Chapter 268: Spies?
Thinking it over, the only time she might have let something slip was that day the rabbit doll bit her, and Owen Warren sucked her finger afterward.
Lily Hart knew Ash O’Malley was smart, but she hadn’t expected him to connect so many dots! Fine, she could blame it on him being too clever. But to actually go and spread it around!
That was just too much!
So, just looking at him annoyed Lily Hart.
Ash O’Malley, on the other hand, looked a little guilty... but he kept his composure, acting as if nothing had happened.
Frank O’Malley was still smiling cluelessly, completely unaware of the situation. This just made Lily Hart even more irritated, and she wasn’t planning on letting them come up into the RV.
But then Frank O’Malley shamelessly asked, "Are you guys about to make dinner? Can we come up and see?"
In his mind, they were already acquaintances, so the next step was to become good friends. Not that he had any good friends... no, wait, now he did—the rabbit doll!
Lily Hart looked at his innocent, handsome face and found she couldn’t say no. Her anger was directed at his brother, not this silly kid.
She said sullenly, "Come on up."
Frank O’Malley’s face immediately lit up with a smile, and he pulled his brother up into the RV.
When Roman Rowe walked out of the kitchen with a spatula in hand, he saw the two brothers sitting on the sofa. A wave of anger washed over him; it felt like intruders had invaded his home.
But seeing that Lily Hart didn’t say anything, he just gripped his spatula and stormed back into the kitchen.
’Are they actually going to stay for dinner?’ When Roman Rowe thought of this, he lost all motivation to cook with any care.
In the living area, Lily Hart glanced at Ash O’Malley, crossed her arms, and asked, "What are you two doing here?"
Frank O’Malley had come for the scratch-off tickets. He’d happened to see Roman Rowe busy in the kitchen, which gave him the idea to come aboard. His butt had barely warmed the seat before he ran off to start scratching.
This left Ash O’Malley to face Lily Hart alone, while Elder Shaw and Sean Bell were chatting quietly off to the side.
Ash O’Malley wrung his hands, asking guiltily, "I heard a rumor that your blood has miraculous properties, Boss Hart. Is there any truth to that?"
Lily Hart swung her legs, watching him with a leisurely air. ’Keep pretending,’ she thought. ’Weren’t you the one who spread this rumor? You snake!’
"It’s true. But you can’t get ivory from a dog’s mouth, and I wonder which particular mutt started this talk," Lily Hart said sarcastically.
"...I... I’m sorry, Boss Hart..." Ash O’Malley lowered his head and admitted his fault. "I figured it out after I went back that day, but I absolutely, positively did not tell anyone!"
"If I’m the one who told, may Frank O’Malley be struck by lightning!" Ash O’Malley declared with extreme seriousness.
Frank O’Malley: Is anyone going to speak up for me?
Lily Hart: Is anyone going to speak up for Frank O’Malley?
’But... she could tell that Frank O’Malley was very important to Ash O’Malley, and he didn’t seem like the type to make such a joke. Still, if it wasn’t him, then who could it be?’
"Fine, fine, I believe you. So who was it then?" Lily Hart decided to just throw caution to the wind and ask directly.
Ash O’Malley’s expression instantly grew cautious. He scanned the crowd of people scratching tickets outside the RV.
Seeing his look, Lily Hart couldn’t help but ask, "You suspect there are spies among the customers?"
"Yes, it’s inevitable," Ash O’Malley said seriously. Both of them instinctively lowered their voices, as if they were discussing state secrets.
Lily Hart also looked up, carefully studying the customers outside the RV. It was always a huge crowd, and she’d never paid close attention before.
She never had the time to observe every single person. Now that she was looking intently, she really did notice something off.
For example, there was a male customer squeezed into the crowd, but he wasn’t scratching a ticket. He would glance at the RV every now and then before looking away.
Then there was another man, pushed up to the very front, just occupying a spot while holding a single scratch-off ticket for show.
And a female customer, mixed in with the crowd, holding a ticket with a cautious look in her eyes, who was staring almost constantly into the RV.
Lily Hart hadn’t realized it until she looked, and what she saw gave her a shock. These people had practically surrounded the RV from every angle.
North, south, east, and west—there were these abnormal people everywhere... and she had never noticed them before.
She was annoyed at her own carelessness. She didn’t usually speak very loudly.
’But among those who do this kind of work, isn’t it possible there’s a superpower user with enhanced hearing?’ The thought made Lily Hart break out in a cold sweat.
How could she have known these people had so much free time, planting so many spies around her, all of them so inconspicuous.
They blended into the crowd so well you could barely spot them. If she hadn’t observed them with extreme care today, she wouldn’t have found them.
’No, I have to do something about this. Otherwise, they’ll know how many times I farted today.’
Ash O’Malley saw the change in her eyes and quickly assured her, "I can promise you, none of them are from my family."
Lily Hart... was a little skeptical. He was just a young master of the family; how could he stop the elders from doing what they wanted?
With something like this happening, Ash O’Malley’s guarantee felt like a flower’s reflection in the water—fragile and easily broken.
"That’s not the point. The point is we have to get rid of these people," Lily Hart said, focusing on the main issue.
"Right," Ash O’Malley agreed.
But this was clearly not a simple matter. The area outside the lottery shop was open, and anyone could come in.
Even if she set up a checkpoint, how could she identify who was a spy and who wasn’t?
’If someone says they’re here to buy scratch-off tickets, can you really refuse to let them in? Just block them outside?’
Since she couldn’t solve the problem outside, Lily Hart could only tackle it from the inside: add soundproofing to the RV.
Then add another shield to block the view from outside. With both shields layered together.
People outside wouldn’t be able to see or hear what was happening inside.
However, she only planned to shield the living area, the kitchen, and the storage room.
The sales counter and the area a meter behind it would remain visible from outside.
That way, it wouldn’t affect people scratching their tickets, but it would still block the prying eyes of those spying from outside.
Lily Hart thought she was a genius! Once the spies couldn’t see anything, they would naturally be pulled back.
’But... Lily Hart still decided to teach them a little lesson.’
’Otherwise, they’d really think she was a pushover they could walk all over.’
Having made up her mind, the spaced-out look in Lily Hart’s eyes was replaced by clarity. Seeing this, Ash O’Malley finally spoke, "Figured it out?"
"Mhm." Lily Hart knew what he was talking about but avoided his gaze. Her little lesson would include the O’Malley Family.
Just then, Roman Rowe came out of the kitchen carrying the last dish, with Frank O’Malley trailing happily behind him.
Ash O’Malley felt embarrassed watching his brother. Knowing the others were about to eat, he suggested they should leave.
"Huh?" Frank O’Malley’s lips formed a pout. His face clearly said, ’I want to stay and eat here...’
Ash O’Malley tried to pull him, but he wouldn’t budge.
He said, "They’re about to have dinner, so we should go back and eat too. Let’s go." ’Don’t be embarrassing,’ he thought.
Frank O’Malley stood his ground, unmoving. ’When did he get so strong?’ Ash O’Malley wondered.
Lily Hart glanced over. On account of Ash O’Malley’s honest apology and for pointing out the problem...
She spoke up, "Roman Rowe, bring out three more chairs. You two don’t have to leave, just sit down and eat with us."
Roman Rowe reluctantly went to get the chairs. Elder Shaw and the O’Malley Brothers successfully took their seats.
He knew there would be a lot of people, so he had made plenty of food, more than half of which were Lily Hart’s favorite dishes.
At the end, I’ll include a floor plan of the RV’s first floor, along with the layout of the lottery shop, convenience store, and other buildings.