Chapter 265: Establishing a Night Market
After savoring the savory crepe, Lily Hart returned to the RV, fully satisfied, and continued purchasing the items she needed for the night market from the Shop.
The area was wide open, with no shelter from the sun or rain, so she’d need to buy a large tent, as well as lights, tables, and chairs. These were all essential.
She placed the orders one by one, then called for her workforce: Frost Shaw, Roman Rowe, and an idle Seth.
The four of them arrived at the empty lot. With a wave of her hand, Lily Hart summoned all the items she had purchased, startling them. No matter how many times they saw it, Boss Hart’s Magic of conjuring things from thin air was always astonishing.
She put her hands on her hips and commanded, "You three, get this tent set up."
The tent was massive, nearly five hundred square meters when fully spread out. The three of them each grabbed a side, but that still left one empty.
Lily Hart recalled what Owen Warren had said that morning and, without a second thought, sent him a message: "Get to the back of the bathhouse. Now."
In less than five seconds, Owen Warren teleported in front of Lily Hart. He scanned his surroundings and understood immediately: he was here for manual labor. He had no complaints; after all, she had helped him reach the Tenth Rank.
And so, the four large men each grabbed a corner and pulled the roof taut. It was a massive, rectangular, transparent tarp. While it didn’t offer any shade...
’Wait, what sun? It’s for the night market. As long as it blocks the rain, that’s good enough!’
After pulling it taut, the four of them grabbed the support frames and began assembling them one by one.
Once the assembly was finished, the four men used their immense strength as superpower users to hoist the tent into place. With a support frame every five meters, it was incredibly sturdy.
Since it was transparent, it didn’t block any light, so the area remained brightly lit.
With the tent up, it was time for the lights. You had to be able to see clearly at night, after all.
None of the four men had expected assembling a tent to be so difficult. With so many steps, they were all drenched in sweat. Roman Rowe couldn’t help but wonder.
’Since Boss Hart can conjure these things out of thin air, couldn’t she just wave her hand again and have them assemble themselves?’
In fact, she could have. The Shop offered several options: one-click assembly, instantly-formed models, and, of course, the pure do-it-yourself kits.
Of course, the prices varied. Lily Hart figured, ’With so much free labor on hand, why let it go to waste?’ So, naturally, she chose the cheapest option.
Once the lights inside the tent were installed, Lily Hart flipped the main switch. ’Yep, very bright.’ Although it was still daytime, she couldn’t fully appreciate the effect.
But from their blinding glare, she could tell just how powerful the bulbs were!
Next up were the tables and benches. She’d bought the kind where the benches are attached to the table—long benches that could seat three people on each side, for a total of six per unit.
She had bought ten of these sets in total. Once they were arranged neatly, the place was really starting to look the part.
Lily Hart clapped her hands, pleased. She scanned the area, her satisfaction growing. ’There are still too few tables and chairs, but that’s alright. Not many people will sit down to eat, anyway.’
’One day, I’ll fill this whole place up!’
The four men also straightened up, looking at what they had built with a clear sense of accomplishment.
"Alright, the work is done. Go on, get back to whatever you were doing," Lily Hart said with a wave, dismissing them. So quick to shoo them away once she got what she wanted.
Roman Rowe shot her a pitiful look. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something. "Boss Hart, can we get a discount when we come to eat at the night market?"
"In your dreams. It’s not easy for people to make money..." Lily Hart trailed off, realizing that wasn’t quite true. ’Actually, it *is* pretty easy, once you win a prize from the Crystal Cores.’
It was a permanent solution; they could just spend an hour a day running the stall to earn heaps of Crystal Cores. But Lily Hart still thought it was a bad idea.
It was one thing for her to eat and drink for free, but if Roman Rowe and the others also got a discount, the list of favored customers would get a little too long.
"Nope, absolutely not." Lily Hart refused sternly. "Don’t even think about getting little perks like that. If you run out of Crystal Cores, then you can come find me."
Roman Rowe’s face lit up. "And then you’ll give me Crystal Cores?"
"You wish! I’ll just beat you up and send you out to kill zombies! How can you even think about getting something for nothing?"
Lily Hart glared at him and feigned a kick, and Roman Rowe immediately took off running.
Frost Shaw chuckled from the sidelines, but he also felt a pang of self-reproach. ’Why can’t I be more like Roman Rowe, just let loose and be a little more shameless?’
’Am I destined to just be a spectator on the sidelines?’
"Frost Shaw?" Lily Hart called his name.
He snapped out of his daze and met her clear eyes. "Hm? What’s wrong?"
Lily Hart shook her head. "It’s nothing. Let’s head back. What time is it? Are we even going to open the convenience store today?" She started walking, and Frost Shaw fell into step behind her.
Seth watched from a distance. Seeing the two of them leave, he quietly headed back to the factory himself.
As for Owen Warren, he had left much earlier—right after Lily Hart told them to get back to whatever they were doing.
Lily Hart and Frost Shaw walked back side by side. Neither of them spoke, simply walking in comfortable silence as a warm atmosphere settled around them.
When they returned to the RV, Diana Sharp and Tina Jacobs were already hard at work. Each had their own duties, and their teamwork was so efficient that they’d never run into any major issues.
Climbing into the RV, she found Elder Shaw there, casually munching on the fruit from her table. Frederick Shaw sat beside him, and the two were speaking in hushed tones.
"Elder Shaw?" Lily Hart walked over.
Frederick Shaw obediently moved away. He knew this was a conversation for the grown-ups.
She sat down opposite Elder Shaw. She had always held the old man in high regard.
She heard him ask, "Boss Hart, is it true that your blood can accelerate the growth of mutated plants, animals, and even zombies?"
A puzzled look crossed Lily Hart’s face. Elder Shaw just smiled and explained, "I’m not sure where the rumor started, but everyone knows about it now."
Lily Hart knew. It was that big-mouth Chad Yates. He’d told the other customers, and from there, the news had spread like wildfire.
But the question was, how did Chad Yates find out? She had never mentioned it to an outsider.
It was one thing for him to know, but to then show up with some token and try to capture her... it was ridiculous.
He even brought people from the White Family. That group was powerful and well-disciplined; one look was enough to tell they had been meticulously trained.
Her head had been hurting yesterday, so she hadn’t had a chance to think it through. Now that things had quieted down, a host of questions bubbled to the surface.
"Chad Yates came yesterday," Lily Hart said, her tone serious. "He said he was going to capture me and take me back for research. Did you know about that?"
"I just found out," Elder Shaw admitted. In fact, that was the very reason for his visit.
Elder Shaw sighed, his expression a mixture of frustration and disappointment. "They want to eliminate you, and they will stop at nothing."
He knew full well that only with Lily Hart gone could The Mysterious Clan regain its control over the major bases’ Crystal Core supply.
That was why they attacked her again and again, sending one wave after another without pause.
Thankfully, Lily Hart was resilient and had managed to hold them off until now. Otherwise... the major bases would have truly become the playthings of The Mysterious Clan.
But Lily Hart just found it all annoying. She’d love nothing more than to wipe out The Mysterious Clan in one fell swoop.
Clearly, that was something that could only happen if they all gathered at her RV.