Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Zombie Scratch-Off

Someone next to them chimed in, "Exactly. Just staying alive is exhausting enough. Now they want to ban the one fun thing we have? Who can stand that?!"

"Yeah! The more they try to stop us, the more we want to scratch them! These things are amazing!"

"That’s right. If I can scratch a grand prize before I die, it’ll be worth— Boss, I’m here to redeem my prize!" the person said excitedly.

All eyes immediately fell on the scratch-off ticket, faces filled with envy.

It was another huge fruit basket, just like Damon Donovan’s, its rich, fruity aroma filling the air.

Amidst the crowd’s envious gazes, the person quickly stored it in their space and slipped away in the chaos. A smart move.

The fruit basket prize made the crowd even more excited. Time flew by, and soon it was two in the morning. Lily Hart really couldn’t stay awake any longer.

Seeing that most of the items on the table were sold, she said, "Come back tomorrow—tomorrow night. Everyone should go home and get some rest!"

Lily Hart couldn’t help but yawn again. The two kids next to her were also extremely sleepy, their eyelids drooping.

But the customers were still full of energy and reluctant to leave. They conferred among themselves and decided to buy up everything left on the table to take back to the base to scratch.

They didn’t forget to warn Lily Hart, "Boss, you have to hold your ground! Our Base Commander is cunning and will do anything to get what he wants."

"Right, right! You have to be careful of Jason Lynch, our Base Commander. He’s a disgusting person. Be very careful!"

"We’ll be back tomorrow night! See you at the usual spot! We’ll be waiting!"

They kept looking back every few steps, afraid that the next time they turned around, or when they came back tomorrow night, the RV would be gone.

Lily Hart agreed to everything and formed her first impression of Base Commander Jason Lynch.

No one felt like cleaning up. They all just washed up and went to bed. ’Since everyone comes at night,’ Lily Hart thought, ’I have nothing to do during the day...’

So she slept soundly until eleven. She woke up feeling refreshed and invigorated; it was an incredibly comfortable sleep.

The convenience store’s doors were already open, and the products on the six shelves were all neatly arranged, quietly awaiting customers.

Roman Rowe and Frost Shaw had somehow gotten their hands on two deck chairs and were lounging in front of the door, one for each of them, looking utterly content.

They were basking in the sun with bottled water and snacks at hand. The sight made Lily Hart itch to join them.

So she also bought a deluxe lounge chair—the kind with a sunshade and a small side table.

She also bought some fruit, cold drinks, and other things from the shop, then joined the two of them, lounging in front of the convenience store.

The three of them lay in a row, eyes slightly closed, feeling comfortable and content. Even though she had just woken up, a gentle breeze was already making her feel drowsy again...

Lily Hart’s eyes fluttered shut, feeling quite drowsy. Suddenly, she glanced diagonally ahead and asked in confusion, "Is that a customer?"

Frost Shaw narrowed his eyes and said casually, "What customer? That’s a zombie."

"A zombie!" Lily Hart jumped up reflexively, wanting to run back to the RV. ’In my mind, that’s my safe zone.’

But then she had another thought. ’I have two powerful guardians right here, and they’re still sitting there calmly. What am I panicking for?’

With that in mind, Lily Hart lay back down. Watching the zombie shuffle closer, she even felt a flicker of curiosity.

This one was intact, with no missing arms or legs. However, on its exposed arm, there were bite marks.

Lily Hart even knew how to speak Zombie. As it got closer, she started a conversation. "Hi?"

The zombie paused, looked around in confusion, and finally fixed its gaze on the human girl.

In a zombie’s eyes, there’s no such thing as attractive or ugly—only whether a human’s blood smells fragrant and their flesh is tender or tough.

’This female before me has especially tender flesh and fragrant blood. I want to eat her.’

The zombie took a few more steps, closing the distance to the three people on the lounge chairs to just two meters.

