Apocalypse: System of lotteries

On the barren snowy mountain, a massive figure was curled up inside a cave. It sniffed the air, and its eyelids opened, revealing a pair of deep purple pupils. The creature suddenly sat up, hitting its head on the top of the cave, causing debris and dirt to fall all over its face.

Sniff sniff~

It twitched its nose, smelling a rich and fragrant scent. It knew that its hibernation had ended, or at least paused temporarily.

...

Inside the tent, Ming and Lavia clinked their coconuts together again.

"What happened to your left hand?"

"Ah, it's injured."

"Have you taken an inhibitor?"

"It's my fault; I accidentally got it caught in a door."

Ming lifted his left hand and felt a pang of sadness every time he looked at it.

"Well, that's good. If you were injured by a mutant creature, I personally recommend taking a virus inhibitor."

Lavia picked up a piece of boiled lamb, put it in his mouth, and smacked his lips. As he enjoyed the delicious food, he said, "I once met a person in the wilderness who was bitten by a centipede. At that time, there were no 800-dollar inhibitors available. Later, antennae grew on his head, and his mouth developed a pair of mouthparts. Then, in pursuit of more power, he willingly is bitten by Exotic creatures

"Where is he now?" Ming cracked open the coconut and put the coconut flesh into the hot pot. He handed a new one to Lavia.

"I don't know." Lavia took the coconut, opened it, and took a sip. "When we returned to the city in the third chapter, he chose to stay in the wilderness. That area should be covered with mist by now."

"Ah..." Ming picked up a piece of coconut, not saying anything further.

From the information gathered in the conversation, it could be temporarily concluded that if a person had too many mutant genes, they might indeed become a 'monster.'

In his own district, there were also many mutants, but they only had one type of mutant gene. After all, whenever he met one, he would examine them with his [Eagle Eye].

He had become used to this, easily subconsciously checking them. He couldn't help it – it was this damned strong ability.

[Your Da Vinci looked at Foodie, telling it that you already have a Koi and not to be a scoundrel frog, as it would disgrace you… Foodie looked at Da Vinci, insisting that they should settle the score on this matter…]

[Da Vinci glared… Your Da Vinci used its collecting ability on Foodie, but it failed. The reason for failure: one family doesn't collect members… Da Vinci thought that they could temporarily separate under such circumstances…]

[Foodie used its collecting ability on Da Vinci, but it also failed. The reason was the same… Da Vinci was moved by compassion…]

[Foodie looked at you… Ming, are you going to do something? Da Vinci is being unreasonable again…]

"…"

Why can't you guys learn from me? I've always been chased by girls and never chase after them myself.

[Your Foodie nodded as if understanding jumped down from your warm embrace, and landed on the cold ground... At this moment, it felt hot all over, not cold at all...]

[Foodie shivered and croaked at the big pink pig… It then started running around in the tent… Come on, chase me～]

"…"

Foodie's comprehension ability is outrageous. I, your master, admire it wholeheartedly.

[Your Da Vinci laughed… It thought that Foodie's brain wasn't worthy of being its opponent… When chasing a girl, one should learn to be aloof and play hard to get…]

[Da Vinci puffed out its white belly and croaked at the little pink pig… Beautiful pig, don't fall for me, I am a frog you can never have…]

"…"

Indeed… They really are a family. They're all relying on their abilities to walk farther and farther down the path of being single.

Well done.

"Gutmann, what's your big green frog doing?" Lavia asked, puzzled as he looked at the frog that was hopping around the tent.

"Oh, it's just... running around after having a full meal," Ming lied with a smile, finding that his ability to lie was becoming more and more natural as he spoke. As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect.

"That's nice~ My pet never does that. It just eats and sleeps, and sleeps and eats. Look, it doesn't even want me to talk about it~" Lavia said while affectionately rubbing his face against the pig's belly.

"…"

Hiss!!!

Ming didn't know why, but watching their pets being so close made him feel envious. This damned jealousy.

[Your froglets are jealous...]

[Your froglets are envious of the others... They looked at you and thought you should be more gentle too...]

[Your froglets are envious. Little Pink's owner is kissing its nose... Your froglets looked at you... Ming, you can't lose at this moment...]

"…"

Stop daydreaming; I'm the man you can never have.

"Your frog is sticking its tongue out. Did you hold it too tight?"

"It's fine, they're just hot and sweating..."

"Hot...?"

Lavia glanced at the howling cold wind outside. Although he had never raised frogs before, he had some common sense.

Do frogs dissipate heat like dogs?

It's impossible, but he didn't dwell on this issue. After all, it was someone else's pet, and they might just love it the way it is. So, he continued the conversation topic from earlier.

"Now, some people are actively seeking mutated creatures to harm them to gain their special powers and achieve a qualitative change in their strength."

As Lavia spoke, he took out a box of Enoki mushrooms and put them in the pot before continuing: "There is an organization called 'Primitive Power' that has written a book summarizing some fixed mutation gene patterns. Crustaceans have a 60% chance of covering a person's body with a layer of a shell, flying birds and insects have a 50% chance of growing wings on a person, and beasts can increase a person's physique, strength, and agility by 30%. The book is called 'Primitive Power Gene Experiments: Volume 1.'"

"When I have time, I'll buy a copy and read it." Ming took out a few coconuts, cracked them open, and poured the juice into the hot pot.

After listening to Lavia's words, Ming suddenly realized he was a bit out of touch. He should pay more attention to the chat channels, or one day he might not be able to adapt to this ever-changing world.

The key point is, why didn't Ming think of making money with knowledge? With his "Eagle Eye" ability, he could totally write a book about the abilities of mutated creatures and their weaknesses for instant kills. This needs to be added to his schedule.

Ways to make money +1.

"You don't need to buy one. I'll give you this copy." Lavia took a book out of his storage and handed it to Ming.

"oh thank you." Ming took the book and flipped through it. To his surprise, the book was hand-bound, and the page layout was well-designed, with illustrations on the left page and text explanations on the right.

This shows that, whether it's pre-apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic, making money will become more and more competitive. It seems like he needs to join the competition too.

What to do if he needs someone who can draw? No problem, he believes that he will definitely meet someone who can draw. After all, he's very popular and attractive to others.

Ming asked, "I'm curious, how long does it take for a mutant to go through their mutation cycle?"

"The first time it's 3 days," Lavia confirmed. "The first time they're injured, it takes 3 days for the gene mutation to complete. The second time it takes 6 days, and the third time it's 12 days. The strongest person in our area is currently undergoing their fourth mutation."

"How's his mental state?" Ming looked up and asked, adding, "I don't mean to offend him."