Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Achievement Unlocked

She leaned in for a look. It was like a stone, a little smaller than her palm, with a smooth, round surface, and completely black.

"What’s this?" Lily Hart asked.

"A Protective Shield," Dawn Lowell whispered.

Only the two of them could hear.

"Whoa~" Lily Hart exclaimed in surprise.

’You really can get anything from these things.’ She asked curiously, "Is it permanent, or is it single-use?"

Dawn Lowell glanced down at it again. It seemed she could see a description on its surface, but Lily Hart couldn’t see a thing.

’Probably only the owner can see it.’

Dawn Lowell said, "It can be used three times a day, for fifteen minutes each time. It can block any attack below the Eighth Rank."

Lily Hart: "Sweet."

’The +1 Luck buff really comes in handy every now and then.’

After their hushed conversation, Dawn Lowell pocketed the Protective Shield and left.

The other customers were intensely curious, of course, but they didn’t dare follow her into the hotel, much less cause trouble near the lottery shop.

After all, everyone has moments when they’re alone, hunting zombies in the wild.

And then... heh heh!

Lily Hart could tell what they were thinking with a single glance. Their eyes were practically glued to Dawn Lowell.

But she couldn’t be bothered with all that, nor did she want to be...

The day flew by. As she was eating dinner, the system’s voice suddenly echoed in her mind.

[Congratulations, Host, on achieving the 100,000 points milestone in Spring-Watch Base. The machine installation channel is now unlocked.]

Lily Hart’s eyes lit up. She did a quick calculation. It had only taken about five days, and that was with a day off in the middle.

’The residents of Spring-Watch Base have some serious spending power. This is great. If only the residents of every base were like this.’

’It means that even without me, people are doing pretty well. After all, you need Crystal Cores to trade for supplies.’

’I’ll finish dinner first and buy the machines tomorrow. In a couple of days, it’ll be time to move on again.’

Lily Hart was in a cheerful mood. A change of scenery, a change of pace. Her good mood even spurred her to eat an extra bowl of rice.

Tonight’s dinner was once again prepared by Roman Rowe, with Easton and Diana Sharp as his assistants. It tasted great!

「The next morning」

Lily Hart bought five new machines. She decided not to stock them with scratch-offs just yet, planning to do so right before she left.

After buying the machines and finishing breakfast, Lily Hart clasped her hands behind her back and went to check on the frail sapling she had planted yesterday.

To her surprise, Stan Sterling was already there. He was squatting on the ground, examining it intently, reaching out a slender, strikingly pale hand to touch the dirt.

His ears twitched. He heard a sound behind him but pretended not to notice, continuing what he was doing.

Only when Lily Hart squatted down beside him did he feign surprise. "Boss Hart, what brings you here so early? Have you had breakfast?"

Lily Hart’s eyes were fixed on the two saplings. Stan Sterling’s words went in one ear and out the other as she gave a casual, dismissive reply, "Mhm, I ate."

She paused for a long moment before asking, her eyes widening slightly in shock, "Is this the one from yesterday?"

It was no wonder she was so astonished. The sapling from yesterday, which hadn’t even been as long as her hand, was now as tall as the one beside it!

The two saplings were now almost identical in height! Lily Hart stood up to compare them; they came up to her knees.

Not only had it grown taller, but it had also sprouted many more leaves. They were a vibrant green, full of life, and swayed gently in the breeze.

They exchanged a look, each seeing the same disbelief in the other’s eyes.

Of course, Stan Sterling was just acting. Having arrived early, he’d already had his moment of shock. Now, he was just playing his part.

To grow so much, so well, in a single night—Lily Hart was now a true believer in its ability to improve the soil.

"Should we go dig up a few more? I wonder if there’s a limit to its range," Lily Hart mused aloud.

"There is," Stan Sterling said. "I can see it." He stood up and roughly sketched a square shape in the air.

As he gestured, he explained, "This area here, about one square meter? That’s the range it can improve."

’So, one square meter radiating out from it as the center,’ Lily Hart processed.

’Not too big, not too small, but for such a tiny sapling, it was incredible!’

She sighed. ’Only one square meter. How many saplings would it take to restore the soil of the entire planet?’

It wasn’t just the soil that was polluted; the water sources were contaminated too. The water they drank now had to go through extensive processing.

But even then, it still had a metallic taste and visible impurities. It never looked truly clean.

’Oh, well.’ Lily Hart shook her head, clearing it of such impractical thoughts.

"Let’s go! Time to dig up some saplings!" Lily Hart was far more interested in this activity.

The lottery shop hardly needed her supervision anymore. Her main role was simply to be present, to keep things stable.

So she felt perfectly justified in taking Stan Sterling with her. The two of them headed into the city district up ahead.

As soon as they arrived, Lily Hart was reminded of the zombies trapped inside the high-rise. She wondered what had become of them.

Figuring ’well, we’re here anyway,’ Lily Hart and Stan Sterling wound their way over to the building.

She hadn’t expected it, but the sight was a shock. The building, which had already been torn apart by plants, was now completely encased by the tortoisevine, not a single gap remaining.

From a distance, it looked like a green giant—a very blocky one. Each of its leaves was perfectly round and enormous.

Before Lily Hart could even process her hesitation, they were standing before the building. The wide-open main entrance was gone.

Everywhere she looked, there were only round, green leaves. It was enough to give someone with trypophobia a panic attack.

But she could faintly hear the Zombie King’s roars from inside, along with the JINGLE JANGLE of bells.

Reassured, she was about to leave when a green wall shot up, blocking her path.

Stan Sterling stepped forward, subtly shielding Lily Hart behind him, his eyes fixed warily on the wall woven from countless vines.

Lily Hart glanced around as the wall closed in, shrinking and drawing nearer until it stopped, barely a step away.

A single leaf drifted down onto Lily Hart’s shoulder. As if alive, it propped itself up.

Then it shuffled a little, then a little more, before—THWAP!—it stuck itself to Lily Hart’s face.

Lily Hart was still staring at the green wall, so all she felt was something cool and slick suddenly stick to her face with a soft THWAP.

She reached up and felt it—a leaf. She promptly plucked it off and stuffed it into her pocket.

Then she said impatiently, "Move it, move it. I’ve got stuff to do. No time to play games with you."

Stan Sterling: ?

Immediately, he saw the wall, which had been just a step away, begin to retreat.

It moved farther and farther back, its leaves rustling with a sound that seemed to hold a hint of... dejection?

Lily Hart noticed it too. She patted the leaf in her pocket. "Hey now, I’ll take good care of it!"

Only then did the wall lose its shape, the vines awkwardly twisting on the ground to form a heart.

Lily Hart let out a snort of laughter. ’This tortoisevine is surprisingly sentient. Is it because it drank my blood?’

She fumbled in her pocket for a moment. When her hand emerged, she crossed her right thumb and index finger.

She flashed a blatant finger heart back at it. The vines seemed to grow even more excited, twisting and writhing.

Lily Hart couldn’t resist pulling out her Light Brain to record the scene. She watched, amused, for quite a while before finally leaving.

Stan Sterling watched, dumbfounded. ’That tortoisevine is clearly a mutated plant. Why is it so friendly with Lily Hart?’