Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Intuition

Frost Shaw didn’t respond. He simply took out two Yellow Crystal Cores and fed them into the Lucky Cat’s mouth. Listening to its cheerful announcement, the corners of his mouth turned up unconsciously, but he quickly suppressed the smile.

He picked up a whole book of "Big 7s" and carefully selected six tickets. Lily Hart watched, wanting very much to stop him.

But he was the first customer of the day, after all. ’Let him be,’ she thought. ’He can scratch away all the food for all I care.’

Three minutes later, Lily Hart regretted it. She wanted to take back her previous thought, but it was too late—the two-minute time limit had passed!

She watched helplessly as Frost Shaw collected all six prizes from the table and put them into his spatial storage—fruits, vegetables, and fast food, he had it all!

Lily Hart was genuinely curious now. She couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, "Frost Shaw, how do you manage to win a prize every single time?"

Frost Shaw was in an excellent mood. A slight, smug smile touched his lips as he said, a little proudly, "Intuition."

’Intuition?! Intuition, my ass! Since when is this a game of intuition?’

Lily Hart was so angry she was speechless. She felt like putting a purchase limit on Frost Shaw—a maximum of ten scratch-off tickets per day.

’Otherwise, he’d win all her food! How was she supposed to do business then? No one else would even bother trying!’

Frost Shaw took out another two Yellow Crystal Cores, preparing to feed them to the Lucky Cat. Just then, Lily Hart overheard quiet murmurs from nearby.

"Isn’t that Frost Shaw?"

"Definitely. Who else would wear a cloak in this heat?"

"What’s Frost Shaw doing at our base?"

"He’s always been a wanderer. If it weren’t for his high level, who would put up with that rotten attitude of his?"

"Exactly. He’s not that old, but he’s got a huge temper. Last time, he offended the Base Commander’s sister..."

"I heard he also enjoys torturing children. They say his methods are especially cruel. Why hasn’t Central Command arrested him?"

The group was standing behind the RV, murmuring among themselves. Lily Hart’s hearing wasn’t the best, so she only caught scattered fragments.

’Were they talking about Frost Shaw?’ Lily Hart glanced up at him. He was diligently scratching his ticket.

The low brim of his hood hid his entire face, so she couldn’t see his expression, but she had a feeling he wasn’t very happy right now.

It was an aura—everyone radiates a certain energy, be it sadness, happiness, positivity, and so on...

Lily Hart abruptly stood up, pulled out a megaphone, and shouted at the group, "What are you looking at? Get lost! You like to gossip, huh? Watch out or someone might just rip your tongues out!"

With one hand braced on the table and the other holding the megaphone, she stood with her head held high, chest out, radiating an imposing aura.

Frost Shaw looked up at her, a little stunned. The sunlight bathed her, making her radiate a glorious light that could only be described as ’magnificence.’

A strange warmth spread through his heart. They barely knew each other, yet she was standing up for him.

Then, Lily Hart glanced down at him, her eyes meeting his just as he looked up. Both of them froze for a moment.

She said, "Just keep scratching. Don’t mind them." ’Don’t let them ruin your scratch-off mood.’

Frost Shaw lowered his head and continued scratching. ’It’s not like I was paying attention to them,’ he thought. ’I didn’t even look up, okay?’

The group, having been yelled at, were clearly unhappy. Someone wanted to step forward and argue, but was quickly dragged away by the others.

Lily Hart also overheard a parting shot: "Are you crazy? That’s Frost Shaw! You think he’s someone you can mess with?"

She raised an eyebrow. ’So this Frost Shaw guy isn’t just famous at Rebirth Base, he’s got quite a reputation at Hope Base too, huh?’

Everyone seemed to hate his guts, yet they kept their distance.

Lily Hart suddenly felt a flicker of interest in him. She wanted to know what on earth he’d done to make them hate him so much.

But the most important thing right now was attracting customers! Otherwise, she’d never sell out today!

