Chapter 104: Nancy Garrison
The tip of the girl’s nose was red from crying, a truly pitiful sight. She choked out, "The thought... that I’ll never... see... Boss... Boss Hart again... It just breaks my heart..."
Lily Hart sighed and facepalmed. "It’s okay," she soothed. "It’s not like I’m leaving forever. Why don’t you stay at the hotel? Then we could see each other every day."
At this, the girl cried even harder. "I-I can’t afford it!"
She was only a First-rank Superpower User. While killing zombies wasn’t exactly difficult for her, it was by no means easy. And with Boss Hart’s arrival, everyone’s enthusiasm for zombie-slaying had reached an unprecedented high.
She couldn’t even find any to kill! If she showed up late, all she’d find were fields of dead zombies, the kind with their heads already hollowed out!
Lily Hart was at a loss for words. Well, there was nothing she could do about that.
She could only try to console her again. "In that case, you should buy a lottery ticket. You never know, what if you win the grand prize tomorrow!"
The girl’s eyes lit up, and she said decisively, "Okay, I’ll buy one then!" She believed Boss Hart’s words were blessed and could truly change her fate.
She recited a string of numbers. Lily Hart entered them into the machine, handed her the ticket, and reminded her, "Keep it safe, okay? Don’t lose it."
The girl nodded emphatically, blinked back her tears, wiped her eyes, and headed back to the base.
No matter how much the crowd lamented, Lily Hart still had to leave. They were all just passing faces in her life, a fact everyone understood. After a while, they all sadly went their separate ways.
The next day, knowing it was her last day at Nutwood Base, Lily Hart climbed out of bed at eight o’clock, scooping up her two cats on her way downstairs.
As soon as she reached the ground floor, she heard the low murmur of voices outside.
"Is Boss Hart up yet?"
"I don’t know."
"If she isn’t, keep it down. Don’t disturb her sleep."
The words had barely faded when a sound like a rolling metal shutter came from above. They looked up, right into Lily Hart’s smiling, crescent-moon eyes.
They heard her say, her voice just as pleasant as they imagined, "Go on, get up. It must be tiring to squat. How are you all up earlier than me?"
"Not at all, not at all," they said awkwardly, patting the dust off their clothes as they stood. They had always felt that Boss Hart was like a goddess sent from the heavens—approachable, yet untouchable.
There was always a subtle, intangible distance between her and everyone else, but they thought that was only natural. ’If she were buddy-buddy with you, could she still be called a goddess?’
And so the busy morning began. The two little cats leaped and bounded wherever they could find a foothold, likely bored from being cooped up on the second floor for so long.
Diana Sharp and Tina Jacobs bustled about methodically, each attending to their duties with perfect coordination.
The convenience store was still bustling with people. The ground floor was about the size of her current RV, with a dozen or so shelves artfully arranged and packed to the brim with goods for customers to choose from.
Over at the Dawn Hotel, because Lily Hart had announced her departure the day before, all forty rooms were instantly booked solid. ’They really can’t get enough of Boss Hart.’
They weren’t closing for lunch today and would remain open for business. Lily Hart saw a small car drive into Nutwood Base—a familiar sight, but it wasn’t the familiar Logan Holland.
Before long, the car emerged from the base and headed toward the RV.
Lily Hart started to wonder. ’Could it be another big shot from Central Command? Or the new Base Commander of Nutwood Base?’
She didn’t have much time to ponder. The car was only a hundred meters away and arrived in an instant, parking smoothly a short distance from the RV.
Lily Hart watched as a woman stepped out of the car. Despite the sweltering heat, she wore a trench coat over a long dress.
Her long, jet-black hair was casually draped down her back. As she walked, the hems of her coat and dress tangled and fluttered with her movements.
Her long hair swayed gently with her stride. A single phrase popped into Lily Hart’s mind: *a commanding presence*.
This was a woman with a powerful aura. She didn’t look young, but she wasn’t old either—somewhere in her early thirties.
Lily Hart had a soft spot for beautiful women, and her eyes had been fixed on this one since she stepped out of the car, watching her approach the RV step by step.
The woman stopped in front of Lily Hart and introduced herself directly. "I’m Nancy Garrison, the new Base Commander of Nutwood Base. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Boss Hart."
She then extended her hand, holding it in the air as she waited for Lily Hart’s reply.
While she might not be a conventional beauty, she had a distinctive look—monolids, a high-bridged nose, and thin lips that combined to give her a unique charm.
"I’m Lily Hart, owner of the lottery shop. Nice to meet you." Lily Hart reached out and shook her hand.
Lily Hart felt the thin layer of calluses on her palm. Her eyes drifted over the woman, noting her healthy, sun-kissed complexion.
Nancy Garrison released her hand and leaned casually against the counter, clearly at ease. "As of tomorrow, the base will be renamed Riveria Base," she continued.
"Could I add you on my Light Brain, Boss Hart? I’d like to discuss a potential partnership in the future." Her tone was direct, as if she were just chatting with a friend.
"Sure," Lily Hart agreed. As they added each other on their Light Brains, Lily Hart made sure to add a note for the contact: *Nancy Garrison, Base Commander - Riveria Base.*
Nancy Garrison’s gaze shifted downward, lingering on the scratch-off tickets for a moment before moving to the nearby customers who were scratching away with glee.
She then glanced at the long line for the scratch-off machine, a flicker in her eyes. She pulled out a few Crystal Cores and placed them on the counter.
"I’ll take two scratch-offs as well," Nancy Garrison said.
Before her transfer to Nutwood Base, she had read the legends about Lily Hart and her lottery shop on her Light Brain.
It all sounded fantastical, magical even. She didn’t believe there could really be scratch-off tickets that produced something out of thin air.
’If such a thing did exist,’ she thought, ’it must be because the heavens could no longer bear to see people suffer and had sent down a minor goddess to help.’
Nancy Garrison began to scratch. The first ticket was a bust: "Thanks for playing." A bit perplexed, she started on the second one, and a small picture appeared.
It had to be said, the scratching itself was the most thrilling part—that constant, hopeful anticipation of ’Prize, prize, prize!’
Of course, the result was just as thrilling. You could walk away with nothing, or you could strike it rich overnight.
That was fate for you.
Lily Hart was busy with other customers, so Nancy Garrison followed the example of those around her and fed the scratch-off ticket to the Lucky Cat.
Soon, the Lucky Cat spat out five pomegranates, each one bigger than her fist. They looked incredibly sweet and juicy.
Nancy Garrison was pleasantly surprised and stored them in her dimensional space. Her first reaction was much like Logan Holland’s: ’Can these seeds be planted?’
She had to admit, she was getting hooked. In fact, anyone would get hooked after scratching just one winning ticket.
You’d immediately want a second, then a third—especially when the prizes were priceless treasures in the apocalypse.
Being well-off, she bought five more tickets. She won an apple, a comb, and a saucer.
The win rate wasn’t bad, though the odds of getting fruits, vegetables, or food seemed a bit lower.
This was the conclusion she drew after observing for fifteen minutes. Out of every ten people, maybe two would win food like fruits or vegetables, while another three or four would get daily necessities.
One person might even win a Crystal Core. The rest were the unlucky ones.
Nancy Garrison cut her losses and stopped herself from scratching any more. She turned and went into the convenience store, which was far less shocking than the lottery shop had been.