Chapter 30: New Achievement Unlocked: Slot Machine Killer!

It was Central Park in the heart of Manhattan, New York, once again. Today, Annie's school had organized an extracurricular activity, and two large school buses carrying students from several of her grade levels had arrived here. The park management had even specially cordoned off a separate patch of grass for the students of the Julia School to use.

Today, the course managed by Ms. Maine was simply taking the students to play in the park. That’s right—this afternoon, the students' entire curriculum was "play"! Ms. Maine believed that playing could cultivate students' hands-on and practical abilities. Furthermore, by playing in the park, students could not only get appropriate exercise, but the excellent environment would also allow them to have their first contact with nature and learn to love it!

In Ms. Maine's view, students shouldn't spend all day in school buildings or classrooms; playing more and breathing fresh air outside could bring immense benefits to their physical and mental health.

"Oh! My God! Annie, I think you can come off the field and take a break for a while! Look at you, you must be exhausted!" At the beginning, Ms. Maine had set up two simple goals on the lawn and divided her class into two groups for a friendly match.

Ms. Maine thought this would be enough to keep the students occupied for a good while, giving her a chance to sneak in a little rest herself. However, reality dealt her a cruel blow! She was forced to abandon her plan to sneak a twenty-minute break early.

Because Ms. Maine discovered that no matter what position Annie played on the field, or how many opponents were blocking her, as long as the ball reached Annie's feet, she could always kick it into the goal from all sorts of tricky angles! Just moments ago, after Annie easily scored her eighth goal, Ms. Maine had to interrupt the game and politely request that Annie take a break.

She had to do it because Annie's opponents were on the verge of a breakdown. After conceding so many consecutive goals, the chubby goalkeeper, Jack Harper, looked so aggrieved he was almost in tears.

This one-sided match was not in Ms. Maine's plan at all! It was extremely unfair to the other half of the children! If they kept playing like this, it might even leave negative shadows on their young minds. Therefore, she had to step in to adjust the situation and swap Annie out at the right time.

*Hmph! This sport called football isn't fun at all! There's absolutely no challenge; it's just too easy.*

Having been pulled off the field early due to playing too well, Annie sat on a park swing. She took a bottle of water from her backpack and, while drinking, watched her classmates on the field with a smug expression. Only after she left the field were they able to start a normal game, chasing the ball and striving against each other in a back-and-forth struggle.

*Oh, my Master! If you didn't use magic to guide the ball while playing, your thoughts just now might have been a bit more convincing!* Tiberius could no longer stand watching. *It's just playing with classmates; is there really a need to be so serious? Just look, that chubby Jack is about to cry because of you.*

"You have no idea, Tiberius. I did that on purpose just now! That fat kid complained about me again the day before yesterday! Of course, I had to give him a proper punishment." After finishing her water, Annie quickly stuffed the bottle back and refastened her backpack; she didn't want to discuss this with Tiberius right now.

"Annie, you played so well just now!" Seeing Annie come off the field, a little blonde girl approached her immediately.

This was Angelina Roberts. Ever since Annie had performed a piece at her birthday party, she and Annie had become best friends. At school, they were almost inseparable.

"Aha~! Thank you!" Annie felt a bit embarrassed, after all, she had cheated using magic! But magic was considered one of her abilities; winning by using one's own abilities wasn't really cheating, right?

"So, Annie, can you find time to play for me again? Daddy and I really want to hear it again!" Angelina kicked the grass hard to make the swing move, then turned her head to look at Annie with expectant, large eyes.

This little girl came to pester her once or twice almost every day at school, always asking to hear Annie's performance again. However, Annie knew that listening to music infused with magic could be addictive. And it was bad for people! Especially for those who were preoccupied or seeking spiritual solace. Therefore, Annie had never played for Angelina again, no matter how many times she pestered her.

"Oh, Angelina, I can't go to your house to perform for you every day!" Sure enough! Here it comes again, Annie knew it would be like this.

"But... but I really want to hear it one more time..." The little girl lowered her head dejectedly upon hearing this. Angelina actually knew her request seemed a bit excessive, pestering Annie every day, but she truly, truly wanted to hear it—even if it were just one last time!

"How about this, I'll teach you!" Annie felt she couldn't let her be pestered like this anymore; she had to solve the problem once and for all.

"Teach me? But I don't know how to play the harp, I only know the piano."

Hearing that Annie wanted to teach her, Angelina was stunned at first. Just as she was about to be happy, she immediately wilted again. Because she suddenly remembered that she didn't know how to play the harp; she had tried before, but she had no talent for it. Playing the harp was simply too difficult for her.

"The piano is fine too, as long as you play like this!" Annie silently muttered a spell, tapped Angelina's forehead with her finger, and poured the meditation methods for training magical power and the fundamental methods of applying magic to performance directly into Angelina's mind.

Of course, these methods were not the powerful "Enchanting Melodies" that Annie had used twice before; she only gave Angelina some minor tricks that wouldn't harm the human body! Mostly, it was just the basics of magical music theory, but even that was quite extraordinary!

"Ah! Huh? This? This? Just like this is enough?!" Angelina could not understand what it meant for Annie to transmit this knowledge directly into her mind, nor what kind of achievements it would bring her in the future.

Even Annie herself hadn't expected that this casual act today would create a superheroine in the future Marvel world who would strike fear into the hearts of her enemies! A heroine specialized in music, yet known to the world as the Voice of God: the Soul Performer, Angelina! Of course, that was another story.

"Annie, it's so magical! How did you do it? This feeling is so strange!" Angelina was still carefully experiencing the sudden influx of knowledge in her head.

"It's a secret between the two of us, so don't tell anyone!"

"Okay! I promise I won't tell anyone, not even my daddy!" Angelina nodded vigorously and even extended her pinky to make a pinky swear with Annie.

