Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 153: Chapter 153: The Pomelo Blood Case

Lily Hart deliberately placed the plate of cut fruit on the RV’s tabletop in front of them and speared a piece of watermelon with a fork.

She took a delicate bite, and a splash of juice landed on the clean tabletop, its bright watermelon-red color exceptionally dazzling.

They couldn’t help but move closer, less than half a meter from the table. Seeing her be so wasteful—not even licking the table clean—made them wish they could rush up and take a huge bite themselves!

After finishing the watermelon, she started on the pomelo. Each segment was plump and bursting with juice, its fresh fragrance wafting under everyone’s noses.

Someone started fumbling for their Crystal Cores, muttering, "I... I want to buy a scratch-off!"

His companion shot him a disdainful look and cursed, "What’s the point of buying a scratch-off? I’d rather just buy the fruit directly!"

"Yeah, yeah! We want to buy fruit!" They swarmed forward, placing their grimy hands on the tabletop.

"The fruit isn’t for sale. Read the scratch-off rules here," Lily Hart said coolly, holding up her Light Brain’s screen.

They instinctively looked over. After a moment of frantically digging out their Crystal Cores, they all started shouting:

"I’ll take the most expensive one."

"I want to eat fruit!"

"Don’t any of you try to compete with me!"

Diana Sharp and Tina Jacobs got busy, while Lily Hart continued to eat her fruit at a leisurely pace. Her main role was to act as a living advertisement.

The people from Spring-Watch Base might not use the internet, but they were rich. If they were going to play, they were going to buy the most expensive tickets.

This game depended on luck, but also on financial power. And sure enough, thanks to the power of money, someone won a large pomelo.

He held it up; it was a whole size larger than his head. Not only that, but it had a thin, easy-to-peel rind and was a red-fleshed honey pomelo.

Lily Hart noticed that a lot of pomelos had been won recently. ’Could it be pomelo season in the other parallel universe?’

The other five men stared at the pomelo, swallowing repeatedly, their actions and gazes urging him to peel it faster.

"Do you know how to do it or not? If not, let me!"

"Can you even handle that? Don’t you dare ruin such a precious thing!"

The man clutched the pomelo protectively, shielding it from everyone’s sight. "I can do it! I’m fine! Get away from me!"

"Why would we get away? We’re all brothers here, let’s just take a look~" They pawed at him, seemingly of one mind.

Simultaneously, they attacked him, trying to snatch the pomelo. Inside the RV, Lily Hart and the other two watched the show.

The man was beaten half to death, but the pomelo remained completely unharmed (only the prizes won from the scratch-offs were protected).

After crippling the man, they even tried to grab the pomelo, only to be sent flying in all directions and land flat on their backs. None of them understood what had just happened.

Unwilling to give up, they scrambled back to their feet and tried to grab it again. The outcome was identical; they were repelled one after another, and this time, thrown even farther. But since they were superpower users, they weren’t seriously injured.

Lily Hart feigned a shout. "Stop fighting! You can’t take it by force."

But they ignored her and kicked the man again. "It’s fine if we can’t get it. If we can’t eat it, he won’t either!"

’That makes so much sense, I can’t even argue with it.’

They lost their desire to play. Seeing someone else win was even more agonizing than not winning themselves. Furious, they turned and headed back to the base.

Their abandoned companion lay curled on the ground, covered in a cold sweat and breathing faintly. Lily Hart couldn’t be bothered with him. She just sighed softly. ’He spent his own Crystal Cores to win that. Why should he have to share it with you?’

After noon, residents of Spring-Watch Base began to trickle out, all looking listless. It was unclear what they were heading out to do. The area nearby was neither an industrial zone nor an urban village.

Instead, it was a proper city with skyscrapers, shopping malls, parks, and even an artificial ornamental lake, which was probably also full of zombies.

The RV was parked between the two, at a distance from both the city and the base. It was the first thing you saw when you came out of the base, making it very conspicuous.

Sure enough, someone came over to ask, "What are you guys doing here?"

Diana Sharp answered patiently while Lily Hart patiently pondered. ’Should I hang a sign on the RV? "Lily Hart’s Lottery Shop"? That would make it crystal clear.’

’That makes sense.’ Lily Hart immediately searched the system’s mall and quickly custom-ordered a sign. It was like a holographic screen that flickered occasionally, displaying four large words: Lily Hart’s Lottery Shop.

It matched the RV’s overall style perfectly, fitting her high-tech and enigmatic image.

The newly arrived group eagerly started scratching their tickets. Lily Hart paid them little mind, as long as they didn’t cause trouble. She went back to her Light Brain, navigating to the "Lily Hart’s Lottery Shop - Membership" page.

She hadn’t looked before, but when she did, she was shocked. The lottery shop already had tens of thousands of members, with the residents of Nutwood Base being the biggest spenders.

’Probably because I stayed there the longest, so they bought the most,’ she mused.

She recalled 21st-century membership systems and all their different features. Hers was too basic. Members could only top up their points and check their balance; they couldn’t even buy scratch-offs directly through the system.

She studied it for a while and set up a new rule: for every scratch-off ticket purchased, the customer would earn 1 point. Points could be used to offset the cost of buying more tickets or be redeemed for items in a points-only shop.

For example, an apple could be redeemed for 88 points, a pomelo for 99 points, and so on.

She closed her Light Brain. The sound of an argument erupted from outside the RV. Lily Hart sighed, frowned, and looked over.

"I clearly picked that one just now!"

"Bullshit! It was obviously me!"

Two grown men were arguing over the ownership of a single unscratched ticket.

’What’s there to argue about? Do they have X-ray vision or something? How could they know this one’s a big winner?’

Lily Hart propped her chin on her hand, shifting into a better position to watch the show. The two men continued to argue, shoving each other back and forth.

"Let go! I’m buying this one!"

"On what grounds? I saw it first! I’m buying it!"

"I want it!"

"I want it!"

They just kept repeating the same few phrases. Lily Hart grew tired of listening, so she leaned back and went back to her fruit platter.

’Spring-Watch Base really lives up to its reputation.’ In just a few short hours here, she had personally killed about ten people, witnessed a one-sided beating, and was now watching two men quarrel.

Compared to other bases, this place was far more volatile. It was as if invisible gunpowder floated in the air above the base.

With every breath, they inhaled that gunpowder, which then settled inside them, making everyone short-fused.

RRRIP— The scratch-off ticket was torn in half between them.

The two men froze, instinctively looking toward the unfazed Lily Hart, who was still casually eating her fruit. She just blinked back at them.

Lily Hart pursed her lips and held out her hand toward them. "Pay up. Five Crystal Cores," she said offhandedly.

That scratch-off ticket was only worth one and a half Crystal Cores. Her demand for five made the two men furious.

For a brief moment, they formed a united front. They puffed out their chests, their faces grim, and were just about to hurl a few curses.

But Lily Hart’s next words stopped them cold. "Or else," she said, pointing to the nearby pile of corpses, "you’ll end up just like them."

The two men’s gazes followed her finger, landing on the pile of bodies. At first glance, they were shocked to see some familiar faces!

They even moved closer to get a better look, discussing in low voices, "Isn’t that so-and-so? The Base Commander’s nephew!"

"It really is! Do you recognize this one? From the External Affairs Department! Another one who got his job through connections!"

"How could I not? He was always swaggering around, acting all high and mighty just because his aunt is the head of the External Affairs Department~"