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墨書 Inktalez
The sound of surprise echoed throughout the mall, and everyone couldn't help but let out a sigh. It was only the Ninth Prize; what did that really mean? It could just be a towel or some paper tickets!
The woman staggered toward the center of the hall. Zheng Yifan could see a large scar on her thigh, as if a chunk of flesh had been sliced off her backside. She gritted her teeth and moved slowly, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. Yet, she tightly clutched a bag of rice in her arms.
Zheng Yifan remembered that she had been selling some scattered Zombie Crystal s to buy the rice. Those Zombie Crystal s had been polished until they resembled gems, shining with dazzling brilliance.
Normally, the Zombie Crystal s freshly taken from a Zombie's neck wouldn't shine like this. The only explanation was that this woman had polished these Zombie Crystal s countless times to bring out their luster.
"May the Bodhisattva bless us, may the Bodhisattva bless us!" The woman trembled as she scraped away the coating.
The first thing that appeared before her was the word "rice."
Seeing those two characters brought her relief. Whether it was one pound or more, at least it increased the possibility of her man recovering, even if just a little bit of hope felt like a wildfire spreading in her heart.
If she could just hold on today, perhaps they could scrape by for a while longer.
Gradually, she scraped away more of the coating.
Fifty pounds of rice.
Simple words, yet they carried profound emotions. Fifty pounds of rice could save a life in this apocalypse.
The woman collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face as she finally broke into sobs. A shopping cart was pushed beside her, and a bag of rice was placed down.
A full fifty pounds; each grain in the transparent bag represented not just a bit of food but hope—the hope to survive.
"Thank you! Thank you, Boss! Thank you all! Thank you, great and compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva," she continued to sob while holding onto the bag of rice.
The crowd waiting to shop silently shed tears in their hearts. They were all much like this woman, except for one thing—they bore no wounds.
Many people witnessed the woman's wound, and in an instant, they understood everything.
The woman must have had relatives; her leg wound did not sever an artery but merely cut away a piece of flesh from her thigh. It could have been for an elder, a child, or perhaps a husband. The woman likely sacrificed her own flesh so that her closest family member could continue to live, even if just for a little while.
"Sun Jiang, send someone to help her back. If there are any sick people at home, give them two pills, and also provide this woman with a box of anti-inflammatory medicine." Zheng Yifan could only do this much. In this apocalyptic world, such individuals were everywhere. He could only ensure that incidents like this did not occur in his jurisdiction or at least minimize them.
Because he also did not know when the zombies would breach his defenses.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! You are truly the kindest person here. As long as I live, I will ensure that you have a longevity tablet in your honor," the woman sobbed as she lay at Zheng Yifan's feet.
Li Ning slowly moved forward, blocking anyone who might harm Zheng Yifan. Although his combat ability was not even half of Zheng Yifan's.
"This is what we should do. Since it's called Hope Mall, it should bring hope to everyone. If I bring death instead, it would be better to close the mall and open a funeral home," Zheng Yifan said calmly.
It seemed to touch a chord in everyone's hearts, and nearly all of them had tears in their eyes.
Even those relatively wealthy individuals pushing carts over for trade couldn't help but dampen their clothes with tears.
Though they were the strong ones in this apocalypse, able to obtain food and possess a sliver of self-preservation power, they had no hope and no future because they had experienced the battles of Hansui City. The power of the Fourth-Stage Zombie left everyone in awe; if not for tens of thousands of people being fed to the zombies, they might not have survived either.
Sales were booming, and people were disciplined—not the kind of discipline that those from the Post-Apocalypse could understand. In this world, such discipline was their capital for survival. The people of the apocalypse were brutal, but that was directed at enemies or those who did not follow the rules; only those who adhered to the rules could survive and thrive.
"I won! I also won—the Ninth Prize." Fifty pounds of rice was life-saving food for the impoverished, but for the wealthy, it was relatively insignificant; they were aiming for the Eighth Prize.
Just moments ago, a well-known grain dealer from the Han Sui City Gathering Place had won the Eighth Prize—an entire box of Braised Pork Canned Food—which made everyone swallow hard in unison.
Of course, this was nothing significant for the warriors of Hope Gathering Place; these were things they often ate regularly, and they even had fresh vegetables and meat available.
Even those who didn’t win were still excited, because they had exchanged items they rarely used for things they desired at Hope Mall. Everyone’s Member card had no balance left.
Yet, they still cherished their Member cards, as using them on their next visit would yield some rewards. Although the rewards were minimal, in this post-apocalyptic world, they were invaluable.
A seven or eight-year-old child accompanied her mother to the Prize Redemption Area to collect seven prize tickets, happily scratching off the prizes. It felt just like scratching off lottery tickets on the street in the Post-Apocalypse.
It had been a long time since she had experienced this feeling; perhaps only through this could she find a trace of the Post-Apocalypse sensation.
