turning the whole world white. The silent snowflakes drifted down, like a sigh.

Yeah, in the whole world, it was just the two of them depending on each other.

“William Clark, should we go build a snowman later?” Little Clark asked tentatively.

“Sure.” William Clark smiled. “What kind should we build?”

“We’ll decide later, I haven’t thought of it yet.” Little Clark continued eating her instant noodles with her head down. She was willing to run away from the orphanage to stay with William Clark, not because William Clark was especially good to her, but because being with William Clark felt like being with family—simple and easy.

Family—such a word was far too distant for them.

In the end, the two of them didn’t manage to build any decent snowmen. Neither of them had any artistic talent. Other people’s snowmen always looked amazing, with all kinds of anime designs.

But for them, in the little yard fenced in by a small barrier, there were only two snowmen—one big, one small—crooked and lopsided, barely resembling human shapes.

The two snowmen, one big and one small, stood close together, standing alone in this cold world.

Chapter 6: Message in a Bottle