Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 303: Chapter 303: Elliot Chapman

"How shameless." The voice sounded a little familiar, but Steven Gibbs shot back the retort without even turning his head.

It was Brian Booker, standing beside him, who glanced back. He calmly peeled a segment of a clementine and popped it into his mouth. But as he chewed, something felt off, and he looked back again.

The clementine in his mouth suddenly lost all its flavor. "Li... Lily Hart!"

His exclamation instantly drew Lena Corbin’s and Steven Gibbs’s attention. They whipped their heads around and, with a GULP, swallowed the clementine in their mouths.

There was Lily Hart, leaning over the table with her head tilted, a wide smile on her face as she watched them. She was holding a bottle of date-flavored yogurt drink, sipping it with a SLURP... SLURP...

Steven Gibbs started to break out in a cold sweat. ’Did I just call Lily Hart shameless...?’

’How did I dare?’

Steven Gibbs let out a couple of awkward laughs. Meeting her smiling eyes, he felt an inexplicable wave of cowardice and pulled a clementine from his dimensional space, holding it out. "Here."

He regretted it the moment he offered it. ’I’m a department head, for crying out loud. Why am I acting so meek in front of Lily Hart?’

But when she accepted the clementine without any hint of offense, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. "What a coincidence..." he said awkwardly. It was the peculiar feeling of being caught eating at a rival’s establishment.

Lily Hart chuckled, setting down her yogurt drink to peel the clementine. "Are the scratch-off tickets fun?" she asked casually.

Steven Gibbs replied instinctively, "They’re fun, but the win rate is a little low." Banking on the fact that Lily Hart couldn’t see from her position, Brian Booker kicked him.

"That’s just because you have bad luck," Lily Hart stated bluntly. Noticing Steven Gibbs suddenly grimace, she asked curiously, "What’s wrong? Is the clementine poisoned?"

"N-no," Steven Gibbs managed, tearfully forcing down the clementine. He also silently swallowed the injustice of Brian Booker’s kick.

Seeing the two were about to continue their conversation, Brian Booker cut in. "Let’s get going. It’s time to head back to the base for dinner." As he spoke, he shot Lena Corbin a meaningful look.

The two of them then dragged Steven Gibbs away.

Lily Hart scoffed. ’They really have some nerve, coming here without bodyguards.’

’Well, since all they’re doing is buying scratch-off tickets, which adds to my income, I suppose I can turn a blind eye.’

...

「Inside the Central Command Research Institute.」

Director Elliot Chapman was dressed in a white lab coat, a white mask, and a cap. His cuffs and collar were stained with a bit of green liquid, but he paid it no mind, his head lowered as he diligently recorded data.

An assistant approached and stood beside him, waiting until he had finished his notes before speaking.

"Director, there’s movement from the bougainvillea in Lab Two," the assistant said, his voice tinged with excitement.

This particular bougainvillea had been transplanted from the outside. It was a Third Rank mutated plant, and they wanted to test if the new ammunition they’d developed would be effective against it.

In a meeting, they had even given it a simple, easy-to-understand name: the Plant-Killer Shell.

"Let’s go. Grab the shells and head to Lab Two," Elliot Chapman said.

The assistant complied, heading to the special storage room to retrieve the Plant-Killer Shells. He also had to summon the personnel trained to use them.

The group converged in front of Lab Two.

Looking up, they saw a large, highly transparent glass enclosure.

A swaying bougainvillea was clearly visible inside, and the glass walls were marked with measurement scales.

The bougainvillea itself was three meters tall, but its swaying branches now covered a range of over six meters—and this wasn’t even its most active state.

As it swayed, its bright red bracts rustled down like a romantic shower of flower petals.

But only Elliot Chapman knew that every single one of those "petals" was highly toxic.

Its stems were covered in curved thorns which, due to the mutation, could be fired like projectiles. A minor hit could cause unconsciousness; a major one could be fatal.