Frost Shaw and Roman Rowe were used to seeing zombies and weren’t fazed at all. They even had the presence of mind to comment on it.

"This zombie’s still in one piece," Roman Rowe said lazily.

"Mm," Frost Shaw replied, not wanting to engage and only giving a perfunctory response.

Meanwhile, Lily Hart continued her conversation with the zombie. "Where did you come from? Where are you going?"

’What kind of gibberish is Boss Hart speaking?’ Frost Shaw thought, glancing over. ’I can see her mouth moving, but I can’t understand a single word!’

The zombie took a long moment to process before slowly saying, "Don’t know... don’t remember... but I’m going to eat people."

As a human, Lily Hart found there was nothing more to say. She waved her hand dismissively. "Go on, go on. I won’t kill you."

Suddenly, an idea struck her. "Do you want a scratch-off ticket?" she asked, her eyes gleaming as she stared at it.

The zombie paused. "What?" ’Her flesh and blood suddenly smell even more fragrant.’

She had seen special scratch-off tickets for zombies in the shop before. The prizes were all things that zombies could use.

For example, there were pills that could make a zombie feel refreshed. Just one pill could suppress a zombie’s desire to eat humans.

But it wasn’t about starving them to death; the pills provided zombies with energy and vitality.

The zombie hesitantly nodded. It also knew that you had to pay for things, so it rummaged around on its body and finally broke off one of its long fingernails, offering it to Lily Hart.

Lily Hart: ...

She fell silent as she stared at the fingernail, which was as long as her palm. It was milky white, slightly curved at the tip, and incredibly sharp. If she were to accidentally touch it, she’d probably turn into a zombie.

Seeing this, Frost Shaw immediately stood up, plucked the nail from her palm, and asked, "Are you exchanging this for points?"

Lily Hart nodded. The three of them went back into the RV together. The zombie behind them didn’t understand what was happening but obediently followed.

The nail was stuffed into the Lucky Cat’s mouth. After a moment, it announced, "Yannick Ward, 100 points."

’Who would have thought a broken fingernail could be worth a hundred points?’ The three of them were all stunned. ’Isn’t that more valuable than the Crystal Cores in a zombie’s brain?’

The system provided a friendly reminder: [This is because the zombie’s nail contains a certain mysterious virus and is made of a hard, sharp material, which is a needed resource. However, if the quantity becomes too large, it will depreciate in value~ Crystal Cores will not.]

Lily Hart indicated that she understood. She bought a book of the special zombie scratch-off tickets from the shop and tore one out for him.

She was just about to hand him the small golden scraper when she saw him expertly start scratching with his own nail. The sound of it scraping against the coating made Lily Hart’s scalp tingle.

’It’s like a zombie scraping its nail against my skull...’ She suddenly felt her blood run cold.

It quickly finished scratching, handed the ticket back to Lily Hart, and asked haltingly, "What... does this say?"

Lily Hart couldn’t read it either, but she just had to hand it to the Lucky Cat. Soon, it spat out a small ziplock bag containing five small pills.

The product description was printed on the outside of the bag: [Blood Pills. Effective only on zombies. Can provide a zombie with fifteen days of vitality.]

Zombies don’t just want to eat people because they think human flesh is fragrant; they need to draw from fresh blood to replenish their energy. Blood Pills served exactly this purpose.

If a zombie goes too long without eating a person, it will become unbearably hungry. It won’t die, but it will be listless and half-dead all day long.

"Here, eat one," Lily Hart said, stuffing the whole bag into its hands and giving it a reminder.

Perhaps it was because it could understand this human’s words, or perhaps it was because her flesh and blood smelled so fragrant.

Without hesitation, the zombie used its long fingernail to pick up a pill and pop it into its mouth. It dissolved instantly.

In an instant, the zombie’s eyes brightened. Its skin seemed to glow a shade lighter, and it looked as revitalized as if it were radiating with new life.