Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Planning to Leave

She glanced toward the hotel, signaling that he could go there to lay low. The customer understood instantly.

But the problem now was that it was hard for him to get away... He was surrounded by circles of residents, their eyes filled with curiosity, but their true intentions were unknown.

’If I dare to take it out,’ he thought, ’my body will probably turn up in some corner of the world before tomorrow.’

But not taking it out seemed hard to explain. Another storm of thoughts raged in his mind. He searched his storage space with his Spiritual Sense.

He pulled out two identical handguns and said openly, "Here, I copied this."

He put on a complaining act. "I originally wanted to copy Boss Hart’s lottery shop." As he spoke, he gave Lily Hart a goofy grin.

"But as you all saw, it failed! Then I tried to copy Frost Shaw’s superpower! And it failed again!" The customer was very frustrated.

Then he added excitedly, "The prompt told me I only had one last chance. I was in such a hurry, so..."

As he spoke, he thrust the handguns forward again, as if announcing to the world, ’I copied handguns!’

His explanation was quite plausible, and most people believed him. After all, everyone had witnessed his two failures.

But a few who knew the customer began to have doubts. ’Those handguns look a little familiar, don’t they? Didn’t he already have them?’

After spinning his lie, the customer broke out in a thin layer of sweat. He nervously pushed through the crowd and away from the RV.

A few people watched him go. Just as they were about to follow, they saw him turn and enter the hotel.

They couldn’t help but feel annoyed. ’He must have gotten something good! To think we were fooled!’

The customer entered the hotel, his heart pounding, glancing back every few steps, terrified someone was following him.

He was genuinely scared. These people would stop at nothing to improve their own lives.

Fortunately, everyone kept their valuables in their personal storage spaces; the items left out in the base were all non-essential.

He quickly got a single room, swiped his card in a frantic rush, and didn’t even bother to look around before taking out his reward.

It was a small sapling, identical to the one Dawn Lowell had. The customer’s name was Gideon Lowell.

He examined it from all angles but couldn’t see anything special about it. "Can this really bear fruit?" he wondered aloud, skeptical.

Gideon Lowell carefully placed the sapling on the bed, not caring that the dirt on its roots was staining the white sheets.

He paced around the room, found a bucket, filled it halfway with water, and placed the sapling inside.

The water level was just high enough to cover the sapling’s roots. Gideon Lowell stared at it, motionless, his eyes full of anticipation.

That’s right. What he had copied was the prize that woman had won yesterday. Although he had only overheard the words "fruit tree"...

...he couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild. The moment he heard "fruit tree," the first image that popped into his head was an apple tree laden with fruit.

The apples weighed the branches down, so low he could pick them just by reaching out. There would be more than he could ever eat; he could eat one and toss another away.

Even then, he wouldn’t be able to finish them all. He’d have different fruits to eat every day—apples today, pears tomorrow!

Just thinking about it made Gideon Lowell collapse onto the bed, laughing hysterically. He only got up after his face was stiff from smiling.

He pressed down on the bed—soft, yet springy. He looked around the room: an air conditioner, a wardrobe, a TV—it had everything.

Gideon Lowell grinned and started laughing again, deeply convinced his luck was turning. His fortune was about to change!

He decided to lie on his stomach on the bed and look at the bucket at the foot of it. The sapling had absorbed the water and was already quietly showing signs of life.

Just then, a bright red apple, bigger than a fist, appeared on a branch.

Gideon Lowell’s eyes lit up. He immediately plucked it, wiped it casually on his clothes, and impatiently took a bite.

It was crisp, sweet, and filled his mouth with a fresh aroma. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten fruit.

As he ate, tears began to stream down his face uncontrollably, but he didn’t care.

He was crying and laughing at the same time, having to free one hand to wipe his eyes. The tears mixed with the apple, a blend of salty and sweet.

Gideon Lowell savored every bite, but even though the apple was large, it couldn’t keep up with the speed at which he devoured it.

He finished it in less than a minute. Then, he stared at the fruit tree. For a long time, nothing happened.

Gideon Lowell began to understand. It probably only bore fruit once a day. Suddenly, he had something to look forward to in life.

His gaze then shifted to the bucket. ’I can’t just keep it in water forever,’ he thought. ’It needs to be planted in soil, right?’

’But isn’t all the soil contaminated? What if it kills the fruit tree?’

He didn’t dare take the risk. This was his hard-won prize. If it died, he might as well just bash his own head in!

Lily Hart had no idea this man was agonizing in his room. She continued to greet the customers coming and going.

She also informed them that she would be leaving in a couple of days but would leave behind an automatic scratch-off machine.

It could sell tickets and redeem prizes, so they could just help themselves.

The once-chatty customers fell silent in an instant, all looking at her with reluctant, sorrowful expressions.

Lily Hart rubbed the goosebumps that had inexplicably appeared on her arms.

She smiled reassuringly. "There’s the machine, and there’s also the online supermarket on the Light Brain. It even offers home delivery."

Their gazes didn’t waver; instead, they grew even more intense and fervent. Lily Hart vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

But seeing their clinging, reluctant eyes, Lily Hart once again suppressed her thoughts.

Night fell quickly. Not only did the crowd not shrink, but it grew larger and larger.

The news of Lily Hart’s departure had spread throughout the base, and everyone was taking this chance to buy a few more scratch-offs.

The convenience store and the bathhouse also saw their business peak for the past few days.

Someone quietly tried to persuade Lily Hart to stay. "Please don’t go, okay? We all love your scratch-offs."

"Yeah, just stay at Spring-Watch Base! There are a lot of residents here, and we have plenty of Crystal Cores. We definitely won’t let you go bankrupt!"

"That’s right! We’ll work hard to kill zombies and get lots and lots of Crystal Cores to buy scratch-offs."

Lily Hart’s heart warmed, but she only smiled and didn’t respond.

In a corner unknown to Lily Hart, a group of people was discussing the same issue.

"What do we do? Lily Hart is leaving!"

"Isn’t there still the machine? We can scratch tickets all the same!"

"How is that the same thing!"

"Then what do you suggest? Can you make her stay?"

"No..."

One person suggested, "Why don’t we... make her stay?"

The others all turned to look at him. "How do we make her stay?" The group huddled closer, their heads nearly touching as they spoke.

After a round of whispering, one of them said, "That... that’s not right. Boss Hart is so nice."

"What good is ’nice’ if she’s still leaving!"

"Exactly! I want her to stay at Spring-Watch Base forever, selling scratch-offs right here!"

"That’s right! She can only sell scratch-offs at Spring-Watch Base!"

"Enough with the nonsense. Are we doing this or not? Just say the word!"

"Wait a minute, we can’t beat Boss Hart, can we? She even dared to kill the Base Commander..."

At these words, the dozen or so people fell silent. It was true. Even the Base Commander had been no match for Boss Hart.