Living in the bubble economy of Tokyo, I became a literary giant through lotteries.

The dizzying sensation lasted only a few seconds. When Guan Gufeng's feet touched solid ground, he found himself standing in a small alley.

The narrow alley was lined with gray cement walls, with only a sliver of sky overhead. There was a faint smell of cooking oil in the air, and the sound of car horns could be heard in the distance.

"Where...am I?"

He rubbed his throbbing temples, walked out of the alley, and was stunned by the scene before him.

Pedestrians come and go, neon lights flash, and shops line the roadside.

He looked up at the street sign: Shinjuku Ward, near Kabukicho.

"What's going on?" Guan Gu Feng frowned. "They teleported me to Shinjuku in the real world?"

Last time, the prize draw went directly into an empty study, but this time it was just thrown out onto the street?

Just as he was wondering, a new prompt popped up on the panel.

[Equipable items have been detected nearby. Please follow the system's instructions to proceed.]

Guan Gufeng raised an eyebrow. New feature?

He had spent several days studying the lottery system, but apart from the weekly lottery and the equipment slots, he hadn't figured out anything else.

It now appears that the system will unlock more features as the number of draws increases.

He decided to follow the instructions.

A small arrow appeared on the panel, just like the one in the middle of the map in the game, and its direction changed as it moved.

Guan Gufeng crossed two streets, turned into a slightly quieter alley, and stopped in front of a shop.

The sign reads: Ishibashi Musical Instruments.

It is a musical instrument store.

In the afternoon, there were no other customers in the shop. The warm yellow light shone on the guitars, basses, and keyboards on the wall, and there was a smell of wood and metal in the air.

The shop assistant was a man in his early thirties who immediately greeted someone warmly as they entered.

"Welcome! Hello, how can I help you?"

"I'm just browsing."

"Okay. The piano section is on the right, and the guitar section is on the left. Do you have a favorite instrument in mind?"

Just as Guan Gufeng was about to answer, a system notification sounded in his mind.

[Equipable item detected: Electric Guitar of the Unrecognized Singer]

[Item Description: This electric guitar once belonged to a guitarist who struggled for many years in the underground music scene. He practiced alone through countless nights, writing dozens of songs that no one ever listened to. The guitar still bears the warmth of his palms, the wetness of his tears, and a sliver of an ember of a dream that never truly died out.]

[Preview of effect: After equipping this item, you will gain professional-level electric guitar playing skills and arrangement abilities. When playing pop or rock music, your expressiveness will be increased by an additional 50%.]

[Permanent condition preview: Maintain the equipment status until a composition is completed]

[Equipped?]

Guan Gufeng's pupils dilated slightly; this time, the system even had item descriptions.

Performance skills? Arranging skills?

His gaze swept around the store and found the direction indicated by the system: the second-hand section.

It was a shelf against the wall with several guitars of varying conditions hanging on it, labeled "Used, Good Quality." The system arrow pointed to the guitar in the far corner.

The guitar features a black body, a white pickguard, and the classic Stratocaster design.

He walked over, reached out and touched the neck of the instrument. It felt warm and smooth to the touch, the string spacing was just right, and it was well-maintained.

The shop assistant followed him over, looked at the guitar in his direction, and began to enthusiastically introduce it to him.

"This is a Fender Japan ST57 that we just acquired in our store. Although it's secondhand, it's in excellent condition and the sound quality is great."

He paused, looking at Guan Gufeng's fingers. They didn't have the calluses from years of guitar practice. "This one is perfect for beginners. It feels good and the sound is accurate."

"How much?"

"Eighty thousand yen." The shop assistant took the guitar off the shelf and handed it to him. "If you're sure you want to buy it, I can throw in a guitar bag, picks, and a connecting cable."

Guan Gufeng took the guitar and weighed it in his hand.

Eighty thousand is no small sum. He was used to being frugal, and his biggest expense was only buying high-quality manuscript paper.

Although I haven't spent the money my sister gave me, and I've saved some myself, I can't help but feel a little heartache looking at the guitar in my hand.

He returned the guitar to the shop assistant and remained silent for a while.

If you don't buy it, this chance to win will be wasted, and someone else might buy it next time.

He recalled Sachiko Kamachi's face last night, the way her fingers trembled as she spoke, and the curve of her lips when she gave a bitter smile.

When she smiled and said, "You must realize your dream," a thin layer of tears welled up in her eyes.

He had seen the same look in his sister's eyes when he left home.

Guan Gufeng took a deep breath and made up his mind.

Perhaps he could help her out, instead of just telling her "you will succeed," which is too cheap a statement.

Instead, she wanted to do something—a song, a demo, something that gave her hope.

He took out his wallet from his pocket, pulled out eight Fukuzawa Yukichi bills, and handed them to the shop assistant.

"I want it."

The shop assistant took the money with a beaming smile, quickly packed the guitar into the guitar case, and stuffed in a bunch of freebies: picks, spare strings, connecting cables, and a "Guitar Beginner's Guide".

"Thank you for your patronage! If you have any problems, please feel free to bring it over; we offer free troubleshooting."

Guan Gufeng carried his instrument case out of Shiqiao Musical Instruments and returned to the deserted alley.

After confirming that no one was around, a thought struck him.

Everything went black, and when he opened his eyes again, he was back in his hotel room.

The clock on the wall showed four o'clock in the afternoon.

He sat on the edge of the bed, put the violin case on the floor, and unzipped it.

The black body of the piano gleamed with a warm luster under the dim light of the room.

He reached out and grasped the neck of the violin.

[Is it equipped with the "electric guitar of an underappreciated singer"?]

"equipment."

After seeing the updated information on the panel, Guan Gufeng hugged the guitar to his chest and placed his fingers on the strings.

He tentatively played a C chord.

"Buzz".

What's with that sound?

Guan Gufeng was stunned for a moment, then slapped his forehead.

It would be strange if an electric guitar didn't sound right if it wasn't plugged in.

Guan Gufeng then realized that he seemed to have done something stupid, but he could only make do with playing the piano.

He changed to a G chord and then to an Am chord.

When playing, the fingers automatically found the correct position, the plucking force was just right, and the sound was clear and full, as smooth as if it had been played for ten years.

He then stored the guitar in the system's storage space, a new feature unlocked by the system after this lottery, somewhat similar to a storage ring in a cultivation novel.

Unfortunately, it can only be used to store lottery items.

Guan Gufeng leaned back on the bed, lay down, and stared blankly for a while before casually picking up a lyric book next to him.

This was an exchange that Sachiko Kamachi made in order to take his novel home to read, and she never asked for it back, saying she gave it to him.

He turned to a new page, picked up the pen on the bed, and wrote the title on the first line.

Don't Give Up

Then, his hand paused for a moment.

He recalled how Sachiko Kamachi sang; although he had never seen her sing in person, he could imagine it.

She would close her eyes slightly, sway her body gently to the melody, and let her voice flow out like a spring.

The pen tip touched the paper again; this time, it wasn't a novel.

It's the lyrics.

……

a few days later.

The Yomiuri Shimbun building, top-floor conference room.

The long table was filled with people, and the air was thick with tension, the kind of tension that only sets off when a group of veteran editors are arguing endlessly.

This is the third meeting of the final judging for the first Japan Fantasy Novel Award.

The focus of the argument was the photocopy on the table, which was in everyone's possession.

The cover has four words printed on it: Sword Art Online.