Apocalypse: System of lotteries

The rain was pouring heavily as a man ran into the cave. He was a thin man with reddened skin, wearing a black jacket and sweatpants.

As he entered the cave, he saw a wealthy-looking person dressed in alligator skin clothes, wearing sunglasses and a black mask, sitting by a campfire roasting meat. He cautiously approached, maintaining a certain distance, and nodded at the man, "Hello, I'm from Sector 23."

Ming nodded, "Sector 109." As he spoke, he used [Hawk Eye]to scan the man in front of him: Erik, a Level 19 Fire Elementalist. No wonder his skin looked red as if burned; he was a fire Elementalist.

"Sector 109?"

Erik repeated softly, wringing the water from his clothes, "I didn't expect to meet someone from Sector 109 on a random map. I saw in the chat channel that there's a tough guy in your sector. Is that true?"

Ming poked the campfire with wood, "Well, not so much power."

"Uh, I heard people from your sector saying that this guy is no worse than Ming, wielding a chainsaw to take on a King-level zombie alone... I can't even imagine facing a King-level zombie by myself."

"That's indeed quite impressive," Ming casually replied. After all, he couldn't bring himself to boast about his deeds.

The main concern was that the people from Sector 109 had already exposed him on the global chat channel. Fortunately, no one knew his name yet.

"Is the tough guy from your sector named Gutmann?"

As Erik spoke, he took out a few wooden planks, "Can I join you? I promise I have no ill intentions."

"..."

Goodman?

Ming was taken aback, "Uh, sure." He thought that it must have been Dave who sold his information. When he returned, he would have to ask David to split the profits. He couldn't let David be the only one making money.

A cunning little merchant.

Erik added his wooden planks to the campfire, and another person rushed into the cave.

"Damn, the rain is so heavy."

The newcomer removed his cloak, revealing a face covered in brownish-gray hair. He glanced at the two people beside him, casually placing his hand on the knife's hilt at his waist, and asked, "Where are you guys from?"

"I'm from Sector 23, and this guy is from Sector 109."

Erik quickly replied, and Ming nodded to the newcomer.

The hairy-faced man let go of the knife hilt and removed some wooden planks from his inventory. He walked over to the two men, grinned, and said, "Brothers, how about we share the fire?" After saying that, he bent down and sat on the ground, adding the planks to the burning campfire.

A mutant?

Ming glanced at the man with the hairy face, Desmond, a Level 20 Mutant Vanguard.

This guy's mutant gene talent was interesting: [Tree Climbing Expert]

"I'm from Sector 39. As you guys can see, I'm a mutant. During the second chapter, while in the wilderness, I was bitten by a mutated monkey, and now my entire body is covered in hair. I have to trim it every few days. Damn."

Desmond casually sat before his campfire, took out a monkey corpse, and started roasting it over the fire. He looked at the two men and laughed, "So, I love a taste for monkeys. Once it's cooked, you guys should try some too. It's delicious~ heh~"

"Thanks, but no need. I only eat vegetables."

Erik took out an ear of corn and started roasting it over the fire.

"Thank you, but I have snake meat."

Ming replied politely. No wonder this guy's mutant gene talent was [Tree Climbing Expert]; a monkey had bitten him.

[Your froglets are lying in your arms, looking at the hairy-faced man, then back at you, feeling that you look more pleasing to the eye...]

[Your Foodie is looking at the monkey meat roasting over the fire, licking its lips... Da Vinci nudges the Foodie, reminding it not to eat other people's food, especially a stranger's... The Foodie agrees, knowing that even children know this...]

[ Foodie looks at you, hoping you'll make the snake meat smell more enticing for them...]

"Did I hear that there's a tough guy in Sector 109? Someone who took on a king-level monster with a chainsaw?"

"Uh, yeah."

Ming didn't know how to continue the conversation, so he changed the subject. Anything else would be more interesting than this topic.

"You're a puppet master, right?" Desmond looked at the two frogs lying in Ming's arms.

Ming nodded without hesitation, "Yes, that's right."

"Puppet masters have it tough."

Desmond shifted his gaze from the small frogs and said, "Brother, I suggest you get a puppet with combat abilities. Otherwise, when you encounter bad people, you won't be able to handle them without a decent puppet."

"Uh-huh." Ming nodded, thinking Desmond mistook the froglets as his puppets, but he appreciated the well-intentioned advice.

The three sat around the campfire, replenishing their energy and chatting casually.

Desmond did most of the talking, with Erik occasionally chiming in, and Ming was a spectator. It was a very harmonious atmosphere.

They talked about the cause of the apocalypse, the differences between professions, and finally, the mysterious fog.

Desmond said, "In our sector, someone went into the fog at the boundary and disappeared instantly. We tried calling them from inside but received no response. So, it would be best if you guys never left the safe zone boundaries. Maybe when you step out, you're teleported to another place."

"Every time a boss is defeated, the fog recedes a bit. It will be soon that its true nature is revealed. We have to wait."

Erik threw his corn cob's remains into the fire before him.

Desmond threw the leftover bones out of the cave and pointed outside, "Listen, brothers, you see the ironwood trees in the forest, right? That's at least a thousand pounds of wood. And there's even more in the forest. Should we discuss a distribution plan?"

Erik nodded, "An equal share; any way of splitting it is fine."

"Alright, then, let's see who's faster."

Desmond slapped his thigh and looked at Ming, "Bro, what do you think?"

"Sure, let's see who's faster!" Ming nodded in agreement.

Crack!

A thunderclap echoed, followed by a purple-blue lightning bolt striking the ground, splitting a massive tree's crown and causing it to fall into the pine forest.

The three of them looked in unison and said, "That's one big lightning bolt."

Half an hour later, Ming retrieved the spiked cards he had thrown away. By now, the thunder had subsided, the rain had stopped, and the sunlight had broken through the clouds, shining into the cave entrance. The clear sky after the rain was comforting.

The three stood at the cave entrance, breathing in the fresh air.

"Alright, let's make some money together."

Erik pulled an ax from his inventory, swinging it around.

"Bro, your ax looks quite sharp." While taking out professional logging saw from his inventory, Desmond said, "Sorry, but I used to be a carpenter, so I always have these tools handy. As we agreed earlier, let's rely on our abilities and not steal from one another."

Erik nodded with the ax in his hand, "Okay."

"Ahem~"

Ming coughed lightly, "Well, I won't hold back then, guys."

He then took out his chainsaw, started it up, and with a whirring sound, leaped out of the cave and into the forest.

"..."

Desmond and Erik stood there, dumbfounded.

This guy!!

"Could he be the tough guy from Sector 109?"

"Remove the question mark, and I think he is."

They exchanged glances, looked at their tools, and then at the person who had already sawed down an ironwood tree. No wonder he had agreed so quickly.

He had a chainsaw!