Apocalypse: System of lotteries

Ming, panting from his sprint, returned to find David furiously punching the air. Raising an eyebrow, he quipped, "Did the air offend you?"

"Ugh..."

David, visibly deflated, pointed at the special shop behind him. With a face marred by frustration, he bellowed, "That thing! It's just a machine!" Without waiting for a response, he dashed around the corner, hurling insults at the approaching horde of zombies. "Damn you all! Before I leave this place, I swear I'll smash every single one of you! Curse this shop, and curse you! Come on then, come get me!"

Ming watched as David, cursing louder with every step, disappeared around the street corner. He thought to himself, 'David has always been so composed. What's gotten into him?' Shaking his head, Ming turned his attention to the special shop's offers:

[1. Randomly unlock 10 storage slots for 1,999 coins.]

[2. Randomly unlock space for 19,999 coins.]

[3. Randomly unlock a talent for 1,000 coins.]

[4. Randomly unlock a skill for 999 coins.]

[5. Randomly unlock an equipment piece for 999 coins.]

"wtf!"

With a swift kick, Ming vented his frustration on the shop's exterior. The price for unlocking equipment had increased ninefold since the last shop. So, the prices in these special shops were random!

The shop responded, "Destruction of property. Fine: 50 coins."

"Damn it!"

Ming stood there, anger boiling just beneath the surface. Now he understood why David had been so infuriated. This wretched shop was to blame.

Resisting the urge to lash out further at the shop, Ming pointed at a lone zombie, shouting, "You wretch, I'll smash you to bits!"

The shop retaliated, "Offensive gestures. Fine: 20 coins."

The zombie sneered at the agitated man, emitting a low, menacing growl.

Ming's frustration was palpable.

Ming clenched his jaw, wielding his thunder hammer and approaching the advancing zombie. They closed the gap, coming within a meter of one another before Ming swung his weapon.

Crash! With one blow, the zombie lay flattened on the ground.

Smash, smash, smash! The zombie's brain was rendered useless.

A chime sounded. *Gained 1 coin*.

"Boss, I'm spent. I can't run anymore!" David panted as he approached, hands resting on his knees. "I've circled this place over twenty times. I'm at my limit."

"At such a young age, and you dare say can't?"

Ming stood up, brandishing his hammer. "We must speed up our coin collection, lift the blockade sooner. Come, kill with me."

"It's too risky, there's too many of them."

David, holding his side with one hand, pointed down the street with the other.

"A man should never admit he was useless, he can't."

"But there's a Lord-level among them!"

Ming followed David's gaze to the emerging horde.

Roar! A towering 2.5-meter-tall zombie with a bare chest emerged, its mouth filled with jagged teeth, bellowing in fury.

In an instant, Ming, pulling David with him, made a run for it. "We can't face this one head-on. We need to outwit them."

The two found themselves on a commercial street, lined with stores featuring large glass doors and windows, offering no real defense.

Behind them, the relentless zombie horde gave chase. Among them, the towering zombie scooped up two regular ones, hurling them like basketballs.

Ming pushed David out of the way, dodging to the side. The two thrown zombies crashed into the ground between them, limbs severed.

The two exchanged glances, quickly dispatched the two fallen zombies, collected their coins, and continued their escape.

"We can't keep this up. We'll be too exhausted to fend off any more zombies!"

"A shop!"

They simultaneously dashed into a store. Their decision was driven not just by fatigue but also by the store's potential supplies of food to replenish their energy and drinks to combat exhaustion.

With the surrounding stores offering similar layouts, they figured it best to pick one where they could eat and drink. Once inside, they immediately lowered the shop's metal shutter.

Old tactics are at play!

Ming stood to the right, David to the left. Wielding a hammer and a blade respectively, they fiercely attacked any zombies squeezing through beneath the shutter.

Bang! A tremendous sound echoed as the shutter was forcefully dented. Soon, a pair of gargantuan, ashen-green hands began to lift it.

