Chapter 32: Second Prize

Team leader Feng Fuzhi also joined in on the fun, though for some reason, while he was picking out his scratch-offs...

Shen Bing kept staring at him with a gaze that held a hint of resentment and a touch of defiance. When Feng tried to look closer, the boy immediately lowered his head.

Feng Fuzhi didn’t understand, but he didn’t dwell on it. After selecting his scratch-offs as he pleased, he looked up. Among the twenty seats, only the one next to Shen Bing was still empty. Why was no one sitting there?

Feng Fuzhi plopped down into the seat, not bothering with the small golden shovel provided by the lottery shop, opting instead to use a coin he had brought himself.

Beside him, Shen Bing was scratching away quickly; a mere twenty tickets were nothing more than a casual pastime for him. However, his intuition was useless right now. Within a whole book of tickets, the number of winning ones followed a certain probability—usually between eight and twelve. The prizes themselves were random; even the system and Lu Li didn't know what they were.

Shen Bing counted his winning tickets: eleven. He pursed his lips, not entirely satisfied. He couldn't help but glance up and glare at Boss Lu. It was all her fault for making him waste so many crystals, hmph!

Lu Li caught that look immediately and glared right back, unyielding. She sat up straight and puffed out her chest. "What?"

Shen Bing instantly withered. He handed over the stack of scratch-offs, his tone weak but his expression stiff. "Redeem them!"

"Tsk," Lu Li scoffed. With a smug expression, she took the stack and fed them into the Lucky Cat’s mouth five at a time. She clicked her tongue as she worked. She knew the hit rate for each book—at most twelve tickets—and Shen Bing had managed to get eleven. This guy’s luck was as good as ever; he was the king of the lucky ones!

She wanted to see what kind of good stuff he’d scratched out this time. Fruit—common. Pastries—common...

Until the very last prize was spat out by the Lucky Cat. It was a light, fluttering card that drifted onto the table. Lu Li picked it up, and her eyes widened in shock. She stood up abruptly, staring at it in disbelief, reading it over two or three times.

Shen Bing was curious, but he didn't say a word, sitting as steady as a mountain. He was a mature minor, after all.

"Is this for real?" Lu Li asked the system repeatedly in her mind.

The answer she received was: It’s real, it couldn't be more real! Host! Accept reality!

Lu Li’s heart sank. She tossed the card in front of Shen Bing and turned her head away, refusing to look at it.

Shen Bing picked it up nonchalantly. The card, the size of an ID, had only a few simple lines on it:

[Congratulations to Mr. Shen Bing for scratching out a "Convenience Store."]
[This is the second-place prize of the "Big 7" batch!]
[Welcome to consult the shop owner for redemption at any time.]

Shen Bing’s breath hitched, and he could hear his heart racing. He knew what a convenience store was. It was filled with an endless supply of food, drinks, daily necessities—everything one could imagine. If he owned a convenience store, wouldn't that mean Da Dong and the others would never have to go hungry again? And he wouldn't have to spend day and night killing zombies just to come to Boss Lu’s shop for scratch-offs.

After a moment of fantasy, Shen Bing couldn't help but feel excited, his earlobes turning a faint shade of red. But soon, a bucket of cold water was poured over his enthusiasm: where would the goods in the store come from? He glanced secretly at the dazed Lu Li. Could it be that Boss Lu would provide them? Was there really such a thing as a free lunch? But if she didn't provide the goods, where would he find things to sell?

Lu Li appeared to be spacing out, but in reality, she was talking to the system.

"Why is there a convenience store in the prizes?" Lu Li asked, unable to believe that such an incredible item had been won by Shen Bing.

[There is only one convenience store per batch of a thousand books. This is the second-place prize; the first-place prize would scare you to death.]

Lu Li didn't care about first or second place right now. The point was that Shen Bing had won the store, and it belonged to him! She was furious. Her dream since childhood had been to open a small supermarket and lie at home while the money rolled in.

[Host, the convenience store still belongs to you; he is only managing it on your behalf. Furthermore, you still set all the rules.]

Lu Li’s eyes lit up, and she felt reborn. She confirmed, "Really? Then we need to sign a contract!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Li stopped being angry. She was still the boss, and Shen Bing was just the employee. She immediately began planning how to run the store. At that moment, the system gave her a piece of paper with the terms and conditions:

[The distance between the convenience store and the lottery shop must not exceed ten meters.]
[The goods for the convenience store are provided by the lottery shop, by any means necessary.]

Lu Li scanned the list; only these two points mattered, the rest was nonsense. Goods provided by her? How was she supposed to do that? She checked the mall and found that food was sold at a very high price. There was no way she could stock up from there and then sell it at the convenience store; who would do such a loss-making business?

After searching around, Lu Li found an inconspicuous category in the corner: "Near-Expiration Goods."

She clicked in and found it quite cheap, three-quarters cheaper than the regular prices in the mall. She tentatively ordered a bottle of mineral water. When she took it out, there were still five months left before the expiration date.

This was called near-expiration?

The system explained: [In the future world, people pursue fresh, clean, and green food. They want it in their hands the moment it is produced. Water like this, with a two-year shelf life and only five months left, is considered garbage to them.]

Lu Li’s eyes widened. Was it that exaggerated? If everything in the near-expiration category was like this, she could definitely sell them. She would just sell them a bit cheaper; as long as there was a profit, even a small one, it wouldn't matter. As for the split, it would be seventy-thirty—seventy for her and thirty for Shen Bing.

With everything planned, the sly merchant Lu Li walked quietly to Shen Bing’s side and patted Feng Fuzhi on the shoulder, signaling him to go hang out somewhere else.

Feng Fuzhi: ?
He didn't understand, but he obeyed.

Lu Li didn't sit down immediately—her mother had told her never to sit on a warm seat someone else had just vacated. She draped one hand casually over Shen Bing’s shoulder and took the card with the other.

Twirling it in her hand, she tilted her head and asked, "You know everything now?"

Shen Bing naturally knew what she was asking. He simply nodded silently. From his first scratch-off, he had known that Boss Lu was a cunning merchant, and now she was definitely going to "threaten" him.

Sure enough, Lu Li sat down slowly, facing him. She rested one hand on the table, tapping her index finger lightly against the surface, while the other rested on her knee—a chic posture.

Shen Bing felt an inexplicable sense of distress at being "cornered." He quietly brought his legs together and switched to a well-behaved sitting posture.

"Take a look at this," Lu Li said, sliding the terms and conditions the system had provided in front of him, resting her chin in her hand as she watched him.

Shen Bing read through the lines carefully. He understood everything and found it all acceptable—it wasn't an unfair treaty. Although he was strong, he craved freedom and preferred to be alone. Back then, when the Central Base had invited him to join, they had offered great benefits, but the condition was absolute obedience. If they ordered you to go on a mission, you had to go; if they told you to jump into a fire, you had to jump. Shen Bing had refused without hesitation because he valued his freedom too much.