A Strange Lottery Encounter

Old Wang has been feeling a bit troubled lately. It's not because of his daily commute on the bus, which feels like a battlefield every morning, nor is it because of his salary that never seems to increase. It's because he has participated in the new energy vehicle lottery three times, and each time he has failed miserably. He feels like he's being toyed with by a giant, invisible machine.

Today is another day for a new round of the lottery. Old Wang specifically took half a day off and sat in front of his computer, his heart pounding faster than when he clocks in for work. He habitually opened the lottery website and entered his ID number and password. On the screen, the familiar waiting interface appeared, with a continuously rotating circle in the middle, like a giant whirlpool about to suck him in.

"God bless, I must win this time!" Old Wang clasped his hands together, silently praying.

Time ticked by, second by second. Finally, the circle on the screen stopped spinning, and was replaced by a line of text: "Congratulations, you have obtained a new energy vehicle purchase quota for this period."

Old Wang was stunned for a moment, then burst into cheers, he was as excited as if he had won the lottery. He quickly told his wife the good news, and his wife's voice on the other end of the phone was filled with joy.

The next day, Old Wang arrived at the vehicle management office early, ready to handle the purchase quota procedures. The clerk at the window looked a little tired. She expressionlessly took Old Wang's materials, and then pointed to a QR code on the wall: "Scan the code, fill in the information."

Old Wang followed the instructions and quickly completed the information filling. However, when he was about to collect the purchase quota, the clerk told him: "Sir, you also need to take a test."

"A test?" Old Wang asked in confusion.

"Yes, after the lottery reform, in order to ensure that you really need this car, we need to conduct a simulation test of your usage scenarios," the clerk explained.

Old Wang was led to a simulated driving cabin, which had a virtual steering wheel and a huge display screen. The screen showed a congested city street, and the sounds of honking and announcements were heard in the ears.

"Please successfully avoid three incidents of fraudulent accidents, and safely reach your destination within five minutes." After the clerk finished speaking, she pressed a button.

Old Wang was completely dumbfounded. This wasn’t a lottery, it was simply a game! He carefully controlled the steering wheel, but on the screen, those "fraudulent accident participants" popped out like ghosts one by one. He dodged left and right, flustered. He barely managed to avoid it twice, but the third time, he still "crashed" into an old lady who pretended to fall.

"Test failed, please queue up again," the clerk said coldly.

Old Wang could only helplessly walk out of the simulated driving cabin and rejoin the queue. The second time, the third time, the results were the same. Each time he was so close, but each time he failed.

After failing several times in a row, Old Wang completely lost his patience. He questioned the clerk: "This is not a test, it's clearly making things difficult!"

The clerk adjusted her glasses and said calmly: "Sir, the purpose of the lottery is not to ensure that everyone can buy a car, but to ensure the rational allocation of resources. If even the most basic traffic rules cannot be followed, how can one drive on the road?"

Old Wang was choked speechless, he felt like he was trapped in a giant, absurd maze, where the rule-makers always had a set of seemingly reasonable arguments that left you with no way to refute.

He walked out of the vehicle management office dejectedly, wandering aimlessly on the street. Suddenly, he saw a young man, holding a lottery quota in his hand, bargaining with a used car dealer.

"This quota, I'll pay five thousand, how about it?" the young man asked.

"Five thousand? Are you trying to send beggars? The lottery is so difficult now, you wouldn't even dream of it without fifteen thousand!" the car dealer retorted with a disdainful look.

Old Wang looked at them, a strange sense of sadness surged in his heart. The lottery, which was originally intended for the fair distribution of resources, has now become a business, a bargaining chip for transactions.

He remembered this morning, his wife was still looking forward to a better life with a new car on the phone. He suddenly felt a sense of fatigue, he did not know how much longer he could hold on.

Just then, his phone rang. It was a text message from the lottery website:

"Dear user, your lottery qualification for this period has been canceled because you violated traffic rules multiple times during the simulated driving test and failed to reach your destination safely. Please strengthen your learning, improve your driving skills, and welcome to participate next time."

Old Wang looked at the phone screen, feeling dizzy. He suddenly understood that this lottery was not about cars at all, but about people. He was just an insignificant part in this giant machine.

He sighed, put his phone back in his pocket, and continued to weave through the crowded streets. And his strange lottery encounter had only just begun. He felt as if he was standing on a giant, illusory stage, performing an endless farce.