Chapter 447: Apple Doll

Chapter 447: Chapter 447: Apple Doll

’The rules are probably the same: grab them out, or collect a certain number to get the final prize.’

She watched from the side for a while. The man pulled out an apple plush on his very first try, much to the envy of the onlookers. Even Jay-Jay got in on the hype, barking, "WOOF WOOF WOOF!"

Fifteen apple plushes were needed to redeem the grand mystery prize.

But you could also collect three, five, or ten to redeem smaller, tiered prizes. It all came down to what you chose.

Lily Hart urged them on. "Either go for the biggest prize or don’t cash in at all. Look at me! I stuck with it to the very end and got Jay-Jay!"

The customer thought so too and decided to go straight for the best!

But this was tough on the customers waiting in line behind him. All they could do was watch, with no chance to try it for themselves.

They wanted him to win the grand mystery prize, but at the same time, they didn’t. It was hard not to feel jealous...

’This won’t do,’ the machine’s owner thought. ’The crowd waiting in line will lose interest. Besides, with only one machine, it’s way too slow.’

Luckily, the threshold to unlock a second machine wasn’t high—only ten thousand points. ’I think I can get a second one out today!’

Just as the customer was working hard to collect fifteen apple plushes, he ran out of Crystal Cores! ’Damn it! I spent them all on this machine!’

Worst of all, he hadn’t even finished the collection—he’d only managed to get three.

He had no choice but to give up his spot and let someone else have a try.

The next customer was a bit unlucky; he spent three Crystal Cores and came up empty-handed.

His face fell, and his mood soured. He wanted to give up but felt a bit reluctant.

A customer from behind grew impatient. "Are you gonna play or not? If not, move it and let me have a go! My luck is way better!"

The first customer thought, ’Fine, fine! We’ll see just how good your luck really is!’

He huffily stepped aside and stood by to watch. And it turned out the guy’s luck was just as he’d boasted.

It was good.

On his first try, he won a caterpillar plush. It was incredibly lifelike.

It was light green overall, with chubby, distinct sections and antennae on its head.

"Ew~" the customer grimaced. It was so realistic it made him feel a little sick. He’d once been chased and attacked by a mutant caterpillar, and the memory still haunted him.

But he had won it with Crystal Cores, after all. He had no choice but to treat it like a precious treasure, tucking it under his arm.

He used his remaining Game Coins to keep playing, wondering if the machine ran on probability or pure luck.

With just five Game Coins, he managed to grab three caterpillar plushes.

What kind of divine justice was this?!

Everyone else stared, dumbfounded. ’Was that even possible?’

Lily Hart glanced at Jay-Jay, who was sitting obediently on the floor and grinning at her with pure innocence. She comforted herself, ’At least he’s a dog. If it had been a caterpillar, I’d rather not have cashed in at all...’

And so, the customer collected his three caterpillar plushes and successfully traded them in for a giant caterpillar.

It was as thick as a grown man’s waist, and the short antennae on its head were as thick as a person’s arm.

You didn’t need a second glance to see how terrifying it was.

But the customer seemed to share a psychic bond with the caterpillar. He absolutely loved it, hugging it tightly.

He also saw the words floating above the caterpillar’s head: [Caterpillar. Combat Power: Three Stars. Defense: One Star. Toxicity: Ten Stars. Use with caution.]

Reading this, he was completely satisfied. ’From now on, if someone pisses me off, I’ll just have the caterpillar poison them to death.’ He then walked away, giddy with delight.

The customers who followed were even more fired up. Every single one of them was aiming to complete a collection!

The machine’s owner kept glancing at her point balance. The moment it broke ten thousand, she quickly unlocked the second machine.

She placed the order, brought it out, and set it up right next to the first one.

The two machines were identical, right down to the plushes inside and their overall appearance.

The customers cheered, and a part of the crowd instantly migrated to the new machine.

Let the games begin!

Lily Hart was actually extremely curious about what someone would get for collecting all fifteen apple plushes.

’It can’t just be a case of apples, right? That would be way too half-hearted. In my experience, it’s never that simple.’

So, before heading back to the lottery shop, she made a point to remind the customer who already had three apple plushes, "You have to collect them all!"

The customer, feeling entrusted with a great mission, nodded seriously. Truth be told, he was quite curious himself.

The two machines immediately relieved some of the pressure on the crowd.

It was a good thing the temperature was low today, keeping the number of customers down. Otherwise, even ten more machines wouldn’t have been enough!

Back in the lottery shop, Lily Hart glanced at the temperature. Minus thirty degrees.

It seemed to be dropping even faster during the day.

’I wonder how Central Command is doing.’

"Elder Shaw, all the survivors from near Central Command have been moved inside. We’ve distributed the supplies as best we can, but it’s still not enough. There are just too many people..."

Logan Holland said, his expression troubled. He held a supply manifest in one hand while helplessly clutching the seam of his trousers with the other.

Quincy Shaw sighed. "We’re still too short on Crystal Cores. We’ve nearly spent the entire stockpile we had. And in this freezing weather, we can’t very well send people out on missions."

"Cook more warm, hearty foods—big vats of congee, large pots of soup, things like that. Make sure everyone stays warm and has something hot to eat. If it really comes down to it, our only option is to buy on credit from Boss Hart."

The survivors from around Central Command were now all gathered in the residential district.

Dozens of buildings had been specifically cleared out for them. Management was centralized, supplies were distributed from a single point, and two meals a day were provided.

Central Command had to manage not only those outside its walls but also those within. Just purchasing supplies from Lily Hart was already a massive expenditure.

After procuring the supplies, they had to be distributed, managed, and inventoried, all while making sure nobody started any trouble.

With supplies so scarce, the most they could do was ensure no one starved or froze to death and that everyone had a hot meal to eat.

The survivors were already very satisfied with this arrangement; it was unprecedented treatment.

In past winters, no matter how cold it got, Central Command wouldn’t have intervened.

They would have just let people starve or freeze to death outside.

Because of this, everyone was extremely grateful. Any troublemakers were quickly dealt with by the Guardian Corps.

Logan Holland and the other two listened to Elder Shaw and agreed. For now, it was the only thing they could do.

They had also notified the other bases, telling them to gather any nearby survivors to prevent too many people from freezing to death.

If they needed supplies, they were to procure them from Lily Hart. As long as they had the Crystal Cores, she could fulfill any request.

Meanwhile, Lily Hart was still enthusiastically watching people play the claw machine.

It had to be said, watching was just as thrilling as playing it herself. Her heart rose and fell with every movement of the claw.

More than one person had managed to get an apple plush, but no one had yet collected all fifteen.

The harder the challenge, the greater the reward—a fact that only made Lily Hart more curious.

The first customer to collect three apple plushes, a man named Martin Lee, was no fool.

When Martin Lee saw others winning apple plushes, he proactively approached them, asking if they’d be willing to sell. He offered to pay in Crystal Cores.

Some were hesitant, wanting to complete the collection themselves.

So Martin Lee tried to persuade them. "If you try to collect all fifteen, who knows how many Crystal Cores you’ll end up spending? What if you never manage to finish the set? They’ll just be useless then, won’t they?"

Seeing they were still on the fence, Martin Lee pressed on. "Sigh, and we don’t even know what the grand prize is. I have my doubts. It’s probably nothing special."