Just as the four of them were completely stunned, the surrounding scene flipped like a pancake, undergoing a complete physical transformation.
The rough ground beneath their feet was instantly covered in glittering gold coins, which clattered loudly when stepped on, sounding more pleasant than a money-counting machine.
The broken walls around them turned into high walls built of gold and white jade, densely embedded with fist-sized, top-grade gemstones.
The once-empty basement instantly transformed into a peerless treasury that would make even a dragon drool!
Divine Artifacts, Grimoires, and top-grade equipment were piled into small mountains, their interwoven treasure light almost blinding their eyes.
Lin Xiyue's eyes instantly widened like two copper bells.
Less than five meters away, a human-sized Golden Dragon Shield was propped up at an angle.
On the shield's face, a bas-relief of a dragon with outspread wings was lifelike and exuded overwhelming majesty.
Its streamlined edges and the heavy, reassuring texture that one could describe as providing a full sense of security were a precise strike to a Defense-type Knight's ultimate kink.
"Holy—mother—of—god!"
Lin Xiyue, who had been questioning her life just a second ago, let out a cracked cheer.
She decisively abandoned her long-time companion, [Blackstone's Protection], and threw herself forward like a human meatball.
She hugged the Golden Dragon Shield tightly, then, like a husky that had broken its leash, rolled wildly in the pile of gold coins.
The crisp sound of clashing metal became her BGM, and the cool, heavy texture of the giant shield made her let out a lecherous "Heh heh."
"Heh heh... This thickness, this weight... It's absolutely amazing!"
"From now on, if anyone dares to touch a single hair on my sister's head, I'll slam this thing right into their face and let them experience 'Dragon's Sigh' for free!"
"Now this is what I call a perfect clear settlement! I'm going to sleep with it tonight!"
On the other side, Su Wan had completely thrown her "Young Mistress of a Great Family" persona into the Pacific Ocean.
She now looked like a fanatical old scholar who had stumbled into a library of out-of-print books, wishing she could just embed herself into that row of magic crystal bookshelves.
Her fingertips frantically stroked the gold-stamped spines of the books, where every single word was enough to trigger a level-ten earthquake in the magic world.
"Twelve Stitching Techniques for Spatial Folds," "High-Level Magic Circuit Redundancy Design"... Good heavens, this... isn't this the theoretically existent "Ether Storm Construction Hypothesis"?!
Why even pretend to be modest?
The light from Su Wan's Storage Space flashed like a disco ball in a nightclub as she entered a frenzied "restocking" mode.
She stuffed the books in one after another, as if afraid they would grow legs and run away if she hesitated for a second.
"Oh my god... Is that the 'Moonshadow Walker' set?! The same one the Elven Ranger King wore!"
Xia Lian's mouth dropped open in an 'O' shape. On the weapon rack ahead, a set of dark silver Legendary Grade Leather Armor that perfectly hugged her curves was quietly glowing.
The hand speed she'd honed over eighteen years of being single fully erupted at this moment. With a swish, she completed the outfit change, the dark silver leather armor making her look both cool and stunning.
One moment she was stroking the top-tier shortbow inscribed with "Whisper of Wind," the next she was bouncing around with the "Deep-Sleep Poison" coated twin daggers, her face a picture of sweet dilemmas.
"This piece makes me look slimmer... The grip on this bow is amazing... These daggers are just too cool... Why choose when I'm an adult? I'll take them all!"
She mumbled excuses to herself as she transformed into a ruthless packing machine.
Immersed in her own single-player dress-up mini-game, Xia Lian's usual social anxiety miraculously cured itself.
While her teammates were all frantically "zero-dollar shopping," Lin Qingyue, the team captain, didn't go for the physical equipment.
Before her, a deep blue operation panel filled with a high concentration of anime aesthetics and technology popped up.
