Mi Xue looked at Zhang Yang in astonishment, and after a short moment, she burst into giggles.

Her laughter drew Xiao Dai, Nan Nan, and Hu Xin over; they hadn't heard the quiet conversation between Mi Xue and Zhang Yang.

"Laughing so wildly, what if there really is something inside?"

A mischievous idea suddenly sparked in Zhang Yang’s mind. He let out a sly chuckle and asked Mi Xue, "Well then, let’s make a bet. If there’s something inside, I win; if there isn't, you lose. How about it?"

Mi Xue stopped laughing, though a pleasant smile remained fixed on her face.

Clearly, she took Zhang Yang’s remark as a jest, but her response played right into Zhang Yang's hands, as he had precisely that idea in mind.

"What's going on? Why a bet?"

Hearing about a wager, Hu Xin immediately scurried over; his penchant for eavesdropping and joining the fray hadn't changed one bit.

Mi Xue repeated what Zhang Yang had just said, and as she did, she started laughing again. This time, it wasn't just them; Xiao Dai and Nan Nan also cracked smiles.

Zhang Yang’s suggestion was reminiscent of their childhood, when they always hoped to discover treasures in places they hadn't seen before.

Perhaps finding a box of candy beneath a cupboard one day, or picking up two eggs while walking down the street, or, in more extreme fantasies, suddenly spotting piles of cash stuffed in a box found in a garbage heap.

These were mere imaginings, or rather, fantasies, that many people harbored in their youth—a kind of adorable innocence.

"Fine. I'll bet you. Whoever loses has to grant the winner one favor!"

Mi Xue proposed the wager herself. How could Zhang Yang refuse? He was one hundred percent certain to win this bet.

Setting aside whether what was inside matched what the patient from his previous life had mentioned—that good item—Zhang Yang was at least certain that something was inside. This put him in an unbeatable position.

"I'll bet too! Same as Mi Xue, I bet there's nothing inside!" Hu Xin piped up again. This time, he wasn't siding with Zhang Yang. To them, Zhang Yang was bound to lose this bet; it was just an ivory carving, and even if the ivory was hollow, anything inside would have been taken long ago.

"I'll join in too. I bet on Mi Xue winning!"

Xiao Dai was quite lively, and since Hu Xin was participating, she naturally didn't want to miss out. Moreover, it was a rare moment where she and Mi Xue stood on the same side, unifying their front.

With them in, Nan Nan and Gu Cheng followed suit without hesitation, all joining on Mi Xue's side.

Five to one. Zhang Yang was instantly at a severe disadvantage; not a single one of the six of them believed him.

Actually, Gu Cheng had briefly considered that there might be something inside to let Zhang Yang win, but it was just a fleeting thought; reason told him such a thing was highly improbable.

Furthermore, Nan Nan had already chosen to support Mi Xue, so he also rather dishonorably stood opposite Zhang Yang.

"Alright, I accept all your wagers. Just don't regret it later. I'll open the base now!"

Zhang Yang smirked. With five people walking willingly into a trap, he certainly wouldn't object, but of the five bets, he only truly cared about one: Mi Xue's.

Granting a favor—what that favor might be was worth careful consideration.

In Zhang Yang's canvas bag was a needle case. Since starting to carry silver needles with him, he took a set almost every time he went out, just in case of unforeseen needs.

As he took out the needle case, Zhang Yang was reminded of the set he had used in his past life.

His previous set of needles was forged from special materials, making them twice as effective when combined with his internal energy. The raw materials alone for crafting that set had cost him over a hundred thousand, and they were ultimately lost during the plane crash.

He had commissioned that set of needles from someone in a southern city. He didn't lack money now, so he wondered if that craftsman was still around; if so, he might have another set made eventually.

A set of good, handy needles was like a weapon to Zhang Yang; they could make him significantly more formidable.

Taking out the thickest needle, Zhang Yang finally focused his mind and cautiously began manipulating the base.

This was an ivory carving worth tens of thousands, an antique besides. Zhang Yang couldn't risk damaging it, so he had to be extremely careful.

Fortunately, the base was a later addition; while it made things slightly more troublesome, it wouldn't significantly impact the value of the entire ivory sculpture.

This was also why the person from his past life had given him this item in the first place; aside from whatever was hidden inside, the ivory carving itself held considerable value as an exquisite piece of ancient artistry.

Zhang Yang slowly picked at the joint. At this moment, the waiter brought the dishes, and Liang Yan, the lobby manager, approached carrying a bottle of wine.

"Zhang Yang, what are you all doing?"

Seeing the group clustered together, she appeared quite curious.

"We're having a bet!" Hu Xin looked up and murmured softly. Since they were all acquainted—Hu Xin and the others had been with Zhang Yang several times and all knew Liang Yan—he spoke casually.

However, the only person Liang Yan truly remembered distinctly was Zhang Yang.

"A bet?"

Liang Yan's eyes widened. Hu Xin quickly whispered an explanation of the wager, then turned his attention back to the base Zhang Yang was working on.

