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"Deducting 100,000 special popularity value, blind box opening in progress..."
Homelander's mind stirred slightly, and he clicked on the first blind box.
After a gorgeous special effect flashed by, the blind box exploded in the void.
As the light faded, a card floated in the center of Homelander's field of vision.
The surface of the card was covered by a layer of shimmering mist, making it impossible to see its specific appearance.
Homelander narrowed his eyes and checked the item description.
[Item Name: Sealed Left Hand]
[Item Description: Collect the full set of five cards to obtain the strongest support.]
The description was extremely brief, but it made Homelander pause slightly after seeing it.
This name... it felt so familiar.
Sealed Left Hand... what exactly was it again?
Just as he was recalling fragments of his memory, the system's notification sound rang out again.
[Detected that the host has drawn a combination item.]
[Do you wish to consume an additional 50,000 special popularity value to increase the probability of obtaining an item from the same series in the next blind box draw by 33.33%?]
[Confirm?]
Homelander tapped his fingers on the table, weighing it in his mind.
Fifty thousand special popularity value—this was not a small amount.
But this kind of combination item that required collecting fragments, once formed, would definitely have effects far exceeding individual pieces drawn separately.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
"Increase the probability!" Homelander confirmed decisively.
[150,000 special popularity value has been deducted. Probability increase effective. Second blind box opening in progress...]
Following a flash of the same special effects, the second card slowly emerged.
[Item Name: Sealed Right Hand]
"Good! Very good!" Homelander clapped his hands repeatedly, his eyes beginning to light up with excitement.
This probability boost was indeed reliable. As long as he kept drawing at this rhythm, collecting the full five-piece set would be just around the corner.
"System, continue drawing! Give me another blind box! Keep increasing the probability!" Homelander added to his investment without hesitation.
[Detected that the host is continuously drawing combination items. This probability increase requires an additional 100,000 special popularity value. Confirm?]
Damn it! The price doubled; this system is heartless!
Homelander hesitated. Although that century-long war had made him very wealthy, he couldn't afford to burn through it like this.
However, driven by the psychology of sunk costs, Homelander gritted his teeth and confirmed it again.
[200,000 special popularity value has been deducted. Probability increase effective.]
The third blind box opened.
As expected, the third card slowly emerged.
[Item Name: Sealed Right Foot]
Three pieces! Just two more to go!
"Continue! System, open another one!"
[Detected that the host is continuously drawing combination items. This probability increase requires an additional 150,000 special popularity value. Confirm?]
"Damn it! Confirm! Open!"
Homelander was completely hooked; his gambler's mentality was infinitely magnified at this moment.
The fourth blind box opened, and light burst forth.
But this time, what floated before his eyes was not a card, but a triangular rune mark exuding an ancient and sacred aura.
Immediately after, a flash of golden light caused the mark to sink directly into Homelander's glabella.
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the hero skill: King's Three Divine Skills.]
The smile on Homelander's face froze.
It broke?
He had spent a massive amount of special popularity value, and the price had soared to such a level, yet it actually broke the chain. This system's schemes were too damn deep.
But since things had come to this, cursing the system was useless.
Homelander quickly adjusted his mindset and shifted his attention to the newly acquired skill.
[King's Three Divine Skills: Includes three active skills: Lock HP, God Draw, and Rule Bending.]
[Lock HP: Can be activated when HP is below 10%. No matter how severe the injuries or how strong the attack suffered, the host will always hold onto the last point of HP and will never reach zero until exiting combat status.]
[Skill Cost: 100,000 special popularity value.]
[God Draw: Can be activated when HP is below 30%. The host gains one additional blind box draw opportunity, and the item drawn will perfectly match the predicament the host is currently facing.]
[Skill Cost: 150,000 special popularity value.]
[Rule Bending: Can be activated when HP is below 50%. The host can rely on powerful self-confidence to forcefully explain a set of rules under the condition of logical self-consistency, and this rule will become the absolute truth of the current World with the highest priority.]
[Skill Cost: No fixed consumption value. Corresponding special popularity value is deducted based on the magnitude of the impact caused by the birth of the rule.]
[Warning: Please keep an eye on the special popularity value reserves at all times. If the reserves are insufficient to support the operation of the modified rule, the skill will be judged as a "Bluff," so do not try to act tough forcibly.]
After reading the detailed introduction of these three skills, Homelander finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The annoyance of not drawing the card just now was swept away.
Not a loss, absolutely not a loss!
This was the ultimate three-piece set for turning the tables in adversity.
"Lock HP" guaranteed he wouldn't die, "God Draw" gave him items to turn the tables, and "Rule Bending" directly generated favorable rules.
The only problem was...
After Homelander calmed down, he looked at his remaining special popularity value.
"The effect is truly awesome, but burning money is also truly intense."
[Current special popularity value balance: 30,805.]
After that frantic drawing spree, the little fortune he had harvested was already bottoming out.
Special popularity value could only be provided by specific plot characters, which was much harder to get than the admiration value from ordinary people.
Without this stuff, these three divine skills were just decorations.
"Looks like I need to find a way to save up more special popularity value; these three divine skills are money pits." Homelander sighed helplessly.
He began to calculate his next popularity harvesting plan in his mind.
"I have to find a way to wake up Wanda later..."
"With Wanda's extremely love-starved and emotionally volatile personality, as long as she is developed slightly, she will definitely become a top-tier cash cow that produces a steady stream of popularity value."
Just as he was thinking, Miss Skynet's voice rang out.
"Sir." Miss Skynet reported respectfully, "Miss V strongly demands to see you; she is already waiting downstairs."
Hearing this, Homelander stopped his contemplation.
Miss V, Nebula.
Homelander chuckled; it was truly a case of someone handing him a pillow when he was sleepy.
Isn't this fresh cash cow delivering herself to his doorstep?
Nebula must have learned from the Guardians of the Galaxy that Gamora had been taken away by Thanos.
She came to find him now, and he expected there was only one purpose.
Participate in the Grandmaster's gladiatorial competition to save her sister who had become a piece, Gamora.
"Let her in."
Not long after, the door to Homelander's office was pushed open.
Nebula walked in with large strides.
Homelander leaned back in his chair, his eyes carefully sizing her up.
She was wearing a tight-fitting black Vought tactical suit.
The tight tactical suit perfectly outlined her slender waist and full hip curves.
Looking at her face again.
Although she had no hair, it was undeniable that she possessed delicate and three-dimensional features.
The mechanical sense and sexiness fused on her to create a special cyberpunk charm.
Homelander tried hard to convince himself: it's all for popularity value, it's not shameful.