Everything ended in a flash, and David Walker hadn’t even figured out what was happening. All he heard was a chaotic mess of shouting and cursing, two people wrestling with the guy who had knocked him over, while a few others on the side kept kicking that man from time to time. When David Walker was knocked down, he scraped his arm, and it was hurting now. He raised his hand to look—his elbow was covered in blood. He couldn’t help but curse, “What lucky star? Damn it, it’s really a disaster star—more like a damn bloody disaster!”

At that moment, another woman came running up from behind, yelling, “Catch the thief! Catch the robber!” She charged forward and rammed her head right into the thief’s stomach, the one being held by the two men. She wasn’t tall, but she definitely wasn’t light—at least a hundred and fifty or sixty pounds. With this human tank crashing into him, the thief let out a howl and curled up like a shrimp. The “heroes” nearby quickly returned the handbag they had just snatched back from the thief to the woman. She opened it, thanked them profusely, and bowed repeatedly with the bag in her hands. “Thank you all so much, thank you, thank you…”

David Walker finally understood—the guy who had crashed into him was a thief, who had stolen this woman’s bag and was being chased desperately, running blindly and ended up bumping into him.

At this point, someone nearby said, “Don’t just thank us. If it weren’t for this guy hearing the shout and blocking the thief halfway, we really wouldn’t have caught him!” David Walker was dumbfounded: Heard the shout? Only a ghost would have heard it.

The woman hurried over, grabbed David Walker’s hand, and thanked him again. The police car arrived, took statements, and since all the witnesses were present, there wasn’t much evidence to collect. They took the thief away and that was that. The woman waved her hand, “Gentlemen, let me treat you all to a meal…”

Everyone said it wasn’t necessary, but the woman insisted on not letting them leave. “You don’t understand, gentlemen. Besides my phone and ID, there was thirty thousand yuan in this bag that I just withdrew. I had just left the bank when this damned thief stole it. Thank goodness for your help. No matter what, I have to thank you all properly today. Come on, let’s go eat, let’s go eat…”

“Ugh!” After a satisfying meal, David Walker let out a burp, picking meat from between his teeth with a toothpick as he walked down the street. He couldn’t drink today—his stomach still hurt—but he’d certainly eaten his fill.

“Heh, this is really weird. I actually got a full meal without spending a cent.” David Walker muttered to himself, “Could it be that this glass ball really is something special?” He took out the glass ball again, this time very carefully. It was just after two in the afternoon, the sun was blazing, and when he held it up to the sunlight, it looked as if flames were burning inside the glass ball.

David Walker thought happily, “Haha, it really is extraordinary. I’d better keep it safe!” In fact, the inside of the glass ball was just a patch of chaos; when the sunlight hit it, some parts were more transparent, some less, making it look like it was on fire.

Putting away his lucky star, David Walker happily calculated, “If it’s really this magical, I should try buying a lottery ticket!” But penniless as he was, David Walker didn’t even have the two yuan needed for a ticket. As he worried, he suddenly remembered he still had a coin tucked in his wallet, just in case he was ever completely broke and far from home—a last-resort bus fare.

He quickly fished the coin out from the wallet’s seam, but he was still one yuan short. What now?

Back home, he rummaged through drawers and boxes and managed to find a few small bills. Adding them up—hey, exactly one yuan! David Walker burst out laughing, “With luck like this, if I don’t win the lottery, I’d be letting heaven down!” Clutching his two yuan, David Walker dashed out the door, only to run into his landlord at the entrance. The landlord stood in the doorway, leaving only a thirty-centimeter gap in the big iron gate. David Walker squeezed himself through. A sharp voice called from behind, “Remember to pay the utilities tomorrow!” David Walker cursed under his breath, “Damn it, once I win the lottery, I’ll move out of here right away!”

David Walker liked playing soccer, and could handle basketball too. He wasn’t an expert in sports, but he could do a bit of everything. At the lottery shop, he slapped down his two yuan. “One soccer lottery ticket, please!” The shop owner looked him over, thinking, Where did this bumpkin come from, buying a two-yuan ticket and acting like a big shot.

“What are you buying?” the owner asked listlessly. Only then did David Walker realize he hadn’t picked his numbers yet. He grabbed a match list and glanced at it. Damn, this round was really tough—not just strong teams facing off, but also two weak teams fighting for their lives. He frowned and randomly filled in a string of numbers.

Clutching the ticket, he remembered that today was Saturday, and the results would be out tomorrow. He was so excited he skipped dinner—not that he had anything to eat anyway. After graduating and coming to this city, he had no relatives or friends, not a single old acquaintance. He couldn’t even find someone to borrow money from. He just sat in front of the TV, waiting for the soccer matches to start.

Game after game went by, and David Walker’s palms were sweating with nerves—not because he hadn’t won, but because he’d gotten all the previous matches right!

By past two in the morning, David Walker was still glued to the TV, his eyelids drooping. Before long, he couldn’t hold out any longer and dozed off.