Chapter 24: Creating a Group

Caught in an awkward spot, Zhao Gao looked left and right, his eyes darting around. His hand stayed in his pocket, unable to bring himself to pull anything out—he had traded all his crystal cores for supplies just yesterday.

Lu Li, ever understanding, said, "It’s okay, you don't have to scratch if you don't want to."

Hearing this, Zhao Gao felt even more ashamed. He rummaged through his space necklace, finally finding a few grey crystal cores in a corner. Why was this happening? They were barely presentable...

After struggling for a long while, choosing between "not presentable" and "not producing anything," he chose the former. He pulled out the few grey cores and placed them on the table with a weak air of confidence.

Immediately after, he heard a very clear "Tsk," filled with mockery. It wasn't much physical damage, but it was incredibly insulting. Zhao Gao dared not utter a word, feeling inexplicably deflated. He could only silently swear to himself that he would kill plenty of zombies tonight and come back tomorrow to crush this person!

The two began their scratch-offs. The competitive atmosphere was palpable, with invisible sparks flying between them, yet they maintained a clear distance, not even their elbows touching.

Soon, Zhao Gao let out an exclamation, though he quickly restrained himself; his mouth, however, began to curl upward uncontrollably. Seeing this, Lu Li knew he had hit a prize. She couldn't help but reflect that even those with notoriously bad luck have their spring days.

During this time, others came up to redeem prizes or pick out scratch-offs, but the two were completely undisturbed, lost in the game and forgetting where they were.

"Redemption," a cold, indifferent voice sounded. Zhao Gao looked up abruptly to see a pair of well-proportioned but deathly pale hands holding about five or six scratch-off tickets. He looked back down at his own, only one left. The ones he had won on were set aside; he didn't even need to count them to know it was only two. He decided that having bad luck was a sickness that needed curing.

Well, the last one was also a "Thank you for playing." With a face ashen, he tossed the two tickets to the Maneki-neko, not even wanting to look at them—it was always the same anyway. As expected, their rewards formed a stark contrast, not just in quantity, but in quality. Shen Bing had won a full set of durable, stylish clothes, a grilled fish voucher, and two pairs of shoes that automatically adjusted to fit his feet. In short, all good things. In contrast, Zhao Gao’s prizes—a banana and a pistol—felt slightly pathetic.

Lu Li tried her best to suppress a laugh, watching Zhao Gao dejectedly tuck his prizes into his space, only to suddenly act as if he’d been injected with adrenaline. He declared ambitiously, "Boss, I’m coming back tomorrow! Don't you dare leave."

Lu Li nodded, offering a smile as she said, "Looking forward to your next visit." It wasn't the mechanical tone of a supermarket clerk, but one filled with genuine warmth. Her expression was perfect, the curve of her smile and the flash of her teeth just right.

For a moment, Zhao Gao and Shen Bing were stunned. Shen Bing quickly lowered his head, refusing to look again, his ears, hidden by his hat, turning slightly red.

Zhao Gao, being a bit of a rough-and-tumble guy—he was, after all, thirty years old—generously praised her, "Boss Lu, you look really beautiful when you smile." It was a pure compliment, devoid of any ulterior motive; even his gaze was clean. Lu Li could tell the difference; she had seen men look at her with eyes so lewd they practically wanted to strip her bare. But his was one of pure admiration. She understood—after all, when a great beauty is standing right in front of you, who wouldn't want to take an extra look?

Lu Li’s smile deepened as she replied, "Thank you, you’re not bad yourself!" It was a high-EQ response she had picked up somewhere, and it was finally coming in handy.

Zhao Gao chuckled, scratched his crew cut, and turned to leave, adding Lu Li on his light-brain. Lu Li saw his profile picture—a young girl with a very innocent smile. Could it be his daughter? After a brief moment of curiosity, she prepared to close her light-brain when Chen Zhi suddenly leaned in.

"Boss Lu, are you planning to start a group chat?"

A group? Such a 21st-century term that it left Lu Li stunned for a second, but she nodded once she understood. A group would indeed make communication easier; she could announce opening hours, closing times, and the release of new tickets there.

Lu Li opened her light-brain again, pondered for a moment, and said, "It's done. I've added you, Shen Bing, and Zhao Gao."

Shen Bing looked down at his light-brain. His profile picture was right next to Lu Li’s—an iceberg and a kitten. He felt inexplicably happy, though he didn't know why, so he pushed the feeling down.

Chen Zhi replied, "You got it!" As he spoke, he instantly pulled a dozen people into the group, all from the New Life Base. They were all people who had scratched tickets at Lu Li’s shop and couldn't stop thinking about it. The group chat immediately became lively.

"Is the group owner Boss Lu?"
"Do you even have to ask? Who else would dare start this group?"
"Where did Boss Lu go? I didn't see her at the base entrance today."
"She went to the Hope Base. You didn't know? You're really behind the times."
"No, nobody told us, what's going on?"

Chen Zhi was a warm-hearted guy. Adding people from the New Life Base wasn't enough; he ran back and forth on the scene, asking if anyone else wanted to join. Naturally, people scrambled to get in, and soon Chen Zhi was surrounded, packed tight. Word spread like wildfire, and the group grew to over three hundred members, all of whom had played the scratch-offs.

Lu Li watched, lost in thought. If she could have a branch of her lottery shop in every one of the thousands of bases in China, how wonderful would that be? She could just lie in bed and watch the points roll in. Just thinking about it made Lu Li feel ecstatic.

As dusk fell, everyone returned to their bases. Chen Zhi had friends at the Hope Base, so he stayed the night. Shen Bing left as well. The surroundings returned to silence, and Lu Li didn't pack up the four sets of tables and chairs; they were within ten meters, so they remained under her control.

The twenty-five scratch-offs she had bought today were mostly sold, with only a few left. She checked her points—just over fifty thousand. She was halfway to reaching level four; the first three levels hadn't shown any significant changes, just full access to the shop with still-limited quotas. She began to look forward to what surprises the challenging level four would bring.

The system teased: [Big surprises! A complete makeover for your RV~]

Lu Li imagined it for a moment, and her stomach grumbled ungratefully. She sighed, "All you ever think about is eating."

Just as she was about to pull down the shutter, a hand reached out. The knuckles weren't overly prominent, but the fingers were long and symmetrical—quite beautiful.

"?" Who? Disturbing my dinner again?

She looked up, meeting a pair of eyes. How to describe them? Deep, calm like a pool of stagnant water. They looked at you quietly, without a ripple, as if they wanted to pull you down into the abyss with them.

Not only were the eyes calm, but his entire face was perfectly still. It wasn't that he was expressionless; it was simply devoid of emotion. Yet, it carried a captivating charm. The corners of his eyes tilted slightly upward, seemingly shimmering in the night. His nose bridge was high, and his lips were neither thick nor thin.

A very... perfect face.