Derek Su first went to a branch of the same mod shop owner he had visited before.
However, in Tianyuan City, that chain store wasn't very prominent, and its inventory was fairly average. It didn't have the Modules Derek Su was looking for.
What he needed now were Modules that boosted Stability and Impact Resistance. These weren't in high demand, so they didn't sell well, and stock was limited. Most shops mainly carried steering and acceleration Modules.
With no other option, Derek Su brought his Mecha Girls to the largest mod shop in Tianyuan City.
The Servit Tianyuan City chain store.
The place was packed. Mecha Girls and drivers filled every corner.
Business here was already booming on a normal day, but with the Brana Ruins Advanced Tournament happening tomorrow, the crowd was even bigger.
And the shop clearly knew how to take advantage of it.
Seeing the huge turnout, they immediately launched a promotion.
"Master, so many golden eggs! I want to smash one!"
Stella ran back and hugged Derek Su's arm, acting spoiled.
She had squeezed into the densest part of the crowd earlier to check things out. Since she was shorter, she had to push all the way to the front.
Meanwhile, Derek Su and Imperial Scale, being the tallest, had already seen what was going on.
It was a golden egg smashing lottery event.
A rack surrounded by drivers and Mecha Girls held exactly one hundred golden eggs. A narrow-eyed host stood nearby, speaking animatedly with a slick, calculating look.
"This round of the Golden Egg Smash event is about to begin! One smash costs 100,000. Take a chance at winning a purple or even gold Module for the price of a blue one! Each person can smash up to three eggs per round!"
"Let me try!!!"
The crowd parted.
Derek Su spotted a familiar figure.
Wasn't that Richard Cheng from the ESW club?
Behind him followed a butler and twelve imposing Mecha Girls. He strode forward arrogantly toward the golden eggs.
It made sense for Richard Cheng to be here. As someone with twelve top-tier Mecha Girls, bringing one combat-type Mecha Girl to tomorrow's Advanced Tournament would be no issue.
So he had come to buy Modules. Money clearly wasn't a concern.
"Oh, isn't this President Richard? What brings you here?"
The host's face lit up with flattery. This was a walking pile of money, after all.
"Since it's President Richard, how about ten smashes per round? I'm sure no one has any objections, right?"
The drivers and Mecha Girls naturally had no objections.
If he smashed ten at once and got nothing good, it was like he was clearing out the bad picks for them. If he hit something good, they could just skip participating. Either way, it benefited them.
"Wait." Richard Cheng's gaze turned cold. "Why are you making me smash ten? Looking down on me? I'll do three per round. That's an order, not a discussion."
The host froze.
He had assumed Richard Cheng didn't care about money, so smashing more would increase his chances. If he won something good, wouldn't he be happy?
So why insist on just three?
Still, since Richard Cheng said so, three it was.
Aside from Richard Cheng, several other drivers signed up.
In the end, five participants joined this round. Each would smash three eggs per turn. If the round went to completion, each person could smash up to twenty eggs. If someone dropped out midway, the others would get more chances.
Derek Su didn't rush in.
He lifted the petite Stella onto his shoulders. Imperial Scale, Absolute Shadow, Tunbao, and Blazing Wind were tall enough to see clearly. Purple Lightning, who was shorter, stood on a leather chair Absolute Shadow had just bought nearby. Lingwind stood beside her on tiptoe.
Derek Su focused on the golden eggs.
As he concentrated, the names and attributes of the Modules inside each egg appeared in his vision.
Out of the hundred eggs, five contained white Modules, ninety-two contained blue Modules, and only three held purple Modules.
The types varied, but most of the blue ones were mediocre pseudo-blue Modules with unimpressive stats. The white ones were even worse.
A crooked business was still a crooked business.
If all the eggs were smashed open, the shop would make a massive profit no matter what.
At that moment, Richard Cheng stepped forward with a hammer.
He looked around and chose a golden egg near the center on the third tier. Weighing the hammer in his hand, he smiled confidently. His instincts as a CEO told him this had to be a good one.
Derek Su, however, twitched slightly.
That egg contained a white steering Module labeled [Steering Prototype-47], the kind of trash that wouldn't even sell.
Picking that out of a hundred eggs on the first try could only mean one thing.
Richard Cheng's luck was unbelievably bad.
Crack!
The egg shattered.
Richard Cheng's expression darkened when he saw the white Module.
He cleared his throat and forced a smile. "I knew it would be white. Just as expected."
Then he looked around again.
He picked another egg from the edge.
Derek Su was stunned. The first was white, and now the second one was white too.
Seriously?
That kind of luck was almost impressive.
Richard Cheng cracked it open. His expression changed immediately.
The host's face also stiffened.
That probability was ridiculously low.
Richard Cheng refused to believe it. This time, he took his time choosing.
Finally, he selected one near the lower left.
"I'm certain this one's good."
Just as he was about to smash it, the host hurried over with an awkward smile.
"President Richard, why not try this one instead? This one looks better." He pointed at another egg.
Derek Su narrowed his eyes.
That egg contained a purple Module.
So not only were they crooked, they were shameless too.
If they planted people to deliberately pick specific purple Modules, the shop would lose nothing. At the same time, they could dump hard-to-sell blue junk and still make a profit.
Impressive.
Truly impressive.
If he couldn't see the attributes himself, he would have fallen for it too.
"Are you telling me what to do?" Richard Cheng glanced at the host coldly. "I'm smashing this one. Get out of my way."
The host wiped his sweat and quickly stepped aside.
This was bad. Richard Cheng didn't believe in luck anymore.
And the egg he picked was still white.
If it came out white again, things could get ugly.
Left with no choice, the host slipped his hand into his pocket and made a subtle move.
Just as Richard Cheng was about to smash the egg, Derek Su saw the module data in the two adjacent eggs suddenly retract and swap positions.
So they could rig it electronically too.
Derek Su widened his eyes, genuinely impressed.
Richard Cheng smashed the egg.
A purple Module.
His expression instantly brightened.
"Hahaha! As expected, I'm favored by fate!"
"Yes, yes, absolutely! There were only three purple Modules, and you got one. Your luck is incredible!"
The host, pale and sweating, gave a thumbs-up while secretly feeling relieved he had acted fast enough.
Seeing that purple Modules could actually be obtained, the other drivers became eager.
The event continued.
Some people smashed out purple Modules and were overjoyed, but most walked away with nothing worthwhile.
They spent money and got scraps.
As for whether there were planted participants, no one could say.
As Derek Su watched the third round begin, one particular Module caught his attention.
[Heart of Rock]
[Stability +13, Cornering -5, Impact Resistance +10, Boost Charge -5, Speed -3, Drifting -4]
With a net positive of +6, it was an excellent purple Module.
More importantly, it suited Purple Lightning perfectly.
If he could get this Module, he could focus entirely on allocating points to Stella.
Since he had already seen through the trick, there was no reason to hesitate.
Derek Su raised his hand.
"I'm in!"