Apocalypse: System of lotteries



Run!

Behind Alia was a giant rattlesnake.

Its body was covered in earth-brown scales, each one the size of a human palm, the surface dotted with unevenly distributed horny spikes. As it slithered, it sent rocks and debris flying. It raised its head, a pair of pale purple eyes fixed on the running woman in front of it.

The woman's chestnut hair was disheveled in the wind.

Hiss!!!

A stream of venom sprayed out, hitting the woman's jacket squarely.

Bang!!

The durability of the jacket dropped to zero...

Alia kept running, her steps not at all chaotic. As she ran, she drank a potion to restore her stamina, and simultaneously swung the narrow sword in her hand, her spiritual energy flowing from her wrist to the sword.

The gravel under her feet rolled across the ground, following her closely. She let out a low shout and swung her sword, the gravel following her forming a barrier behind her.

She drank a stamina potion and continued to run!

Bang! The gravel barrier was smashed to pieces by the giant snake.

"Help!!" Alia cried out.

She never imagined that this snake could be so strong. Just then, a figure descended from the sky, hovering in front of her. The figure was backlit by the sun, making it impossible to see his face. The three pairs of transparent green wings on his back immediately gave her a sense of safety.

An angel!

Yes, it must be an angel! An angel sent by God to save his devout follower!!

She saw the man pull out a chainsaw... which surprised her.

This... was a chainsaw-wielding angel~

Vroom! Vroom!

Alia watched as the man flapped his wings and shot upwards, dodging the pale green venom spit out by the giant rattlesnake. Then, the man swiftly descended, punching the snake's head, followed by cutting it with the chainsaw! Then, she saw the man put away the chainsaw, pulled out a double-barreled shotgun, and fire at the snake. 

The sound echoed loudly.

"A gun!?"

Alia stood to the side, her hands clutching her chest in surprise!

After that, she saw the man wield all kinds of weapons in rapid succession - long guns, short guns, daggers, bows, crossbows, axes, and spears. She realized that if this man was indeed an angel, he must be an armament angel.

Bang!!

Then she saw the man punch the snake on top of its head. The snake's raised body fell slowly onto the ground like a felled tree, its head landing near her feet. As the snake was on its last breath, it slowly opened its mouth, its fangs releasing venom. The venom splashed onto Alia's pants and shoes as she stood there, dazed.

Bang!!

Whoosh~

In her panic, Alia caught a white outfit thrown by the man. Seeing the red cross symbol on it, she realized that the man had thrown her a nurse's uniform?

Holding the clothes, she watched the man quickly squat by her feet, pulling out an empty glass bottle and placing it under the snake's fang to collect the dripping venom. He muttered, "Flow slowly~ Don't waste~ If you dare to flow faster, I'll really kill you~"

Alia stood dumbfounded, instinctively tapping her translation earpiece to confirm she hadn't misheard.

Then, the man glanced at her, "If you want to stay naked, you can give me the clothes back~"

"..."

Alia hugged the clothes tighter, turned around, and ran behind a nearby pile of rocks. After a while, she came out, having put on the clothes.

She saw the man pat the snake's head and said, "Stop pretending to be dead. You still have some venom left. Squeeze it out, quickly!"

"Um..." Alia cautiously approached the man. She never thought that this man would be squeezing a snake. That was a king-level monster!

For a moment, she forgot what to say, "Um..."

"Wait, you can thank me later~"

"Ah, this..."

"Hurry up and squeeze!"

"..."

Alia stood to the side, her hands unsure where to go. She suddenly felt that the man in front of her was more like a capitalist. After all, he had already squeezed out more than a dozen bottles of venom from the snake, and judging by his looks, he wanted to squeeze out the last bit of venom.

A moment later, Alia watched as the man took out a storage box and neatly packed the glass bottles filled with snake venom into it. Then, he stored it in his own warehouse, and kicked the coiled snake on the ground, saying, "Stop pretending to be dead, get up and follow me~"

"..."

Alia understood. The man in front of her was a puppeteer. He had turned this snake into his personal property.

How strong!

she had never seen a close-combat puppeteer as powerful as him.

He's really strong!

Ming retracted his wings and looked at Alia, noticing that she too was wearing a translation earpiece.

This... we can communicate normally, good~

"What were you trying to tell me just now?"

"Um... thank you for saving my life~ God will bless you~"

"You're welcome~ But, but it seems like your God didn't protect you just now, so did you forget to pay protection money?"

"..."

Alia was taken aback, no, that's not how it works. She quickly said, "No, God is selfless. He guided me here because he arranged for you to be here."

"So, he wanted me to help him collect protection money?"

"..."

Alia suddenly didn't know what to say. This guy was completely not on the same wavelength as her. God had arranged for him to be here, there must be some profound meaning.

"Alright, I was just joking with you. I'm going now, you be careful."

Ming kicked the giant rattlesnake, "Let's go, stop lying there like a pile of cow dung."

Originally, he wanted to kill the snake and take it back as fertilizer for the future earthworm forest. After all, a snake was just a piece of meat and didn't have much use. Plus, his puppet slot and space were quite tight, and a snake of little value was definitely not worth keeping. 

However, he remembered that Merlin needed venom, and this snake happened to be highly poisonous. If he used it as a venom-producing machine... it would be quite useful, plus, it could help improve his own poison resistance.

Hiss~

Ming gasped, was he bringing trouble upon himself?

"Wait!" At this moment, Alia behind him suddenly spoke up.

Ming smiled to himself, turning his head in an instant, his face resuming its serious and solemn demeanor, "Is there anything else? I'm very busy."

Alia stepped forward and said, "You were willing to risk your own safety to help a stranger, which proves that you are a truly good person. Would you like to join us?"

"????"

This was not what he wanted to hear!!

"To be honest, I'm really busy..."

"That's okay, I won't bother you. I just want to talk to you."

"..."

Ming was taken aback. Since you're not being proactive, I'll have to make you be proactive. Just as he was about to lay his cards on the table.

Alia said, "God admonishes us that while others help us, we should also help others."

Ming excitedly said to the person in front of him, "He makes a lot of sense. I suddenly have a newfound respect for him."

"So, would you like to join us?"

"..."