Chapter One

It is the third day of being trapped in the classroom. Lucie licks her dry lips, and the thirst for water has reached its peak.

Two hours later, she can't resist any longer. She pours water into the bottle cap and moistens her lips. If she isn't mistaken, in another two days, the area where the school is located will also be completely overrun by zombies. Then, she won't be able to go back at all!

Lucie is an orphan. More precisely, her parents divorced when she was 12, each starting a new family, and since then, they haven't given Lucie a single penny.

So whenever someone asks about Lucie's parents, she always laughs and says she's an orphan.

Since the age of 12, she hasn't had a single day of a full meal, but fortunately, she has a kind uncle. Her uncle does his best to help her find jobs, that's all he can do for her. His own family of four children struggles in poverty as well.

With the help of her uncle and friends, she is willing to take on any job as long as there is money to be earned! She has washed dishes in a restaurant, milked cows at a dairy farm, and picked grapes in a vineyard. Despite working so hard, she can barely afford the rent for her 13-square-meter apartment.

Seeing professional women in beautiful dresses in the city and female speakers shining on television, she realized that to transcend her class, she had to pursue education. Finally, with the help of a charitable organization, she successfully entered school.

However, the courses were more challenging and time-consuming than she had imagined. This left her with little time to work, reducing her income and making her life even more difficult.

She ate less and less, sometimes going two or three days between meals. When hungry, she would go to the school's tap to drink water and fill her stomach temporarily. The persistent hunger, however, would still make her faint at any moment, but at least it provided a momentary relief.

One January night, she counted the few coins left after paying rent, sighed deeply, realizing that no matter how she counted, the money wouldn't increase.

Walking home, passing by a bakery, the aroma of freshly baked bread wafts through the air. At that moment, all Lucie can think of is, even if I starve tomorrow, at least today I get to eat a delicious, freshly baked bread.

She tightly grips the coins in her hand. Before getting near the bakery, she feels a sudden darkness before her eyes and promptly collapses. The feeling of fainting from hunger is just too familiar to her, lying on the ground for a while will make it better.

She lies on the cold ground, watching people's shoes pass by one pair after another. She observes children holding gifts, and dogs dressed in beautiful clothes. The world is actually beautiful, but it's a privilege reserved for a few.

There she lies, wearing tattered clothes by the roadside. No one comes to her aid, perhaps, everyone assumes she's a dirty beggar. She helplessly smiles, realizing that over these years, she has long seen through the indifference of human nature.

After her mind clears and the severe dizziness subsides, she wobbles to her feet. Lifting her gaze, she sees colorful posters with "FDJ" and one million euros written on them.

Dazzling slogans and promotional animations make her head buzz. Standing outside with a lottery ticket in hand, she realizes what she has done. Glancing at the remaining coins, she now doesn't even have enough money to buy bread.

She smiles bitterly, tucking the lottery ticket into her pocket, thinking that perhaps she is destined to starve to death. Back at home, she gulps down a few mouthfuls of water from the tap. It's January, and because she can't afford to pay the electricity bill, her home is always pitch dark with no hot water for bathing. Fortunately, it's the holiday season, and she doesn't mind; she can be a bit dirty and smelly since her workplace is also quite unpleasant.

The icy water flowing into her stomach makes her stomach very uncomfortable.

There is no heating in the room, only a bed and the two cups she found. During the holidays, she has no entertainment because she can't afford a TV or a smartphone. During the day, she works tirelessly, hoping to earn more money to pay the electricity bill for the upcoming semester. She knows she must be clean when going to school.

In the evening, when she returns home, she crawls into her dirty blanket, reads borrowed books from school for a while. The blanket is thin, barely providing warmth.

As dawn breaks, every time she opens her eyes the next day, she thinks to herself, "What bad luck, I've lived another day."

However, Lucie lacks the courage to choose death. She can accept life killing her, but she cannot accept herself taking her own life.

During the day, she repeats her routine work, starting by milking cows, then moving on to the slaughterhouse to cut fresh pork and beef. The packaged meats are transported to various supermarkets after processing. Sometimes, the male and female owners of the slaughterhouse give Lucie some bones and offal to cook a hot meal. However, when the owners are not around, the old employees at the slaughterhouse have already divided up these items, leaving her with no trace of meat.

Unfortunately, during this time, both the male and female owners have not come to the slaughterhouse. They went on vacation with their families and are not expected to return for another half a month. If Lucie had bones, she could take them to the 83-year-old grandmother downstairs, using her stove and pot.

The grandmother downstairs is also a poor soul, but this way, two unfortunate people can have a bit of meat and enjoy a bowl of hot soup.

Lucie, empty-handed, endures the cold and hunger on her way back home. In her mind, she calculates that perhaps tomorrow she can borrow a phone from a colleague and make a call to her boss, requesting a 20-euro advance.

Then she plans how to spend these 20 euros. She decides to save 15 euros and use the remaining 5 euros to buy a larger loaf of bread and a few eggs. However, it seems that eggs have recently become more expensive, so she considers buying some pasta, which can last longer.

At this moment, a shop along the roadside and its entrance are crowded with people, shouting numbers. "27!" "27!"

Another group of people is shouting, "25!" "25!" "25!"

Everyone is anxiously staring at the screen, but the television displays the number 28. All present let out a disappointed sigh. This time, the jackpot is out of their reach.

Lucie stands at the doorway, bewildered. It turns out that this is the shop where she bought the lottery ticket last night, and today is the day of the draw.

As all the numbers are displayed in front of the audience, everyone starts to leave. Passing by Lucie, many people cover their noses and show disgusted expressions. However, Lucie pays no attention to their attitudes, she is already accustomed to it.

At this moment, she simply stares closely at the sequence of numbers on the screen. If she remembers correctly... they seem somewhat similar to the numbers she randomly chose last night, but she's not certain. She frantically feels her pockets, and when her fingers touch the piece of paper, she hesitates. She first observes her surroundings. Although no one pays attention to her, she still cautiously runs to a corner and discreetly checks the lottery ticket she randomly bought last night.

As her eyes sweep over the numbers on the lottery ticket, her heart pounds. At this moment, her body is no longer cold, an unprecedented warmth envelops her. She can even hear her own heartbeat clearly.

All matched!

Every number, all matched!