Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Protective Clothing

The two big cats boarded the RV and docilely padded over to Lily Hart’s side. They rubbed against her legs affectionately, just as they always did, before lying down beside her and resting their heads on their paws.

Lily Hart reached out to stroke their fur. It was as soft as ever. The bond between the three of them was still there, and she relaxed.

She just didn’t know why this had happened all of a sudden.

As she reached for a cup of water, her gaze suddenly froze on the tip of her index finger. The small cut from yesterday had already healed without a scar. The skin was so smooth it was as if the wound had never existed.

’Huh? Does becoming a superpower user speed up your healing?’

’I vaguely remember Lily and Nana climbing onto the bed as I was falling asleep this morning. I think they licked my wound. Could it be their saliva?’

’Ew, for some reason, that’s kind of gross...’

’Wait, that’s not right. Did they get bigger because they licked my wound?’ At this thought, Lily Hart couldn’t help but recall last night’s chaos, all caused by a single drop of her blood.

She was well aware that it was because of her blood. The Zombie King, the giant mountain turtle, and even the horde of mutated plants and animals that followed—they had all come for her blood.

The Zombie King had also repeatedly mentioned wanting to eat her, which was probably because her blood was so special.

’Strange. So strange. What could possibly be so different about my blood?’

Lily Hart didn’t understand, but she made a firm mental note: she couldn’t afford to bleed. She had to avoid getting injured at all costs to prevent a repeat of last night’s chaos.

’But I’m not telling anyone about this. The fewer people who know, the better...’

A sudden flash of insight struck her. An image of herself and Frederick Shaw lying on cold laboratory beds surfaced in her mind. ’Could it be because of my blood?’

’They wanted my blood!’

The pieces suddenly clicked into place. Her blood was incredibly tempting to zombies and mutated creatures.

Perhaps it enhanced their strength or improved their bodies—whatever it was, the benefits were clearly enormous.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gone into such a frenzy, flocking to her like that...

’Okay, I’ve figured out my own situation. But is Frederick Shaw the same? Is that why he was a "system exception"?’

’Now I’m just confused again.’

Her blood truly had some miraculous property. If this was exposed, she feared that nightmare of the lab would become a reality.

Frost Shaw sat quietly to the side, occasionally glancing at Lily Hart. Her face was blank, as if she were lost in thought.

He waved a hand in front of her eyes. "What are you thinking about?"

Lily Hart snapped back to reality, forcing a stiff smile. "Nothing," she said casually.

’I just discovered a world-shattering secret, so my heart’s not exactly calm right now. I’m just thinking I should probably buy myself some Protective Clothing.’

’The kind with total, head-to-toe coverage. Not even a single strand of hair exposed.’

That made perfect sense. A woman of action, Lily Hart immediately opened her Light Brain and searched for "Protective Shield" and other similar items.

The top-ranked items had excellent reviews, but the prices were also stunningly high. The suits were transparent and skin-tight when worn.

They were also very soft, making their presence nearly imperceptible—like a second skin.

Lily Hart quickly made her choice, buying the most expensive one for nearly 200,000 points. Fortunately, she had been earning a lot lately, so she didn’t feel the sting of the expense.

’This is all for my own personal safety!’

After she placed the order, the item appeared in her personal space. She mentally clicked "Equip," and a second later, she felt a faint, constricting sensation.

Lily Hart held out her hand and could faintly see a soft, milky-white glow outlining each of her fingers before it gradually faded away.

The Protective Shield enveloped her entire body. She could breathe normally, and after a short while, she could barely feel its presence.

’Perfect. Awesome. Now Mom never has to worry about me getting hurt again.’

However, when Lily Hart checked the item’s description, she discovered that, in a post-apocalyptic twist, the suit had to be "fed" Crystal Cores to function.

And it consumed quite a few each day—at least twenty to thirty Crystal Cores...

’No problem,’ she thought. ’I’m rolling in Crystal Cores right now. I could afford to maintain ten of these suits.’

Done with the Protective Clothing, she turned her attention to her newly acquired personal space. It wasn’t huge—only about a hundred square meters.

It didn’t just blindly preserve things or stop time; she could change its properties at will.

For example, if she put a bowl of noodles inside and set the time to "paused," it would still be piping hot when she took it out.

Meanwhile, other items would be completely unaffected. Or, for another example, she could toss in a pile of dark soil and sprinkle some watermelon seeds on it.

Then, by setting that specific area to double-speed growth, the seeds would grow twice as fast as they would in the outside world, speeding up the watermelon’s maturation.

Or she could toss in a scoop of water, which would also be kept in its own isolated pocket, unable to be contaminated by other objects.

Lily Hart was very satisfied with this space. It could even be visualized as a small, adorable cube floating in the palm of her hand.

Now that she had her Protective Clothing, her mood finally improved. Just then, Roman Rowe rushed over like a gust of wind.

"Boss Hart!" he yelled, his expression full of concern. "What happened? Where did you run off to last night? You have no idea how worried we were!"

"Oh? How worried?" Lily Hart teased.

Roman Rowe spread his arms wide, drawing a huge circle in the air. "Thiiiiis much worried!" he gestured wildly.

Lily Hart couldn’t help but laugh. "I was fine," she said reassuringly. "I just had to step out for something. Didn’t I leave a note on the whiteboard outside?"

Roman Rowe’s lips formed a pout. He slid into the seat beside her, his face etched with worry. "Boss Hart, next time something happens, you have to take me with you! I can protect you!"

"And me," Frost Shaw added quietly.

"It’s fine. Owen Warren was there last night," Lily Hart said with a casual wave of her hand.

The two large men on either side of her exchanged a look. A flicker of alarm passed through their eyes before being quickly suppressed.

Roman Rowe said, full of conviction, "I could have been there, too!"

Frost Shaw’s voice was level, but he immediately added, "And me."

Lily Hart fought to hold back a laugh. ’Men can be so transparent sometimes.’ She deliberately added, "It’s fine. Owen Warren is Ninth Rank, you know."

"But he’s a zombie! He’s not one of us! Boss Hart, you can’t let him lead you astray!" Roman Rowe pleaded earnestly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Lily Hart said dismissively. Right on cue, her stomach let out a loud RUMBLE.

Lily Hart sat bolt upright. "Time to eat. I’m starving after being up all night."

Hearing this, the two men felt a fresh wave of dismay. ’She was up all night? What could have been so important?’

Leo Colby arrived late. Upon seeing Lily Hart, he couldn’t help but ask, "So you’re awake. How come you weren’t open for business today?"

Frost Shaw and Roman Rowe answered in unison, "She was busy."

"Oh~," Leo Colby replied, his tone suggesting he understood more than he let on. He shot an interested glance at Lily Hart.

The subject of their conversation was currently scrolling through her Light Brain, wondering what to eat. She really was quite hungry.

After all, she’d been up all night running around. And even though the latter part of the night hadn’t been too strenuous and she had slept all day...

...she was long past hungry. Now she was eating three meals in one.

"What do you guys want to eat?" Lily Hart asked, propping her chin on her hand.

All three shook their heads.

"Can any of you cook?" Lily Hart asked. The three large men sitting across from her looked like they were in an interview.

All three shook their heads.