The Heartless Alpha Just Wants to Follow the Plot - Chapter 72

Hearing the notification, Su Mo remained lying down without moving. After a moment, she finally opened the livestream anonymously and with deliberate slowness.

The second she entered the stream, she was greeted by a flood of fans speculating in the chat.

【I’m so curious! I saw an insider on Star Net saying this year’s grand prize is completely different. I wonder how? Could it be filled with unreleased new products?】

【Maybe there’s a flying car inside?】

【My bet is on the latest terminal model.】

Guesses were flying everywhere. Qiu Fu watched the chat and let out a soft laugh. “Don’t be anxious. Let’s look at them one by one.”

She felt around the grand prize, and with a click, the Rubik’s Cube disassembled into nine individual dice-like components. Taking a deep breath, her eyes focused. “Let’s start with Number One.”

She pressed the numbered face, and a box about the size of a person’s embrace tumbled out. It was labeled “Food,” keeping with the minimalist style of previous years. Qiu Fu opened it, and her terminal automatically focused on the contents. It was packed to the brim with snacks, all of them brand-new varieties.

“Spicy wing flavored potato chips? I bet these aren’t even for sale yet.”

After she opened the box, her terminal received an official list of the non-retail items included in this year’s grand prize. “There’s an official update. Let me see.”

She clicked in to find a long, flying list of gift descriptions from the official source. “There’s so much this year,” Qiu Fu said, her voice full of surprise. “The items in here are too numerous and too precious. They’ve really outdone themselves.”

【What exactly is in there? Why is the Goddess saying they outdid themselves? Is there really a flying car?】

【I think it’s a mecha.】

【A terminal, probably.】

【Terminals aren’t that expensive; the top-tier ones are only a million credits. That shouldn’t be enough to shock Qiu Fu.】

【A million isn’t much? You talk big, why don’t you produce one then?】

Seeing that a fight was brewing on the screen, Qiu Fu quickly smoothed things over. “This year is indeed different, but that has nothing to do with me personally. As for what’s inside, I’m sure others will share their findings soon. Don’t worry.”

【I redeemed one too and I’m about to open it. Wait for me, Goddess!】

【I got one too! Hehe, I’m going to see what’s inside. I want to sync up with the Goddess so that, by the transitive property, we’re opening the same gift!】

Su Mo didn’t say a word; she just watched silently.

She knew about the Fireworks Club. It was a large, charity-focused subsidiary under the Su Group. Because it didn’t explicitly display the Su logo and the group didn’t publicize the connection, few people knew it was a direct branch of the Su family industry. Every year, the club sent a complete grand prize set to the ancestral estate, so Su Mo received one annually. She hadn’t opened hers for this year yet.

Thinking of this, she went back to her room and took out the Rubik’s Cube. The gift list was personally audited by the Old Master every year. Although Su Mo hadn’t seen this one, she could guess what it contained.

She opened the digital list. At the very top this year was a new, portable mecha model developed by the Su Group. It was designed so that even Betas could wear it. While not exorbitantly expensive, valued at around three million credits it was highly significant.

Because mechas are high-value assets, there were only three in the prize pool. They were civilian-use models that had already passed safety inspections, though anyone wanting to activate one would have to register with the Military. This was an agreement already reached between the Su Group and the authorities. Without military registration, the mecha couldn’t be powered on, as it lacked the central activation code.

Ranked second was a sapphire necklace from the Su Group’s jewelry division, valued at 1.5 million credits. Alongside the necklace were rings, bracelets, and earrings—all of roughly equal value. There were ten such sets in total.

Ranked third was a million credits in cash. These were more common, with thirty prize slots available.

Watching the fans cheer, Su Mo blinked. If this were her previous world, she would have considered this incredibly generous; giving away cold, hard cash is the ultimate way to gain public favor. Whoever won those would truly experience “overnight wealth.”

The first three sub-boxes Qiu Fu opened contained standard items, mostly non-retail food. But when she opened the fourth, there were only two palm-sized boxes inside.

Everyone’s breath hitched. These must be the special items.

Qiu Fu hadn’t expected such exceptional items this year either. This year’s prizes felt like the combined value of the last three years. “I’m a little nervous,” she admitted, reflexively rubbing her fingers together. Everyone in the livestream swallowed hard in unison.

【Goddess, we’re nervous too.】

【I’m not even the one winning, so why are my legs shaking?】

【Not just you; my fingers are dripping with cold sweat.】

【I’m different—my leg just cramped up.】

“Open it,” Su Mo finally typed out a comment.

Whether it was a moment of telepathy or just coincidence, Qiu Fu suddenly looked up and caught that specific “Open it.” As the other fans were also urging her on, she suppressed her nerves, took a deep breath, and opened the box.

The moment the box opened, both Qiu Fu and the viewers in the livestream held their breath.

With trembling hands, Qiu Fu picked up a lake-blue necklace that was nothing short of breathtaking. Her voice shook. “No way, am I really this lucky?”

This was the necklace valued at 1.5 million credits. Although she could earn money now, a piece of jewelry this expensive was a rare sight, and she wasn’t just seeing it, it was being given to her.

