Apocalypse: System of lotteries



Clos let out a gentle breath, she had lied earlier about having something urgent at home, but faced with that chainsaw and the chunks of flesh and blood on it, she had no choice but to lie. The man in front of her should have seen through it, and this time, it won't be so easy to leave, right?

She hesitated for a moment, finally mustered the courage to say, "I..."

"Shush~"

Ming was focusing on the lake, signaling for silence, then pulled the rod to the right, reeled in the line, let it out again, pulled the rod to the left, and continued reeling in. A palm-sized grass carp leaped out of the water, he reeled it in, grabbed it, and threw it into the plastic storage box next to him filled with water.

"What were you about to say just now?"

Ming cast the rod again, feeling pretty good. According to his fishing talent, today's catch was bound to be plentiful.

He turned to look at the somewhat nervous Clos, "By the way, you just left here and now you're back, it's only been about 5 minutes. Don't tell me you got lost~"

"Um..."

When Clos saw the black eyes of the man in front of her, she swallowed back what she wanted to say. She had a feeling that she was being seen through, yes, a feeling that all her secrets were laid bare.

"..."

Ming once again examined her with [Eagle Eye], then analyzed her with [Fortune Eye], the result satisfied him - this woman had no money.

"Tell the truth."

This time Clos didn't choose to lie or to evade, but sat directly next to Ming, with a ready-to-die, can't-escape-today, may-as-well-fight-to-the-death look on her face. She said, "Just now when I came here, I saw the beautiful scenery and wanted to stay a bit longer. You know, the end times make everyone restless, it's rare to encounter such a peaceful place."

At this point, she looked at the emerald-green lake reflecting the surrounding trees, then continued, "Then I saw you. and I also saw you writing on the wooden sign, so I greeted you. But you must understand, I'm a girl, encountering a man in the wilderness holding a chainsaw, with blood and chunks of meat all over the blade, do you know what I was thinking at that moment?"

"~"

Ming tugged on his fishing rod, "You probably didn't think I was a good person."

"Exactly! So I lied, I wanted to go home. Of course, not in the real sense of the word 'home', in these end times, where is there a home."

Clos let out a sigh of relief after finishing speaking, she had finally said it all. If this guy really wanted to do something to her, she would fight him.

"Well, your thinking was right."

Ming curved the corner of his mouth.

"..."

Clos didn't expect this man to be so... in agreement with her... This was a bit surprising to her, could it be that this guy was a... not bad person?

Ming asked, "So why did you come back?"

Clos shrugged. After the chat just now, her mind had temporarily settled down. She replied, "I was planning to collect some supplies today. You know, the prices in the district are very high now, and I don't have that much money, so I had to go out and try my luck. As a result, I ran into you. After I went back, I clicked on random, and then I ran into you again..."

Ming turned to look at her, "From your tone, it sounds like running into me is a rather... sad thing?"

"Uh no... I didn't mean that..."

Clos hastily shook her head, no longer thinking about the fact that she hadn't gathered anything today and had lost 100 gold coins on a return scroll. She explained casually, "What I meant was... it should be a rather wonderful thing."

She really didn't know what to say anymore, because the more she talked, the more she felt guilty. She herself didn't know what was going on, but as the conversation went on, it seemed like she owed the other party something. Damn, this conversation!

"Really~ Well, would you believe it, I also think meeting you is a wonderful thing."

Ming said with a smile, "Let's stay a bit longer."

"~~"

Upon hearing this, Clos bit her lower lip. It wasn't an option to leave now, and she would feel uncomfortable if she didn't. She took a deep breath, sighed lightly, and watched as the bobber next to her on the tranquil lake surface gently moved, creating a series of regular circular ripples.

She couldn't figure out when she had fallen into this damn situation.

"Here comes another one~"

Following the hint of his fishing talent, Ming caught another palm-sized grass carp.

Clos, who was sitting by the side not knowing what to do, tried to make conversation: "By the way, what's your name?"

"Gutmann."

Ming put down his fishing rod as he spoke, took out a metal business card, and handed it over, "Also the chairman and CFO of Gutmann Group. By the way, it seems like you need a job to fill your stomach."

"~"

Clos took the business card and looked at the man across from her, "How... how can you be so sure that I need... a job?"

"Intuition."

Ming picked up his fishing rod and continued fishing. Just now, through his [Fortune Eye], he observed that the woman in front of him only had 124 gold coins on her. Given her circumstances, wasn't it obvious she needed a job?

He couldn't figure it out either. Every time he killed everyone in the shared zone, he would get a few thousand gold coins. But she only had 124 coins, she was way too poor.

Of course, it wasn't good for him to bluntly reveal that she only had 124 coins, so he could only say 'intuition'.

"~~"

Clos didn't know what to say because this guy's intuition was right. She really needed to do something to fill her stomach. The stored food had been depleted, and all the money from killing in the shared zone had been taken away by the high prices of food and rent in the district.

Of course, she could find a job in the district, serving a stinking, flabby guy as a maid, but she didn't want to. She'd rather die than do that.

Before, she managed to survive with dignity by finding resources in personal dungeons. It was dangerous, but she was living with dignity. Later, after the missing districts upgraded to dungeons, many people died in them. She, like most people, chose to retreat.

Now, she came to this area, wanting to try her luck. Unexpectedly, she met the 'good man' in front of her who even offered her a job.

What kind of job?

From the look in your eyes, do you need a maid too?

Huh, ~ Men.

"My company is in a stage of development and needs a lot of talented people."

Ming tugged lightly on the fishing rod and looked the woman up and down. Hmm, she had a good body for physical work.

"~"

Seeing the man's eyes roaming over her body, Clos was sure of it, he was attracted to her body too. He was a pimp! 

No wonder he was so good with words. This guy knew how to play the game of seduction well. However, she wouldn't yield. If he dared to force her today, she would make sure he knew what a nightmare was.

"Do you write well?" Ming stared into the woman's eyes.

"Writing?"

Clos was stunned. Had the standards for being a maid gotten this high? Even needing good handwriting?

"Yes, see that wooden sign over there? I need it written in multiple languages. I don't want people to find excuses when I'm trying to... warn them. You understand, right?"

"I don't understand~"

Clos really didn't understand.

"It's okay~ I'll teach you slowly~"