Chapter 107: Douglas Donovan
Lily Hart was startled. The dozens of residents had burst into furious applause, clapping as if they intended to wear their hands out.
And that wasn’t all. Douglas Donovan hopped on a bicycle and started circling the group of residents, occasionally popping a wheelie and flicking the bangs out of his eyes.
Lily Hart was completely stunned. ’What is with this guy! It’s so over-the-top, I’m cringing hard enough to dig my toes into the floor.’
’So awkward, so awkward. When will this be over?’
Just when the residents finished clapping and Lily Hart thought the ordeal was finally over, they started stomping their feet to the rhythm of their applause.
They chanted in perfect unison, "Welcome, Boss Hart, to Fortune Base!" over and over...
There was even a resident on the side, holding up a Light Brain to record the entire spectacle, capturing everyone’s expression in clear detail. Who knows where they planned on posting it.
Listening to them, Lily Hart felt a strong urge to turn her RV around and head for Spring-Watch Base instead. ’Please, just make it stop.’
This torture finally ended fifteen minutes later. Lily Hart suspected it was only because Douglas Donovan had gotten tired of cycling...
Douglas Donovan, drenched in sweat, came up to Lily Hart, his eyes sparkling as if he were showing off a prize. "So, what did you think, Boss Hart?!"
Lily Hart met his sparkling, sincere eyes and forced herself to say, "It was... good. Very good."
"Hehehe~" Douglas Donovan giggled, then waved a hand grandly. "Alright, everyone, time for scratch-offs!"
The residents who had just been clapping and stomping swarmed forward, surrounding the RV and clamoring to buy scratch-off tickets.
Lily Hart took a step back, taken aback by their enthusiasm. It felt like their energy alone could flip the RV.
She pulled out a megaphone she hadn’t used in ages and held it to her lips. "Quiet! Everyone, please quiet down."
The residents of Fortune Base were surprisingly well-disciplined. They immediately fell silent, and all eyes turned to her.
Being the center of so many people’s attention didn’t faze Lily Hart in the slightest. She coolly leaned on the counter with one hand.
She spoke clearly, enunciating every word. "One Level 1 Crystal Core can be exchanged for 100 points, and a single scratch-off ticket costs 50 points."
"There are three price tiers for the scratch-offs..." As Lily Hart spoke, she manipulated her Light Brain, and a massive light screen materialized in the air.
It clearly displayed the three scratch-off price tiers and their corresponding prize ranges.
The residents studied it intently. Lily Hart spoke again, "Alright, anyone who wants to play can come on up~"
As soon as the words left her mouth, those still reading and those who had finished all sprang into action, quietly and quickly forming a line.
Lily Hart couldn’t help but marvel. ’The residents of this base are so well-behaved. It would be amazing if every base were like this.’
Because of the large number of residents at Riveria Base a few days prior, Lily Hart had bought several more Lucky Cat exchange machines, and she now had just enough.
One machine was placed on each side of the RV body—a perfect setup. As long as you fed them Crystal Cores, the system would register your information and credit the points to your name.
Douglas Donovan dutifully got in line as well, not using his status as Base Commander to cut. When it was his turn, he said excitedly, "Give me one of each!"
Diana Sharp handed him three tickets and, after a quick calculation, expertly stated, "That will be three Crystal Cores."
Pull out the cores, pay for the tickets, grab the little golden scraper, start scratching, and—a gasp of surprise!
Envious gazes from the crowd landed on him instantly. Douglas Donovan checked again and again. "D-did I win something?"
Diana Sharp glanced over and gave a calm nod. She was a little numb to it all; this kind of thing was nothing new anymore.
’Not unless he scratches off another grand prize, anyway...’
"It’s an apple! An apple!" Douglas Donovan cradled the apple he had just won, looking at it as lovingly as one would look at their own wife.
He gave it a loud "SMOOCH!" then clutched it to his chest, saying reverently, "No, I have to put this up on an altar."