"hold on!"

Ming shouted, trying to counteract the Lord-level zombie's force from outside, while inside, the two pushed back against it.

A standoff ensued. Luckily, the gap beneath the shutter was clogged by the remains of previously dispatched zombies, preventing any more from entering.

Creak! The immense force exerted by the Lord-level zombie caused the shutter to warp. It seemed imminent that it would be torn apart.

"Its hand! Go for its hand!"

In frenzied haste, Ming shouted. He freed up his right hand and snapped one of the zombie's fingers. 

Across from him, David, wielding his blade, shouted, "Boss, use your hammer!"

"Right!"

For a moment, Ming felt foolish. Sometimes, it's easier to see solutions from others. Swiftly, he wielded his thunder hammer, striking down with all his might upon the zombie's fingers.

Bang, bang, bang! The zombie's right hand shattered, rendering it useless. Its left hand released its grip as its fingers were severed by David's blade.

The Lord-level zombie, furious, roared in pain and finally retreated from the shutter.

The two exhaled in relief.

Ming and David took a deep breath. If the creature got inside, their only option would be to flee through the back.

"What's happening? Check it out."

"Alright."

David crept to the window, peering out. He watched as the Lord-level zombie retreated to the street, began to charge, and then turned back in panic, "Damn it! Watch out!"

Boom!

The metal shutter was suddenly bent out of shape with immense force. The two men were thrown back by the impact. Several zombies began to crawl through the widening gap, their faces twisted in grotesque hunger, mouths open to reveal jagged, bloody teeth.

Ming swiftly sat up, smashing the head of the first approaching zombie with his hammer. Beside him, David swung his blade with ferocity.

Boom! With another mighty sound, the shutter was completely torn upward, revealing the looming Lord-level zombie. It towered over Ming and David, roaring in fury and charging forward, lifting its foot to crush them. At the same time, the shop began to fill with more of the zombie.

"Damn it!"

"We're done for!"

"Ha...ha..."

"Bastards! Come and fight me!"

Suddenly, a voice rang out from the street, momentarily stopping all the zombies in their tracks. A taunting skill was activated: [I fight all of them at once]

"Ha!"

"Roar!" The zombies, originally targeting Ming and David, now poured out of the shop, charging toward the source of the combat.

Ming and David quickly got to their feet, standing at the doorway in disbelief. They saw Mike, clad in high-tech powered armor. In his left hand, he held a minigun with ammo belts dragging on the ground. On his right, is a large mechanized blade. He stood there, reminiscent of an iron-clad warrior, raising his minigun and unleashing a hail of purple flames.

Ssssssssss~

Bullets lit up the dusk, cutting down the advancing horde of zombies, their trajectory like beams of light, zigzagging through hundreds of zombies. In mere moments, nearly a hundred of them lay strewn across the ground.

Roar!!!

The Lord-level zombie bellowed, grabbing two other zombies to use as shields. It charged forward, defiant against the blazing gunfire. The two 'shield' zombies were quickly shredded by the gunfire. Simultaneously, the Lord-level zombie leaped in the air, aiming straight for armored Mike!

Mike didn't flinch. Instead, he raised the minigun and unleashed a torrent of bullets at the looming Lord-level zombie.

Thud, thud, thud! The dense stream of bullets, like lances of light, pierced through the zombie's chest, shattered its legs, and obliterated the arms it used to shield its head.

With a heavy thud, the Lord-level zombie fell to the ground, kneeling before Mike. Without missing a beat, Mike swung the massive blade in his right arm.

Whoosh! The head of the Lord-level zombie was sent flying with one swift cut, rolling on the ground.

"Damn it, did it really think it could scare me?"

Mike kicked the zombie's lifeless body, turning his attention to the store entrance where Ming and David stood. Grinning, he called out, "Tell me, do I look cool or what?"

Both men gave him a thumbs up in unison, "Cool!"