Check out my new translation!
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At Penacony, at the harbor where starships dock.
Towering skyscrapers stood in dense rows, their smooth, gleaming glass surfaces reflecting neon lights of every color. Along the wide streets were all kinds of shops, lavishly decorated and dazzling to the eye.
Sapient machines with metal heads, fox-eared boys and girls, and all manner of fully furred folk eagerly poured out from the starships.
They set foot upon the planet called Penacony with a fervor and devotion akin to pilgrimage.
"This is the Planet of Festivities, Penacony? It's so prosperous!"
"Even the air smells sweet—this must be the scent of freedom!"
"This is amazing! It's so much better than my hometown—it's practically paradise!"
Many beings were moved to tears, prostrating themselves and kissing the land.
"..."
Sol looked at them in silence, at a loss for words.
From his perspective, aside from its intoxicating veneer of extravagance and excess, there wasn't anything particularly remarkable about the place.
Given the level of civilization in this universe, these buildings hardly counted as wonders.
Of course, Penacony's true appeal didn't lie in this reality. The true destination of those pilgrims was on the other side of the world.
Sol extended his hand, as if his soul were slipping free, sensing Penacony's other world. The spiritual activity there was extraordinarily intense—bizarre, dazzling, and steeped in indulgence. Beyond that, he also sensed a familiar stranger watching him. Interesting.
No matter how majestic the architecture, it was only surface-level spectacle. The true beauty here lay in the dreamscape formed of memetic matter.
As long as one entered sleep through special means, one could step into that wondrous dream world.
Within dreams, there was no need to suffer the troubles of reality. All kinds of scenes born from imagination existed there, and it was said that any desire could be fulfilled.
Decaying lives could experience the beauty of youth in dreams, reunite with departed loved ones, freely indulge in endless delicacies and fine wine, and even fulfill fantasies held deep within the heart about goddesses…
There were also cases of people selling their imagination itself and becoming tycoons in reality. In this dream world, anything was possible.
The prerequisite, however, was paying a small, almost negligible sum to the local powers as a ticket to enter the dream.
Without a ticket, one could not enter the dream world.
Sneaking in without authorization would quickly get one dragged out.
A boy who looked less than 1.2 meters tall, with a fluff ball atop his head, stood by the roadside shouting energetically, "Honored guests from afar! Come take a look, come have a listen!"
"Because the Family is about to host the Grand Charmony Festival, visitors from all across the universe are flooding in! Rooms at the Reverie are completely booked—guests without prior reservations will be turned away and naturally won't be able to enter that marvelous dream world!"
"However, the Family has considered our guests' needs and specially launched a lottery service! For just one hundred thousand credits, you have a chance to win a stay at the Reverie! Second Prize is one month in a standard room, First Prize is one month in a Silver VIP room, and the Special Grand Prize is a permanent Platinum VIP room!"
"Pepeshi people love telling the truth—there's not a shred of falsehood here!"
The boy who claimed to be a Pepeshi had a fair, soft little face that looked utterly sincere.
In reality, he was already a thirty-year-old middle-aged Pepeshi and a seasoned businessman. That face had brought him plenty of customers in the past.
Of course, he wasn't selling hooks—though some of his companions were.
"One hundred thousand credits. I'll take one!"
After some hesitation, a middle-aged man paid through his phone.
One hundred thousand credits was a sum that wasn't too big or too small—just enough to sting. Anyone who could make it to Penacony could scrape it together, no matter how strapped they were.
"Thank you for your patronage! May wealth flow endlessly your way!"
The Pepeshi boy chirped auspicious words as he pulled out a scratch-off-style ticket and handed it to the man.
Thanks to the efforts of the Interastral Peace Corporation, the credits Point system was universal across the cosmos. Even the Family of the Harmony Path found it hard to abandon.
For internal circulation, gold bars and banknotes were preferred, while credits were mostly stored as foreign reserves.
Before long, many others without advance room reservations came over to buy lottery tickets.
In a very short time, the Pepeshi boy netted tens of millions of credits—faster than robbery.
"Damn it!" The middle-aged man cursed as he tossed away the scratched ticket. "A total waste of a hundred thousand credits—didn't win a thing!"
He looked at the Pepeshi before him, feeling that the fair, sincere little face now seemed somehow crafty.
"We didn't win either. You're not rigging this, are you?"
More disgruntled buyers gathered around, their gazes unfriendly.
Many of them knew the inner workings of the gambling industry and understood that things might not be so clean.
"Why not try another one? Your luck will surely be better next time!"
"If you want to vent your anger, there's a venting service over there. My medical fees are pretty high, though!"
The Pepeshi boy spoke with a bright smile, seemingly oblivious to the change in mood.
