Which way to go is the road?

Everyone came to the front desk and took turns admiring the newly acquired magical weapon, as if they were visiting a giant panda that had just been born. They exclaimed in amazement from time to time, their excitement overflowing.

Du Xinpeng couldn't shake his goofy nature. Instead of offering praise, he frowned and said, "A level 1 divine weapon won't sell for much! And it's unusable!"

"Then what should we do? Upgrade the divine weapon? I've never done that before, I don't know how to upgrade!" Xiang Fei pouted.

"That's easy, I know, you just need to..." Du Xinpeng was very enthusiastic, but was unfortunately interrupted by a voice.

"Shut up! You want to watch the show? You want your brother to risk his life? You know how high the chances of failing the upgrade are!" Qian Luomei scolded Du Xinpeng, then turned to Xiang Fei: "Listen to me, sell this level one divine weapon. It'll fetch over 600 yuan!"

Those who have played similar games may know that upgrading divine weapons requires corresponding materials. The materials aren't expensive, but the failure rate is terrifying. As the level of the divine weapon increases, the failure rate also increases, to the point that it can make you question your existence, because once you fail, all your efforts are wasted, and the divine weapon immediately disappears.

Therefore, people are very secretive about how to play this game, and only wealthy second-generation heirs would spend money to have fun.

"But this thousand yuan can't save me from this predicament! Why don't I give it a try? If I fail, I fail. At worst, I'll just pretend I didn't get this divine weapon!" Xiang Fei didn't believe in this nonsense. He felt that he couldn't lose any more than he could lose, so he wanted to take a gamble!

"In that case, do as you please, I'm going upstairs!"

Qian Luomei shrugged, ignored everyone, and walked lightly up the stairs.

The crowd turned their attention away from the disappearing figure and focused on Xiang Fei, who was walking toward the center of the stage.

Dong Lu, unusually, remained silent, watching Xiang Fei quietly like everyone else. It was unclear whether she was unfamiliar with this part of the game or wanted to see the limits of Xiang Fei's madness.

"Du Xinpeng, what do I need for the upgrade? Who should I contact?"

"Xiang Fei, you know I'm just a goofball, I like to joke around. I was just saying that casually, don't listen to me, it's not funny!"

"Whether it's fun or not, you'll know once you play! Come on, the divine weapon is mine anyway, so I won't ask you to pay for it if it breaks, don't worry!"

"I won't tell, not even if you kill me! Telling you will shorten my lifespan!"

"Lotus Silk Cloud-Walking Shoes, Level 1 Divine Weapon, with an additional speed of 60!" Xiang Fei murmured the weapon's attributes, his eyes revealing both disdain and excitement: "After upgrading to level 5, the additional speed will be 300, and the price will increase from 600 to 10000, right?"

"But the chance of a divine weapon being upgraded to level five is too small. I heard that only one or two out of a hundred can be successfully upgraded!" Zhang Fang kindly reminded him.

Xiang Fei seemed to be drawn by a fantasy, unable to suppress the yearning and greed in his heart. He tilted his head and glanced sideways at Zhang Fang: "A small chance doesn't mean it can't succeed, right? I've had enough bad luck today. Heaven should at least show me some mercy!"

"Alright, I'll help you. I know how to upgrade. Xiang Fei is right, at most we can just pretend we didn't complete the final step, the Asura, it's no big deal! I've never upgraded such a valuable divine weapon before, let's try this thrill today!"

While everyone else remained noncommittal, Bai Xue stepped forward to support Xiang Fei, resembling a beautiful story of a harmonious and loving couple.

The crowd fell silent, watching their next performance with great interest.

Guided by Bai Xue, Xiang Fei bought enough upgrade materials in the game, went to a blacksmith shop in a scene, opened the upgrade interface, and put the divine weapon and materials into the corresponding positions.

