"I cannot believe they upheld that."

  There were almost fifty survivors now. Most were sitting in groups on the floor, eating dinner and chatting. Val's Pals had left to make their own plans. Troy had camped out at the customer service desk, unsure whether to watch us in case we try to take his nonexistent authority away or watch the teens in case they started doing drugs.

  We sat behind the bakery counter on the store's eastern side. It was a good thing we weren't planning to do much baking, because the place was now packed with microwaves, coffee machines, mini-fridges, laptops, computers, and power banks, taken from the break rooms of other stores before we used them as morgues.

  "That went okay," Kara said happily, between mouthfuls of chicken. "More bodies than I was expecting to touch today..."

  I nodded. I now had a thick stack of ID cards, sorted by store with notes and rubber bands. I wasn't sure what to do with them next, but it felt like I was doing something.

  "Maybe we should try upstairs next," I said. "Pretty sure I heard fighting up there."

  A microwave dinged as Chaz's mac and cheese finished cooking.

  "We could try the elevator," he suggested. "Did you notice the power still works?"

  "Water, too," Kara said. She'd taken the emergency hose near the car park exit and blasted the plaza floor with it. It wasn't a great cleaning job, but it was better than nothing.

  Zeddie's jingle played, and his giant head appeared above the registers again.

  "Goood evening, shoppers! Glad to see you're adapting well. I hope you're enjoying those loot crates! By the way, this tutorial is sponsored by WARCRIMES. WARCRIMES: Forever War!"

  People grumbled. Zeddie ignored them.

  "I'm checking in because it's eight PM local time. That means it's time for the first round of OddBotz Selection!"

  My phone buzzed. So did Kara's, Chaz's, and a few of the other survivors who'd ventured outside. The Zettamall app icon was pulsing.

  Zeddie's pitch continued. "The OddBotz are this season's hottest character option. Customers with at least four hundred Funbucks can now purchase an OddBot of their very own, which will provide much-needed powers in the days ahead! Just tap that app to get started!"

  We looked at each other. Kara shrugged and tapped hers.

  "Ah, what the heck—"

  VWORP! She imploded in a flash of white light. The air stirred.

  "That's just what teleportation looks like," Zeddie assured us, as similar flashes went up around the store. "They'll be back."

  I looked at Chaz and shrugged. "Well, we've come this far."

  Chaz shrugged back. "Ganbatte, bro."

  We tapped.

  VWORP!

  We were standing in a store.

  It was clean, white, and large enough for at least a hundred people. The walls were blank, with no discernible exits.

  We'd warped in near Kara, who waved and strolled over. More people were appearing all around us, as bruised and bloodstained as we were. Some wore the uniforms of stores in other plazas.

  Shoulder-high shelves ran through the store, lined with small white boxes. Each one had a weird little toy robot inside, visible through a window. I studied the nearest one, which held some kind of plush rabbit covered in cybernetic augments; the text on the box read "1811: HARETIK".

  Chaz picked up a box with a plastic slime inside, marked "2324: HOBBY BLOBBY".

  "Woah, they're collectibles!"

  Before I could respond, two guys warped in between us. One was lean, one was large, and both wore fast food uniforms.

  "Dude!"

  "Dude! Where are we?"

  "Hi," Kara said. "Are you from Mack's?"

  Lean looked us over. "Yeah, that's us. Oh shit, Gateway? How are you guys doing?"

  Mack's. Central plaza, Level Three. You could get there from Gateway in a couple minutes if you wanted to—usually. Now they seemed so distant.

  "Safe, for now," I said. "You?"

  Large shrugged. "Shit's fucked, but we're alive."

  "Yeah, just stuck," Lean said. "Little dudes and zombies everywhere, you know?"

  "Wait, zombies?" I asked. This was a chance to gather information, and I wasn't sure how long we'd be here. "What do you mean?"

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Large scratched his cheek. "Dead people from the mall but, like, still moving. Well, they could've been some kinda ghouls or revenants—"

  Zeddie's jingle cut us off, and his head appeared above us.

  "Welcome, customers! It's time for OddBotz selection. Please step through your assigned door and the selection process will begin."

  Archways slid into existence on the walls, smooth as liquid. One of them began to flash, and my name appeared above it.

  "Huh," Kara said, staring at a blank door. "I think that door was made for me."

  "I don't see any names," Chaz said.

  Other people were heading for their arches. I shrugged and followed.

  "Be right back."

  The arch led to a smaller, empty cube of a room. As I stepped inside, the archway slid shut as though it was never there.

  "Hello, valued customer! Welcome to OddBotz selection," Zeddie said. His head appeared to my right, much smaller than usual but still way bigger than a human's.

  The wall in front of me lit up like a screen, and little cartoons popped up to illustrate his speech.