"Then it's a deal! As long as you persist in training your magical power, you'll be able to play pieces like mine." *That's great!* Annie laughed happily. This way, she wouldn't have to worry about Angelina pestering her for performances anymore, right? Perfect!

"Huh? Angelina! What is that thing over there?" After soothing Angelina, Annie spotted a large, house-like object by the edge of the grass, where many people were currently gathered.

"Oh! That's a coin-operated toy machine! You can get one grab for one dollar." Angelina looked in the direction Annie was pointing; she naturally knew what it was.

"It looks like fun! Quick! Angelina, let's go play too!" Hearing it was something to play with, Annie's eyes lit up. She threw on her backpack, grabbed Angelina's hand, jumped off the swing, and ran straight toward the large toy machine.

"Angelina, do you have any coins? Give them to me, and I'll help you catch some toys!" After watching others play for a moment, Annie learned immediately. She couldn't wait to try it herself! However, she didn't have one-dollar coins; she had gold coins! But a gold coin was certainly too thick to fit into that small slot!

"I do! But I only have three left!" Angelina pitifully pulled the last three one-dollar coins from her pocket! Actually, she had already played a few times just now, but unfortunately, she hadn't caught a single one!

"Only three? That's enough! Quick, tell me, which one do you have your eye on? I'll catch it for you!" Annie snatched Angelina's pocket money and impatiently stood before an operating console, inserting a coin.

"I want that one!!" Angelina pointed at the largest teddy bear plush toy, which was a good half-head taller than her!

"Alright, watch me." Annie excitedly shook the joystick. A mechanical arm slowly moved over, reached down, and grabbed the large teddy, slowly lifting it up. However, unfortunately, before it had even risen about twenty centimeters, the toy fell back down. This attempt was a failure; one dollar was gone.

"Huh? How is this possible?"

She had clearly caught it! How could it fall like that? Annie froze for a moment, then, refusing to believe it, inserted another coin. This time she operated even more carefully. You have to understand, Annie could even fly a Quinjet; how could she not be able to play this toy machine? Impossible!

The second grab was clearly more reliable than the first. Once the large teddy was caught by the mechanical claw, it slowly moved back. Annie knew that as long as she dropped it into the exit, the toy would be theirs!

"Huh?! That's impossible!" Annie screamed loudly!

Because just as the teddy was about to be dropped into the exit, the mechanical claw had actually released itself automatically! That's right! It released on its own! Annie could guarantee there was no error in her operation, yet the claw just released itself. This could not hide from the super-perception of an Annie-mage! So that's how it is... this machine actually cheats?!

"Annie, maybe we shouldn't play anymore?" Beside her, Angelina was so sad she was almost crying. Including her own attempts just now, the machine had already eaten several dollars of her pocket money today. Now, only the last coin in Annie's hand remained!

"Hmph, don't worry, Angelina! I will definitely catch that big teddy for you, I promise!!" Annie was almost laughing from anger. This machine actually wanted to play dirty with her? She would show it!

After saying this, without waiting for Angelina to refuse, Annie quickly inserted the last coin and operated the machine again. Once the claw grabbed the teddy again, Annie secretly cast a powerful *Stickiness Spell* on the toy, using magic to firmly bond the large teddy to the claw! Then she began moving toward the exit.

Sure enough, just as the claw was about to reach the exit, it actually released just a tiny, imperceptible bit automatically. If not for Annie's spell working, the large teddy bear would have surely fallen long ago! *Hmph, so you do cheat!* Annie thought triumphantly; she had seen through the machine's trick.

Finally, under Angelina's admiring and excited gaze, Annie successfully stuffed the long-awaited large teddy bear into her arms.

"Hey! Does anyone else want a toy? I'll catch them for you for free—if I lose, it's on me!" Annie decided to punish this machine properly. She was going to catch every single toy it had so it couldn't trick anyone else. She turned and shouted loudly toward her classmates who were playing football.

"Hi! Pete! Where are my students?" Ms. Maine had just gone to grab something, and to her surprise, when she returned, she couldn't see her students. While surprised, she couldn't help but question Pete, the school security guard responsible for watching the students.

"There, over that way." The guard unceremoniously bit into the hot dog in his hand before gesturing for Ms. Maine to look toward the toy machine. A brand-new plush puppy was pressed against the seat behind him; that was one Annie had just caught for him for only one dollar. What a bargain! He planned to take it home as a gift for his young son.

"Oh! My God! How is this possible?"

Ms. Maine doubted her eyes once again. Her students were all holding toys, cheering excitedly by the toy machine! Every single one of them had at least one toy, some even had two. The one with the most was little chubby Jack; not only did he have one in each hand, but he also had two tucked under his arms, smiling so wide his mouth nearly split.

Ms. Maine could hardly believe it was true. Since when did these money-scamming toy machines become so easy to win from? Then she hesitated—should she go and get a couple for her three-year-old daughter at home too?

"Hello? Boss? It's like this: the toy machine we have in the park seems to be malfunctioning! You'd better send someone to repair it immediately. Yes, that's right! If you don't hurry, it's going to be emptied out!" On the other side of the large toy machine, a staff member was hiding in an empty corner, sweating profusely while making an urgent call to his boss.

Happy times are always short. In the blink of an eye, Annie's extracurricular activity drew to a close. Ms. Maine blew her small whistle, and Annie and her classmates began to stand in a crooked line—along with all the various toys in their hands! They were now preparing to end class and take the bus back to school.

"Students! Today..." Just as Ms. Maine spoke, an air-raid siren suddenly blared throughout all of New York. The people relaxing and playing in the park all stood up in confusion, looking around, not understanding what on earth was happening...

(End of Chapter)