’Business first.’

Frost Shaw was scratching a Big 7. Knowing he would definitely win food, Lily Hart leaned in for a closer look.

Startled by her sudden approach, Frost Shaw paused his movements, silently pressing down on the scratch-off ticket as he shifted back slightly. Lily Hart just leaned in closer.

She even said, "Go on, scratch. I want to see what you’ll win."

For some reason, her words sounded like a challenge to him, and he sped up his scratching.

He had been enjoying the slow process of scratching off the film, of gradually revealing the surprise beneath.

Now, he needed to prove himself!

But her head was a little too close. The faint scent of her shampoo drifted over, causing Frost Shaw to keep losing his focus.

The moment Frost Shaw finished scratching, Lily Hart eagerly snatched the ticket and stuffed it into the Lucky Cat’s mouth.

She didn’t even look at it. By now, she completely trusted that Frost Shaw’s intuition would win food—after all, his track record spoke for itself!

Before the Lucky Cat could make its announcement, Lily Hart shoved the megaphone right up to its mouth, amplifying the sound so it carried far and wide.

[Congratulations, Mr. Frost Shaw has won one Hot Pot Set! Redeem now?]

People were coming and going outside the base, and they all froze when they heard the announcement. ’Hot pot? What’s hot pot? No idea. Back to killing zombies!’

Frost Shaw shook his head. "Don’t redeem it."

Lily Hart shot him a glare. "Redeem it!"

Her voice was forceful. She leaned forward with both hands on the table, looking down at him.

Frost Shaw tugged the brim of his hood up slightly, revealing his fine eyes and brows. Meeting her gaze, he said weakly, "Okay, redeem it then."

Soon, a table appeared in front of the RV. On it sat a simmering dual-sided hot pot, already boiling, surrounded by an array of ingredients.

A stool was also included beside the table. Frost Shaw silently scooted over to it, feeling a bit helpless. ’What do I do? I don’t know how to eat this.’

Lily Hart seemed to notice. She scurried out with a pair of chopsticks in hand and patiently explained, "Just put whatever you want to eat into the pot. Once it’s cooked, you can eat it."

As she spoke, she put in the corn and beef balls, which take longer to cook, followed by thinly sliced fatty beef and other quick-cooking items.

A few seconds later, she scooped out the fatty beef, placed it in the bowl in front of Frost Shaw, and said, "Go on, eat."

Frost Shaw pulled his hood all the way down, letting it rest lazily on his shoulders. He took a deep breath, his nose filling with the aroma of the hot pot.

His eyes filled with anticipation. He ate the slice of fatty beef. The meat was tender and smooth, and he devoured it in a single bite.

The moment it entered his mouth, his eyes lit up, and the hand holding the bowl even trembled slightly. But he quickly controlled himself and began to eat voraciously.

Lily Hart produced a small fan from somewhere and aimed it at the dual-sided pot, determined to spread the aroma over the entire base.

But that was impossible, of course. At most, it drifted around the base entrance. And sure enough, people were drawn in by the scent.

They stood a few meters away from the table. Frost Shaw, completely unfazed, simply dumped all the ingredients into the pot at once, fishing out whatever he wanted to eat.

More and more people gathered to watch, unable to resist the tempting aroma of the hot pot, swallowing their saliva frequently.

They all clearly recognized Frost Shaw and knew of his "fierce reputation." For a moment, no one dared to ask what this was or where it came from.

Lily Hart was already at her window, waiting with eager anticipation, but she was puzzled to see that not a single person came to buy a ticket. ’Could these people really resist even hot pot?’

She couldn’t believe it. She got out of the RV again, megaphone in hand, and stood next to Frost Shaw.

She casually draped one arm over his shoulder while holding the megaphone in the other.

Startled by her touch, Frost Shaw’s shoulder dipped, but he immediately straightened up again. His body was a bit stiff, but he tried his best to focus on eating his hot pot as if nothing had happened.