  "Your OddBot is a special companion which will grant you powers beyond the standard for your species," Zeddie explained. "If you choose to pay the entry fee of four hundred Funbucks, you'll be presented with four OddBotz to choose from, each with their own unique stats and abilities! Your options will be randomly determined, but may be influenced by your previous actions. And of course, you can pay up to one thousand Funbucks to increase your chances of receiving higher-rarity OddBotz... oh, but what's this?"

  I'd taken the gold card from the Valued Customer crate out of my pocket.

  "Can I use this here?"

  Zeddie nodded. "You sure can! You're guaranteed a great OddBot now, no matter what you pay. Congrats!"

  "Thanks. Does spending more still do anything?" I asked.

  "The quality of the other three OddBotz will still be influenced by the size of your entry fee," Zeddie said.

  I had 520 Funbucks. I didn't have enough information to know what the best strategy was, but it was too late to back out now.

  I decided to spend a little, just in case. I could leave enough for a key. "I'll use my card and spend four-twenty, thanks."

  [ Funbucks: $100 [-420!] ]

  A robotic jingle played as a row of four cube-shaped holes opened in the wall in front of me. My gold card turned into motes of golden light and disappeared.

  Zeddie played a little drum roll. "Let's see what's behind door number one..."

  A hatch opened in the roof of the first hole, and one of the boxes from the last room dropped in. The wall above lit up, displaying what looked like a giant collectible card.

  It had artwork of some kind of hologram cartoon ghost, shooting flames from its eyes. A name and stats in a cool high-tech font appeared beneath it.

  [ < SMOLDERGEIST >

  Common Fire Holo-Bot — Hyperquazar

  Bonuses: +5 Accuracy, +2 Agility, +4 Multitasking, +5 Speed, +10 Fire Resistance

  Powers: [Fire Bolt], [Fire Sale]

  Smoldergeist may have lost her body in a freak carnival accident, but she can still light up the room! ]

  I studied the card. So if I choose this one, I'd become a speedy guy that shoots fire? Cool.

  "And door number two!"

  The second one was a crocodile made from scrap metal, with mismatched wheeled legs and a big grinning jaw. Its card had a green border.

  [ < GREETURE >

  Uncommon Metal Wear-Bot — Janka Robotics

  +3 Cognition, +4 Fortitude, +3 Nimbleness, +6 Physicality, +5 Fire Resistance

  Powers: [Security Zone], [Summon Traps]

  The Greeture was let go from his job at Swamp Mart, but he's found a new calling in laying traps for your enemies! ]

  Traps would definitely make us safer...

  "You know it, you love it: it's door number three!"

  This time the card's edges were neon blue.

  [ < DISPENSAUR >

  Rare Nature Help-Bot — Janka Robotics

  +4 Calm, +8 Crafting, -2 Lucidity, +6 Luck, +5 Psychic Resistance

  Powers: [Apothecary], [Recalibrate]

  Unlocks Crafting: Alkemy early!

  Thanks to a prehistoric loophole that allows us to class him as a vending machine, the Dispensaur has left Mechanic Park on a journey to heal the ZETTAMALL?! ]

  This one was a cybernetic dinosaur, like a brachiosaur with a weed-shaped fan of leaves on its head. An extra window appeared in a shower of confetti.

  [ Special Summon: 420 Funbucks! ]

  I looked at Zeddie. "Really?"

  "Just a little 'eastward egg' for our Earth customers," Zeddie said cheerily. "Now, last but not least, dooro numero fouro..."

  This time, there was a pause. Another jingle played, before the OddBot appeared in a burst of golden light.

  The edges of the final card glowed purple. Inside, a serpentine creature with a big maw that almost looked like a hand with a mouth was eating a burger. It had a paper crown.

  [ Gold OddBotz Card used! ]

  [ < KHAN ZOOMER >

  Epic Lightning Aug-Bot — Wizard's Treats

  +5 Speed

  Power: [Consume]

  This king of the food court puts the "fast" in "fast food"! Let him devour your enemies and watch him grow! ]

  "And those are your four OddBotz!" Zeddie said, carefully not saying anything that might influence my decision. "What do you think? See one you like?"

  I stepped forward. I already knew my choice. I didn't know the rules of this bullshit, so for all I knew this was the Zettamall equivalent of eating out of the trash can, but...

  "I'd like this one, please."

  A high-quality choice with a noticable lack of starting bonuses?

  I grabbed Khan Zoomer's box.

  What the hell, why not. If it didn't work out, at least it wasn't the weed dinosaur.

  [ You have chosen KHAN ZOOMER, from Wizard's Treats!

  Wizard's Treats: Fill Your Mouths With Magic! ]

  [ Be Yourself, Buy Odd

  Complete OddBotz Selection.

  Reward: +1 Limited Edition OddBotz Crate

  Great Odds

  Obtain an Epic-tier OddBot.

  Reward: +1 Limited Edition OddBotz Crate ]

  [ A Limited Edition OddBotz Crate! Contains one good-quality item from your OddBot's brand. Consider it a gift from your bot to you!

  OddBotz: Be Yourself, Buy Odd! ]