Chapter 297 - 130: Five Choices_3
But he insisted on buying scratch-off lottery tickets, hoping to win a hundred or two and have a grand feast. This was clearly irrational.
As someone with the power of choice, Chen Zhou spent more than half a month working hard, and even got seriously ill in the process of completing the puzzle, nearly losing his life.
He wouldn't have gambled like this in the past.
Yet just now, standing in that blue space, at the moment of making the choice, he didn't think of his twenty-plus years of routine life, but of himself pressing "Join the Challenge" and sending it on the forum.
The more people are restricted by rules, the more they yearn to break free, to rebel and be free.
He thought, perhaps exchanging a mere half month's effort for a choice without regrets could become the most unique color in his life.
More importantly— as a challenger in a "large-scale reality show," isn't this kind of choice exactly what the audience most anticipates?
...
There was no reward on the table, only the completed puzzle.
This surprised Chen Zhou; he thought that the puzzle would disappear along with the collapse of the blue space, just like the blue cube last time.
Unexpectedly, it still lay quietly in the cave, maintaining its mirror-like state, emitting a faint blue light.
"What does this mean?
Were they too harsh on me, so they left me a compensation?"
He casually picked up the puzzle and gently brushed it with his fingertip.
Its smooth and clean surface left no trace, spotless, and the emitted blue light remained steady, giving a sense of never extinguishing.
It's just a pity that its light was too dim; otherwise, Chen Zhou would have wanted to stick it on the ceiling as a lamp.
...
Putting down the puzzle, he walked to the window and saw that the sky had a layer of faint light.
At some point, the drizzle stopped, the damp sand had a deep hue, and a small frog jumped onto the flowerbed by the outer wall, lying among the mint leaves, staring curiously at him with big eyes.
Having been busy until the early morning, he was already very tired, but the blue space and five options had stimulated him into a brief bout of excitement.
Now that the excitement had faded, Chen Zhou felt extremely exhausted and wanted to rest as soon as possible.
He poured himself a glass of water and switched off the floor lamp by the table.
Returning to the bed, he took out the wedge-shaped ironwood calendar from the bedside table, marked the day for yesterday, took a sip of water, picked up the little gray ball resting in the wooden box by the bed, and crawled into the covers.
"Looks like the random reward should be refreshed on the beach.
Just right, I haven't claimed the thirty-fifth mysterious reward, my cold is almost better, I'll take my backpack after I wake up and go claim my three rewards..."
Half-asleep, Chen Zhou hugged the gray ball tightly.
The little creature couldn't withstand its owner's heavy and suffocating affection, uneasily trying to wriggle out, but couldn't escape Chen Zhou's strong arm and was forcibly turned over.
Rubbing the little creature's soft and warm belly, listening to the gradually rising sounds of snoring, Chen Zhou was overcome with drowsiness.
On the brink of sleep, he had a beautiful fantasy—
He saw a huge lathe placed on the beach, surrounded by masses of crops, fruit tree saplings, and boxes of books, including both professional books and novels for passing the time, even records and a record player.
But within seconds, his fantasy was swallowed by constant darkness, and he fell into unconscious slumber.