Chapter 245: Late Night Lottery Shop
She couldn’t hear a thing up there.
’Loneliness? Being abandoned by the whole world? That’s hilarious.’
’She *was* the whole world!’
Lily Hart found a spot to sit down and began replying to messages on her Light Brain.
Soon, Roman Rowe received a message: "Hungry. Come down." He glanced at Lily Hart, then back at his Light Brain.
He couldn’t help but say, "Boss Hart, we’re so close to each other. You could just talk, you know."
Lily Hart glanced at him, too lazy to respond, and went back to her messages.
She frowned when she saw Elder Shaw’s message. He suspected the zombie tide had been orchestrated by The Mysterious Clan.
Their goal was to target Central Command’s High-level Superpower Users and Lily Hart’s resources—they even wanted to nip her in the bud.
Lily Hart grew annoyed as she read. ’Doesn’t The Mysterious Clan have anything better to do all day than cause trouble?’
’Sigh, I really want to just wipe out The Mysterious Clan.’
’Keeping them around is just a waste of resources and air. Plus, they’re an eyesore.’
To ensure no one would disturb her happy life in the future, she began to seriously consider the possibility of eliminating The Mysterious Clan.
’It seems really difficult, though... My own superpower isn’t strong; I rely completely on the system for protection.’
’I can’t exactly call the entire Mysterious Clan over, have them stand obediently within the RV’s safe zone, and let me kill them one by one.’
’They’re not that stupid.’
"Time to eat!" Roman Rowe yelled, instantly shattering Lily Hart’s train of thought.
She got up, shook her head, and walked to her usual seat to wait for her food.
Owen Warren was also there. As the hero of the zombie tide, Lily Hart had specially bought food that zombies could eat from the store.
Of course, it wasn’t made of real human flesh, just an imitation. To Owen Warren, it was as bland as wax; he felt that even Lily Hart’s fingernail would have tasted better.
But it was a thoughtful gesture from Lily Hart, so Owen Warren ate every last bite, leaving nothing behind.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the first thing Lily Hart said was, "Damn that Mysterious Clan!"
Frost Shaw’s scalp tingled. It felt a little like she was cursing him, but in his heart, he considered himself completely separate from The Mysterious Clan.
Lily Hart continued her tirade. "This zombie tide was the work of The Mysterious Clan!"
"Because of you," Leo Colby stated with certainty.
Because Lily Hart was too conspicuous, because she’d stolen their business, because she’d slapped The Mysterious Clan in the face.
Because Lily Hart had hurt Cheryl Rivers and damaged the O’Malley Family’s reputation—it was all because of Lily Hart.
Naturally, they had to take their anger out on someone.
And both Central Command and Lily Hart were their punching bags.
The zombies were the blade in their hands.
Killing with a borrowed knife—it was a move they knew all too well.
Lily Hart nodded in resignation. "It’s mostly my fault, but I’m just doing what I have to do."
It was an intractable problem.
As long as she kept running her lottery shop, she would inevitably harm the interests of The Mysterious Clan.
But she had no choice. Lily Hart’s expression turned fierce. "The best solution is to eliminate The Mysterious Clan."
Last time it was Frank O’Malley, this time it’s a zombie tide. What’s next?
’Am I supposed to live every day on edge? Of course not!’
"I agree! I’ve been sick of them for a long time!" Roman Rowe was furious, too. Things had been going so well for everyone, and now they had to come and stir up trouble.
Frost Shaw added, "I don’t mind. They stopped being my family a long time ago."
The others were no less enthusiastic, all voicing their support. They would follow whatever Lily Hart decided to do!
Ever since they’d won the first prize, their fates had been tied to Lily Hart’s.
There was no untying it now; they were bound together tightly.
But they were happy to be. In this dog-eat-dog apocalypse, finding a sanctuary like this was a true blessing.
Lily Hart was satisfied. "Still," she said, "we need to think this through carefully."
...
