Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Level 4

Claire Lawson’s eyes lit up. She nervously fidgeted with her clothes and asked tentatively, "Really?"

Lily Hart said no more, simply turning on her Light Brain and searching for Central Command’s official website.

She scrolled to the recruitment page and turned the screen for Claire Lawson to see. The benefits were excellent.

The cafeteria food was nutritious, and the dorm conditions were great, with options for single, double, and quad rooms.

Each month, they provided a Crystal Core subsidy based on one’s level, and completing missions earned extra Crystal Core rewards. For someone with no connections, it was truly a good place to go.

The more Claire Lawson read, the brighter her eyes grew. Her face flushed as she excitedly grabbed Lily Hart’s wrist.

"I want to go!" she said firmly.

"Then go!" Lily Hart affirmed.

Claire Lawson gave her a deep bow, then turned and ran off with a determined look in her eyes. "Thank you, Sister."

Lily Hart watched her go again, feeling gratified as she saw Claire’s retreating figure, skipping as if she had been reborn.

She slowly stood up. Her legs had gone numb from squatting. They gave way, and she started to fall sideways, but a hand reached out to steady her shoulder.

"Thanks, Great Hero Shaw," Lily Hart said casually, patting her butt.

’This butt-patting thing is a method I saw online for quickly relieving numb legs. I can’t believe it actually works.’

The two walked back side by side. Frost Shaw couldn’t help but ask, "What did you say to her?"

In just a few minutes, she seemed like a completely different person, going from numb and hopeless to utterly revitalized.

Lily Hart put it succinctly, "I just told her she could join Central Command. It guarantees basic survival."

Frost Shaw suddenly saw her as a lighthouse, guiding others through a vast, dark sea.

Back at their spots, Lily Hart resumed selling tickets, and Frost Shaw went back to watching over his convenience store, no more than ten meters apart.

"Boss Hart, you’re out of tickets," someone called out.

"Okay." Lily Hart reached to the side for more tickets but grasped at empty air.

’For convenience, I always keep all the ticket books to one side, opening a new one when the old one runs out. Does this mean... they’re all sold out?!’

She had calculated it this morning—if she sold all of these, she could upgrade to Level 4!

Brimming with excitement, Lily Hart opened her Light Brain. She stared at it and couldn’t stop an excited curse from slipping out. "Damn it, I’m finally—"

She cut herself off, clapping a hand over her mouth and whispering the rest, ’—going to hit Level 4!’

It was nearly seven o’clock. Lily Hart composed her expression, clenched her fist, and said with great regret, "The tickets for today are all sold out. Please come back tomorrow!"

The person nodded in disappointment. "Alright..."

Seeing this, the people behind them all scattered and headed home.

Over at the convenience store, the products Frost Shaw had restocked for the third time sold out again. He shook out his hands, glanced at Lily Hart, and also announced, "Closing up. Come back tomorrow."

Just like that, the customers gradually dispersed. The zombies were very active at night, so the survivors became comparatively quiet.

Frost Shaw also used points to buy a few containers of instant noodles, some sausages, and bottled water, placing them in his storage space to take back to his small courtyard.

Lily Hart poked her head out. Seeing no one around, she was just about to press the upgrade button when a voice interrupted her.

"Sister!" It was Claire Lawson’s voice.

Lily Hart poked her head out again. Claire Lawson was holding the hand of a slightly taller young girl, and the two of them stood obediently outside the RV.

Lily Hart’s eyes lit up. ’She must have done it.’ She immediately offered encouragement, "You were amazing, Claire!"

Claire Lawson lowered her head with a shy smile. When she looked up again, her face was beaming with satisfaction.

"Sister, you have no idea. I used my water to cover their mouths and noses, watching them kneel and beg for mercy, slowly suffocating... The feeling was pure joy! Bad people always get what they deserve, right?"

After saying this, Claire Lawson looked at Lily Hart cautiously, a little afraid her sister would think she was too cruel.

Lily Hart leaned her entire upper body out and patted both of their heads. "Yes, they definitely will."

Then she pulled out a large bag of candy and pressed it into Claire’s hand. "Here, for you two. Get to Central Command as soon as you can, settle down, and start your new life."

Claire Lawson nodded vigorously. The two of them waved at her in unison before turning and running off.

Only after they had disappeared from sight did Lily Hart, filled with excitement, tap the "Upgrade" button.