[Myriad Worlds Elation Permanent Pool]
Next to it, a line of bright red text that would make any player's blood pressure skyrocket flashed: [Limited-Time Carnival! All Ten-pulls in this gacha are guaranteed to yield a gold-tier reward!]
"Guaranteed... Gold?!"
Lin Qingyue felt every single one of her brain cells throwing a rave.
What was the sheer value of those four words?
This was the ultimate cheat code that even the most cursed gacha losers wouldn't dare dream of!
This was a dimensional strike against the human tragedy of "hitting pity"!
"Golden light" was no longer an unreachable luxury, but a benefit given with a single click!
This meant she could completely turn the tables and become a Gacha God!
The impact of this moment was far more exhilarating than saving Earth or smashing an Ancient God.
Lin Qingyou took a deep breath, a devout, pilgrim-like expression appearing on her face.
Then, she pressed her finger heavily onto the rainbow-glowing "Ten-pull" button.
"Today! I, Lin Qingyue, will pull this damn gacha dry!"
"GIVE... ME... GOLD!"
The moment her words fell, ten shooting stars streaked across the screen. There were no annoying blue skies or white clouds, no purple lights just filling the count!
Ten golden pillars of light, like ten little suns, instantly illuminated her ecstatic face with a magnificent, golden glow!
Exquisite character art popped up one after another, a truly legendary haul.
[Columbina], the cold and ethereal Moon Goddess, closed her eyes in tranquility, her purple hair fluttering in the wind;
[Robin], the superstar whose song could heal, spread her pristine wings as a heavenly melody echoed in her mind;
Ye Shunguang, her gentle and charming Senior Sister, drew her sword and looked around, her sharp sword intent practically overflowing the screen.
"Hahahaha! I've won big! This is my day!"
Lin Qingyue stared at her new, golden-shining waifus in her System Space, her head thrown back in laughter like a demented, two-hundred-pound roe deer.
Her usual mask of the calm and collected Commander was cast aside to the winds.
What does it mean to reach the peak of life?
With the Moon Goddess on her left, the superstar on her right, and her sword-immortal Senior Sister backing her up from behind!
To hell with the Ancient God's shadow. In this big wide world, nothing is bigger than Lin Qingyue clearing the gacha pool!
She rubbed her mischievous little hands together, ready to seize the momentum and sweep all the limited cards from the pool.
"Come out, my destined Main DPS!"
However, just as her finger confidently tapped the "Ten-pull" button once more...
The expected golden light did not appear.
In the center of the screen, a glaring red warning box abruptly popped up, accompanied by a sharp "beep-beep" error sound.
[Ding! Warning! Your 'Elation Value' balance is insufficient. Unable to perform a Wish!]
"...Huh?"
Lin Qingyue's smile, which had almost reached the back of her head, instantly froze.
Elation Value? Insufficient?
In disbelief, she pulled up her Personal Panel, staring fixedly at the asset column in the upper right corner.
The six-figure savings she had painstakingly scraped together by causing trouble day and night... had been emptied.
The long string of zeros was gone, leaving only a lonely, utterly mocking number: 150.
A mere 150 points, not even enough for a single pull!
A cold sweat trickled down her spine.
Lin Qingyue's hand trembled as she opened the Character Card warehouse.
It's okay. As long as the T0-Tier characters she just pulled are still there, this wave isn't a loss.
Her gaze swept across the item slots.
Lin Qingyue's eyes widened further, her eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets.
No Columbina, no Robin, and definitely no Ye Shunguang.
The first few cards, glowing with golden light, bore names printed in black on a white background that were completely unplanned.
[Constance], [Fugue], [Lingsha], [Kafka]...
A line of notification remained in the system log:
[Ding! Host has accumulated a total expenditure of 200,000 Elation Value. System version 2.1 upgrade!]
[Host has preliminarily comprehended the true meaning of Elation, and can now actively trigger the "Melody Beyond the Strings" effect, and add a filter condition to the cross-dressing characters.]