Wu Dahai confidently smoothed his mohawk and swaggered over to the slot machine like a star making his grand entrance.
"Ten coins each—ten points. Five-minute time limit. Old Huang, you're on timer duty. Down to the second, got it?"
"Got it." Officer Huang pulled out his phone and opened the stopwatch.
"Simple rules: whoever has the most points after five minutes wins." Wu Dahai glanced at Gao Yang. "Any questions?"
"None."
"Good! I'll go first!" Wu Dahai plopped down in front of the slot machine, deftly inserted ten coins, and started playing.
Gao Yang stood behind him, observing. It was a good chance to jog his childhood memories of watching people play slots and refresh his understanding.
This was the most common type of slot machine, with eight possible prizes:
Apple (5x multiplier)
Orange (10x)
Papaya (15x)
Bell (20x)
Watermelon (20x)
Double Stars (30x)
Double 7s (40x)
BAR (100x)
Naturally, the higher the reward, the lower the odds. The jackpot BAR was the rarest—maybe not even appearing once in a hundred spins. Fruits like apples, oranges, and papayas were easier to hit but paid far less.
Wu Dahai started with 10 points. His first move was to spend 3 points, betting 1 each on apple, orange, and papaya.
Five seconds later—ding! He hit the apple. +5 points, bringing his total to 12.
Second round: Wu Dahai bet 2 points each on orange, papaya, and bell.
Ding! Orange. +20 points, total now 26.
...
For the first eight or nine rounds, Wu Dahai played it safe, casting a wide net to catch small fish. His score steadily climbed to 80+, with a few misses here and there but an overall upward trend.
Wu Dahai smirked. "Slots might seem like pure luck, but there's actually a pattern. It's not truly random. Hard to explain, but after playing tens of thousands of rounds, you develop a feel for it. I can usually predict the next prize—maybe one right guess out of three."
He tapped the buttons smugly. "As they say, 'Memorize three hundred Tang poems, and even if you can't write one, you can still recite them!'"
"It's poems, not deaths," Gao Yang couldn't help but correct his mispronunciation.
Wu Dahai glared at him for ruining his moment.
"One minute left," Officer Huang reminded.
"Plenty of time!"
Wu Dahai closed his eyes dramatically. "I feel it… the Double 7s are calling me!"
The moment he opened them, he slammed 20 points on Double 7s.
Ding!
Papaya.
An unexpected result, but Wu Dahai didn't flinch. He immediately bet another 20 on Double 7s.
Ding!
Watermelon.
Now down to 40+ points, he still didn't hesitate. 20 more on Double 7s.
Ding—!
DOUBLE 7S!
The entire slot machine lit up in celebratory red lights. Hyped-up music and a robotic voice blared through the arcade:
"Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations!"
20 points × 40 = 800 points!
The credit counter skyrocketed to 820 in an instant.
Wu Dahai stood up and stretched. There were still 30 seconds left, but he was done.
"Time's up," Officer Huang announced.
Final score: 820.
A minute later, the machine reset, and Gao Yang took his turn. He took a deep breath and started betting.
At first, he copied Wu Dahai's strategy—playing it safe, sticking to apples, oranges, and papayas like a diligent fruit farmer. After three minutes, he'd scraped together 61 points, but compared to Wu Dahai's 820, it was a drop in the ocean.
Now it was time to go big. But Gao Yang had no clue—Double Stars, Double 7s, and BAR felt like distant myths.
Screw it. I'm going for BAR!
He'd bet 10 points on BAR six times. Hit it just once, and he'd get 1000 points!
I'm supposed to be lucky, right? Maybe it'll work!
First bet: 10 on BAR.
Behind him, Wu Dahai burst out laughing. "Desperate much? You've barely played, and you think you can land BAR? I've pulled all-nighters without hitting it once!"
Ding-ding-ding-ding—beep! Miss.
Gao Yang bet another 10.
Ding! Miss again.
...
Soon, he was down to his last 10 points. Heart pounding, he slapped the button with all his might.
Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding—beep!
This time, the spin felt longer—two whole seconds more. Gao Yang's hopes soared.
Ding!
Miss. Not even close to BAR.
"HAHAHAHA! Missed again!" Wu Dahai cackled. "Buddy, you'd need ten thousand years to beat me at slots! Try another game next month—maybe with practice, you'll stand a chance."
Gao Yang stared at his remaining points: 1.
Not over yet.
"How much time left?" he asked Officer Huang.
"30 seconds… 29…"
Gao Yang's eyes locked onto the Big/Small buttons on the machine.
Whatever!
He closed his eyes and slammed the "Big" button ten times in a row!
Thud-thud-thud-thud—!
The credit counter exploded: 1 → 2 → 4 → 8 → 16 → … 624!
All in under ten seconds.
Wu Dahai's jaw dropped.
Few slot players dared to gamble on Big/Small. Hit it, and your points doubled. Miss, and they reset to zero.
It looked tempting, but the machine was rigged—especially when your points got high. It would swallow them whole, no matter if you picked Big or Small.
Yet Gao Yang had gone Big ten times in a row—and won every time!
What kind of odds were those?! With luck like this, he should be buying lottery tickets!
Officer Huang watched, heart racing. "8 seconds left."
Gao Yang was just as stunned. Is this the power of my Luck stat? No time to think—go again!
Hand trembling, he smashed Big once more.
THUD! 624 → 1248!
Win!
"TIME'S UP!"
Wu Dahai was speechless. In all his years of playing slots, he'd never seen anything like this. Was the machine broken?
He stepped forward and pressed Big himself.
THUD!
Points reset to zero.
Wu Dahai had to admit it—today, he'd witnessed a true "luck god."
"You won. The test's over," he said.
"Finally," Officer Huang sighed in relief. "After half a year, I can finally join the organization."
"Whoa, hold up! Don't get the wrong idea—this was just the first test." Wu Dahai smirked. "There's a second one."
"What?" Officer Huang was shocked. "There's more?"
Gao Yang wasn't surprised at all. What kind of organization recruits Awakened based on gaming skills? This isn't an esports team.
"Old Huang, you didn't actually think beating a few games would get you in, did you? The first test was just a warm-up. Now we get serious."
Wu Dahai snapped his fingers.
Instantly, every arcade machine shut off. The ceiling fan ground to a halt.
Gao Yang and Officer Huang stood in the sudden darkness, exchanging a silent glance.
This guy's not as simple as he seems.
Wu Dahai was likely an Electric-element Awakened. And in any game or movie, people who controlled electricity were never weak.
He's a legit powerhouse—just playing the fool with us rookies. If he'd really fought Qing Ling earlier, she might not have stood a chance.
"Come on. Let's talk outside." Wu Dahai stuffed his hands in his pockets and sauntered out of the arcade.