A nearby resident said enviously, "Base Commander, it’ll spoil if you don’t eat it!"
Douglas Donovan was deeply conflicted. This was the first piece of fruit he’d seen since the apocalypse began; he couldn’t bring himself to just eat it casually.
He was only twenty-eight years old... At this thought, the highly emotional Douglas Donovan burst into tears.
Lily Hart: ... ’This guy is so extra.’
"Okay, okay, stop crying," Lily Hart said, offering a half-hearted attempt to comfort him. "You have an apple now, what’s there to cry about? Aren’t you being a little disrespectful to the apple?"
"You’re right." Douglas Donovan’s emotions came and went in a flash; he had just been holding it all in for too long and needed a release.
He gave the apple another kiss and pulled himself together. "On to the next one!"
He had just scratched the most expensive ticket and won fruit. Now he moved on to the second-most expensive one, which ended in a dismal failure.
Last was the cheapest ticket. Douglas Donovan grew nervous and bent down to give the ticket a little kiss.
Lily Hart watched, dumbfounded. ’Can this guy stop kissing everything he sees? His mental state is truly... one of a kind.’
"Woohoo! Boss Hart, what’s this?" Douglas Donovan cheered again.
"Shampoo?" Lily Hart said uncertainly. When in doubt, ask Fortune; it always had the answer.
And sure enough, it was... body wash.
Douglas Donovan sighed. "These days, even drinking water is a luxury. Who has water to take a shower with? This is pretty useless..."
A light bulb went off in Lily Hart’s head. An idea had struck her. She quickly consulted Leo Colby, and after getting a response, she called out to Douglas Donovan, who was about to leave.
"Hey! Base Commander! How about this: I have a hotel as part of my business. I can free up a room for you all to take showers. It’ll be twenty points per person, but each person can only shower for ten minutes max."
Douglas Donovan’s eyes lit up. "That would be amazing!" He ran a hand through his greasy hair, sniffed his palm, and almost gagged on the smell...
The eyes of the surrounding residents lit up in unison, gleaming like a pack of wolves in the dark.
"Sign me up!"
"Me, me, me! I want in!"
Lily Hart looked at Douglas Donovan. "Could I trouble you to get a headcount, Base Commander? That way, I can make the proper arrangements."
Douglas Donovan agreed immediately, afraid that if he nodded even a second too late, Boss Hart would go back on her word.
He sent a notice to all the base residents: [Good news! For just half a Crystal Core, you can take a hot shower! Sign up now if you want one!]
Douglas Donovan was extremely beloved and down-to-earth; everyone in the base liked him, so his call to action was met with an overwhelming response.
Besides, the offer was just too good to pass up. It wasn’t expensive, and it was a chance to indulge in a hot shower. Who wouldn’t want that? And who didn’t have a spare Crystal Core lying around?
As a result, a massive number of people signed up. When Lily Hart heard the total, she arranged to have two more rooms freed up.
But even with the extra rooms, the waiting list stretched well into the next day...
Lily Hart hadn’t expected to be welcomed so readily at Fortune Base. Half of her sixty books of scratch-off tickets were sold in no time.
The sky grew dark, but seeing that everyone’s enthusiasm was still running high, Lily Hart didn’t mention closing up for the night.
She was just feeling a little sleepy... ’Huh, what’s that? It looks like a giant fireball, and it’s heading for the RV at incredible speed!’
What was going on?!
Lily Hart subconsciously activated the RV’s defensive mode. After its upgrade to Level 5, the protective field had expanded to a twenty-meter diameter, and no one could use any superpowers within that radius.
Even without the active defensive mode, there was a passive protection system in place. Here, Lily Hart was the absolute authority; no one could harm her.
With the field active, Lily Hart relaxed. All of her customers were safely within the twenty-meter radius as well.
She leisurely narrowed her eyes to watch the fireball as it drew closer and closer.