「Central Command.」
Elder Shaw did a headcount. He had sent out fifty High-level Superpower Users in total, but only thirteen had returned...
His face darkened. "What happened?" he asked.
The vice-captain’s voice was choked with emotion. "We... we went out to find The Zombie King, but we ran into a group that blocked our way. The captain wanted to avoid a direct conflict and focus on finding The Zombie King."
"But they wouldn’t let us pass. They insisted on blocking us, so we had no choice but to fight... But we couldn’t win. We tried to retreat, but we couldn’t get away..."
He didn’t need to hear the rest. Elder Shaw had already guessed that the group had likely been sent by The Mysterious Clan.
Their goal was to stop the Vanguard Squad from finding The Zombie King, while also whittling down Central Command’s high-level forces.
The squad members’ Light Brains had been taken, which was why Elder Shaw had kept sending more High-level Superpower Users as reinforcements.
"Sigh..." Elder Shaw offered them some words of comfort and arranged for compensation to be paid to the families of the fallen members.
Just after they left, he saw Lily Hart’s reply.
She was asking for his thoughts on the matter.
Elder Shaw had long been fed up with The Mysterious Clan, but he’d been forced to tolerate them because they still provided some supplies.
The result of his tolerance, however, was that they’d taken a mile for every inch he gave. Their influence in Central Command was growing.
But now, with Lily Hart in the picture, The Mysterious Clan was no longer necessary.
Elder Shaw replied, "What do you think, Boss Hart? Whatever you decide to do, you have my full support."
...
Having slept the whole day, Lily Hart couldn’t fall asleep that night. She just tossed and turned in her bed.
Finally, she climbed out of bed. A glance at the time showed it was two in the morning. She stomped down the stairs.
She opened up the side of the RV, and a blinding light instantly flooded the area.
The nearby survivors, who were getting ready to sleep, were startled. ’Is it dawn already?’
They poked their heads out from sleeping bags, from under blankets, and from inside tents to see what was happening.
’Whoa! Boss Hart is opening up for business at two in the morning?’
Someone nearby called out, "Aren’t you asleep, Boss Hart? Are you selling scratch-offs?"
Come to think of it, they hadn’t had their scratch-off fix for the day, and it felt a little strange.
Boss Hart had been busy killing zombies at night, then catching up on sleep during the day, and after she woke up, she was busy eating.
She hadn’t opened for business at all.
Lily Hart stretched lazily. "That’s right! We’re open!" ’Since I can’t sleep anyway, I might as well make some money,’ she thought.
Everyone got excited. They had just harvested a lot of Crystal Cores that day and were itching to spend them.
Forgetting about sleep, they packed up their blankets and swarmed the RV.
Lily Hart calmly ordered and set out the scratch-offs, though there was really no need to display them.
The moment she brought out a new book of tickets, it would be snatched up in a frenzy, as if they’d never seen a scratch-off before in their lives.
It was hard to say if the scratch-offs were just luckier at night.
A lot of people won, and the prizes were all Yellow and Green Level rewards, which only made the crowd even more excited.
The second sausage grill was won.
Lily Hart was reminded of the owner of the first sausage grill, Julian Lynch... and his physique.
’It really was quite nice.’
’Isn’t he going back to the Southwest Base in a few days? I wonder if I’ll get to see him again.’
"Get your grilled sausages!" the winner yelled.
After all, he couldn’t possibly eat seventy-five sausages a day by himself, so he might as well sell some to make a profit.
Lily Hart had no objections. She just said, "I’ll take one."
She was about to pull out a Crystal Core when a sausage was pressed into her hand. The man said, "How could I take your money? It’s an honor to even give you one."
Lily Hart felt a smile coming on. She took a bite. It tasted exactly the same as the ones from Julian Lynch’s grill.
Morning or night didn’t matter—as long as there was food, people would buy it. The seventy-five sausages sold out quickly.
The man made a killing, then immediately pulled out more Crystal Cores to buy scratch-offs.