BEFORE THE WORLD FROZE, I BUILT MY OWN KINGDOM

Chapter 17: Claiming the Prize and Hiring Bodyguards

He had spent a million dollars on a ticket worth five hundred thousand bets, and he had won the jackpot.

It was what Ethan had expected, and yet it was also a little unexpected. That the numbers came up was easy to understand. They were the same numbers drawn in his past life. But could the lottery really have no foul play behind it? Had the "Director" truly just let Ethan take the money?

In his past life, the man who had spent a hundred thousand dollars to sweep the prize pool had received only a little over $22 million for the first prize. Ethan wondered how that man was feeling now.

But Ethan didn't care. With the world about to end, money was better in his hands, where it could be put to use.

…………

The next morning, he tidied up quickly, ate breakfast, and drove straight to Highmere, the regional capital. Big prizes could only be claimed at the Regional Lottery Center there.

By then, his million-dollar bet the night before had become the talk of the town. When people heard the winning numbers had been drawn, many angry citizens began cursing the lottery director for being so blatant. Ethan slipped away quickly, afraid someone would recognize him and take out their anger on him.

After a two-hour drive, he reached the Regional Lottery Center by navigation.

Ethan made no attempt to hide. He walked in openly to claim his prize and cooperated fully with the reporters who interviewed him.

The process went smoothly. After a series of ticket checks, he was given a redemption notice. All that remained was to wait for the lottery center to transfer the money. Once it arrived, he could take his ticket to the designated bank to collect it.

But such an enormous sum couldn't be transferred immediately. The staff said it would take about three working days.

Since he hadn't received the money yet, Ethan couldn't be bothered to make a fuss. He simply found a hotel in the capital and booked a room. Of course, it was just a regular room. He didn't book a presidential suite like some newly rich showoff.

Though he had won a fortune, Ethan had always been frugal. Next to the expenses to come, this prize was nothing. Every bit of savings mattered.

After checking in, he drove to a security firm in Highmere called Ironclad Defense. He hired eight of their top bodyguards at a high salary of one million dollars a month, to protect him around the clock.

His net worth had just skyrocketed, and that inevitably attracted greedy eyes. His personal safety was a real concern. Although he hadn't received the prize yet, he had sold all his shares in Eagle Livestock a few days earlier, and he still had several million in his account. A million dollars was nothing.

And could the bodyguards be tempted by money? There was no need to worry. Ironclad Defense was a well-known firm in Valoria that protected many celebrities and wealthy people. It was unlikely to do anything self-destructive. As for the bodyguards themselves, Ethan didn't have to worry about that either. The higher-ups at Ironclad understood the stakes far better than he did. After all, Ethan had spent a million dollars to empty a lottery prize pool, and he hadn't covered his face once during the claim process. Soon he would be the focus of public attention. If the bodyguards sent by Ironclad murdered him for money, the firm could forget about doing business ever again.

In fact, Ethan could have kept a low profile to avoid all this trouble. He could have worn a mask when he claimed his prize, and his identity would have stayed well hidden. But he had his own plans. He needed to be high-profile, because the higher his profile, the more smoothly his future plans would go.

Over the next two days, Ethan inspected several large supermarket warehouses in Highmere, preparing for his future "free shopping" program.

In truth, his main target for free shopping wasn't Highmere at all. It was the Greenfield Mart regional central warehouse, more than 1,600 kilometers away. If he could take the vast stockpile of supplies in that warehouse, he probably couldn't use it all in ten thousand lifetimes.

But Ethan had no intention of living alone in the apocalypse. He planned to build a survivor base. The reason he was looking at several big warehouses in Highmere was twofold. First, to stockpile materials for the base. Second, to eliminate future threats.

He understood the cruelty of the apocalypse deeply. Survivor bases of every size were scattered everywhere, fighting each other constantly. Supply warehouses would be something ordinary people couldn't even dream of seizing. And those who did seize one in the apocalypse would certainly show no mercy. Those depots were the foundation on which a base would rise. A big supply warehouse meant a powerful faction.

Highmere was too close to Ravenmoor, where Ethan lived. How could he tolerate someone else snoring beside his bed? He didn't want to leave his future enemies the material conditions to grow.

…………

That day, Ethan was wandering through a science and technology park in Highmere, a bodyguard silently following behind him.

His phone rang. It was a staff member from the lottery center.

The staff member told him the prize money had been transferred to the designated bank and that he should come to collect it as soon as possible.

A smile touched Ethan's lips. He strode to his car, and a bodyguard quickly opened the door for him.

He got in and gave the driver the address. The car began to roll slowly toward the bank.

The other six bodyguards rode in two black SUVs, sandwiching Ethan's car between them.

Half an hour later, Ethan arrived at the bank the lottery center had designated.

The bank staff had been waiting a long time. When Ethan arrived, the bank manager personally came out to greet him with a smile. But he was taken aback when he saw the eight big men in suits and sunglasses following behind.

This wasn't the first time he had handled a lottery winner, but he had never seen a scene this large. He quickly composed himself. After all, this wasn't an ordinary first prize. It was a massive $220 million. Some caution was only natural.

The manager warmly invited Ethan to the VIP room and brewed tea for him himself.

He laughed. "Ha! Mr. Cole, you're truly a remarkable young man! Spending a million dollars on a single lottery ticket. Your boldness puts me to shame!"

"Hehe, just luck," Ethan said with a faint smile.

"Luck is a kind of strength too!" said Mr. Wells, the bank president. "But Mr. Cole, even with such a huge prize, you should still plan carefully. Our bank recently launched a new wealth management product. I wonder if you'd be interested?"

President Wells looked at Ethan with eager anticipation.