In an instant, Lily Hart was shifted several meters, moved right out of the RV by the system as flashes of white light pulsed around her.

The light was so bright she had to cover her eyes. After a while, it faded, and she slowly lowered her hands.

What appeared before her was a two-story RV. The first floor had nothing but the driver’s seat.

The body of the RV was cut off halfway up on all sides, with the upper sections gone. In their place, a countertop extended inward from the new top edge.

Lily Hart walked into the RV. The first floor was still the area for selling scratch-off tickets, but it had changed from one small window to four oversized ones.

The overall area had also expanded significantly, roughly doubling the size of the original RV.

She sat in the driver’s seat. The center console had some new buttons, one of which was an upward-pointing arrow.

She pressed it. After a dizzying moment, Lily Hart found herself on the second floor. She was rather speechless. "The seat is an elevator? You’ve really outdone yourself, System."

The second floor had become her living quarters. There was a 1.5-meter bed at the rear of the vehicle and a bathroom with a bathtub and a separate shower area.

Toward the front was a small kitchen, fully equipped with every kind of cookware, a refrigerator, and a matching table and four chairs.

In the middle area was a large, plush-looking sofa. Opposite it was the equipment for Lily and Nana.

Everything was cozy and felt like a real home. Lily Hart was very satisfied.

She didn’t have high standards for her living environment—as long as it was clean, tidy, and she could sleep in it, she was happy.

[Host, there’s a surprise in the shop~]

Lily Hart flopped onto the sofa and lazily opened the shop. The points on her personal page had instantly dropped to a five-digit number.

’It was a six-digit number before the upgrade! Damn you, capitalist System!’

Not only had the balance changed, but there were also several new settings, such as "Membership Cards," "Group Buys," and so on...

She tapped on "Membership Cards" first. It was just as she had imagined, only even more advanced than a physical card.

It wasn’t a card, but a small, side-effect-free chip implanted inside a person’s body.

And on their Light Brain, an app called "Lily Hart’s Lottery Shop" would automatically appear.

On it, they could top up their points, check their balance, view transaction history and locations, and a whole series of other functions.

This would be so much more convenient. No more wasting time with people lining up one by one to feed Crystal Cores to Fortune.

After studying it thoroughly, Lily Hart tapped the "Activate" button, officially launching the membership card system.

She then opened "Group Buys." She was a bit curious. ’You can do group buys for this stuff? The world is just one giant group buy.’

Perhaps because the feature had just launched, the Group Buys section was empty, with a "+" sign at the very bottom.

Lily Hart tapped it, and the page that popped up made her realize it was for her to set up the group buys herself.

She thought back to the group buy deals of the 21st century—several dishes bundled together for a much cheaper price than ordering them à la carte.

’Wouldn’t I lose money then?’ The calculating Lily Hart decided to hold off on setting up group buys for now.

Other than that, she didn’t find any other new features. ’Well, that’s that. Time to wash up and go to sleep!’

Just as she was about to get up, her stomach GRUMBLED. Lily Hart remembered she had only had that unsatisfying barbecue with Frost Shaw for lunch.

She went on a shopping spree in the system’s shop and ordered a deluxe bowl of luosifen. The moment it appeared...

Lily let out a disgusted cry, while Nana buried her entire face in her cat bed, not moving an inch.

"Are you being that dramatic? It smells great, you know!" Lily Hart said, while honestly opening a window to air the place out.

Then she started to dig in. She wasn’t afraid of oil splattering on her clothes; she had a washing machine, after all. ’It’ll get them sparkling clean.’

After slurping down the noodles, she leaned back in her chair, satisfied, and let out a loud burp. Adhering to the principle that one shouldn’t bathe immediately after eating...

Lily Hart curled up on the sofa again and played on her Light Brain for a while before reluctantly dragging herself off to wash up.

While she was at it, she used her Light Brain to close all the shutters on the first floor.

The next day, the people who arrived early to line up at the lottery shop were stunned to see the brand-new, two-story RV.

It had undergone a complete transformation overnight, going from one story to two.

Someone walked a full circle around it and couldn’t help but exclaim, "It’s gotten a lot bigger, too! It’s at least twice the size it was before."

Everyone immediately burst into discussion. "Boss Hart’s superpower is incredible!" The area was instantly abuzz with excitement.