Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Zelda Whittaker

When it’s time to pay, the app recognizes your action, and the cost is automatically deducted after you finish scratching a card.

Lily Hart opened the membership card page. Nearly a thousand people were already members.

She smiled in satisfaction. For every person she successfully signed up as a member, she would get 5 points. It didn’t seem like much, but it all added up!

Natalie Thorne and her two friends each picked a scratch-off ticket and quickly told their friends about it on their Light Brains.

"THE LEGENDARY LOTTERY SHOP THAT’S BLOWING UP ONLINE IS AT THE BASE ENTRANCE! GET OVER HERE!!!"

Inside the convenience store, after he and his young crew finished breakfast, Frost Shaw prepared to open for business.

First, he stocked up on goods from the system store, then led the others in arranging them on the shelves. After their booming success at Hope Base, Frost Shaw had bought two more shelves.

Now, there were a total of six shelves in the convenience store, arranged in pairs back-to-back.

The products were all sorted by category and arranged neatly. Frost Shaw even considered buying a cooler, specifically to chill mineral water and other drinks.

But after looking at his balance and the points he’d earned over the last few days, he remembered he had to give eighty percent to Boss Hart, and he gave up the idea.

They had only been open for a few minutes when someone came up and asked, "Are you the convenience store that’s blowing up online? Where’s the RV?"

Speechless, Easton pointed behind him. "There."

The man nodded and peeked inside again. "Is this stuff for looking at, or is it for eating?"

Easton said patiently, "For eating."

The person was shocked. "Instant noodles still exist these days? This has to be a scam."

Easton replied, "Why don’t you try it and find out?"

The person was clearly unconvinced. Clutching their wallet, they left. They didn’t seem to be from Bloomfall Base, but rather one of the residents who lived nearby and relied on it for survival.

Then, a few curious girls walked in, arm in arm. They browsed the aisles one by one, occasionally letting out gasps of amazement and whispering among themselves.

"Look! What’s this?"

"Scallion-flavored crackers!"

"And this, look!"

"Oh my god! Pork floss buns!"

"What does this ’55’ on it mean? Is it 55 Crystal Cores?"

"Ah, that’s so expensive, but it looks so delicious."

"This one’s cheaper. The ham sausage is 25 Crystal Cores. Wanna try it?"

"Did you guys bring any Crystal Cores?"

"Yeah, I was originally planning to exchange them for a small packet of shampoo."

The girls pooled their money, taking out all the Crystal Cores they had on them, but it only came to 20. They looked at each other and gave up.

Diana Sharp watched curiously from the side. ’Why are they taking out so many Crystal Cores? Are they trying to buy out the whole shelf?’

One of the girls met Diana Sharp’s curious gaze and struck up a conversation. "Hey there, little one, do you work at this store?"

It was actually more of a statement than a question. After all, the five kids were all wearing matching sheep outfits—how could they not be recognizable!

Diana Sharp nodded and asked directly, "What are you looking to buy?"

The girl pointed regretfully at the ham sausage and said, "But we don’t have enough Crystal Cores. We’re short by five."

Diana Sharp’s eyes widened, and she waved her hands dismissively. "You can buy two ham sausages with one Crystal Core!"

The girls’ eyes all widened. They asked again, "Really? So you’re saying one Crystal Core gets us two ham sausages? That means 50 of these... what is it?"

Diana Sharp prompted, "Points."

The girl continued, "So one Crystal Core equals 50 points, right?"

"A Level 1 Crystal Core," Diana Sharp added.

"That’s great!" they exclaimed. Looking at the 20 Crystal Cores in their hands, then back at the shelves, they suddenly felt rich.

The girls marched triumphantly toward the shelves. "Let’s go! Time for a shopping spree!"

Diana Sharp thoughtfully handed them shopping baskets. Frost Shaw had bought fifty of them that morning, as some customers bought too much to carry at once.

With shopping baskets in hand, the girls went on a rampage, sweeping through the shelves one by one until they had filled three entire baskets.

Diana Sharp, stunned by their shopping prowess, hurried over holding the Lucky Cat.

She explained, "Just stick the Crystal Cores in its mouth. When you walk out that door, the points will be automatically deducted from your account."

It all sounded very professional and advanced. The girls’ faces were beaming as they left the convenience store, their arms full.

On their way back to the base, they ran into an acquaintance and immediately started gushing, "Did you know? A new convenience store just opened by the gate, and they say there’s a lottery shop next to it!"

"Of course it’s true! Where do you think I pulled this bread out of thin air? I bought it at the convenience store! Two for one Crystal Core—how cheap is that! You should hurry and go! An opportunity like this won’t come again!"

They continued recommending it to everyone they met all the way back to their quarters.

Meanwhile, Natalie Thorne and her two friends at the lottery shop were also frantically telling all their friends and family, because who knew if the shop would still be there tomorrow!

First come, first served, after all!

The news spread as if it had wings, eventually reaching the ears of Base Commander Zelda Whittaker.

She was browsing the "Human Design Forum," repeatedly opening the two photos Roman Rowe had posted and zooming in to scrutinize the fruit in them.

She’d read through practically all the popular comments below, which were a mixed bag of opinions.

[I know who this is. It’s Boss Hart. She was at Rebirth Base first, then went to Hope Base. Heard she took off again. No idea where she’ll pop up next.]

[Hope Base resident here to confirm. I can’t believe Boss Hart is famous now. Does this mean she’s never coming back?]

[Hope resident +1. Boss Hart is a really great person, just has a bit of a short fuse and not much patience. But that doesn’t matter! She is the goddess of scratch-offs!]

[Rebirth Base resident here. At first, I couldn’t believe something this good could be real, but then I actually scratched off a ticket and won fruit! [Image attached: a big, juicy-looking apple.]]

At least a hundred people had posted photos to back up their claims, gradually convincing the initially skeptical netizens.

Some were even begging the heavens for Boss Hart to set up her stall at their base just once.

Zelda Whittaker also noticed something. ’This Boss Hart seems to only set up her stall outside of bases, doesn’t she? In that case, her customer base must be fairly specific.’

’People who dare to leave the base are either out killing zombies or completing missions. Either way, they’re bound to have some Crystal Cores on them. The timid ones wouldn’t even dare to step out the gate.’

’I wonder when she’ll grace Bloomfall Base with her presence...’

In front of her was a pack of compressed biscuits, a small bottle of water, and a small bowl of black jelly—her breakfast.

Just looking at it was enough to kill one’s appetite, but this was already the highest-quality breakfast available in the base.

Zelda Whittaker was used to it. She downed the black jelly in one go. It was a nutrient supplement developed by Central Command, with a faint, bitter taste.

Then she unwrapped the compressed biscuits, taking small bites and washing them down with water, her eyes still glued to the fruit in the hands of the people in the photos.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Zelda Whittaker wiped her mouth casually and called out in a loud voice, "Enter."

A woman in a Guardian Corps uniform entered and reported respectfully, "Base Commander, an RV and a convenience store have appeared outside the base. It’s the one that went viral online yesterday..."

Before she could finish, she saw the normally composed Base Commander shoot to her feet. A moment later, a gust of wind blew past the guard, and she scrambled to follow.

Zelda Whittaker was a Fourth Rank Speed Superpower User. When she truly decided to move, no one in the entire base could keep up with her.