NOVPUBChapter 1069 -1069: Dragon Girl
Deng Kuang personally took Lin Shen to the Central Heaven Star Divine Palace, under the pretext of wanting to discuss previous business dealings with a Nine-star Divine Official.
While Deng Kuang and the Nine-star Divine Official talked business, he let Lin Shen wander around the palace on his own.
This is the outer hall of the Central Heaven Star Divine Palace, open to the public on designated days, allowing outsiders to come here to worship or seek blessings.
Except on public opening days, aside from the Divine Officials of the Central Heaven Star Region, ordinary people are not permitted to enter.
Lin Shen could only roam the outer hall; entry to the inner sanctum was certainly prohibited, but for Lin Shen, this was already sufficient.
There was a Smart Brain system in the outer hall, and Lin Shen only needed to find a secluded area to access the Smart Brain system of the Central Heaven Star Divine Palace, to attempt his idea.
The architectural style of the Central Heaven Star Divine Palace was very ancient, devoid of modern skyscrapers, only ancient arcade-style buildings.
Though called the outer hall, it actually includes several subsidiary halls and a vast square.
As it was not an open day, hardly anyone was in the outer hall, with only a few Divine Officials cleaning the square, while doors to the main and side halls remained open.
Seeing a Divine Official praying inside the main hall, Lin Shen decided to first head to an empty side hall.
The side hall was not enshrining the Jade Emperor, but a Divine Statue of the God of Wealth, with both hands holding a Great Golden Ingot.
On public opening days, the number of people coming here to worship and pray for blessings is particularly high, boasting the most prosperous incense offerings.
Today, however, Lin Shen was the only one there. He glanced outside and seeing that the Divine Officials cleaning the square were not nearby, he approached a device with a screen and activated it.
This device was normally used for explanations or during certain rituals, and the Southern Star Region Divine Palace had something similar.
To Lin Shen, such a device was nothing unfamiliar. After activating it, a holographic image was immediately projected, lifelike as if it was a real person.
The image projected was that of a young girl, who upon seeing Lin Shen, suddenly bowed to him: “Dragon Girl greets her master.”
Initially, Lin Shen was somewhat anxious, but seeing the young girl’s reaction, he instantly felt reassured; this plan was definitely going to succeed.
“Rise,” Lin Shen said, glancing outside, worried about being discovered by the Divine Officials and quickly asked the Dragon Girl to stand up.
“What are your orders, master?” the Dragon Girl respectfully asked, standing up.
“Dragon Girl, can you help me issue a reassignment order? Have a Star Divine Official transferred from the Star Divine Official of Everlasting to the Central Heaven Star Divine Palace?” Lin Shen asked.
The Dragon Girl replied with difficulty, “Master, that is not within my authority. I am only responsible for providing explanations and managing rituals in the Hall of the God of Wealth.”
Lin Shen felt a sudden disappointment upon hearing this, having assumed that the Smart Brain systems within the Star Divine Palace were interconnected, not realizing that there were indeed divisions of authority.
“Master, if you need to adjust the positions of Divine Officials, you can operate it inside the main hall,” the Dragon Girl added.
Lin Shen had thought of that, but there were several Divine Officials praying in the main hall, and he couldn’t possibly do anything in front of so many Divine Officials.
If the Smart Brain greeted him with a bow or called him master, it would cause a huge problem.
“Besides explanations and ceremonies, do you have any other authorities?” Lin Shen looked out the door and, seeing no Divine Officials coming out from the main hall, he had to be patient and wait, choosing not to go out just yet.
“Master, I also have authority over financial fortune,” the Dragon Girl said.
“What use is the authority over financial fortune?” Lin Shen asked with some surprise, thinking, “Isn’t this just an AI program, how could it actually bestow wealth on a person?”
The Dragon Girl immediately replied, “I can randomly bestow financial fortune on those who come here seeking blessings. Fortune ranges from one to ten coins. The more fortune received, the higher the probability of getting a better share of resources allocation. For instance, when buying lottery tickets, the lottery system will randomly provide certain winning probabilities. The higher the fortune, the greater the prize.”
“Are you saying that lottery wins can also be controlled?” A thought suddenly struck Lin Shen.
The Celestial Court also had a lottery, but he had always assumed that the central Smart Brain controlled it, and no one could tamper with it.
Now it appears that lottery winning is not just by chance, but rather is allocated by humans.
It’s just that the mode of allocation was different from what he had imagined; the God of Wealth actually had control over who could win the lottery.
If one could obtain ten coins of fortune, could they continuously win big prizes?
Lin Shen looked at the Dragon Girl and asked, “Can you bestow on me ten coins of fortune?”
“Of course, but master, if you wish to win the lottery, you can simply issue an order to the lottery system to win directly. There’s no need for such trouble,” the Dragon Girl astutely observed Lin Shen’s thoughts, living up to her Advanced Smart Brain status.
Lin Shen was momentarily taken aback, then realized that he could directly ask for money. Why bother with fortune?
With this realization, excitement surged within Lin Shen. It seemed that until now, he had underestimated the role of the Jade Emperor, the Immortal Spirit.
In the Central Heaven Star Divine Palace, with the protection of this Immortal Spirit, he could practically do as he pleased.
As he was considering how to make good use of this capability in the future, the sound of a bell ringing came from outside.
Lin Shen looked out and noticed that the Divine Officials who had been praying in the main hall were now filing out one after another.
Lin Shen hurriedly shut down the Smart Brain system of the Hall of the God of Wealth and strolled towards the main hall from the outside.
Most Divine Officials outside paid little attention to him, and although some glanced at him, they didn’t say anything.
After all, it was just the outer hall, and it was not unusual for special visitors to enter on non-public days – nothing to be alarmed about.
Approaching the main hall, Lin Shen could see from the entrance the majestic Divine Statue enshrined within – the renowned Jade Emperor.
Lin Shen had thought that there would be no one inside the main hall, but once he entered, he saw a Divine Official sitting by the side with a table in front, upon which were arrayed various intriguing items.
“Guest, meeting is fate. Why don’t I divine for you?” the Divine Official said to Lin Shen with a smile.
“There are such people in the Star Divine Palace too?” Lin Shen noticed that the Divine Official’s Star Divine Robe was faded, the badge on his chest so worn that the stars were no longer visible, his hair all white, his beard very long, his face full of wrinkles.
He had always thought that such people would only be found near the temples on his home planet, never expecting the Star Divine Palace would have them too.
But on reflection, the divinations by a Divine Official must have some use. After all, the entire Celestial Court is under the control of the Smart Brain. Perhaps this elderly Divine Official has some authority to consult the Smart Brain’s data, thus making his divinations accurate.
