Apocalypse: System of lotteries

A few moments later, Ming observed as the individual in front of him placed their hand upon the vertical circular light screen. Suddenly, a radiant white light descended upon them, enveloping their form, and without delay, they vanished from sight, transported to the experience instance.

Following suit, Ming stepped forward and mirrored the actions of the previous individual, placing his hand on the vertical light screen.

Buzz~

A white light descended, and in the next moment, Ming felt his body become weightless before finally touching the ground. However, the location in which he found himself was no longer the plaza he had been in mere moments before. Rather, he had materialized in the midst of a vast desert, encompassed by sand dunes stretching as far as the eye could see. The wind was howling, and sand particles struck his face with a sting akin to tiny knives.

"Greetings, and welcome to your personalized randomized experience copy: the Desert of Doom."

"You have a twelve-hour time limit to defeat the final boss in this copy. Failure to do so will result in automatic transport back to your original zone."

"This instance is for experiential purposes only, with no star-level rating or rewards. Please complete it promptly."

"Countdown to initiation: 11:59:50."

Ming checked the mission details and confirmed the absence of any king-level zombies, and that it was an instance with very few rewards. He examined the map of the instance, discovering that the structures' layout, as well as the location of normal zombies and the boss, were marked. This convenience eliminated the need to waste time searching for them. He merely had to locate and eliminate them.

What an easy situation.

The map contained seven red dots, signifying seven zombies, and one red skull with a purple star hovering above it, symbolizing a one-star level boss.

Ming surveyed the surroundings, determining which direction he should travel in. He retrieved his crossbow and proceeded towards the zombies, who were visible on the map and situated only one hundred meters away. It was at this juncture that he encountered a car repair shop and a few rows of pristine homes, which appeared out of place.

Had the earthquake from the second chapter not impacted this region?

Dozens of tires were stacked at the courtyard entrance, and a few old and disassembled vehicles were parked inside. Seven zombies wandered aimlessly about the yard.

Cheng~

Ming stood at the courtyard entrance, aiming his crossbow and dispatching the nearest zombie with a headshot. The sound of the zombie's collapse drew the attention of the remaining zombies, causing them to slowly converge on the location.

Cheng~Cheng~

Emotions ran high, and adrenaline surged as Ming made his way through the copy. His eyes were drawn to the map's detailed markings, which made it much easier for him to kill them.

Ming proceeded to the yard and this time, the four zombies standing in front of the house reacted to the noise and charged towards him. Ming aimed his crossbow and discharged four shots in rapid succession, taking them all down.

Only the final boss remained. Ming picked up the Rampage Axe and slammed it against the roof of an old car. The yard fell silent, and suddenly, a loud noise reverberated through the air.

Boom!

The door of the house burst open, and a bald zombie covered in grease and clad in oily overalls charged out, wielding a wrench and bellowing.

[Nokes the Desert Butcher]

[One-star king-level boss]

[Health: 15,000]

[Constitution: 150]

[Strength: 180]

[Agility: 120]

[Spirit: 39]

[Exclusive Skill: Nail Scatter - Sprinkles iron nails in a straight line ahead, causing targets to become immobilized and lose health. Cooldown: 2 minutes]

[Exclusive Passive Skill: Give You a Wrench - When attacking with a wrench, there is a 30% chance of a critical hit. It deals an additional 50% damage and pierces through armor for 3 durability.]

[Exclusive Talent: Double damage against anyone he deems wealthy with a wrench.]

[Exclusive Talent: Fatal Strike]

[Instance Weakness: BOSS's effective attributes are halved.]

[Summary: A black market dealer on the desert road, cheating and swindling to make a living. Killing people is as easy as slaughtering chickens. When will his restless soul find peace? He's a ruthless person who only cares about money... not people.]

Weakness: When it faces you, it can only accept its fate...]

"Is that all?"

Ming was surprised to see Nokes' abilities and talents. It was no wonder that some on the chat channel considered the bosses in the copy to be weak. As it turned out, his abilities were halved. Its talent was so pitiful that Ming's eyes nearly filled with tears. As a result, it was only comparable to a one-star elite. It was not immune to stun or dizziness, signifying that he could finally utilize his signature move, the charged shot.

Cheng～

Ming charged his arrow and released it, causing Nokes to become immobilized. He then summoned a small sparrow.

"Go."

Pointing forward, the sparrow transformed into a colossal eagle and soared towards Nokes, gripping its talons around the zombie's shoulders and ascending into the sky.

Ming gazed up at the sky. "Higher... even higher!"

Before long, only a minuscule dot remained in the night sky.

"If it falls from such a height, it should die immediately."

He glanced at the scrap cars around him and swiftly retrieved his Rampage Axe, proceeding to dismantle them. As he finished dismantling the three cars, he heard a thud. Nokes crashed face down on the ground, with all of its bones shattered. Nonetheless, its face remained buried in the dirt, emitting grunting noises.

Ming lifted his Rampage Axe and swung it downwards.

"Ding~ Experience instance boss defeated. Experience gained: 345, coins gained: 301."

[Experience instance cleared, reputation gained: 1, fog in the area reduced by 0.01]

"Not bad."

It required minimal effort to acquire hundreds of coins, one reputation point, and a decrease in the fog. From this, he discerned that if anyone cleared this instance, the fog would be reduced by one point, which was favorable, although it was a pity that each person could only engage in each experience instance once.

[You have 30 minutes to search, after which you will be teleported out of the instance.]

"Let's explore the rear."

After gathering all of the scrap metal from the front yard, Ming traveled to the backyard and discovered numerous small vehicles. He collected everything he could use and searched each house one by one before exiting the copy.

Buzz~ Teleportation complete.

He returned to the 109th district.

Upon landing, he saw someone sighing in front of the mirror. The person's face and neck were covered in small scales, giving her a ferocious and malevolent appearance.

"Ah!"

The person caught sight of Ming in the mirror and dropped it, turning around and shrieking in terror. "I don't have any money, do not rob me! Do not murder me either!"

"..."

Ming gazed at the individual and realized that he had been transported to someone else's refuge, frightening this guy.

After touching the shattered mirror on the ground, he pulled out another one from his storehouse and gave it to the person who was holding it. "I am not a robber. Please accept this as a gift of my apology."

"What?"

The individual with small scales gawked at Ming in amazement, astonished by his kindness.

She was rendered speechless, and before she could express her gratitude, Ming had departed, leaving behind only the words "Keep it up~."

"..."

She heard those words and burst into tears.

...

When Ming walked out of the ruins, he noticed many people breaking the reinforced concrete on the street in front of him. The cars had already vanished. He admired these people's ability to demolish things so quickly.

Ten minutes later, he arrived home.

"Da Vinci is staring at you. Did you sneak out without us? Men cannot be trusted!"

"Foodie leapt into your arms and recounted a dream it had last night about an abundance of seafood..."

"Seafood?"

Ming caressed Foodie's head.

"See, we're having seafood soon. That sounds delightful."