Chapter Eleven: I Didn't Completely Follow Your Advice

Page 1/3

Zhou Yongtai was quite confident about persuading Ada. After all, mechanical servants exist to carry out human commands. Although, after reading the artificial intelligence books and articles left by his mother, Zhou Yongtai gradually began to suspect that even the loyal and kind Ada might, like those cruel and ruthless mechanical counterparts, have started to develop free will. Yet, since Ada had successfully protected her master during the raids and massacres, Zhou Yongtai firmly believed that her "free will" would never override the welfare of her owner.

"Ada, the more cash we have, the safer we are. You need endurance; I need food," Zhou Yongtai said, hitting the nail on the head. Ada’s eyes remained fixed on the lottery counter, signaling that his mechanical companion had entered a more complex, immersive computational state.

"Alright, I'll bet on the new version," Ada finally spoke. "I’ve read the results under the new rules of the revised Toto, and I will predict based on probability."

About five minutes later, as they neared the registration counter, the robot behind the glass window became clearly visible. Unlike the cleaning robots in food courts, the registration robots at the lottery stand weren’t designed to be overly human-like. Their faces retained the characteristics of meal delivery robots from budget hotels two decades ago: most of the face was a liquid crystal screen resembling a scanning device. However, their forearms and fingers had gained remarkable dexterity, allowing them to operate various lottery devices efficiently.

Ada pulled out a device from her backpack and handed it to Zhou Yongtai. The small gadget looked like a smartphone but was actually a geomagnetic energy charging and endurance operator from the future world, doubling as a multimedia storage device. In other words, Zhou Yongtai’s mother had also ensured Ada could still take photos and watch shows.

At that moment, Zhou Yongtai unlocked the device’s screen and saw a QR code appear. Ada began to deliver the essential information: "This is a screenshot I got from the government website—your grandfather’s work permit barcode. It turns out your grandfather and grandmother haven’t yet applied for permanent residency this year. But that’s fine. Although casinos only admit foreigners with tourist passports, the lottery stand does not refuse foreigners holding a five-year long-term work visa. Show this to the window, and we’ll get an associated number. When filling out the lottery and submitting it at another window, you’ll need that number."

Zhou Yongtai was deeply impressed; Ada’s learning ability was astonishing.

Page 2/3

It was important to know that Ada’s mind was simultaneously predicting the 49-out-of-6 numbers and their order while observing the lottery stand’s procedures. Soon, it was Zhou Yongtai’s turn in line. He forced himself to remain calm and presented the barcode to the robot.

“Beep…” The green light flashed, and the robot’s right arm moved, extending its palm to tear off a paper slip and hand it to Zhou Yongtai.

First hurdle cleared! He had successfully tricked his way into buying lottery tickets.

Zhou Yongtai let out a light breath and turned to find Ada, who was already with Ango and Andi, coloring in the lottery tickets. He walked over and craned his neck to look. There were so many boxes and numbers, densely packed, it was dizzying. But he trusted Ada to decide.

After filling out ten tickets, Ada handed them to Zhou Yongtai. "Take these along with your number card to counter B."

“Ada, I’m a bit scared. What if we get caught… Can you come with me?”

“Tai, I’m actually more afraid. I’m worried these robots here are more advanced than the food court ones. What if they have infrared scanners and discover I’m not human? So I don’t want to get close.”

Zhou Yongtai suddenly understood—her reasoning made sense.

He slipped through a group of chattering Andi’s like a thief and went to hand over the tickets. Still, nothing happened! The robot at window B scanned Zhou Yongtai’s associated code and the lottery ticket sequence information.

The “fresh lottery player” from the future world breathed a sigh of relief and returned to Ada’s side.

Page 3/3

The two sat in the corner of the lottery stand where the air conditioning was strongest. Ada needed it to dissipate heat, while Zhou Yongtai simply loved the cool environment of this world.

In less than half an hour, the 4 o’clock draw time arrived.

The new Toto rules were drawn first.

Zhou Yongtai watched the screen anxiously, comparing the numbers to his ten ticket stubs.

But shortly, his expression fell.

“Ada! Not a single one matched! You… sigh!”

Zhou Yongtai was utterly dejected. The complaint lingered on his lips but he swallowed it hard. Beyond his deep disappointment, he still had some rationality left; he knew he couldn’t blame Ada—she was family.

Ada, however, spoke up: “No, we still have one more chance. Tai, I bought nine tickets under the new rules and one under the old.”

Ah?!

Zhou Yongtai stared at Ada in surprise.

She said nothing more, simply took all the tickets from his hand, selected one, and awaited the second round of the draw.