“Mom! I won! It looks like the Fifth Prize!” The child’s voice drew everyone’s attention. Most people recognized the mother and daughter; she worked in wealthier neighborhoods cleaning homes and mending shoes and socks. She often brought back items from the affluent areas to sell cheaply to them.
Though her meager income barely allowed her to make ends meet with her daughter.
The Zombie Crystal s she sold today were gifts from those wealthy gentlemen in the affluent districts. Each Zombie Crystal was not worth much, and those rich men didn’t care at all.
Of course, that was before Hope Mall established itself in Han Sui City Gathering Place.
Now, every Zombie Crystal was becoming increasingly precious. Most people who had already made purchases in the Gathering Place didn’t stop; they wandered around hoping to exchange their food for some Zombie Crystal s or Garbage Essence Fruits. As long as they had these items, they could go to Hope Supermarket to exchange for more food, making it a lucrative business.
Humans never lacked for resourcefulness.
“Child, would you help your uncle scratch off the Fifth Prize while standing in the flower basket?” Zheng Yifan said with a smile.
“Okay.” The girl was gently lifted into the air by a nearby warrior, her slender arms holding the scratcher as she slowly revealed the Fifth Prize.
A 10% discount Member card (limited purchase).
The reward didn’t seem particularly special; it was even less valuable than ten boxes of liquor. However, gradually, people began to realize how wrong they were—terribly wrong. If those ten boxes of liquor were fish, then this Member card was a fishing net, capable of continuously generating wealth. With a 10% discount, there would be an extra five yuan difference each time, leaving at least four yuan in their hands—that was four pounds of new rice. Moreover, in the days to come, when Zombie Crystal s and Essence Fruits became scarce, the Member card would become even more precious.
"Thank you! Thank you!" The woman bowed to Zheng Yifan. Although this card did not represent great wealth, it symbolized a quiet life. As long as Hope Supermarket remained open, they would each have four or five pounds of rice to eat. That meant they would never starve, and perhaps even enjoy a better life.
"This is what you deserve; good people are rewarded," Zheng Yifan replied with a calm smile.
The prizes continued to accumulate, with nearly all the awards being gradually revealed.
The tenth prize was ten pounds of rice, won by a food merchant in this post-apocalyptic world.
The seventh prize was ten boxes of Braised Pork Canned Food, obtained by the Garbage King from the wealthy district's recycling efforts.
The fourth prize was an 80% discount Member Card (limited to a certain purchase amount), won by an obscure Mercenary.
The third prize was a 70% discount Member Card (also limited to a certain purchase amount), claimed by an outer member of the renowned Mercenary group, Ice King Squad.
The Second Prize and First Prize had yet to be announced, as there were only three of each.
Everyone held their breath as they scratched their own rewards; those prizes must be far more valuable than the third prize, with only three available.
"Master, let's scratch in the corner!" A young man supported a Middle-Aged Man, who walked with a slight limp.
"Tianye, remember: one must stand tall and straight, embodying righteousness and integrity. With an open heart and broad mind, one should never feel inferior or give up. Why shouldn't we scratch our ticket right here in the center?" Wu Yingzhou said calmly as he used a Plastic Scraper on his ticket.
"Master! Master! I won! I won!" The excited young man Tianye hugged his master tightly, slowly revealing a corner of the ticket.
Two.
Only half a corner was visible.
"Let me see!" Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind the field and tightly grasped his neck.
"Get off!" Wu Yingzhou sidestepped and lightly punched the chest of the giant man, who stood nearly two meters tall.
In an instant, the giant's words were cut off.
"Whoosh!" A strange sound echoed.
Everyone felt a flash of blue light, and then it seemed as if something had vanished.
"Thud!" A fountain of blood shot up to a height of ten feet, scattering in the air. A large head rolled onto the ground.
"You! Me! That was the vice captain of the Ice King Mercenary Corps! How dare you! Who did this? Don't drag us into this mess!" A frail old man in the crowd pointed in shock, but everyone else quickly moved aside, pointing at themselves instead.
"So fast!" Wu Yingzhou recognized the weapon that had killed the giant; it was a shield. Although Wu Yingzhou was nearsighted, it didn't mean his vision wasn't sharp. Coupled with years of martial arts training, he could still discern what had flashed through the air for just a moment.
He looked in astonishment at the young man standing behind the guard who had killed hundreds with a single shot. For the first time, Wu Yingzhou felt an exhilarating thrill because he sensed that this young man was a martial arts master—a feeling that was remarkably accurate.
"You have won the Second Prize Fellow. Here is a Second Prize redemption contract. If you agree, you can claim your Second Prize over there. If you disagree, it will automatically convert to a 60% discount limited purchase Member card." Zheng Yifan looked at the spirited Middle-Aged Man while secretly contemplating how to persuade him to serve his interests.
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