Chapter 246: Quentin Carter’s Tragic Death
"B-Boss Hart! I scratched off a machine too! But I don’t think it’s a sausage griller," a customer shouted.
Everyone turned to look at him. He was holding a brand-new machine that completely hid his face.
Lily Hart’s interest was piqued. She waved him over. "Come on, put it here. I’ll help you figure it out."
The others were curious too and quickly cleared a path for him to reach the counter.
THUD— The machine was set down, revealing the customer’s honest, bashful smile and a forehead beaded with sweat.
The top of the machine had a recessed section, like a pot, divided into a three-by-three grid of nine equal squares.
It looked just like the machines convenience stores use to cook oden! But where would the ingredients and broth come from?
’Does the machine come with them too?’
She tried flipping the switch. After a CLICK, broth actually began to slowly fill the recessed section, and it smelled just like the real thing.
When the broth was halfway full, skewered ingredients materialized out of thin air: meatballs, mushrooms, tofu skin knots, arctic surf clams, stuffed fish cakes, curry fish balls, white radishes, and more...
Then, the broth slowly submerged the ingredients, stopping just short of overflowing. Only the ends of the skewers could be seen floating on the surface.
The crowd gathered around the machine, sniffing the aroma of the various ingredients. They were incredibly eager, rubbing their hands, scratching their heads, their eyes locked on the pot as they swallowed their saliva.
Lily Hart instinctively pulled the machine back a little and made them step away. ’With everyone crowded around talking, spit’s going to fly right into the pot,’ she thought. ’And they’re scratching their heads... it’ll be snowing dandruff in there!’
Confused, the crowd backed away until they were about a meter from the counter. The oden machine’s owner backed away with them.
DING~ The machine made a pleasant sound.
Lily Hart looked and saw that the button, originally green, had turned red. She figured it must be done cooking, not even considering that different ingredients would require different cooking times.
’A machine this advanced must have already taken that into account.’
Lily Hart glanced at the crowd and waved to the machine’s owner. "Come on, you try it first."
The customer stepped forward shyly. Lily Hart took a disposable bowl and chopsticks from a small wooden barrel that came with the machine, then picked up a pair of tongs.
She placed one skewer of each of the nine items from the grid into the bowl, then handed it to the machine’s owner. "Go on, eat."
He had been dying to try it but hadn’t dared to touch anything, afraid he might break the machine. Now, he could finally eat.
He took the bowl joyfully and started with the white radish. Each bite was saturated with the savory-sweet broth, making him want more. He couldn’t stop!
He finished everything in the bowl in one go, but it still wasn’t enough. When he came to his senses, he noticed everyone staring at him with longing eyes.
He scratched his head and asked hesitantly, "Boss Hart, can I sell this?"
Lily Hart shrugged and smiled. "Of course. It’s your prize. It’s all yours."
He beamed, then boldly took a bowl and, copying what Boss Hart had done, placed one skewer of each item from the nine-square grid into it.
Then he handed it to Lily Hart with a smile. "Boss Hart, this is for you. On the house!"
Lily Hart accepted it gleefully. ’It’s great being the boss,’ she thought. ’When there’s good food, everyone thinks of you.’
One bite sent a satisfying warmth through her stomach.
The machine’s owner considered for a moment. He decided to sell it by the bowl just like that, with exactly nine skewers in each—no more, no less. It was enough to leave a person about half-full.
"Two Crystal Cores a bowl! Anyone buying?" he yelled, trying to use the volume to muster some courage.
The crowd had been waiting for those words. They all jumped up, raising their hands, terrified of being left out.
After all, the pot wasn’t very big, with only five or six skewers in each square. If he sold out, who knew if there would be more!
Lily Hart helped maintain order. "Don’t push, don’t push! There will definitely be more than one pot. Don’t crowd the front, or if it gets knocked over, no one gets to eat!"
Boss Hart’s words were quite effective. Even though they were starving and desperate to eat, the crowd formed a line. Seeing this, the oden’s new owner felt much more at ease.
It was his first time doing business, and he was still a bit awkward. His hand holding the bowl was visibly shaking, and the hand with the tongs was shaking too, splashing broth onto the counter.
Seeing the mess, he started shaking even more. Lily Hart reassured him, "It’s fine. We can just wipe it up later."
Hearing that, he clearly calmed down quite a bit. He served the first person in line without further incident and grew more proficient with each bowl.
But in total, he only sold seven bowls. Adding the one he ate himself and the one he gave to Boss Hart, that made nine bowls in all. The nine-square grid really wasn’t that big; it had done its best.
The machine’s owner couldn’t even bear to throw out the broth and was about to offer it to the crowd for free. As he was getting a ladle, another full pot of food materialized out of thin air.
He was dazed, thinking for a second that time had rewound. But then he turned his head and saw people still holding half-eaten bowls. It wasn’t time travel!
The machine refilled automatically!
He lit up with excitement and looked at Lily Hart again. "Another bowl, Boss Hart?"
Lily Hart shook her head repeatedly. "No, you guys go ahead and eat." ’Eating too much isn’t good, especially since I need to sleep soon.’
He sold out that pot of oden completely. Lily Hart glanced at the time. It was 5:50. She was getting sleepy; it was time for bed.
’This cursed sleep schedule... when will I ever get it back to normal?’
She let the customers know, packed up the scratch-off tickets, closed up the truck, and went upstairs yawning. This time, she finally fell asleep.
She slept for quite a while, not waking up until almost noon. When she went downstairs, she saw Frost Shaw and the others full of energy. She asked suspiciously, "You all slept the whole day yesterday. Were you still able to sleep at night?"
Roman Rowe said, "We could sleep. We could sleep for another whole day. We never had time to sleep before. We didn’t dare to, afraid we’d be killed in our sleep."
Frost Shaw nodded in deep agreement. They used to live in constant fear.
’Alright, alright. My mistake for asking.’
After the group finished eating, they all went their separate ways to open their respective shops.
Lily Hart opened for business too. She had just sat down when she heard a bombshell: Quentin Carter had been brutally murdered in his home.
’Was that Elder Shaw’s doing? He works fast.’
But on second thought, Elder Shaw didn’t seem like that kind of person. Even if he couldn’t stand Quentin Carter, he wouldn’t resort to assassination, would he? ’It must be the work of The Mysterious Clan again.’
’I mean, honestly, Quentin Carter was working for them, and they killed him anyway. Where’s the justice in that?’
’That Mysterious Clan is completely inhuman. They do whatever they want!’
’They start zombie tides whenever they feel like it, deliberately inciting conflict between humans and zombies. Even though the two sides were already like fire and water, they just had to add fuel to the fire.’
’And now they’re even murdering their own minions! It’s too much!’
’Then again, Quentin Carter wasn’t a good person anyway. His death is a good thing.’
Lily Hart beamed, her eyes curving into crescents. Customers who saw her felt as if they were basking in a spring breeze, and their own moods lifted.
But soon, another bombshell dropped: Quentin Carter’s death was linked to Quincy Shaw!
The customers were discussing it heatedly. They all thought it was impossible. Elder Shaw was a good man; he procured supplies and distributed them for free.