Chapter 263: Don’t Even Think About It
"Exactly! We should be protecting Boss Hart in a situation like this! We can’t let the zombies get their hands on her!"
"That’s right, Manager Yates. What’s your agenda, announcing this with such fanfare?"
"Are you trying to let the whole world know Boss Hart’s blood has some miraculous effect?"
The pointed questions fell one after another, each one hitting its mark. Chad Yates clenched his fists, unable to utter a single word in rebuttal. The goal he had hidden in his heart was now completely stripped bare for all to see.
He struggled to maintain his composure. "That’s precisely why we at the Central Command Research Institute must take Lily Hart back—to study her thoroughly and put her gifts to greater use!"
Roman Rowe heard everything clearly from inside the RV. He was so angry he wanted to go out and kill the man, but Frost Shaw held him back.
Lily Hart looked nonchalant. "Let him say whatever he wants. It’s not like he can do anything to me anyway."
Her words brought the two men a great sense of comfort. ’Let him be,’ they thought. ’It’s useless even if he screams his lungs out.’
Meanwhile, Chad Yates was still outside, shouting at the top of his lungs, loudly debating—no, arguing—with the other customers. But he was not the kind of man who could win an argument against a crowd.
Besides, he wasn’t facing ten or a hundred people, but thousands. A single comment from each person would be enough to crush him.
"’Sounds nice, ’put her gifts to greater use.’ Who knows what they’d actually do once they took her back. It’s a whole other question whether she’d even come out in one piece!"
"Exactly! What happens if the lottery shop disappears? Where are we going to get our scratch-offs?"
"Nobody’s taking Boss Hart away!" a customer shouted, pumping a fist in the air.
To the ordinary survivors camped outside Central Command, Lily Hart was their lifeline.
She gave them scratch-offs to play and a convenience store to buy daily necessities and snacks, not to mention the bathhouse, the hotel, and the factory. Wasn’t every single one of those things for their benefit?
It was bad enough that Central Command was so ungrateful, but now they wanted to capture Lily Hart for research?! That was outrageous!
When one person spoke up, thousands more followed. They all began to chant, "Nobody’s taking Boss Hart away!"
The deafening roar nearly knocked Chad Yates off his feet. He only steadied himself after one of the men in black beside him gave him a hand. "Shut up!" he shrieked. "All of you, shut up!"
A single voice was far too small to overpower the furious roars of thousands. The men in black were only responsible for surrounding the RV; helping him shout was not part of their job.
Chad Yates shouted until he was dizzy. When he stopped, the customers fell silent as well, their gazes shifting to the space behind him.
He turned around slowly. At some unknown moment, a section of the RV had opened. Lily Hart stood in the doorway, bathed in a soft, warm light that gilded her hair.
A faint smile played on her lips, making her look like a goddess who had descended to the mortal realm.
All eyes, including Chad Yates’s, were fixed on her. The surroundings fell deathly quiet, as if everyone was waiting for her to speak.
"Trying to capture me? With this handful of people?" Lily Hart said with contempt. ’It wouldn’t matter how many more they sent,’ she thought. ’They couldn’t get within a single step of the RV.’
Chad Yates pointed at her and snarled, "Let me tell you, don’t get cocky! Just because I can’t handle you doesn’t mean The Mysterious Clan—AHH—"
Before he could finish, his index finger was severed at the base. He didn’t even react at first—not until the searing pain hit him, turning the rest of his words into a bloodcurdling scream.
He no longer had the mind to curse Lily Hart. He frantically squatted down to search for his severed finger. If he found it fast enough, it could still be reattached.
But the area was already dim, the ground was covered in dirt and sand, and with Lily Hart secretly meddling, the task was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.
Chad Yates roared, "What are you all standing around for? Help me find it!"
The men in black acted as if they hadn’t heard. They were pawns cultivated by The Mysterious Clan, and their only purpose here was to capture Lily Hart, not to help him find his finger.
He didn’t dare try to order the men in black around again. Every single one of them was stronger than he was.
Chad Yates activated the illumination mode on his Light Brain and began groping around on the ground. He searched for what felt like an eternity without finding anything, only managing to work himself into a rage.
In truth, it should have been easy to find. The problem was that Lily Hart was making the severed finger drift about, ensuring Chad Yates would never find it.
When she’d had enough of her game, she casually tossed the finger aside. One of the men in black, having been standing for a long time, took a step back and landed right on it, crushing it to a pulp.
He even lifted his foot to look. ’Did I step on a rock? Why was it so damn hard?’ In the end, he saw nothing and planted his foot firmly back on the ground.
Chad Yates straightened up, empty-handed. He glared at Lily Hart with pure hatred. "You lot! Go! Capture Lily Hart and bring her back!"
Hearing this command, the men in black finally sprang into action. Tossing their torches aside, they unleashed their superpowers, sending a barrage of dazzling, multicolored attacks flying toward the RV.
The customers couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat for her. ’Can Lily Hart really withstand such a dense and powerful barrage?’
But it was clear they couldn’t harm Lily Hart in the slightest.
Every attack halted just outside the RV, as if swallowed by some invisible mouth. Then, just as suddenly, they were all spat back out, returned with perfect accuracy to their original casters.
Not even Chad Yates was spared.
They had led with their strongest attacks, and now they were suffering the consequences. One by one, they fell backward, their bodies scattering like flowers tossed by a maiden.
Chad Yates remained standing. He stared at Lily Hart as if she were a monster. ’He knew these were the strongest warriors The Mysterious Clan had to offer,’ he thought, ’and she just dismantled them with ease...?’
’Just what level has Lily Hart’s power reached?’ he wondered. ’Is there any living creature left that can possibly stop her?’
Chad Yates took a dazed step backward, his pupils unfocused. He continued to stumble back, his mind reeling from the scene before him, until he finally collapsed onto his butt.
He had arrived full of bravado, only to flee in disgrace.
Lily Hart tossed one last sentence at him. "Tell The White Family to stop with these pathetic little tricks. If they have the guts, they can come here and face me for real."
Terror filled Chad Yates’s eyes. Not daring to meet her gaze, he scrambled away, his retreating figure the very picture of a man fleeing for his life.
Seeing this, the surrounding customers couldn’t help but let out jeers of "Ooooh" and "Tsk."
’Look at him, so high and mighty when he arrived,’ they thought. ’After getting taught a lesson, he’s just another coward. And he wanted to capture Lily Hart? Dream on!’
Lily Hart rubbed her temples, feeling a strange, throbbing ache in her head. She waved a hand to the crowd. "That’s all for today. If you need to cash in a prize, use the machine."
The customers had no complaints. Looking at the time, it was nearly closing anyway.
Lily Hart slumped back onto the sofa, a look of exhaustion on her face. "What’s wrong?" Frost Shaw asked with concern. "Is it a headache?" He pursed his lips, hesitating for a moment before asking, "Should I... give you a massage?"
"Mmm," Lily Hart hummed softly in agreement.
Frost Shaw rubbed his hands together, but they wouldn’t warm up. As an Ice Ability User, his body was perennially cold. He was used to it, of course.
But every time Lily Hart accidentally touched him, she would instinctively frown, obviously uncomfortable with the cold.
So, he poured a cup of hot water and warmed his hands against the outside of the mug. At last, that did the trick.
He carefully placed his hands on Lily Hart’s head. Her hair was soft, like a doll’s waiting to be played with. He located the pressure points and began to massage with a moderate, steady pressure.
Lily Hart gradually began to relax.
’His technique is really good,’ she thought. The throbbing ache had eased somewhat, but deep inside, her mind felt like a thick paste, making it difficult to think.