Chapter 95: Sold Out
This was a true all-you-can-eat buffet, and everyone ate until they were blissfully content.
At first, Logan Holland and his three companions were a bit reserved, not daring to eat too much. But as the meal went on and the atmosphere grew livelier, they couldn’t help but...
Logan Holland rubbed his bulging belly, savoring a feeling of fullness and satisfaction he hadn’t experienced in years. ’This feels amazing...’
’What am I going to do? I don’t want to leave. I want to live here forever.’
His eyes lit up. ’I’ll bring my wife and kid over! They can live here, and I’ll keep working at Central Command to earn Crystal Cores!’
’Damn, I’m a genius. It’s decided!’
"BURP~" Lily Hart let out a burp. She sat there for a moment in a food coma before smacking her lips and snapping out of it.
"So... time for everyone to head home and sleep?" Lily Hart said, shooing them away. She then pressed "Confirm Receipt" on the order page, and all the trash on the table vanished in a flash.
The tabletop was now spotless, as if nothing had ever happened. Lily Hart nodded in satisfaction, retracted the vehicle’s walls, and went upstairs to sleep.
Before going to sleep, Lily Hart restocked the five machines at Hope Base with scratch-off tickets and topped off the ones at Bloomfall Base as well.
Just as she was about to log out, a message popped up: [Hope Base, Machine #1: Twenty books sold.]
The timestamp was a mere two seconds after she had restocked. But it was eleven o’clock at night. ’Is there really a customer so addicted they stay up this late?’
’Were they just waiting for the restock to buy them instantly? That’s a bit obsessive, but I guess it’s not unheard of. It’s their money; I can’t stop them from spending it.’
Lily Hart pulled the covers over herself and went to sleep. Unbeknownst to her, after she drifted off, her Light Brain flashed twice more.
It wasn’t until she woke up that she saw the notification from her Light Brain: [Hope Base, Machines #1-5: All stock sold out. Host, please restock as soon as possible.]
"!" Lily Hart was stunned. ’Don’t these people sleep? Were they just buying scratch-off tickets all night?’
She checked the purchase history. The notifications had poured in one after another while she was asleep.
[Hope Base, Machine #2 and Machine #3: Twenty books sold from each.]
[Hope Base, Machine #4 and Machine #5: Thirty books sold from each.]
...
The timestamps were incredibly close. It was as if someone bought twenty books from one machine and then immediately moved to the next.
’Huh. Was it the same person?’
Lily Hart’s interest was piqued. ’Who’s throwing this much money around?’
’Twenty books cost a total of four hundred Crystal Cores. Is there really someone that wealthy in Hope Base?’
She rolled over and pulled up the feed from Machine #1’s built-in camera, rewinding the footage to last night.
The footage showed a man wearing a baseball cap and a face covering. His clothes were all black, making him almost melt into the night.
If it weren’t for the light from the machine’s screen, she would have wondered if anyone was there at all.
His build seemed unremarkable—the type you’d lose in a crowd. ’Why was he covered up so thoroughly?’
’He was clearly up to no good.’
She watched as he took several burlap sacks of Crystal Cores, dumped them all into the machine, and then gathered the scratch-off books it spat out.
Lily Hart skimmed through the footage from all five machines from that time period.
He was clever enough, buying only twenty books from each machine, which happened to use up all the Crystal Cores he’d brought.
After his purchase, he slipped away with incredible speed. Lily Hart then checked the surveillance footage for the other purchase times.
She discovered that they were all different people, but their outfits were nearly identical: black shirt, black pants, a black face covering, and a baseball cap.
Every one of them was trying not to expose an inch of skin.
Coming and going in several waves, they bought up every last scratch-off ticket in the five machines. No wonder everything sold out so fast.
If they had been straightforward about it, Lily Hart wouldn’t have become suspicious. But seeing them dressed in all black, completely covered up, and acting so sneaky and furtive? ’Oh, there’s definitely a big problem!’
She switched to the live surveillance feed. A crowd had gathered in front of the machines.
The surveillance included audio, and even through the screen, she could hear them clamoring.
"Why are the machines still empty? Hasn’t Boss Hart restocked?"
"Let’s ask in the group chat. She’s probably just busy and forgot."
Just as the group was about to spam the chat, a voice suddenly shouted from nearby, "Scratch-offs for sale! Two Crystal Cores for one ticket! Three for two!"
Lily Hart panned the camera, searching for the source of the voice. She spotted a few large men at a makeshift stall nearby. Their setup was laughably simple: just a single table.
There weren’t even any scratch-off tickets on the table, just the man shouting. The customers who had been gathered by the machines swarmed him. "Where’d you get those scratch-off tickets?"
"Yeah! What gives you the right to sell them for two Crystal Cores apiece!"
"That’s highway robbery! You’re the one who bought out all the tickets from the machines, aren’t you!"
The man just grinned, completely unafraid. "So what if I was? If you want tickets now, you can only buy them from me. Otherwise, feel free to go to Nutwood Base and look for Boss Hart!"
"You!" someone sputtered, so furious they were speechless.
Go to Nutwood Base? Easier said than done. It was at least a two-hour walk, not to mention the zombies and other dangers one might encounter. There was no guarantee they’d even make it there safely...
"Hand over the scratch-off tickets now, or don’t blame us for getting rough!" The crowd closed in on him, their faces menacing.
The man, Eugene Lowell, just scoffed. He even crooked a finger at them, taunting, "If you’ve got the guts, then come at me together. I’ve got the Base Commander backing me up!"
At his words, the crowd exchanged glances and began murmuring. "Hunter Lowell?"
"It has to be that bastard. Who else would pull such a dirty trick!"
"I heard he and Boss Hart didn’t get along, but I didn’t think he was this gutless—waiting until she’s gone to start making moves!"
"Then what can we do? We still have to live in Hope Base!"
In any base, the Base Commander’s authority was immense. If you offended the Base Commander, your life was as good as over. He could torment you however he pleased.
Unless you were as brazen and arrogant as Jason Lynch, who just so happened to be filmed by Lily Hart, who just so happened to be viral enough at the time to get a lot of attention, no one would bat an eye.
"We just won’t buy anything. Let that bastard Hunter Lowell eat the loss. Buying out all the tickets from five machines couldn’t have been cheap."
"That’s right! We’re not buying. Let’s go!"
"Let’s go! Anyone who buys from him is a dog! I hope they get bitten by a zombie the second they step outside!"
After a few moments of heated discussion, the customers began to leave, their angry backs turned to the camera.
Lily Hart felt a massive headache coming on. She’d almost forgotten about Hunter Lowell. ’Why is he always pulling these kinds of stunts? Can’t he just manage his own base and take care of his daughter in peace?!’
’He’s already a cripple confined to his bed, and he’s still pulling this shit every day. What a fucking awful father!’
She watched the feed for a while longer. The man was still standing in front of his table, a devil-may-care expression on his face, slowly bouncing his leg.
He didn’t seem the least bit flustered by the customers’ departure. He even took out a book of scratch-off tickets and began to toy with it.
He acted as if he had the situation completely under control. Lily Hart decided to see what would happen next. ’Let’s see where all this confidence is coming from.’
A few minutes later, a man furtively approached, hugging the edge of the crowd. He had a sleazy posture and kept his back to the camera.
Lily Hart heard him mutter in a very low voice, "Two of the Big 7s."