The next second, the screen was flooded with the frantic comments of her fans.

【AAAAAHHH!】

【I just want to scream.】

【I have officially lost the ability to speak.】

【Tears are flowing from the corners of my mouth.】

【I, I don’t know how to describe this feeling. It’s complicated.】

Su Mo recognized that necklace. Although it was a non-retail item, the company kept two prototypes on file. Every year, a backup is kept of all grand prizes to prevent future designers from accidentally repeating a design and wasting resources. This necklace was the most intricate design of the year. If it were put up for sale, the price tag would likely exceed 1.5 million. She hadn’t expected it to be included in the Firework Grand Prize this time.

Qiu Fu had always been lucky, but Su Mo hadn’t realized her luck was this extraordinary.

“Congratulations.”

In her moment of satisfaction, Su Mo’s fingers had already typed and sent those words. Fortunately, she was anonymous in the livestream; no one knew who she was, and her message was easily buried in the mountain of fan comments.

“She’s certainly got the luck. To think the most stunning piece from the Jīnghuáng S8 collection would be pulled so early.”

Unnoticed, the butler had appeared behind Su Mo, a faint smile on his face as he held a steaming bowl of dumplings.

Su Mo sat up straight with a helpless sigh. “Uncle Ying, you’re like a ghost. I didn’t even hear you come in.”

The butler stepped around to her side and set the bowl on the table with a practiced grace. “My apologies,” he said smoothly. “I called for you twice, but you didn’t answer, so I took the liberty of coming over.”

Su Mo felt a prickle of embarrassment. “I was focused on the livestream; I must have missed it. What’s the filling for the dumplings this year?”

She stood up and reached for a spoon. The portion was generous about twenty plump dumplings.

“The usual,” the butler replied. “Pork with lotus root, and corn with pork and shrimp. Yours are the lotus root.”

Pork and lotus root. It was a staple filling, one that Pu Ying particularly enjoyed.

Su Mo dazed for a moment. Why would I suddenly remember a detail like that?

She gripped her chopsticks a little tighter. It had to be the original soul’s lingering emotions interfering with her own.

[Why do you assume it’s the original soul?] The System sounded genuinely puzzled. According to Interstellar standards, Su Mo’s brainwaves were an exact match for the original host’s. This suggested they were, in a sense, the same person. Consequently, the “original” host’s thoughts shouldn’t be causing this level of interference, unless those thoughts resonated so perfectly with Su Mo that she could no longer distinguish between her own identity and the role she was playing.

The System kept this last thought to itself. It suspected Su Mo was already beginning to lose that distinction.

“I wouldn’t think of such things,” Su Mo countered internally. She had no such memories of her own; therefore, they had to belong to the “original” Su Mo.

[Oh.]

“Block these emotions.”

[I cannot, Host. This is a visceral, biological reaction of the body. It cannot be suppressed.]

The System’s refusal of her cold request was immediate and final.

Su Mo went silent. The dumplings in her mouth suddenly tasted like ash.

The System shook its head. Clearly, Su Mo still hadn’t figured it out.

With a touch of petulance, Su Mo set her spoon down and shifted her gaze back to the screen. The livestream was reaching its fever pitch. Following the reveal of the necklace, screenshots were flooding the net, drawing an even larger crowd into the stream.

Qiu Fu, ever the fan-favorite, indulged her audience. Seeing their demands, she set up a small stand to display the necklace in the clearest light possible before continuing with the unboxing.

“Is this seriously a New Year’s gift? Fireworks Club is going to go bankrupt at this rate!”

“That necklace looks obscenely expensive. Official prices for the grand prizes are out, it’s actually worth 1.5 million!”

“I’m dying of envy. My gift bag had nothing like this.”

“Don’t even start. Some of us ‘African’ players [unlucky ones] didn’t even snag a gift bag.”

With the “big” surprise already revealed, the audience didn’t expect any more miracles. Qiu Fu felt the same way; her anticipation had cooled, and the viewers agreed. After all, no matter how lucky a person is, what are the odds of pulling two top-tier items from a single gift bag? Even the staff at Fireworks Club wouldn’t make such a mistake.

So, when Qiu Fu reached into the bag and pulled out a second small jewelry box, the collective energy of the room plummeted into shock.

“No way. It’s not what I think it is, right?”

“Impossible. The probability is too low.”

“My legs are actually shaking. My head is spinning.”

“I can’t breathe. Can someone’s luck really be this cracked?”

“This has to be an ad. Fireworks Club must have planted this!”

Disbelief reigned. Even Qiu Fu looked stunned. This was venturing into the realm of the absurd.

“Cough. This wasn’t planted,” she insisted, though her voice wavered. “I literally just went to the club in a disguise to redeem this. Just because it’s a small box doesn’t mean it’s something special. It could be something else like a lipstick?”

Lipsticks had been found in small boxes before. The crowd calmed down, if only slightly.

The comments began to surge with frantic demands for her to open it. If they didn’t see what was inside today, none of them would be able to sleep tonight.