Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Troublemakers

She intended to train Frost Shaw. ’After all,’ she thought, ’I can’t possibly manage both the lottery shop and the convenience store by myself in the future. It’d be exhausting!’

Frost Shaw mustered his courage and announced, "We’re limiting entry now. Exchange your Crystal Cores for points if you want to shop."

His tone was incredibly stiff and cold, as if he were trying to drive people away. Lily Hart wanted to punch him.

Fortunately, the people of Hope Base understood his temperament and obediently formed a line. Those who wanted to buy something came forward to exchange their Crystal Cores.

Of course, there were also onlookers who wanted to see if the items were really that cheap and if the food was actually edible.

But some people had unconditional faith in Lily Hart, like Gabe Donovan and Chester Carter, who went straight to the front of the line.

Unlike others who were still observing by testing the waters with a single Crystal Core, Chester Carter directly took out ten Crystal Cores to exchange for points.

The points systems for the convenience store and the lottery shop were shared. This meant any points left over from the lottery shop could still be used at the convenience store.

Lily Hart mused to herself, ’It would be great if everyone had a card. Swiping a card would be so much more convenient.’

’And if it connected to the Light Brain, they could check their point balance and transaction history right on it. Everything would be clear at a glance.’

The system promptly reminded her: [Host, you can unlock that function when you reach Level 4!]

Lily Hart’s eyes lit up. ’Looks like Level 4 really has a lot of surprises in store for me. I can’t wait.’

The customers who had exchanged their points immediately ran into the convenience store, with Chester Carter leading the charge. With one sweep of his long arm, several bottles of water fell into his embrace.

Another sweep of his arm, and a few containers of instant noodles were scooped up. One more grab, and several sausage links weren’t getting away.

He wasn’t greedy. He had full confidence that Boss Hart’s convenience store would be around for a long, long time.

Holding an armful of goods, Chester Carter was about to check out when he froze. ’Where do I pay?’

Lily Hart’s sharp eyes caught this, and she once again cursed Frost Shaw’s stingy nature in her head. ’He didn’t even buy a checkout counter!’

She had no choice but to start walking over, but the system promptly reminded her again, [Host, no need to worry. As long as a customer walks out that door, their points will be automatically identified and deducted.]

"High-tech, huh," Lily Hart praised, but she didn’t stop walking. She pulled Chester Carter out the door.

Chester Carter was anxious. "I haven’t paid yet!" he said, turning to go back inside.

Lily Hart almost couldn’t hold him back. She explained, "Walking out the door automatically deducts the points. I’m not worried, so what are you so anxious about?"

Chester Carter gave a goofy smile. "That’s awesome, Boss Hart! This way, you don’t have to ring up everyone one by one. So convenient."

Hearing the praise, Lily Hart couldn’t help but smile. "Alright, then. Welcome back anytime."

He stored his purchases in his Space Ring, waved to her gleefully, and walked away, grinning from ear to ear.

Meanwhile, Frost Shaw was swamped. Some people seemed to have an endless stream of questions.

One moment it was "How much is this?", the next "Is this edible?", then "Is this fake?", and then "How many points can I get for a Crystal Core?"

Frost Shaw wondered, ’Haven’t I already explained all this? Why are they still asking?’ With a cold expression, he decided not to answer.

He just stood there, expressionless, holding the Lucky Cat securely in his hands.

Seeing he wouldn’t answer, those people felt snubbed and walked away, but they didn’t go far. They just stood on the periphery, watching.

It was a group of five, all looking like loafers. One was shaking his leg, another was sitting on the ground with no regard for his appearance, and another was picking his nose, flicking the boogers everywhere.

One look and Frost Shaw knew they were the dregs of the base—the kind who never went on missions and just lived off the bare minimum handouts.

As long as they didn’t cause trouble, Frost Shaw would turn a blind eye.

