Hang In There! I'll Draw a Card to Save You

[New story, A Resort in the Mountains, now underway]

[The blurb for the upcoming story, Interstellar Indie Director, is below]

Question: What's it like to have a card-drawing power in the apocalypse?

Ji Rui'an: Thanks for asking. As a lucky draw queen, I'm having a blast. I get SSRs every time.

Ji Rui'an graduated straight into unemployment. Before she could find a job, the apocalypse arrived. Armed with nothing but an axe, she survived until the safe zones were established and even earned enough for an apartment.

Who knew that before the second year was even over, Ji Rui'an would botch a mission? When she opened her eyes again, she had transmigrated twenty years into the future and become an ordinary person among a world full of people with superpowers.

Before Ji Rui'an could get used to life in the future, the rent came due and brought her back to reality. With no other choice, she picked up her axe again, shouted, "For the rent!" and charged into the contaminated zone.

After an accident awakened her card-drawing power, Ji Rui'an went from being hopelessly unlucky to incredibly lucky. So shouldn't she draw a few more cards?

SSR Potato Chips: Come pick! I've got tons of flavors (original, lime, tomato, cucumber, tomato stew, barbecue). Take your pick!

SSR Drinks: Same here! Bubble tea, cola, Sprite, red bean milk, you name it. Come take a look!

SSR Three-Cup Duck: Out of my way. You don't even count as side dishes. I'm the main course!

Ji Rui'an: "..."

Who would've thought the cards would fight for her attention, too?

What do I do? I have too many SSRs. I can't use them all QAQ

The troubles of having too many SSR cards.

An orphanage that was once the site of a terrible massacre, a contaminated zone in turmoil, a hospital where babies are mysteriously disappearing, and a research institute that was famous before the apocalypse.

It feels as if an invisible shadow is watching Ji Rui'an's every move.

What secrets lie behind all this?

And what does it have to do with the apocalypse?

Reader's guide:

1. There aren't many scenes of fighting contaminated creatures.

2. The story takes place twenty-two years after the apocalypse, when things have mostly settled down.

3. This is entirely fictional, with lots of original worldbuilding. Please don't compare it to reality.

--A Resort in the Mountains--

After graduating straight into unemployment, Yun Jin sent out a resume on a whim after yet another company rejected her application.

She wasn't expecting anything, but to her surprise, she got a text. She didn't even have to interview. She was hired on the spot.

[You have been hired by Aha Resort as the resort's owner. Reply A to confirm receipt of this message.]

Yun Jin: [Old man on the subway looking at his phone.jpg]

What kind of job is resort owner?

Yun Jin shut off her phone without hesitation. A name and job title this ridiculous had to be a scam!

The System, who never got a reply, came to her in a huff, raising its electric shock weapon. [Tell me! Why didn't you reply?]

Yun Jin: Σ(⊙▽⊙"a Wait, I can still fix this!

-

Yun Jin knew the resort's name sounded a little shady, and the job title seemed rather slapdash. But it wasn't until she arrived that she learned just how much the System had conned her. How was this a resort? It was just a field!

For miles in every direction, there was nothing but open land and a single three-story building. It had nothing at all.

When Yun Jin started to turn back, the System appeared again. [Life countdown: 30 days. Complete missions to gain more time. Failure means death.]

Yun Jin: ???

-

A little over a month later, Chuyun Lodge quietly appeared in a travel and vacation magazine.

When people opened the latest issue, the first thing they saw was this guesthouse called Chuyun Lodge. They were baffled. Why would a magazine that usually featured vacation hotels include such a small guesthouse?

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Before long, countless debunkers headed to Chuyun Lodge, but after a day, every last one of them had disappeared.

Onlookers: We're doomed. Did something happen to them?

Worried viewers formed a group and went to Chuyun Lodge, only to find the bloggers enjoying themselves there.

Viewers: [Complicated expression.jpg]

Blogger: o(*////▽////*)q

-

A few years later, Chuyun Lodge had transformed into Chuyun Resort. There was a quiet bamboo grove teahouse, a melodious ancient-ship concert, an astonishing water dance... Everything there was enchanting.

Tourist A: I want to live here for the rest of my life!!!

Tourist B: Nobody can take my room. I'll live here till I die!

Tourist C: My sleep has improved here, my skin looks better, and I feel better, too. It's wonderful OVO

Tourist D: Listen to me, thank you, because you brought me warmth. Listen, you have to come to Chuyun Resort!

The male lead is the System. There's very little romance, just a little.

Warnings:

1. This is a fictional world, leaning toward an idealized setting, with plenty of plot holes.

2. It's probably pretty wish-fulfillment-heavy, with an overpowered golden finger. The story is full of various tech products.

3. It focuses more on running a business and everyday life, and is fairly slow-paced.

--Interstellar Indie Director--

After a fight over creative differences with the director, gifted screenwriter Lou Zhi was hit by a car as she left. She transmigrated into the interstellar era and became an orphan living on welfare.

To survive and get enough to eat, Lou Zhi planned to return to her old job as a screenwriter. But when she searched online, she learned that the interstellar era had no screenwriters, only directors!

Before she could get angry, Lou Zhi discovered that this was the age of holographic cinema. If she could imagine it, she could make it real.

Lou Zhi was overjoyed. At last, she wouldn't have to fight with a director over their differences of opinion. She could bring every thought and idea she had to life!

In the middle of the interstellar era, a genius director burst onto the scene. She took the galaxy by storm with her fresh-concept TV shows, films, and even animated series.

A: I'll go crazy for Director Lou, I'll go wild for Director Lou, I'll bang my head against the wall for Director Lou! I love you, Director Lou! Make more TV shows!

B: No, no, Director Lou should make films!

C: Anime is the one true god!

D: I'm not picky. If Director Lou makes it, I'll love it.

But after she became a famous director, what was with the relatives who suddenly came looking for her? And what was with this fiance?

Warnings:

1. Interstellar setting, idealized world.

2. Overpowered golden finger.

3. More to be added as I think of it.

Theme: Food can heal anything. Protect yourself and stay alive.