Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Mysterious Superpower?

The system said snarkily, [How could that be, Host! Our scratch-off tickets can’t be damaged in the slightest, whether you burn them with fire or soak them in water, let alone by some so-called X-ray vision.]

The system was about to add that Frost Shaw’s superpower wasn’t X-ray vision at all...

After getting the system’s confirmation, Lily Hart stopped worrying. ’It doesn’t matter how slowly he picks. As long as he’s paying, he’s my god.’

Frost Shaw slowly picked out three tickets and began to scratch. He was completely immersed in his own world, oblivious to any outside disturbances.

A long while later, two whole batches of customers had come and gone, but Frost Shaw was still scratching those same three tickets.

Lily Hart checked on him countless times and realized he was just being slow. ’Weird,’ she thought, ’he scratched the first three so fast.’

’What gives? Did he switch to slow-motion or something?’

It was nearly noon, and Lily Hart was preparing to close up shop. She turned her head and saw Frost Shaw was still there.

A thick stack of scratched but unredeemed tickets was piled up next to him. A new wave of customers had come by, and she’d been too busy to notice him.

Frost Shaw wasn’t the type to make a fuss. He simply fed his Crystal Cores to the Lucky Cat and picked out more tickets himself. He was quite adept at the process.

"Finished scratching? Want to redeem your tickets? I’m closing up shop!" Lily Hart reminded him.

It was as if everyone knew the owner took a midday nap, because the window was empty. Only Frost Shaw remained, scratching his final ticket.

Frost Shaw slowly raised his head. Because of his cloak, Lily Hart couldn’t see his eyes even when he looked up. She could only see his thin lips pressed together, as if deep in thought.

"Redeem," Frost Shaw said.

Lily Hart’s face lit up. She took the thick stack of scratch-off tickets—there had to be thirty or forty of them. ’This guy is loaded! This is no small change!’

She shoved the whole stack into the Lucky Cat’s mouth. Maybe it was the first time it had handled such a large order, or maybe its second-hand quality was just shoddy, but in any case, it jammed.

Its eyes spun round and round, and a faint meowing sound emerged from its mouth. The noise attracted Lily, who hopped onto the table in a few quick leaps.

She pawed at the Lucky Cat, meowing anxiously. Lily Hart couldn’t understand her, but that was easily fixed. She immediately purchased the "Feline-ese" skill from the system’s store. It was much more expensive than the zombie language skill.

It cost 10 points.

But if there was one thing she wasn’t short on right now, it was points.

The instant the purchase was complete, she understood what Lily was meowing.

"What’s wrong, Fortune?"

"You can’t die! You’re only the second friend I’ve made in this world."

"Is the work getting to you? Do you want to take a break? It’s okay, Fortune. A cat’s life is tough..."

Then, she heard the Lucky Cat’s weak voice reply, "N-no, that’s not it... Ah, I’m... choking..."

Lily Hart burst out laughing. Frost Shaw glanced over. Her dimples were clearly visible, and her eyes crinkled with mirth. Her whole face was bright and radiant.

She was a stark contrast to the bleak, desolate darkness of the apocalypse.

Even her teeth were perfectly straight and clean. Frost Shaw found himself feeling incredibly envious...

After she had her laugh, Lily Hart finally remembered to help the Lucky Cat, but she had no idea how to get the tickets out...

"Lily, ask your friend Fortune how to get them out," she said. "We don’t want her to choke to death."

Lily was shocked. Fortune was shocked. The Lucky Cat’s eyes stopped spinning. After a long moment, it stammered, "M-Master... just press the left eyeball three times..."

Lily Hart did as it said, and sure enough, the machine spat out all the scratch-off tickets. Then she heard it add, "Master, five tickets at a time is my limit... I can’t take any more..."

"Alright, alright..." Lily Hart agreed.

Frost Shaw watched this unfold, completely baffled. ’Is she... talking to a porcelain cat? But it’s just porcelain! And that real cat? It’s so, so, so adorable!’

Frost Shaw was screaming on the inside, but his expression remained impassive. One hand rested on the tabletop, index finger tapping unconsciously, while the other hung naturally at his side. He looked almost impatient.

But in reality... he just wanted to pet Lily...

Lily Hart fed the tickets into the Lucky Cat’s mouth, five at a time. It took more than six batches to get through the whole stack.

’A rough count... that’s about 32 tickets,’ Lily Hart thought. ’This guy scratched that many in a single morning?! That’s 1600 points!’

As the numbers clicked into place, Lily Hart was stunned. Her gaze on him turned fervent. ’A whale! I have to treat him like royalty!’

Frost Shaw remained motionless, holding the same pose as before, though the tapping of his finger on the tabletop slowed.

Only he himself knew that he was waiting. Waiting for the Lucky Cat to spit out his prizes. ’And then!’ he thought, ’I can finally have a feast!’

Soon, the Lucky Cat began spitting out the prizes, one by one, in the order the tickets had been fed.

Time seemed to slow. The Lucky Cat spent nearly three minutes spitting everything out. When it was done, Lily Hart looked at the result and was stunned.

It was all food... The entire tabletop was covered, with some items even stacked two-high. There was no space for Lily Hart to even put her hands.

’Can the tickets really not be seen through?’ Lily Hart wondered again, but she chose to trust the system’s word.

She felt a flash of irritation. ’No wonder nobody else won any food this morning! So you’re the one who got all the winning tickets!’

Lily Hart glared at Frost Shaw, but all she could see was the hood of his cloak. Their eyes couldn’t even meet. He remained completely oblivious.

"Here, your prizes," Lily Hart said, her voice flat.

Among the prizes was even a serving of braised chicken in a clear takeout container. The sauce looked rich, dotted with green vegetables and shiitake mushrooms, and it came with a side of steamed rice.

It was enough to make anyone’s mouth water. Lily Hart was hungry. She hadn’t eaten breakfast because Chester Carter’s group had arrived so early, and she’d been busy all morning. Now, seeing a table piled high with delicious food she couldn’t have... she was starving...

Frost Shaw swept all the food into his Space Ring. It was a new product released by the Central Command this year, sold specifically to superpower users who didn’t have a Space Ability.

The price was determined by preservation time and storage capacity, with a starting price of one thousand Level 1 Crystal Cores. They were also limited-run items; you couldn’t get one without some serious clout.

Frost Shaw was just about to leave, intending to return to his secret base for a feast, when he caught a faint but enticing aroma.

He turned and saw that the lottery shop owner hadn’t closed her service window yet. Inside the RV, a table had appeared, and on it was... an electric grill?

Several slices of pork belly were spitting oil, SIZZLING as they curled up on the grill. Next to them were four or five plump, white button mushrooms, releasing a captivating aroma.

Frost Shaw stopped in his tracks. ’That wasn’t there a moment ago when I was storing my food,’ he thought. ’Is the owner some kind of magician?’

He turned completely around and just stood there, staring at the electric grill and silently swallowing.

Lily Hart came out of the restroom, flicking water from her hands. Seeing that mountain of food earlier had made her hungry...

So, she’d quickly ordered a Korean barbecue set she’d been eyeing in the system store yesterday, putting the pork belly and mushrooms on the grill before going to wash her hands.

She sat down eagerly, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. Lily hopped onto the table too, munching on a bowl of cat food set before her. In a way, they were having a meal together...