Apocalypse: System of lotteries

In a certain district, within the shattered edifice, a bloodstained man leaned against the ruins, gasping for breath. Simultaneously, he withdrew an antiviral agent and injected it into his left arm. As the medical coursed through his veins, an intense agony struck him like a crushing hammer blow.

Gritting his teeth, he bore the excruciating pain, refusing to succumb to unconsciousness. Despite his efforts, tears and mucus inevitably flowed down his face.

Crunch! A glass bottle lying on the ground was crushed beneath a heavy foot. The man peered through the crevices of the crumbling wall and saw a figure covered in bone fragments. It was the shared boss from yesterday, now pursuing and slaughtering people in the district.

[You are a clever one, do you wish to live?]

At that moment, a small holographic screen, 5 cm wide and 20 cm long, appeared before his eyes.

Below the text were two options: [Yes] and [No].

The man hesitated, dumbfounded...

Roar! Suddenly, the bone-laden undead appeared before the man, brandishing its bone blade overhead, ready to strike!

"I want to live!"

The man swiftly tapped [Yes].

Simultaneously, the blade halted midair, its eerie purple eyes losing focus. It stood motionless, like a statue.

[Congratulations on triggering the Fallen faction. Please read the faction rules carefully.]

"Fallen?" The man's mind went blank, as he stared at the summary below, growing increasingly alarmed.

[You have 10 seconds to choose: become a Fallen or become undead.]

10...9...8...4...3...

The man made his choice. The statue-like bone undead resumed its movement, sheathed its blade, and left, leaving the still-dumbfounded man behind.

...


In District 1521's encampment, Ming built a fine gold prison within a tent, imprisoning Annie and Janna and severing their connection. They had grown accustomed to the repeated disconnections and reconnections, no longer struggling as they once did. It was as if they had accepted their fate, which pleased Ming. Obedient zombies tended to live longer, like those outside.
Ming reestablished the connection between the two taunting machines he had just disconnected, opened the car door, and sat in the driver's seat.

He started the car, accelerating and opening the tent flap. In a fluid motion, as smooth as a drifting cloud, he thrust a broken bowl out of the window, begging for money as the car burst forth.

Pressing hard on the accelerator, he rammed through an opening, reaching top speed and disappearing from the zombie horde's sight.

[Your froglets are nestled beneath Little Bear's armpit, fast asleep. They're a bit tired today and hope you'll return early for dinner…]

[Your foodie is dreaming, and it dreams that today is a good day…]

"A good day?" The froglets' affirmation meant that he could relax today. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, he drove carefully, especially when nearing the district's central area, taking extra caution.

He didn't want to alert the four five-star kings just yet. His primary goal was to make money, not to fight. Besides, good people never fought; he won others over with their virtue. Ming believed he could influence them through his actions.

...

At the Yama-Nichi Group headquarters, Watanabe Nigi severed the head of President Yamanosei Jiro and, holding it up, faced the group's high-ranking leaders with a grin, declaring, "From today on, I shall lead you all to glory!"

...

"Isn't migrating two districts at once a bit too hasty?"

Hawkins stood atop the walls of the Well City, watching hundreds of light pillars appear and disappear. This was the second mass migration following the merger of Districts 109 and 31, accepting two districts simultaneously.

"Everyone knows that Gutmann is dead. To smoothly navigate the remaining days of Chapter Three, we can only rely on the number of people. It's because Gutmann is gone that I've chosen two weaker districts. If he were here, I could have captured District 402," said David as he replied to private chat messages.

Hawkins said, "I don't understand why mass migration isn't restricted by the Doomsday Rule. It's a headache."

"A headache?" David finished replying to the messages, looked up at Hawkins, and said, "Try to think simply. Life is a game in itself. Let's treat this as a real game."

"Gutmann might have offered a different perspective if he were here."

"Right… How's Alan doing?"

"He's gone to connect the people from the two districts. Mike and his wife are guarding Gutmann's hill now, tomorrow it's my turn, and the day after, yours."

"Fine. I need to prepare some tasty treats for that little squirrel. Strange, isn't it? The little creature keeps throwing walnuts at me whenever it sees me. Do I not look like a good person?"

"You're not exactly a good person either."

...

In District 1521's instance.

"5:12 PM."

Ming glanced at the time, which was close to his estimate. He had been cautious while driving near the central area and hadn't alerted the four five-star kings.

The four taunting machines tied to the car continued spewing vicious language, drawing the hatred of thousands of zombies and being chased relentlessly. If only Mike were here, it would have saved a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, the instance was sealed, and no one could enter.

Returning to the open area of the tent, Ming repeated his strategy, attracting the zombies with the car's honking and the taunting machines tied to the trunk.

The dense horde of zombies surrounding the tent was drawn away... Ming drove in circles... gathering them together again... and drove into the tent.

Closing the tent flap, Ming first disconnected the two barrier zombies, transforming Annie and Janna back into his "people," dancing and singing to boost their morale.

Taking a deep breath and adjusting to the best condition, Ming faced the tent door. At this point, there were more than 3,500 zombies gathered outside the tent, meaning most of the zombies in the instance were already there. The remaining ones were too close to the central boss points, so he temporarily abandoned them.

Ming opened the tent door, handed out the broken bowl, and shouted, "Give me a dollar!" While all the zombies paused for 0.2 seconds, he handed out the potion formula to the zombies in front of him. Time was tight, so he did both tasks simultaneously, quickly closing the tent door and depriving the zombies of their target.

Ding~ 2,091 gold coins received.

"Finally, I can collect money while sitting down." Ming took out a fabric sofa from the warehouse and placed it at the entrance of the tent. Like a landlord collecting rent, he sat upright. His potion skill would also bring in thousands of gold coins in income.

[collect 2,000 gold coins from the opponent]

Ding~ 8 gold coins received.

"…"

Ming sat up straight, shocked that he only received 8 gold coins.

[No money, all belongings are used to pay off debt]

Ding~ Items such as clothes, pants, and shoes obtained.

Ding~ Warehouse full, un-stored items destroyed.

"Destroyed?!" Ming cried out, frustrated not only by the meager 8 gold coins but also by the fact that the equipment was destroyed when the warehouse was full. He opened the warehouse and see directly recycled the white, green, and blue equipment, turning them into materials.

"It's so painful!" Ming clutched his chest. He thought the person who only had 11 gold coins was already the least he'd encounter, but there was someone with only 8 gold coins.

What comforted him, at least temporarily, was the rough estimate that with so many zombies outside, just by begging for an hour, he could collect 260,000 gold coins. Now that was the correct way to make money.