My Auto Cloning System-Chapter 86: Primordial Life-force

Yin Zhe saw the points pop up. "Hey, at least this kid is good for something, he thought. If I can't win the lottery, at least I'm getting points for being a weirdo."

He had tried everything. He did a handstand and pulled the lever with his toe. [Better luck next time]. He crawled under the table and pulled it. [Better luck next time]. He even tried to act like he had a rabbit's foot in his pocket, rubbing his thigh for luck.

(Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!)

"Ten tickets!" Yin Zhe yelled, while throwing his hands up. "Ten thousand points! And all I got was a bunch of 'Try Again' messages! This system is a scammer! It's a thief! I'm being robbed in broad daylight! By the system" (Groan...)

The heat in his chest flared up again. (Sizzle...) It was now getting harder to ignore. The black fire seed was laughing at him. He needed those pills, or he needed a miracle.

He turned his head and looked at Xiao Hu. The attendant jumped. (Eek!)

"Hey, you," Yin Zhe said, trying to sound like a normal, sane person. Well It didn't work very well because he was still glowing orange. "Come here for a second. I need to talk to you."

Xiao Hu hesitated. He gazed at the door, then back at Yin Zhe. He slowly shuffled forward, keeping the water tray in front of him like a shield. "Y-yes, brother Yin Zhe? How can I help you? Please don't eat me."

"I'm not going to eat you, kid. I'm a victim here," Yin Zhe said, his voice turning smooth and sugary. "Listen, I'm in a lot of pain. That fight earlier... it did something to my insides. I need some healing pills. High-grade ones. You know, the blue ones the alchemists make?"

Xiao Hu gulped. "Master, I... I can't do that. The healing pills are only for people with visible injuries. The judge checked you. He said you were fine. Those pills cost a lot of spirit crystals. My boss would skin me alive if I just gave them away."

"Visible injuries?" Yin Zhe acted like he was about to cry. He grabbed his chest and leaned against the wall. "Kid, look at me! I'm red! I'm steaming! I'm like a lobster in a pot! My injuries are on the inside, where it hurts the most! I have a very sensitive soul! If I don't get those pills, I might explode right here in this room! Do you want to clean 'Yin Zhe juice' off the walls?"

Xiao Hu looked terrified, but he shook his head. "I really can't, sir. The rules are the rules. No blood, no medicine. It's the policy of the Iron Vein Palace."

Yin Zhe spent the next ten minutes using his silver tongue. He promised the kid fame. He promised him protection. He even tried to tell a sad story about his imaginary grandmother who needed spirit pills to breathe. He talked and talked, his voice going up and down like a professional actor.

But the attendant was too scared of the elders to budge. "I'm sorry, Master! I just can't!" Xiao Hu squeaked, bowed ten times, and backed away.

Yin Zhe stopped talking. His face went flat and cold. (Sigh...) "Fine. Get out. You're useless to me. Go back to your corner and watch me be a 'madman' some more."

Xiao Hu scrambled back to the corner, shaking.

Yin Zhe turned back to the system screen. He felt a bit defeated. "Fine. If the shop won't give me luck, and the help won't give me pills, I'll use my last resort."

He reached into the "Inventory" section of his screen. There, glowing with a soft, golden light, were 5 Golden Tickets. These were the tickets he had won back during the nightmare in the black waterfall forest. He had been saving them for a moment of absolute desperation.

This is it, Yin Zhe monologued, his eyes reflecting the golden glow. The black flames are biting me. My points are lower than I like. If these five tickets don't give me something to suppress this fire, I'm going to have to do something really shameless in the next round.

He dragged the 5 tickets into the slot machine. (Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink!)

The machine didn't just spin this time. It started to shake. The golden gears groaned, and the blue screen began to turn a deep, royal purple.

---

*****

The blue system screen was glowing so bright it made Yin Zhe's eyes water, and reflecting off his sweat-slicked face like a neon sign in a dark alleyway. He stared at the lever of the skill slot machine, his heart hammering against his ribs in a rhythm of pure desperation. This was it. His last five golden tickets. If he didn't get something to stop the Black Fire Seed from cooking his guts into a charred mess, he was going to be the first person in history to spontaneously combust in a high-security waiting room.

The heat was now becoming unbearable. He had no healing pills left. It wasn't just a fever; it felt like his blood was replaced with molten lead. (Sizzle...) Every time he breathed, a tiny puff of grey smoke escaped his lips. The stone room, which had been cool just an hour ago, now felt like the inside of a baker's oven.

He took in a deep breath and stood up straight, while ignoring the stabbing pains in his core. He threw his arms wide, fingers outstretched, and then tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. "Oh, Great Gods of Earth! Odin! Zeus! Whoever is listening up there! I've been a good guy! Well, mostly! I've been a victim of circumstance! Just give me one win! One time! Plus Ultra luck, let's go!"

He slammed his hand onto the virtual lever with everything he had. (CLACK-WHIRRRRR!)

The reels began to spin. They moved so fast they turned into a golden blur, the sound of the mechanical "clacking" filling his head like a Gatling gun. (Click-click-click-click!) Yin Zhe's heart was drumming against his ribs like a trapped bird trying to break through the cage. (Thump-thump-thump!) The first reel stopped with a heavy, and metallic thud. (DING!)

[Primordial Life-force]

Yin Zhe's jaw hit the floor. The icon was a beautiful, deep emerald heart wrapped in pulsing golden vines. He didn't even look at the other four reels as they stopped one by one with a dull, disappointing buzz.

(Buzz!) [Better luck next time]

(Buzz!) [Better luck next time]

(Buzz!) [Better luck next time]

(Buzz!) [Better luck next time]

"YES! YES! HAHAHA!" Yin Zhe screamed, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "I KNEW IT! THE GODS LOVE A VILLAIN!"

He was so happy he forgot where he was. He forgot about the sound barrier. And He forgot about the nervous attendant. He definitely forgot about the rules of gravity and the structural integrity of ancient stone. He did a deep, and explosive power squat, his leg muscles bulging under his pants like thick steel cables. With his Iron Might skill still active. making his body as heavy and hard as a wrecking ball. and his excitement at 100%, he launched himself into the air like a rocket.

(BOOOM!)