Once the interdimensional market disappeared, the invisible barrier would vanish, and all those zombies outside would rush in without anything holding them back. And in their current condition...

That would be the end.

Bai Li didn’t answer Yan Cijin’s earlier question at all. Instead, she spoke first, her voice a bit hoarse but steady.

"How’s your luck usually?"

Yan Cijin blinked slightly, clearly not expecting that kind of question right now.

"...Luck?" she repeated, tilting her head just a little as if she wasn’t sure she heard it right.

Bai Li let out a small breath, still lying there, and nodded slightly without looking at her directly.

"Yeah. Luck."

Yan Cijin thought about it for a moment, then slowly sat down beside her again, her movements calm as always. She didn’t rush to answer. Instead, she actually considered it properly.

"...I think I’m pretty lucky," she said after a second, her tone casual, like she was just talking about something normal.

Bai Li didn’t move, but she was clearly listening.

"Once, the hospital elevator broke down," Yan Cijin continued, her gaze drifting slightly as she recalled it. "I was about to get on it with the others, but I suddenly remembered I forgot to pick up a package, so I went to the convenience store instead. After that... the elevator got stuck."

Bai Li’s brows twitched slightly.

"All my colleagues who went in got trapped inside," Yan Cijin added calmly.

"...That’s not just luck," Bai Li muttered quietly. "That’s cheating."

Yan Cijin smiled faintly but didn’t argue.

"And every year during our department dinner," she continued, "there’s always a prize draw. I don’t really care about it, but somehow... I always end up getting first prize."

Bai Li finally turned her head slightly, giving her a side glance.

"...Every year?"

"Mm."

"...Are you serious?"

Yan Cijin nodded like it was nothing.

"And when I take LiLi to the amusement park," she added, "those blind boxes they sell... I always get the hidden item."

She paused for a second, then added honestly, "Though I don’t know if that really counts as luck."

Bai Li stared at her for a second.

Then slowly turned her head back to the sky.

"...No," she said flatly.

"...That counts."

Inside her head, something clicked.

Her luck was terrible.

Absolutely terrible.

But Yan Cijin’s...

Was the complete opposite.

A thought appeared in her mind, simple but desperate.

"If I’m going to fail anyway..." she thought quietly, her eyes narrowing slightly, "...then I might as well let someone else try."

She pushed herself up slightly, her body still protesting, but she ignored it as she turned to look at Yan Cijin properly this time.

"Could you do me a favor?"

Yan Cijin didn’t hesitate at all.

"I’ve been bothering you this whole time," she replied immediately, her voice calm but sincere. "Just tell me what you need. I’ll help."

Bai Li took a small breath and nodded.

"...Okay. Then come with me."

She planted one hand on the ground and pushed herself up, her legs slightly unsteady at first. It wasn’t easy. Her body was still exhausted, her muscles still sore, but she forced herself to stand anyway.

Yan Cijin stood up beside her without saying anything, naturally matching her pace.

Bai Li started walking toward the interdimensional market again, her steps slow but determined. As she walked, she glanced at Yan Cijin from the side and spoke in a low voice.

"These zombies can’t come in because of that machine," she said, nodding slightly toward it. "But it disappears at 5:10."

She paused briefly.

"That means... we have less than five minutes."

Her voice dropped slightly.

"When it’s gone, they’ll rush us all at once."

Yan Cijin listened quietly, her expression unchanged, but her eyes sharpened slightly.

Bai Li stopped in front of the machine and turned to face her fully.

"The only way we survive..." she said slowly, "...is if we get something useful from this."

Her gaze was steady now.

"No more useless stuff."

"...No more mistakes."

She took a breath.

Then looked directly into Yan Cijin’s eyes.

"The best case scenario..." she said, her voice low but firm, "...is that you draw something that can get us out of here."

She didn’t say anything else.

Actually, Bai Li wasn’t completely out of options yet. As she stood there in front of the interdimensional market, her mind was still running quickly, going through every possible way they could survive this situation. There was one method she had discovered before, something she noticed while clearing zombies in the neighborhood earlier. It wasn’t reliable, but it existed. If a person’s scent was completely covered by zombie blood, soaked thoroughly enough, there was a chance the zombies would fail to recognize them as living humans. In that state, the zombies might treat them as one of their own, or at least ignore them long enough to slip through.

But just thinking about it made Bai Li frown.

"...Too risky," she muttered quietly in her mind.

This wasn’t just a few zombies.

This was hundreds.

A full horde.

Even if the disguise worked for a few seconds, once they got caught in the middle of that many bodies pushing and crushing from all directions, it wouldn’t matter anymore. One scratch. One tear in the skin. One small injury.

And it would be over.

Infection.

Death.

Or worse.

Bai Li didn’t like plans like that. Plans that relied completely on luck, on chance, on hoping things would go right. She had always preferred control. If she acted, she wanted the outcome to be something she could influence, something she could fight for.

If she used that method...

Then their lives would truly be left to fate.

And Bai Li hated that.

So she didn’t even consider it seriously.

Her gaze shifted back to the machine.

This was still their best chance.

Yan Cijin, standing beside her, calmly looked at the rows of items displayed on the screen again, her eyes scanning through the strange names one by one. Even though she already knew some of these items from her past experiences, she still played along naturally.

