The Riverstone River runs through the heart of Riverstone City. In summer, everyone loves to stroll along its banks, and when they're tired, they gather at riverside food stalls to drink a few glasses of mixed draft beer.
A red Beetle pulled up near a riverside food stall, and out stepped a man and a woman.
The woman was mature and charming; the man was young and handsome.
That's right, the man and woman were Ian Song and Mira Su.
Before they even reached the stall, a friendly young man around twenty-four or twenty-five, with an honest face, came up to greet them. "Sister Su, you’re here! Please, come in!" he said enthusiastically.
"Big Dave, you’ve gotten even more handsome! Have you got a girlfriend yet? If not, I can introduce you to one—my café’s waitresses are all pretty cute. Interested?" Mira Su replied with a teasing smile.
Big Dave blushed. "Sister Su, don’t tease me. City girls wouldn’t go for a country boy like me."
"That’s not true! Whether you’re from the city or the countryside, everyone’s got one nose and one mouth—city folks don’t have an extra mouth. If you like someone, just go for it. Sister Su supports you!" Mira said, giving Big Dave an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
"Thanks, Sister Su." Gratitude flashed in Big Dave’s eyes.
"Big Dave, what are you standing around for? Hurry up and get Miss Su a seat!" A middle-aged man in an apron came over, scolding Big Dave before turning to Mira Su with a smile. "Miss Su, the usual?"
"Yep, the usual, but make it double," Mira Su laughed.
With Big Dave’s arrangement, Ian Song and Mira Su sat at a table close to the river, where they could hear the gentle sound of flowing water.
"Sister Su, are you a regular here?" Ian asked.
"Yeah, whenever I’m feeling down, I like to come here for a drink and some food," Mira Su said with a sigh, her brows clouded with worry.
Just then, Big Dave walked over carrying a bucket of mixed draft beer.
"Sister Su, your beer’s here."
Mixed draft beer is actually less alcoholic than regular beer, and a bucket holds about as much as two bottles.
Mira Su took the bucket from Big Dave and handed one to Ian Song. "Usually I come alone and don’t dare drink too much, but with you here tonight, I’m going to drink my fill."
Hearing this, Ian was a bit surprised—he hadn’t expected Mira Su to trust him so much.
Maybe Mira Su saw through his thoughts, because she laughed, "I only trust you because you’re still a little brat."
Ian Song: "..."
Soon, Big Dave brought over a plate of edamame and some braised snacks.
"Come on, Ian Song, let’s have a drink!" Mira Su said boldly, raising her glass.
"Sure!"
Ian Song clinked glasses with Mira Su, producing a crisp, clear sound.
After the toast, Mira Su brought her glass to her lips and drained it in one go, her eyes fixed on Ian Song.
Not to be outdone, Ian Song raised his glass and finished it in one gulp as well.
Back and forth, the two quickly finished their buckets of mixed draft beer. Mira Su called for Big Dave to bring two more, and soon a plate of spicy crayfish and a dish of river snails were served.
"The crayfish and river snails here are really authentic—you’ve got to try them!" Mira Su said eagerly, picking up a crayfish with her chopsticks, peeling it as she urged Ian Song to dig in.
Ian Song was also pretty fond of good food.
The two of them kept eating and drinking, and before they knew it, each had finished two more buckets of mixed draft beer.
"Big Dave, two more buckets!" Mira Su called out loudly.
Soon, Big Dave brought over two more buckets. Ian Song glanced at Mira Su, who was starting to look a little tipsy, and said, "Sister Su, how about we call it a night after these?"
"No way, I haven’t had enough yet!" Suddenly, Mira Su stood up and smiled at Ian Song. "I’m going to the restroom first—when I get back, we’ll keep drinking."
"Alright, I’ll wait for you," Ian Song replied. After Mira Su left, he shook his head to himself, realizing she was using alcohol to numb her feelings.
Taking a sip of his mixed draft beer, Ian Song suddenly remembered that the TV station must have already aired the piano competition audition clips, so he brought up the system interface to check how much his Fame Points had increased.
What he saw made him ecstatic—his Fame Points had shot up to 12,047.
He’d originally thought getting two or three thousand Fame Points would be great, but he never expected this much.
On second thought, it made sense. Riverstone City had over two million people, and even if Channel 4’s ratings were low, there’d still be tens of thousands watching. Out of those, nearly ten thousand recognizing him wasn’t too much to ask.
No time like the present.
Ian Song decided to do the lottery draw right now.
With a thought, he tapped his finger directly on the big 'Prize' character in the center of the system’s lottery wheel.
The pointer began to spin, and his Fame Points instantly dropped by 10,000, leaving him with 2,047.
The lottery wheel had seven colored segments: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple.
Since getting the ring system, Ian Song had done five draws in total, winning two skills and three divine abilities.
He’d studied those five draws and found that four times the pointer landed on the red segment, and once on orange. The orange segment had given him the second-grade divine ability, Clairvoyant Vision.
So he figured the seven segments went in order—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple—with red giving the lowest-tier skills or abilities, and purple giving the highest.
He watched as the pointer gradually slowed, almost coming to a stop.
Suddenly, Ian Song’s eyes went wide—the pointer was right at the edge of the purple segment.
"Don’t move! Stop right there!"
He couldn’t help but shout.
Tick!
But to his disappointment, the pointer moved one more step and landed on the orange segment.
Then, the words 'Radiance of Life' appeared in bold on the orange segment.
Whoosh!
The words melted into a streak of golden light and shot into his brow. Instantly, his mind was filled with understanding.
Radiance of Life: Second-grade high-tier divine ability, healing type. Can cure any illness or injury, up to three times per day.
Once he understood Radiance of Life’s effect, Ian Song’s disappointment at missing purple vanished. This was an extremely powerful, life-saving ability—if someone wasn’t dead yet, Radiance of Life could heal them.
Calming himself, Ian Song summoned the system sprite Meow-Meow and asked, "How many Fame Points for the next draw?"
"Eighty-eight thousand eight hundred eighty-eight."
"Damn, that’s insane—it jumped more than eight times!" Ian Song muttered. He’d expected the cost to go up, but hearing 88,888 was still a shock.
Just then, a startled cry rang out.
It was Mira Su’s voice. Ian Song quickly closed the system interface and turned his head, just in time to see Mira Su slap a shirtless young man with a fierce tiger tattoo on his back across the face.