Apocalypse: System of lotteries



After dinner, Ming returned home as evening approached. Once he had attended to the many tasks within his household, he settled onto the rooftop sofa, lost in thought.

Should he seek out the courier? What if this person, by chance, knew Janice and his home address? If assuming Little A is the rule, should he act on it?

With these thoughts, he unfolded a pristine map that David had obtained from a trade for a hundred gold coins. City S was located to the southwest of zone 109, nearly 700 kilometers away. Before the apocalypse, it would have taken almost nine hours to drive there. Now, the journey required passing through the mist, making the duration uncertain. The decision to go or stay was worthy of deep consideration.

  Deciding, he snapped his fingers, and in an instant, Raoul, with wings outspread, alighted beside him, clutching Euryale in his hand.

Next to the towering Raoul, Euryale appeared as but a small serpent.

"Euryale, stay. Raoul, you may leave," Ming gestured, and Raoul departed.

"Master, how may I serve you?" Euryale inquired, looking up innocently.

"I'm curious about your past deceit. Tell me the story," Ming prompted.

"Well, that…"

"Tell me about the entire process," Ming said, checking Euryale's attributes. She no longer possessed skills or talents but was a blank slate. He hoped she might learn abilities, much like a human.

"We would typically start our hunt at night," Euryale began hesitantly. "After all, men and women who were awake at that hour often felt lonely and sought... comfort."

Euryale began her story, "Typically, we'd scour the internet for pictures and create our own dynamic on certain apps. Then, we'd quickly add users. I could chat with up to 50 people simultaneously."

"50 at once? You must have swift fingers," Ming remarked, glancing at Euryale's scaled hand which did appear nimble. His gaze then returned to the skill cards he'd taken from her:

[Exclusive Talent: Unviewable.]

[Exclusive Talent: Penetrating Strike.]

[Exclusive Talent: Quick Hands, hand speed is 1.25 times faster than overall agility.]

[Exclusive Talent: Serpent's Venom, poisonous fangs.]

[Exclusive Talent: Enchanting Voice.]

[God-Level Talent: Unbridgeable.]

[...]

"It's not necessarily about speed," Euryale continued a hint of pride in her tone, "We have a structured script. Once someone becomes my friend, I immerse them in my verbal environment. Then... I just Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, copy and paste the standard chat. It's rather simple, really."

"I've heard that most doing this kind of work are scruffy-looking men. More importantly, as a female, how do you chat with other women?"

"Back then, I wore a wig and looked quite handsome. Combined with a voice changer, my voice was magnetic," Euryale said with added sass.

"And how did you profit from this?" Ming asked, continuing his inspection.

[God-Level Talent: Petrifying Gaze. If you gaze at a beautiful woman for over a second, and if her mental strength is weaker than yours, she'll be 'petrified'. Except for speaking, no other actions can be taken for 15 seconds, with a cooldown of 5 minutes.]

[Exclusive Skill: Venomous Hair, the small snakes in her hair can also spit venom.]

[God-Level Skill: Copy-Paste Recovery. When facing multiple targets, the Petrifying Gaze skill can instantly reset its cooldown. This ability has a cooldown of 10 minutes.]

"We always honored the motto 'time is money'. So, once the conversation began, I would mention I had a stomach ache or hadn't eaten that night, or perhaps had caught a cold," Euryale explained, glancing at Ming before continuing, "Some would then offer to buy medicine or order me some food. After all, spending little dollars seemed trivial to them. But we operated under the principle that every little bit counts. In one night, we could make thousands of dollars, if on a good night, easily tens of thousands."

Ming was taken aback. Thousands of dollars in a single night, even before the apocalypse, was a fortune! It was clear why so many risked danger and the law for such a venture. It was genuinely lucrative.

Euryale, growing more animated, added, "Later on, I even started my own private chat room where I performed teasing dances and videos. That brought in even more money."

Ming smirked slightly, "Well, one could argue you earned it on your own merit."

Euryale's demeanor shifted from playful to sincere, "There were some truly devoted souls among my clientele."

She looked into the distance, "There was one man who never asked for anything in return. He just silently gave. Even now, I remember his online name: ' Ocean."

Ming nodded, acknowledging that the world wasn't devoid of infatuated individuals. However, it was tragic when devotion was misplaced.

Euryale paused in her reminiscing, her gaze lingering on the horizon as if savoring traces of a past infatuation.

After a moment, Ming left the [Non-Transferable] skill intact, allowing Euryale to relearn all the other abilities and talents she once possessed.

"Why? My skills in your hand..." Euryale began, confused.

"It's a secret. Don't ask," Ming interrupted.

"well."

"Time to sleep," Ming reclined on the couch.

"But isn't that inappropriate? I'm still a snake, even though..."

Before Euryale could finish her thought, Raoul swiftly picked her up by the waist and carried her downstairs.

Ming closed his eyes, musing, "How preposterous to think I, a good man, would sleep with a snake. What absurd fantasies."

[Ding! "Money Begets Money" title activated. You've earned 36,218 gold coins.]

[Ding! "Broken Bowl Treasure" activated. You've received one random item.]

Ming opened his inventory, looking at the bowl section, where a compass lay still. 

[Compass: An exceedingly reliable navigator.]

Ming took a deep breath, connecting the dots. He had just learned of Janice's city, southwest of his current location, and now he had a compass pointing the way. The rules seemed keen on guiding him there.

[Your Merlin has synthesized a nauseating, dizzying toxin from mushrooms. Your poison level is +1.]

[Merlin leaves the laboratory, intending to sleep beside you. Spotting the serpent woman coiled in the main hall, and intrigued by the small snakes atop her head, it bounces upstairs, landing on your chest. It looks up, "Ming, let me borrow your serpent woman tomorrow."]

"Alright," Ming nodded in agreement, closing his eyes as he plotted the next day's journey. Whether or not he decided to visit S City, he needed to clear the fog in the southern zone.

[Universal Broadcast: The second seal has been broken. One of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Red Horseman, has descended. Mysterious rewards await.]

"Hmm?" Ming pondered. Should he prioritize defeating this new threat? but, where was this adversary located?