Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Shifting Position

But no one dared to try anything. They just watched him eat, their eyes filled with greed. A few people clenched their fists, tempted to rush forward and snatch it, but then they remembered the person who’d been sent flying and quickly abandoned the thought.

Meanwhile, the other person who had won a piece of fruit took advantage of everyone’s attention being on the banana, cashed in their prize, and slipped away unnoticed.

Frost Shaw was also intently scratching his tickets. After finishing the five in front of him, he looked up at Lily Hart.

Intimidated by Frost Shaw’s power and his ice-cold demeanor that kept everyone at a distance, the crowd gave him a wide berth. He alone occupied the best spot—directly in front of Lily Hart.

Lily Hart shot him an irritated glare. "Are you cashing in or not?" she asked impatiently.

Frost Shaw shook his head. A new pile of about ten scratch-offs had accumulated beside him. He was probably waiting to cash them all in at once again.

He urged, "Open a new pack."

Lily Hart glanced at the large stacks of "Lucky Charm," "Dragon’s Luck," and "Instant Tycoon" scratch-offs still on the table.

"Aren’t there still plenty right here?" she asked, feigning innocence.

"Super 7s!" Frost Shaw stared right at her, his refined features visible, his eyes full of reproach. ’What a wicked woman!’

"Not happening!" Lily Hart teased.

Frost Shaw said no more. He silently moved aside to let the people behind him have a turn, waiting until a good number of the three ticket types on the table had been sold.

Lily Hart then brought out a few new books of scratch-offs. Frost Shaw’s eyes lit up. He immediately pushed his way through the crowd, using his formidable strength to get to the very front.

The crowd was fuming but didn’t dare to say a word. But Lily Hart didn’t care how strong he was. On her turf, everyone played by her rules.

She pointed at Frost Shaw, then gestured to the end of the line. "Get to the back of the line."

Frost Shaw stared at her in disbelief. No one had ever dared to use such a commanding tone with him before.

Even the Base Commander of Central Command had to treat him with deference. This wicked woman was the first to defy him.

"I won’t!" Frost Shaw tried to argue, but his feet started moving backward as if they had a mind of their own.

Lily Hart scoffed. ’Trying to tell me "no" on my own turf? What a cocky little brat.’ She arranged the newly opened books of tickets as she thought.

Controlled by some mysterious force, Frost Shaw was moved directly to the back of the line. When he tried to step forward, he was blocked by an invisible wall, forced to advance only at the slow pace of the queue.

He crossed his arms, his face dark beneath the brim of his hood. He looked up, his gaze cutting through the long line of people to land on Lily Hart.

Her smile was brilliant and pure, more radiant than the sun itself. Her dimples were like two sparkling springs, clear and dazzling.

Frost Shaw abruptly tore his gaze away, fiercely berating himself. ’She’s a wicked woman! Don’t think about her anymore!’

By the time he slowly shuffled forward and finally reached the front, his eyes fell upon the tabletop. The Super 7s were almost all gone...

The other types were nearly sold out, too, with only a few scattered tickets remaining—not a very tempting sight.

Just then, to his horror, Lily Hart announced, "Alright, that’s all for today!" With that, she began to pack up the remaining scratch-offs.

Frost Shaw panicked and slammed his hand down on hers. "I’ll take them all!"

Realizing what he’d done, he flusteredly snatched his hand back, conspicuously hiding it behind his back.

Lily Hart laughed and held out a hand. "Crystal Cores, please." Her palm was fair with a healthy, rosy tint.

Frost Shaw averted his eyes and took several Yellow Crystal Cores from his Space Ring. It was definitely more than necessary, but he pressed the whole handful into her palm.

His fingers brushed against her warm, soft skin. The tips of Frost Shaw’s ears flushed red, and he quickly pulled his hand away.

Then, in a hurry, he swept all the remaining scratch-offs from the table into his Space Ring and left without a backward glance.

Lily Hart glanced after him, thinking, ’Such a rude little brat.’ Then she pulled down the service window’s shutter.

Gleefully, she opened the holographic screen to check her point balance. ’Holy crap!’ She was stunned. ’Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands!’

Over thirty-three thousand points!

AAAAAAHHHHHHH, I’M RICH!

Lily Hart spun around in circles excitedly before scooping Lily the cat off the floor, tossing her into the air, and catching her perfectly.

[Meow~] "Master, I’m dizzy..."

Lily Hart stopped tossing her and held her close, pointing her toward the number on the holographic screen.

"See that? Your master is rich! Which cat food do you want? Name it, it’s yours!" she declared magnanimously.

Lily’s eyes, already sparkling, now shone like brilliant stars. She stretched out a tiny paw and expertly swiped across the holographic screen.

Finally, under the "Pets" category, she selected a highly-rated brand of cat food.

Lily Hart immediately tried to place the order, only for a notification to pop up: [Daily spending limit reached.]

Awkward...

She looked at Lily and tried to console her. "It’s okay, I’ll buy it for you one minute past midnight. I promise you’ll be eating this tomorrow!"

Lily gave a haughty flick of her head, jumped out of her master’s arms, and padded over to her cat bed.

Although the cat hadn’t said a word, Lily Hart somehow felt like she’d just been thoroughly berated...

’This damn system! What’s the deal with a spending limit? Seriously... I guess I need to hurry up and reach Level 4!’

As eight o’clock approached, Lily Hart wasn’t particularly hungry, but she felt she should eat something to reward herself for a hard day’s work.

After doing some quick math, she found she still had a few dozen points left to spend. She carefully selected an all-vegetable spicy hot pot combo...

What can I say? Meat just tastes better.

This whole incident gave Lily Hart a sudden, desperate urge to level up. ’Isn’t the greatest joy in life eating and drinking to your heart’s content?’

But she was planning to switch bases tomorrow. She had fleeced Rebirth Base for all it was worth for now; it was time to find a new pasture of "leeks" to harvest.

So, she set the navigation that night and let the RV drive itself to another base—one several times larger than Rebirth Base.

Its name: Hope Base...

Back at Rebirth Base, Chester Carter arrived early in the morning to get in line, clutching the Crystal Cores he’d earned by pulling an all-nighter hunting zombies.

He froze on the spot. The place where the RV had been parked was completely empty, except for a piece of paper stuck firmly to the ground.

Chester Carter crouched down to look, and his world came crashing down. The note read: "The mobile lottery shop has moved to Hope Base for the day."

Just a simple, straightforward notice.

Chester Carter remained squatting on the ground. ’If there are no scratch-offs in life, then what’s the point? What am I even killing zombies for?!’

’For the scratch-offs, of course!’

More people began to arrive, standing around and looking for the RV, but it was nowhere to be found.

All they saw was the dazed-looking back of Chester Carter squatting on the ground. They approached him and asked, "Where’s the lottery shop? Where’s Boss Hart?"

Before Chester Carter could answer, they spotted the note on the ground. A collective wail of despair erupted from the crowd.

"Is Boss Hart coming back?"

"What? You mean there are no scratch-offs today?"

"Then what was the point of me pulling an all-nighter killing zombies?!"

Chester Carter shot to his feet, his expression determined. "I’m going to Hope Base!"

Surprisingly, the crowd’s first reaction wasn’t, ’Are you crazy? That’s so far away!’

Instead, they chimed in with agreement and started making plans. A superpower user with a navigation ability even joined in. A group of about ten people assembled, all of them clamoring to go to Hope Base to find the lottery shop.

Just then, Hayden Donovan arrived. Trailing behind him was a man shrouded from head to toe in a black cloak, with only the barest hint of his chin visible.