The bet struck Liang Yan as novel. She set the wine bottle down and watched with interest.

"It's loose, it's getting loose!" Gu Cheng whispered urgently, as the base slowly began to shift under Zhang Yang's probing. He quickly reminded him.

Getting the base loose so quickly was all down to Zhang Yang. Someone else couldn't have done it.

This was the result of him channeling his internal energy into the needle and forcefully inserting it. Others lacked Zhang Yang's level of internal strength; it would take them at least several times longer to manipulate the base as he was doing.

Letting out a breath, Zhang Yang's subsequent movements became even more delicate.

The base was slowly lifted away, and the ivory carving on top remained completely undamaged—a feat that required considerable skill.

The revealed interior of the ivory looked less appealing than the outside, showing a somewhat brownish hue, as it hadn't been the carved and polished surface. But it was indeed ivory, genuine Asian elephant ivory.

The base was finally detached. The seven of them—six heads—crowded forward.

The only one who didn't crowd forward was Zhang Yang; he wasn't as intensely curious as his companions.

"Impossible!"

"There really is something?"

"How can this be?"

The group cried out in unison, the loudest exclamation coming from Hu Xin. Once the lid was open, they clearly saw a dark, wrapped object inside.

No matter what this object was, the mere presence of something inside proved they had lost.

The group finally lifted their heads. Shock was visible on every face, especially Mi Xue's, who was staring at Zhang Yang as if he were an alien.

"There really is something?"

Zhang Yang burst out laughing. This wasn't an act; the existence of something inside genuinely excited him.

It meant the person who gifted him the ivory carving in his past life hadn't deceived him. If he hadn't been lied to, this was very likely that treasure—a deeply precious, invaluable treasure.

"Zhang Yang, did you already know there was something inside?" Xiao Dai turned and asked him, with Nan Nan and Mi Xue nodding in agreement. The situation was simply unbelievable to them.

There truly was something hidden inside this ivory carving.

"I'm not an immortal. But many ancient novels often mention people hiding secret letters in ivory, so I just made a guess. Since you wanted to bet, I went along with it. Even if I lost, it wouldn't have been a big deal!"

Zhang Yang smiled and shook his head. Naturally, he wouldn't admit now that he knew about the item from his previous life.

There was no way to explain it otherwise.

"Is that so? Your luck is just too good!"

Xiao Dai frowned, her expression sour. She lost interest in the food that had just arrived, and even Hu Xin hadn't picked up his chopsticks.

Six people bet against one, and five had lost to one person. They were truly crestfallen.

"What is inside?" Liang Yan suddenly interjected. Since she hadn't participated in the wager, she felt no personal loss, only intense curiosity now about the hidden contents of the ivory carving.

"Right, Zhang Yang, take it out quickly and let’s see what it is! Could it be gold?" Hu Xin urged anxiously. Zhang Yang rolled his eyes; his imagination was truly vivid, thinking of gold hidden inside ivory.

Setting aside the weight of gold, at current market rates, the value of a piece of gold hidden inside might not even exceed the value of the ivory itself. It would be completely unnecessary.

"Gold is unlikely. Could it be the secret letter Zhang Yang mentioned?" Mi Xue’s eyes lit up too. She was far more rational than Hu Xin, understanding that gold would add weight and serve no real purpose.

Her suggestion earned nods from Xiao Dai and Nan Nan; since Zhang Yang had mentioned it, they all found this possibility plausible.

"I don't think so. Zhang Yang, why don't you take it out and see what it is?" Liang Yan shook her head and addressed Zhang Yang directly.

"Certainly. Wait a moment, I'll retrieve the item!"

Zhang Yang nodded, inwardly amused by Mi Xue's conjecture. The 'secret letter' he mentioned was just a casual excuse he threw out, never imagining they would actually believe it.

This, in fact, was the nature of human curiosity. The reason Zhang Yang offered had successfully hooked their interest. Never mind them, even Liang Yan had briefly believed it, though she was more rational and sensed it probably wasn't a secret letter.

The group huddled closely around Zhang Yang, watching as he carefully extracted the dark object from within.

The item was difficult to remove; it was firmly adhered to the inner wall of the ivory, sticking tight. When lifting it, there was no noticeable sensation unless one scanned the interior with internal energy, as Zhang Yang had done, to detect the abnormality.

He had to avoid damaging the object while also preventing harm to the inner ivory wall. The time Zhang Yang spent retrieving the item was even longer than the time it took to loosen the base.

It took a full ten minutes before he managed to dislodge the object with the silver needle and truly take the dark item out.

Once the object was placed on the table, everyone could finally clearly see the true appearance of the mysterious item hidden within the ivory carving.

It was an oval-shaped object, about seven or eight centimeters tall and four or five centimeters wide, and the black covering was merely a layer of oilcloth, which was wrapped around what lay beneath.

Producing the object didn't satisfy the group's curiosity; instead, everyone became even more curious: what exactly was wrapped inside this oilcloth...?