Chapter 903: The Grand Prize

Some time later, I returned to Aries’ gaming arena.

That day, I was delayed by a game and didn’t arrive at “Bliss Bank” until nearly evening.

As I walked in, I bumped into a young, bespectacled man who looked rather refined. Before I could even get a good look at his face, he softly muttered an apology and hurried away.

I’ve never been fond of conversation, so I didn’t linger. Pushing through the revolving door, I immediately noticed an unusual commotion inside.

Normally, by this time, the day’s grand prize would already have been awarded, and “Bliss Bank” would be winding down for the day. Yet the lobby was packed with fifty or sixty people.

They stood in small groups, loudly debating something.

Some looked excited, others anxious—the entire hall was in chaos, almost as if the bank had gone bankrupt.

Doing my best to avoid drawing attention, I headed straight for Aries’ office.

“Brother Aries…” I closed the door behind me, puzzled and slightly nervous. “What’s going on?”

Given Aries’ capabilities and the nature of the games he orchestrated, I knew there shouldn’t be any real trouble here. Yet the crowd outside remained noisy, with no signs of dispersing. Strangely, though, no one had come to confront Aries about it.

“It’s nothing,” Aries replied, taking a sip from his cup. “Someone hit the jackpot.”

“Hit the… jackpot?”

I paused, then cracked the door open to peek outside. Sure enough, the crowd was pointing at the display screen, some even clutching their “lottery tickets” in frustration.

Their reactions were intriguing—they were analyzing the winner’s thought process.

They believed that if they could just figure out how the last winner had chosen their numbers, they’d eventually strike gold themselves.

Some kept pointing at the “red” and “green” options on the screen, trying to explain the winner’s logic. But this was pure probability—studying past data wouldn’t help at all.

Especially since… this was probability governed by Aries.

So, someone had actually won the jackpot?

Had that person deciphered Aries’ game?

“How much did they win?” I asked.

“Two thousand nine hundred,” Aries answered.

“Two thousand nine hundred?!” I gasped. “That much?!”

“Yes. The prize pool had been accumulating for a long time. Nearly three thousand isn’t surprising.” His tone was indifferent, as if discussing something entirely unrelated to him.

Right… when I thought about it, a pool of three thousand wasn’t strange at all.

This didn’t mean three thousand people had bought tickets—because of the lottery’s unique rules, to have a chance at winning, you had to repurchase tickets every day. That meant the same person could repeatedly contribute to the prize pool.

This rule also misled people into thinking buying tickets was an investment.

Since I didn’t participate in this game, I’d never paid attention to the size of the prize pool. I hadn’t realized it had grown so massive…

One “Dao” in exchange for two thousand nine hundred “Dao.”

What kind of concept was that?

But wouldn’t this severely impact “Bliss Bank’s” profits?

“Who won the jackpot?” I pressed.

“An interesting person,” Aries said. “He was the perfect candidate for it.”

I frowned slightly—the word “perfect” was worth scrutinizing.

So, Aries had intentionally let this person win.

“But why?” I voiced my confusion. “Brother Aries, if someone hits the jackpot now, will others even keep buying tickets?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Aries replied. “Bliss Bank’s wealth no longer hinges on this trivial one-Dao business.”

Ah… right. I’d almost forgotten.

Suddenly, I understood Aries’ approach.

Because once three thousand six hundred “Dao” were collected here, everything would be reshuffled. Aries had to avoid handing out that amount all at once—otherwise, I’d be reset, the “Extreme Path” would be reset, and even “Bliss Bank’s” hard-earned reputation would vanish.

So, he had to intervene when the “Dao” reached a certain threshold—but he needed the right “winner.”

This “winner” had to meet many conditions… They had to be intelligent enough, capable of protecting such a massive sum, and willing to promise Aries not to trigger a reshuffle.

Or perhaps… the “winner” was just another pawn, destined to destroy all those “Dao,” forcing everything to start anew.

The Heavenly Dragon had its way of reshuffling, and Aries had his.

Right now, the ones most affected weren’t Aries or the winner—but the “participants” outside, clutching their tickets.

Aries had used bait to catch fish, then reached into their stomachs to take the bait back.

From the very beginning, he’d played them—using the “participants’” own stakes to lure them in, only to snatch those stakes away in the end.

“But how did he carry all those ‘Dao’ away?” I suddenly wondered. “Two thousand nine hundred… that’s enough to fill two or three large sacks, isn’t it?”

“He brought a formidable young man with him,” Aries explained. “That young man vanished in an instant, taking all the ‘Dao’ with him. Not only did it prevent theft, but it also showcased his strength to the crowd.”

I nodded, thinking the winner must be a shrewd individual.

Those hoping to strike it rich through the lottery were hardly formidable themselves—just a modest display of power would be enough to deter them.

After witnessing the winner’s might, the others would only lament their own inadequacy and curse their bad luck, not daring to entertain any foolish ideas.

Otherwise, they’d lose everything—too high a cost.

Fortunately, Aries still had the bank’s business. As long as “Bliss Bank” stood, he’d remain the most powerful “Zodiac” here.

“Brother Aries… will you keep selling lottery tickets in the future?” I asked.

“Hard to say,” Aries mused, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Not just the lottery—even the bank’s operations might cease.”

“What?!”

This feeling…

This sensation of thinking I’d finally figured Aries out, only for him to overturn everything in an instant…

I’d experienced it far too many times!

“Wh-why?”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized my voice had cracked.

Because I’d just realized—I’d never once correctly predicted Aries’ next move.

And yet, every day, I’d believed I was the person in the “Ending Land” who understood him best…

Looking back now, what did I actually know about him?

“Because the bank’s grown too notorious,” Aries said. “It’ll interfere with my future plans. Unless something unexpected happens, I’ll be taking steps to drastically reduce its visibility.”

“But…” Countless questions flooded my mind, yet I had no idea where to even begin.