Everyone abandoned their previous thoughts and focused all their attention on the upgrade button. They held their breath and waited for the mouse to click lightly. One step to godhood, one step to hell, their fate was completely in the hands of the bizarre setting of the computer game.

Taking a deep breath, Xiang Fei pressed his right index finger lightly, and a crisp click sounded.

"We did it!" Everyone cheered and high-fived each other.

Seeing Xiang Feichong's smug look as he raised his eyebrows at her, Bai Xue smiled broadly and responded with a hearty thumbs-up.

"Oh right, I haven't finished my meal yet!" Xiang Fei picked up the fried pancake that had already cooled down and ate a couple of bites. He reluctantly put it down under everyone's urging and then picked up his drink and took a couple of sips.

"Xiang Fei, don't be too happy. The chance of leveling up from level 1 to level 2 is 80%, so you can celebrate if you succeed, but that's normal. The chance of leveling up to level 3 is 60%, which means there's a 40% chance of failure. Be prepared!"

Zhang Fang poured cold water on Xiang Fei, snapping him out of his earlier elation and putting on a stern expression once more.

Repeating the previous process, only with a higher-level material, Xiang Fei moved the mouse cursor to the upgrade button, then rubbed his hands together with the keyboard, as if this would increase the chances of success.

After relaxing for a few minutes, Xiang Fei looked at the anxious faces around him, then put his hand back on the mouse, and people seemed to hear the crisp click of the mouse.

"etc!"

Everyone shuddered at the same time. Xiang Fei also pushed the mouse far away. When he looked back, it was Du Xinpeng again.

"Let me pray first, maybe it will work! Lord! Please have mercy on your son Xiang Fei. He's already had enough bad luck today, please don't make things worse, and let his divine weapon upgrade successfully! If my prayer works, I will definitely offer you a pig's head as a grand offering during the New Year, and bathe and burn incense to thank you! Amen!"

As everyone listened to Du Xinpeng's prayers, their brows furrowed more and more as the prayers continued, but they eventually managed to hold back.

"What kind of nonsense is this? Is your master offering a pig's head as a sacrifice? And burning incense for Jesus?" Tian Hai couldn't help but speak up.

"Who cares, sincerity is all that matters! I'm not a Christian, I can't remember those prayers anyway!"

After the little incident, Xiang Fei didn't hesitate any longer and decisively clicked the mouse.

There was also a surveillance camera installed in the corner of the front desk room. The cable split into two lines: one line connected to the front desk monitor, and the other line curved and weaved upwards, finally connecting to a monitor in the attic.

"YES, I didn't expect Xiang Fei to be so lucky. Now that it's upgraded to level three, it can sell for at least 2000 yuan! It won't be so easy from here on out." Qian Luomei stood in front of the video surveillance in the attic, watching everyone cheer and jumping for joy, knowing that the upgrade had been successful again.

"The success rate is 20%!" It wasn't Zhang Fang who spoke, but Dong Lu, who remained calm and showed no extra expression.

Xiang Fei nodded and placed the divine weapon and upgrade materials in their respective positions. All that was missing was a crisp mouse click, and he would be transformed from a god into a ghost.

"I can't look at this, or I'll have a heart attack! I'm going out now. Just let me know the results when they come out, I don't want to suffer like this!" Old You said, then pushed open the revolving door and walked out.

……

A few dozen seconds later, Xiang Fei walked out of "Shuiyunjian" and patted Lao You on the shoulder.

Old You glanced at Xiang Fei, who seemed completely relaxed and unaffected, and couldn't help but ask, "Failure or success?"

Xiang Fei forced a self-deprecating smile: "Neither succeeded nor failed, I closed the game. Just now, at the crucial moment of leveling up, I went to the bathroom, and looking at my excited and decadent self in the mirror, I suddenly felt disgusted."

Old You shook his head and smiled, then patted him on the shoulder. The two of them watched the traffic coming and going on the road together.

The air was fresh, the stars were bright, and a burst of hearty laughter echoed through the winter night sky.