They finally saw Chester Carter come out and hurriedly grabbed him. "Where’s the stuff you bought? Take it out and let us have a look."

Chester Carter was annoyed. "Why should I show you? If you want to see, go buy it yourselves." With that, he shook them off and started to leave.

"Don’t go!" The men surrounded him completely. They had been lying in wait, hoping to get something for nothing.

Chester Carter clenched his fists and raised them. "If you don’t get out of my way, don’t blame me for what happens next!"

The leader of the group threw his head back and laughed, exchanging a look with his buddies. He said provocatively, "I’d like to see just how you won’t hold back—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Chester Carter punched him square in the face. As a Powerful Superpower User, his strength was immense.

The man took the full force of the punch. His head snapped to the side, and a trickle of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, dripping down his chin.

"Damn it! There’s a rule against hitting the face!" the man roared, his expression furious. He waved a big hand. "Boys, get him! Beat him to death!"

"You dare hit our boss? You must have a death wish!"

"Boss, watch me take him down for you!"

"Charge!"

"Kill him!"

The men shouted their threats and charged forward together. Chester Carter wasn’t scared in the slightest. ’The worst that can happen is I get beaten half to death,’ he thought.

Just as the men were a single step away from Chester Carter, they suddenly froze in place. Looking down, they saw that a sudden layer of ice had frozen their feet to the ground.

Fear appeared on their faces. They struggled with all their might, but their feet were stuck as if set in concrete. The cold seeped through their shoes, chilling them to the bone.

Chester Carter also glanced down, then grinned. He immediately made a face at them and taunted, "Nyah nyah nyah. Be good little watchdogs right here."

With that, he turned to thank Frost Shaw. "Thanks a lot, Great Hero Shaw!" Then he zipped away.

Frost Shaw didn’t even turn his head. He continued to hold the Lucky Cat steadily, but the furrow in his brow slowly smoothed out.

Even though he hadn’t looked back, the troublemakers couldn’t escape his senses.

Everyone felt relieved. Unlike the prizes from the scratch-offs, which had a protective mechanism, items bought from the convenience store had to be protected by one’s own strength.

But as long as you were near the convenience store, with Frost Shaw and Lily Hart around, you had a guarantee of safety.

Letting fifty people into the convenience store at once was still a bit crowded, but after the example that had just been made of the troublemakers, everyone was very well-behaved.

Each person joyfully picked out the items they wanted and then simply walked out of the store.

If a customer’s balance was insufficient, an alarm would sound: [BEEP BEEP! XXX’s balance is insufficient. Deduction failed. Please top up as soon as possible!]

It was incredibly loud; everyone in the convenience store and for dozens of meters around could hear it clearly.

Most importantly, it would call them out by name. Who could stand that? They would immediately cover their faces and hurry to find Frost Shaw to top up their points.

If someone was shameless enough to still try and sneak through, then they shouldn’t blame the convenience store for activating its attack mode.

Less than half an hour after opening, Lily Hart heard a shout from inside: "Boss Hart, Boss Shaw, the shelves are empty!"

Frost Shaw was startled. ’Is everyone’s purchasing power this strong?’ He hurried to the lottery shop to find Fortune.

He stuffed Crystal Cores into its mouth, handful after handful—about thirty in total, for 1,500 points.

Lily Hart rested her chin on her hand and teased, "I told you to buy more yesterday. Look at you, all in a panic now."

The tables in front of the lottery shop were also full of people. The two shops didn’t interfere with each other’s business at all; instead, they complemented one another.

Frost Shaw said nothing, just pouted silently. ’Who knew business would be this good!’

He still had to use Fortune to get points for the app. The Lucky Cat he held was only for customers to make exchanges at the convenience store; it was essentially a subordinate terminal.

Frost Shaw converted the points and went on the app for a big shopping spree. He bought the same items as yesterday, just in much larger quantities.

He stood in front of the shelves, where several large cardboard boxes filled with the newly purchased goods now sat.