Once Wen Yu had the idea, she got straight to work. She gathered everything she needed: a thick rectangular cardboard box, a utility knife, a stack of cards, and a pen. 

She placed the box with its wide side down and cut a round hole in the top just big enough for a fist to fit through. Peeking inside, she nodded with satisfaction. The box was deep and pitch black inside—perfect for hiding what’s in it. 

She prepared 200 cards in total. The event would last for three days or until all the cards were drawn. Picking up the pen, she began writing out the prize list by hand. 

Participation Prize: One milk candy, 120 cards total. 

Third Prize: A food voucher worth 10 silver coins, 50 cards total. 

Second Prize: A fruit platter with five colorful fruit sections, each neatly separated, 25 cards total. 

First Prize: A box of basic medical supplies, only 4 cards. 

Grand Prize: A five-jin (2.5 kg) burger exclusively made by Chef Wen, enough to feed a whole family for an entire day. Only one card for this prize. The winner also gets to pick household goods worth 500 silver coins from the supermarket. 

Wen Yu finished writing all 200 cards quickly, then shook her slightly sore wrist and dropped them into the box. 

Something still felt missing… 

She rubbed her chin and stared at the box for a few seconds. Right — it needed a sign! 

The control panel had blank digital signboards for sale. The screen used e-ink and could only be written on with special pens. With a simple click of the switch on the back, the content could be refreshed or rewritten. 

Picking up the color markers that came with the board, she swiftly wrote in bold letters: 

“Spend 50 silver coins to get one lucky draw!” 

Then she thought, since this was a grand opening event, why not add one free chance to draw as well? 

Beneath the main message, she added a smaller line: 

“The 30th customer of the day gets one free draw.” 

Next, she doodled cute, chibi-style illustrations of the prizes on the sign, with little arrows pointing to the name and quantity of each prize. 

The five-jin burger took up the largest space on the board—thick, juicy beef patty glistening, crisp lettuce, and sweet, fresh tomatoes in red, yellow, and green. Each color was designed to immediately grab the customer’s attention. 

She also drew the milk candy, food voucher, fruit platter, and medical supplies. With everything clearly displayed, the eye-catching promo sign was complete. 

Busy hours always passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, the clock signaled it was time to open. 

With Xiao Xin’s help, Wen Yu set up the promo board and the lucky draw box on an empty table right at the entrance. Then, leaning casually against the draw box, she waited for the customers to arrive. 

✧✧✧ 

Inside the central base. 

“Father, I’m hungry.” 

A boy, barely four years old, tugged at his father’s sleeve. His thin little wrist was completely exposed to the air, with no protection at all. 

He wore nothing but a tattered cotton coat. When the wind blew, even the thatch from the roof could drift in, offering little protection from the cold night air—let alone radiation. 

His father wasn’t much better off, wearing a patchwork jacket and a pair of worn-out rubber boots with the soles peeling off. 

The “jacket” was really just a few burlap sacks stitched together. He’d traded three potatoes for a tailor’s help to roughly piece it into a coat—just enough to cover himself when he went out to look for food. 

There was only one piece of black bread left at home. The middle-aged man said nothing as he picked it up from the table, where it was covered with a layer of straw. 

The table was missing half a leg. Even lifting a small piece of bread made it wobble noticeably. 

The black bread was as hard as a brick. He soaked it in the last half bowl of water, which gave off a strong sour stench—like the mutated creatures that roamed outside the base. 

He handed the soaked bread to his son. His eyes looked calm and empty, but deep down, a silent sorrow weighed heavily. 

“Eat,” he said. 

The boy seemed used to food like this. There wasn’t much water left, so the bread hadn’t fully softened. He took a bite, reflexively frowning at the taste, but still held out the remaining piece to his father. 

“Father, you eat too.” 

It was their last piece of food. The father didn’t take it. He just reached out and stroked the boy’s head, his gaze distant as he stared at a face that looked too much like his late wife’s. 

He wondered, in times like this, was there any point in going on? 

If they had to die, maybe they should die out there. 

Maybe they could catch up to her on the road to the afterlife. 

The boy’s mother had died out there. It started with a cough, then blood. She was sick for a long, long time. So long that even the doctors in the base were gone, one by one. No one could help her. 

So long that their family, once able to eat decently in an underground shelter, had slowly moved into a residential block, and then eventually to this straw hut with a view of the sky. 

He remembered that night well. She had said her body hurt too much and coaxed him to go to the market for some sugar. Then, she walked out the main gates of the central base, without taking a single piece of clothing from home—only the mutated butterfly specimen he had given her after his first expedition. 

That night, the temperature outside the base was minus 35 degrees Celsius. 

The child was still too young to understand where she had gone. He only knew she had left. 

The father cradled the boy in his lap after he finished the bread, tugging at the corners of his mouth to force a smile. 

“Shall we go look for Mother outside?” 

“Okay! Let’s find Mother!” 

The four-year-old didn’t know what going outside the base really meant. He only knew that’s where Mother had gone. 

