Ryan made up his mind and immediately went downstairs to start his car, setting the navigation for a lottery station farther away.
Over five days, Ryan had scratched off all the lottery tickets at every station within a ten-kilometer radius of the Regent Business Tower. Now, he had no choice but to venture further afield in search of more.
As the old saying goes, "Fortune favors the bold." Ryan believed that if he failed to seize this opportunity with all his might, he would probably never acquire such wealth after departing from this life.
Moreover, Ryan had taken multiple precautions. Apart from wearing a full-body waterproof suit, he had also equipped his car with an umbrella, a lifebuoy, and weapons, ensuring he could handle any dangers that came his way.
Over the past half-month, although he hadn't encountered any more dangers, Ryan remained vigilant, even carrying his weapon while scratching off lottery tickets.
Due to the flooded roads, Ryan didn't dare drive too fast, as he could barely see the road ahead.
He had to proceed cautiously, driving slowly, and it took him nearly an hour to reach the first lottery station ten kilometers away, where he began to focus on scratching off tickets..
He lost track of time as he scratched away, and it was already afternoon when he realized.
To his dismay, he hadn't won any prizes. It seemed his luck had run out.
As Ryan finished scratching off the tickets at the station and stepped outside, preparing to head to the next, he suddenly heard a thunderous clap in the sky.
He looked up, only to see a flash of white lightning streaking across the sky. It was frighteningly bright even in broad daylight.
Dark, rolling clouds suddenly appeared in the sky, and he could see white lightning bolts flickering within the cloud layer.
In just a moment, the sky was completely overcast.
The sun vanished, and the world plunged into darkness, as if it were midnight.
A sense of impending doom grew stronger, pressing down on him and making it hard to breathe.
As thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, the rain began to pour down in torrents, and the strong winds turned into a gale.
Ryan's expression changed slightly. With this strange weather change, he instinctively felt that something bad was approaching.
Ryan didn't have time to think about it; he turned around and ran towards the car parked on the side of the road.
After getting into the car, Ryan found the rain was getting heavier. The dense raindrops hit the car body and windows, making crisp sounds.
Moreover, the rain, aided by the wind, felt like countless stones were hitting the car under the howling gale.
Ryan knew he couldn't continue his lottery ticket hunt. Given the current downpour, it wouldn't take long for the road's floodwaters to rise again, and he'd be trapped there.
In that instant, Ryan realized the game's new survival crisis had arrived.
It had come in the form of a natural disaster when he couldn't control his greed and ventured out again to scratch off lottery tickets.
In just over a month, Ryan had experienced life and death several times, and his mentality was no longer the same as when he first came in.
"What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger."
This was probably how Ryan felt at this moment.
So he was surprisingly calm now, not even feeling any regret about coming out to scratch off lottery tickets.
He decisively calmed down, stepped on the accelerator, and sped towards Regent Business Tower in the distance.
Given the current trend of the storm, it wouldn't take long for the entire city to become a vast expanse of water.
His only chance of survival was the Regent Business Tower, which stored a large amount of supplies. Standing at over 400 meters tall, it should withstand even if this rainstorm lasted for another month.
However, shortly after Ryan set off, he discovered a serious problem—the windshield wipers were useless.
Under such strong winds and heavy rain, the wipers would barely clear the raindrops from the windshield before they were instantly blurred again.
Ryan had no choice but to slow down a bit, using the brief moments when he could see the road to adjust his direction.
Fortunately, there were no other cars on the road then, just Ryan alone. Despite some bumps along the way, he managed to avoid any accidents.
The night was pitch-black, and the wind howled relentlessly. Rain lashed violently against the car windows, creating an almost ominous, unsettling sensation, as if the darkness itself were alive and threatening.
Ryan drove for half an hour, and as the Regent Business Tower came into view, he breathed a sigh of relief. But just then, he heard a loud bang as something hit the windshield.
Then he saw an iron sheet-like object pierce through the glass and come to a stop just centimeters from his chest.
Ryan was startled and instinctively stepped on the brake.
When the car came to a stop, Ryan, looking at the iron sheet less than a centimeter from his heart, felt his heart race and broke out in a cold sweat.
If the iron sheet had fallen with more force, it might have pierced his heart, and he would have died instantly.
Ryan took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves, before unbuckling his seat belt and moving to the side.
Only at this time did Ryan see clearly what the iron sheet was.
It was a rusty, two to three-meter-wide, three to four-meter-long iron road sign.
Looking at the rust on it, it should have been there for a while, and then it was blown off by the strong wind outside and crashing down.
Ryan, blinded by the heavy rain, hadn't seen the flying road sign and had been hit head-on.
Now, the windshield was shattered into pieces, with glass fragments scattered everywhere, and the gale and rain poured in through the gap.
In just a minute, Ryan was soaked through by the heavy rain, and the strong wind made it impossible for him to open his eyes.
Ryan was exasperated. This damn game was clearly trying its best to kill him.
Under such circumstances, even with his good mindset, Ryan couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.
However, Ryan also knew that getting angry was useless; he had to find a way to deal with the current situation.
The only silver lining was that Ryan was wearing a full-body waterproof suit, so only his face was wet.
In a normal rainstorm, it might not have happened so quickly, but this rain was like a bucket being poured from the sky, directly flooding the car.
In just moments, Ryan felt a layer of water under his feet.
Ryan was both alarmed and furious. He couldn't get out of the car now; his legs would never make it to the Regent Business Tower in this weather without being blown away.
Seeing the water inside the car rising, Ryan knew he could no longer hesitate.
He gritted his teeth and stepped on the gas, heading towards the Regent Business Tower, which loomed in the distance through the rain.
Ryan's plan was simple—drive as far as he could with the car and, when it could no longer hold out, run to the Regent Business Tower on foot.