What he said was, of course, true—there really were tickets inside the scratch-offs.
It was just that the Family definitely intended to make money. The lottery business led by the Alfalfa Family had roughly a one-in-a-million chance for Third Prize.
Naturally, to boost sales, they occasionally had their own people pose as winners.
"Hmph!"
The crowd glared at the Pepeshi, but upon noticing the local security officers Bloodhound Family approaching, they left resentfully.
The Pepeshi boy acted as if nothing had happened and continued promoting his lottery business.
Only this time, after seeing over a hundred people fail to win anything, the passersby were clearly less enthusiastic.
"Give me one."
Sol paid without hesitation.
"Thank you for your patronage! You're so handsome—your luck must be excellent!"
The Pepeshi boy handed over the ticket, praising him out of habit.
Tsk tsk, another hundred thousand credits earned—he'd get a thousand as commission.
It didn't seem like much from one person, but with the hundred or so buyers earlier, he'd already made a hundred thousand credits himself.
Well worth the hefty bribes he'd paid to secure this job. Just a couple more days and he'd earn ten times the profit.
Way easier than those salespeople grinding themselves to death during the Golden Hour—this was pure bliss!
Judging that the scratching time was about right, the Pepeshi boy smiled and said, "Sir, would you like another one? I have a feeling your luck will be even better this time."
"No need. I already won."
Sol shook the ticket with golden lettering in his hand.
It wasn't surprising—his luck had always been good.
"Eh?"
The Pepeshi boy froze, staring in disbelief.
No way… this thing can actually win?
In three years on the job, this seemed to be the first time.
The Pepeshi boy's eyes widened as he cried out, "S-Special Grand Prize!"
The chance of Third Prize was one in a million. Above that, Second Prize and First Prize were around one in ten million.
As for the Special Grand Prize, it was said that it hadn't been printed for a very long time. The very first one ever made still hadn't surfaced.
No—right now, the first Special Grand Prize was being scratched right in front of him! The Alfalfa Family would have to restart the Special Grand Prize production line!
"Where do I go to claim it?" Sol Mercer asked in high spirits.
That was only natural. The [Golden Rule] of Gilgamesh wasn't just about never lacking money—it was also about that overflowing Treasury of the King.
The Special Grand Prize he'd just won could only be described as a minor warm-up.
"Just go to the front desk of the Reverie. The staff there will verify it and grant you permanent Platinum VIP status."
The Pepeshi boy pointed in a daze.
He felt a billion times heartbroken. If he'd scratched that ticket himself, he wouldn't have to worry for the rest of his life.
No more selling lottery tickets outside like a hook peddler—he could just laze around in guest rooms, entering dreams at will and enjoying the highest-tier treatment.
And now, that fortune had slipped right through his fingers. A loss beyond measure!
The Pepeshi boy's face twisted, as if he'd swallowed a jar of sour plum extract.
But just a few seconds later, he perked up again and started hawking loudly, "Come take a look, come have a look! Someone just scratched a Special Grand Prize here and won a permanent Platinum room at the Reverie! Interested guests, come try your luck—the next permanent Platinum room could be yours!"
Even though there wouldn't be another Special Grand Prize in the short term, that didn't stop him from using it as bait. After all, these people didn't know any better.
"Give me one!"
"I'll take ten!"
Countless guests surged forward, including many who had bought before.
They regretted it—if only they'd come a bit earlier or left a bit later, that Special Grand Prize might have been theirs.
Some suspected that handsome young man was a plant, but seeing the crowd rush in, they couldn't resist either.
So, what if I'm a leek for once? It's just a hundred thousand credits.
If it hits—even just a Third Prize—that's still a huge win!
...
At this moment.
Sol had already strolled up to the entrance of the Reverie.
He didn't go inside immediately. Instead, he stopped in a corner and reached out into the void.
Whoosh!
A data phantom hurriedly manifested.
What appeared was a silver-haired girl, noticeably taller than a Pepeshi but still only about 1.5 meters tall.
She wore blue-violet goggles and chewed bubble gum.
A cool little crop top paired with a blue jacket revealed a smooth abdomen. She wore hot pants below, her ribbon-adorned thighs perfectly proportioned.
Petite and cute, flat as a board—yep, definitely Silver Wolf.
"How did you find me?" Silver Wolf asked, looking at Sol Mercer with curiosity.
Before he could answer, she blew a bubble and said to herself, "Eh, forget it. With your strength, it's normal that you noticed me."
"Then, nice to meet you. I'm Silver Wolf of the Stellaron Hunters."
"Hello, Emanator of Erudition—or should I say, Galaxy's Lucky Star?"