The boy was so thin he was practically skin and bones, with sunken cheeks that made his eyes seem even larger and darker. 

Happily, he jumped down from the straw bed, took his father’s hand, and together, they walked out through the gates of the central base. 

✧✧✧ 

Oasis Supermarket, 8:00 AM 

Chen Zui had long been a regular at the convenience store. She hesitated at the entrance for quite a while, still uncertain—until she saw Wen Yu’s face. Only then did she let out a shout and push the door open. 

“Wow, boss! The place looks totally different!” 

Wen Yu blinked and replied with a smile. 

“Yup! And it’s only gonna get bigger from here~” 

From the moment she stepped inside, Chen Zui’s voice was full of amazement. 

“What’s this? Strawberries?? I’ve only ever read about them in books… I haven’t even seen a picture before!” 

“So much soap! Finally, no more hygiene worries!!” 

“And snacks too… jelly, beef jerky, chips—how do I choose? I want them all!” 

As she went around the store, her hands kept filling up with more and more items. Wen Yu finally handed her a biodegradable plastic bag. 

To her surprise, Chen Zui froze with the bag in her hand and hesitantly asked: 

“Wait… this is free?” 

Wen Yu was confused—do people actually charge for plastic bags? Wasn’t this just standard supermarket stuff? 

“Of course it’s free. But we only hand them out based on how much you’re buying.” 

Still, Chen Zui was reluctant to use the bag and muttered under her breath: 

“This bag is too nice… using it for groceries feels like such a waste!” 

Wen Yu gave a helpless laugh. 

“Alright, alright. It’s all yours. Use it however you like!” 

“Oh right, if you spend 50 silver coins, you get a spin at the prize draw. Want to give it a try?” 

Lately, she had been out exploring with Hu Jiang and had saved up a decent amount of silver, so she figured she might as well stock up in one go and avoid multiple trips. 

She bought a large bundle of food, drinks, and supplies—enough for a single draw. 

Before drawing, she rubbed her hands together in anticipation and even closed her eyes like she was making a serious wish. 

No one knew which deity she was addressing, but she muttered a few words all the same. 

“Oh great Wasteland God! Please bless me with the grand prize! Ah—no wait, first prize is fine too!” 

With that, she reached into the box and felt around carefully. 

“They all feel the same… okay, you’re the one!” 

She pulled out a white card. Wen Yu leaned in to read it—one milk candy. 

“Aww, looks like your Wasteland God’s off duty today.” 

But Chen Zui wasn’t disappointed. She cheerfully accepted her consolation prize from Wen Yu with a bright smile. 

“What Wasteland God? I just made that up! Hehe, milk candy’s great too—I’ll give it to Tian Tian.” 

Wen Yu chuckled and handed her another piece. 

“Then the owner of the Wasteland’s Number One Supermarket will gift you an extra one—one for Tian Tian, one for you.” 

“Awwww, Boss, you’re too nice!!” 

As they chatted, more customers began to arrive. Chen Zui said her goodbyes and left, not wanting to interrupt business. 

Among today’s customers, some were returning visitors and some were new. You could tell who was who at a glance. 

First-timers were often wide-eyed with amazement. To them, the very existence of a supermarket in the wasteland defied logic—so seeing shelves stocked with goods wasn’t surprising, just awe-inspiring. 

Though they didn’t recognize most of the items, they could tell quality when they saw it. 

Returning customers usually hesitated before entering. Once inside, they moved with purpose—heading straight for the discounted essentials. Yet they were always distracted by the tempting new items on the shelves. 

The two groups had very different attitudes toward the prize draw as well. 

Anyone who had purchased and used items from Oasis Supermarket knew the quality. Even if their total hadn’t reached 50 silvers, they’d add something just to qualify for a draw. 

Newcomers were more cautious. They’d stand off to the side and observe others draw first. 

Most prize slips were for a single milk candy. At first, customers were disappointed—but once they tasted the candy, wrapped in a thin edible rice paper, the sweet flavor filled their mouths. 

In the wasteland apocalypse, the only natural source of sugar was mutant sweet potatoes—and even those barely had any sweetness compared to the milk candy. 

Once they tasted the candy, even the disappointed customers lit up. One of them immediately turned around, grabbed three more candies from the shelf, and headed to checkout. 

Something that good? No way he wasn’t sharing it with his team. 

The crowd watching couldn’t hold back any longer. They started pooling purchases to qualify for the draw. After a few milk candies, someone hit the jackpot—a fruit platter. 

It held five kinds of fresh fruit: strawberries, watermelon, dragon fruit, oranges, and longan. 

The winner didn’t dare open it on the spot. Ignoring the cheers of the onlookers, they stuffed the platter into their bag and made a quick exit. The others, now drooling, settled for buying one or two fruits to satisfy their cravings. 

All the fruits provided by the system were premium quality. And since there was no concern about transport damage, even the strawberries were perfectly ripe—so ripe that a gentle squeeze would break the skin. The sweetness was off the charts. 

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