Director Elliot Chapman instructed, "Get into the protective suits. Safety first."

Five researchers were already putting on heavy protective suits, complete with face shields and goggles.

Once suited up, they picked up pistols loaded with "Plant-Killer" rounds and walked inside, their faces grim and determined.

Elliot Chapman, still uneasy, waved a hand. "Get another suit. I’m going in too."

The assistant tried to stop him. "Director, you can guide them from outside. There’s no need for you to go in personally."

"If I’m this timid, how can I be expected to set an example for the other researchers?" Elliot Chapman said sternly.

Ultimately, the six of them stood before the door to the glass enclosure. The instant Elliot Chapman opened it, The Guardian Corps stationed outside pressed a button.

With a soft SWISH, steel cables shot out from all directions, forming a net that completely enveloped the bougainvillea.

Several of its branches were trapped in the steel net, which bit into them and left square-shaped indentations.

Elliot Chapman and the other five tiptoed inside. The five researchers held pistols loaded with the Plant-Killer shells.

He gently raised a hand and gave a signal. The five researchers beside him pulled their triggers, and five rounds struck the bougainvillea with perfect accuracy.

The bougainvillea, already struggling against the steel net and dazed from the electric current running through it, was struck by the bullets.

The chemical agent within the rounds burst over its branches, spreading to every curved thorn and every single leaf.

It began to wither at a rate visible to the naked eye...

Its bright red leaves gradually turned a lifeless gray. A look of delight flashed in Elliot Chapman’s eyes.

’This is the enhanced formula. It works on a Third Rank mutated plant. Does this mean that if we just continue our research...’

A few possibilities flashed through Elliot Chapman’s mind. A smile touched his lips, but he was suddenly broken from his reverie by a shout from behind him.

"Director, watch out—!" someone beside him yelled.

He snapped back to reality just in time to see the bougainvillea stop withering. In that very instant, it evolved, breaking through the electrified steel net.

Its branches extended impossibly, lashing out toward Elliot Chapman. He scrambled backward before making a calculated retreat.

The five researchers at his side raised their pistols and fired at the branches, but to no avail.

The shells were completely ineffective against a Fourth Rank mutated plant. In fact, they seemed to be accelerating its growth.

The five researchers provided cover for Elliot Chapman, trying to help him escape through the door, but things went horribly wrong. A branch shot past them, heading straight for the Director.

Seeing this, one of the researchers quickly tackled Elliot Chapman to the ground, allowing them to narrowly dodge the branch.

But there was more than one branch.

The others pulled Elliot Chapman to his feet and quickly formed a protective screen as they retreated.

An extremely thin tendril, taking advantage of the chaos, moved like a phantom and slipped past the group.

The six of them made it to the door. They were about to let Elliot Chapman exit first, but one of the researchers caught sight of the tendril hurtling toward them out of the corner of his eye...

Panic flared in his heart. He shoved the Director and the others back, then scrambled out the door himself.

Elliot Chapman felt a sharp sting on his wrist. Just as he was about to look down, he was pushed through the doorway by the other researchers.

The rest of the team quickly followed, slamming the door shut. The bougainvillea’s branches slammed furiously against the glass wall.

The entire glass enclosure trembled under the assault as the plant expressed its fury.

Elliot Chapman quickly gave an order. "The steel net, the anesthetics—use everything we have! The destructive power of a Fourth Rank mutated plant is not to be underestimated."

The Guardian Corps moved quickly to execute his command.

"Director, your hand!" his assistant cried out.

Elliot Chapman looked down. A deep gash stretched from his wrist to the back of his hand, dripping blood onto the floor.

Only then did the stinging pain begin to flood his senses. Gritting his teeth against the discomfort, Elliot Chapman said calmly, "Deal with the bougainvillea first."

"Maintain safety protocols. Don’t let it run rampant. If necessary, terminate it."

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