"What kind of item do you think could save us right now?" she asked, her tone casual, but her eyes quietly watching Bai Li’s reaction.

Bai Li stared at the screen, her brows slightly furrowed. She tapped a few options, trying to bring up more details, but there were no clear descriptions available for most of them right now. Just names. Vague names that didn’t tell her much.

"...Damn it," she muttered under her breath.

She scanned through them again, slower this time.

Food.

Temporary buffs.

Weird tools.

Nothing solid.

Nothing reliable.

Then her eyes stopped at one item.

"Gene Enhancement Potion."

Her expression changed slightly.

That one... sounded different.

Even without a full description, the name alone made it clear. If it did what it sounded like, it could improve their physical abilities instantly. Strength. Speed. Endurance. If that happened, even facing a group of zombies wouldn’t be impossible anymore. At the very least, it would give them a fighting chance.

Bai Li clenched her jaw slightly.

"This one," she said, pointing at it.

"This would be the best."

She paused, then added honestly,

"And if not... then the only other option is to get lucky."

Her eyes shifted slightly.

"A rare... legendary... or mythical mystery box."

She let out a small breath.

"...Though the chances of that happening are basically zero."

Yan Cijin listened quietly.

Then nodded.

"Okay. I’ll try."

Her tone was calm, simple, like she wasn’t worried at all.

But inside...

She was already smiling slightly.

Because she knew something Bai Li didn’t.

She had drawn that "impossible" thing before.

More than once.

Bai Li didn’t notice anything strange. She had already moved forward and started loading crystal cores into the machine again. The drawer slid out, and she inserted them in batches, her movements quick but careful. One by one, the count increased until it reached 100.

The drawer slid back in.

Bai Li stepped back slightly.

She checked her remaining cores.

100 left.

That was it.

No more chances after this.

Her body was already at its limit. Her arms still felt heavy, her legs still slightly unsteady. There was no way she could go back out and kill more zombies right now.

This...

Was everything she had left.

She turned to Yan Cijin.

"...Go ahead," she said quietly.

Her voice was calm, but there was a slight tension underneath.

"This time... it’s all on you.

Bai Li looked straight at Yan Cijin, her expression serious now, all the earlier frustration and embarrassment pushed down and replaced by a kind of quiet urgency. There wasn’t much time left, and this next draw... this really felt like their last proper chance. "Come on," she said, nodding slightly toward the glowing screen. "Just tap the card draw button."

Yan Cijin didn’t hesitate at all. She didn’t overthink it, didn’t show any nervousness either. She just looked at the screen for a brief second, as if considering something quietly in her mind, and then raised her hand and tapped the button.

The screen reacted instantly.

A circular interface appeared again, filled with countless question marks this time, each one glowing faintly. Then the red frame appeared, spinning rapidly over them, faster than before, almost like it was rushing through the options without giving them time to think.

Bai Li’s eyes followed it closely.

Her heart started beating faster again.

"...Come on..." she muttered under her breath.

The red frame slowed down.

Then suddenly—

It stopped.

Right on a question mark.

For a split second, nothing happened.

Yan Cijin simply looked at the machine, calm as always, a faint smile appearing on her lips like she already knew something good was about to happen. Bai Li, on the other hand, felt her chest tighten slightly. Her first thought wasn’t hope.

It was doubt.

"...Don’t tell me..." she thought, her expression stiffening slightly. "Even this..."

Before she could finish that thought—

The machine exploded with light.

A bright golden glow burst out from the screen, so intense that it lit up the entire rooftop, and at the same time, a loud, cheerful sound rang out like fireworks going off in celebration.

"CONGRATULATIONS!"

The word appeared above the machine in large glowing letters, accompanied by sparkling effects that looked almost ridiculous in contrast to the situation around them.

Bai Li froze.

"...Wait..."

The system’s voice immediately screamed in her mind, louder and more excited than usual.

"Honey!! It’s a rare grade mystery box!!! Your luck has finally turned! Even though it’s the lowest tier among mystery boxes, a rare grade guarantees that you won’t get anything useless!!"

Bai Li blinked.

Once.

Then again.

"...Rare?" she repeated slowly.

And then it hit her.

Her eyes widened slightly, and she let out a long breath she didn’t even realize she was holding.

"...We actually got something..."

Relief washed over her, followed immediately by something else.

A tiny bit of jealousy.

She glanced sideways at Yan Cijin.

"...Seriously... how are you this lucky..." she muttered under her breath.

After everything she went through, all the draws she wasted, all the useless junk she got... and Yan Cijin just tapped once and got a rare box.

"...This is unfair." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

But she didn’t dwell on it.

Not now.

Instead, she stepped forward quickly and accepted the card that appeared from the machine, her expression turning serious again.

"Thank you," she said, her tone sincere but straightforward.

She didn’t hesitate.

She wasn’t going to act polite and offer it back or share the credit. These crystal cores... she had risked her life for them. Yan Cijin helped, yes, but this was still her resource. The most she could do was make sure Yan Cijin got out alive with her.

That was enough.

Bai Li tapped on the card lightly.

The next moment, the mystery box activated.

A soft golden light spread out from it, and the card in her hand shimmered before transforming, the contents revealing themselves clearly in front of her eyes.

.

.

.

To be continued.