Suddenly, an urgent message was broadcast on TV: "We apologize to all fellow lottery players. Due to a machine malfunction, the random lottery number drawing was inaccurate, leading to a situation where a large number of people won."

"This lottery drawing is void. Please take your tickets to your local agency for a full refund of the purchase price."

A manager from the lottery center stepped forward and bowed deeply. He sincerely apologized and announced that the published data for this lottery was invalidated.

Qin Mu watched this, utterly confused.

He had no idea what had just happened. Although I bought five thousand entries, they were spread across different types of lotteries, averaging only about two hundred entries each. It wasn’t that many, actually.

While he was still bewildered, the lottery center manager announced another piece of news: "According to backend data analysis, the winning numbers for this lottery are predominantly concentrated in Jin City. Various lottery stores there seem to have gone into a frenzy of concentrated purchasing."

"It is suspected that someone exploited the machine malfunction. The lottery center is now conducting a thorough investigation."

"To ensure fairness and justice, the results of this lottery drawing are void."

Qin Mu was even more stunned. He didn’t quite understand what the manager was saying. What does he mean... it happened at various lottery stores in Jin City? I clearly only bought tickets at one store. The only explanation is that the owner of that lottery store spread the information about the tickets I bought. That must have led to other people following suit.

Looking at the result, he sighed softly. It seems this path has also gone down the drain.

The ten thousand yuan I spent on tickets can be refunded, but winning any prize is definitely out of reach now.

This time, although that lottery store leaked my ticket purchase information... but a lottery is a matter of luck. The numbers I bought weren’t trade secrets. Spreading a possible winning combination doesn’t infringe on any of my rights. I can’t blame them. And the lottery center’s actions... are even more beyond reproach. It’s insane that hundreds of lottery stores in Jin City all bought the same batches of tickets I did. These people... they must have been desperate to ride my coattails. Even if the lottery center were willing to pay out, with so many people sharing the prize, I might not even get my initial investment back.

Looking at the heap of lottery tickets before him, Qin Mu took a deep breath. Then I’ll have to choose another path.

Gaming the lottery system was never a reliable strategy. I could win each drawing because of my luck, but it’s not appropriate to keep doing this. I’m still short eighty million yuan. I have no choice but to consider taking out a bank loan. That’s right, my backup plan is to raise money from a bank. I have forty million yuan deposited in a certain bank in Jin City, which barely qualifies me as a major customer. I should have a chance to get a loan. Actually, loans are divided into personal and commercial loans. To borrow one hundred million from a bank, one usually needs to prove the ability to earn one hundred million or possess assets worth that much. I currently have forty million in assets. Barring any surprises, I should be able to secure a loan for another forty million.

「Meanwhile」

In various parts of Jin City, the owners of lottery agencies appeared calm but were actually in an uproar. Ever since an anonymous tip had leaked, every lottery store owner had followed the trend, buying a massive number of tickets from the same batches as Qin Mu.

At the time of the drawing, everyone watched the lottery screen with bated breath. The supposed 90% chance of winning had everyone on edge, thinking they were about to strike it rich.

Then, suddenly, they were informed that this round of results was nullified. Everyone felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on them. They couldn’t help but vent their frustrations in various lottery store owner group chats.

"Damn it! Who the hell bought so many tickets? I only bought a few hundred!"

"Damn it all, and all in our Jin City? You people are too ruthless!"

"Great, now nobody gets anything."

"I’m so pissed! All that excitement for nothing. We got absolutely nothing in the end."

"..."

Everyone was cursing and swearing. Their dreams of getting rich had vanished like a bubble, turning to nothing in an instant.

At the same time, they also gradually realized that Qin Mu’s luck hadn’t disappeared! Even though he hadn’t been buying lottery tickets recently, his luck was still outrageously good! In the future, if Qin Mu visited their stores again, they absolutely couldn’t let this information slip. If they were to get rich, they’d have to do it on their own. If other people found out, it would surely spread like wildfire and become common knowledge.

「The next day」

To raise money, Qin Mu purposely took a day off from the nursing home. He went straight to a specific bank in Jin City, having scheduled an appointment with the bank president. As a customer with a large deposit, he could meet the bank president virtually any time he wished.

"Come in, Mr. Qin, please have some tea." The bank president, upon seeing him, personally poured the tea. "I was wondering... what brings you here today?" His voice sounded a little nervous. Qin Mu wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination.

"Please don’t be nervous; I mean no harm," Qin Mu said gently, offering what he believed to be a very amiable smile.

But this smile seemed to make the bank president’s expression shift slightly, and his speech became even more courteous. "Mr.... Mr. Qin, please, just tell me what’s on your mind."

This time, upon learning that Qin Mu wanted to see him, the bank president had immediately dropped everything and rushed over, fearing that arriving late might displease Mr. Qin.