Stockpiling Supplies&Raising a Child in a Post-Apocalyptic World by DrawingCards

Chapter 20

"Luck?" Mo Shuyu thought she had misheard.

Lin Ran sighed and nodded at Mo Shuyu. "Yes, luck."

Mo Shuyu thought for a moment and then sat beside Lin Ran. "I think my luck is pretty good. Once, the elevator in the hospital broke down just as I remembered I forgot a package at the convenience store. So I went back to get it, and the colleagues who took the elevator got stuck inside. Also, during the hospital's annual department dinners, we usually have a lottery, and I always win the first prize. When I take my daughter to the amusement park, I often draw hidden prizes from toy blind boxes. I'm not sure if this counts as good luck, though, since I've never tried buying a lottery ticket."

An idea came to Lin Ran. Since her own luck was terrible, it couldn't get any worse. She might as well let Mo Shuyu try. If they drew another useless card, they might as well be doomed today.

Lin Ran sat up and looked at Mo Shuyu. "Could you help me with something?"

"I've been relying on you all this time. Just tell me what you need, and I'll do my best to help," Mo Shuyu quickly replied.

Lin Ran took a deep breath and nodded at Mo Shuyu. "Alright, come with me."

Lin Ran propped herself up with one hand, feeling weak and struggling to stand, but she managed to get up. She walked towards the card-drawing machine, glanced at Mo Shuyu beside her, and said, "These zombies are affected by this machine, so they don't dare come closer. But this machine will disappear at 7 o'clock, and then the zombies will charge at us without restraint. We have less than two hours to escape. The best-case scenario is drawing the most useful item from this machine, which might save us."

Actually, Lin Ran had a backup plan. She had noticed a pattern in the residential area: if a person's scent was covered by zombie blood, it might confuse the zombies into thinking the person was one of them. However, she didn't dare take this risk. With so many zombies around, even if they didn't actively bite her, standing among them could easily result in scratches or cuts, which also carried a risk of infection.

Lin Ran always believed in keeping the initiative in her own hands. Once she resorted to the backup plan, her and Mo Shuyu's lives would be left to luck.

Mo Shuyu glanced at the two rows of items on the screen and asked Lin Ran, "Which one do you want? The gene enhancement potion, blocking items, or speed items?"

Lin Ran looked at the items; there were no descriptions, only names. The gene enhancement potion seemed the most useful. Gritting her teeth, she pointed to the gene enhancement potion. "Preferably this one. If not, the other two should still be somewhat useful."

"Alright, I'll give it a try," Mo Shuyu said, nervously biting her lip. She worried about failing to draw what Lin Ran wanted and being blamed or abandoned.

Lin Ran had already placed the 100 crystal cores into the small drawer of the card-drawing machine in several batches. Now, she had only 79 crystal cores left. She was too exhausted to kill any more zombies.

Lin Ran looked at Mo Shuyu. "Go ahead, just click the 'draw card' button on the screen."

Mo Shuyu clasped her hands together, rubbed them for luck, closed her eyes for two seconds, then opened them and clicked the 'draw card' button.

A red frame appeared on the screen, rotating clockwise around the nine items. After a few seconds, the red frame stopped on the gene enhancement potion. The card-drawing machine emitted a golden light, and a card with a picture of a potion bottle floated in front of Mo Shuyu.

Mo Shuyu looked at Lin Ran and handed her the card. "I drew it. It's the gene enhancement potion!"

Lin Ran sighed in relief, though feeling a bit bitter about Mo Shuyu's luck. Unlike herself, who worked hard for nothing, Mo Shuyu seemed to have all the luck.

"Thank you," Lin Ran said, accepting the card. She didn't feel embarrassed or inclined to give the potion to Mo Shuyu. After all, she had earned the crystal cores through her hard work. Mo Shuyu only helped with the draw, so the least Lin Ran could do was try to get them both out of there.

She turned the card over and read its description: Gene Enhancement Potion Card: An A-grade card, the highest level among cards. This potion can enhance four basic human genes (strength, speed, agility, and endurance). It is a rare and valuable card, and you must be incredibly lucky to get it! Note: Be aware that using the gene enhancement potion often causes common symptoms such as fever and headache, and there is a certain risk of death. Use with caution.

Lin Ran felt frustrated. How did Mo Shuyu get an A-grade card on her first try? But since Mo Shuyu was on the same side, Lin Ran examined the card's attributes again. Though the potion carried a risk of death, their situation left no other choice.

With a thought, the card in Lin Ran's hand flashed and transformed into a sealed test tube containing a half-tube of glowing green liquid.

Lin Ran picked up the test tube, finding the fluorescent green liquid eerie. She took a deep breath. Having been driven to this point by the system, she had no choice but to drink it.

She opened the test tube, sniffed it, and found it odorless. Swallowing hard, she took another deep breath, brought the test tube to her lips, and drank the contents.

Mo Shuyu, seeing her drink the green liquid, nervously asked, "Are you sure about drinking that? What if it's dangerous?"

Lin Ran shook her head. "I don't know if it's dangerous, but it's our only way out."

She shook the test tube and then gulped down its contents.