Chapter 132: Bullshit Coincidence
The residents didn’t pay it much mind. All that mattered was that the three shops were back. They went right back to their frenzied scratching!
Lily Hart wasn’t particular about much, but she absolutely had to have her three meals a day. The incident had caused her to miss lunch, and now her stomach was starting to protest.
She ordered herself a bowl of rice noodles with a fried egg and sat down to eat. When she looked up, she noticed Stan Sterling was still there.
She debated internally for a moment before ordering a bowl for him, too. ’He did save me, after all. I can’t be ungrateful.’
Lily Hart pushed the bowl of noodles toward him and said with a proud tilt of her head, "Here, eat. Don’t go saying I’m stingy and don’t reward those who help me."
Stan Sterling had been about to leave. He turned to her, looking both surprised and flattered. His eyes, bright as peach blossoms, were filled with a profound tenderness.
"Just eat it," Lily Hart mumbled, lowering her head and stuffing her mouth with the fried egg to avoid his captivating gaze.
"Thank you," Stan Sterling murmured. It was only after he sat down that he realized his bowl of noodles was different from Lily Hart’s.
For starters, his bowl was much larger. It was topped with the same kind of fried egg, but it also had several fragrant pork ribs, a few meatballs, and some crisp green vegetables.
It was a deluxe version of the noodle bowl. For a moment, Stan Sterling couldn’t bring himself to eat it. He discreetly took a picture with his Light Brain before finally, slowly, beginning to eat.
Roman Rowe, having gone back to change his clothes, came over just then. The moment he saw the noodles, his jaw dropped.
Lily Hart rolled her eyes and ordered a bowl for him as well. Roman Rowe took one look, compared the two, and started shouting, "How come his has meat!"
Lily Hart snapped, "Shut up! Is it so rare for you to get meat?"
"..." It wasn’t, but Roman Rowe was still annoyed. ’Why does an outsider get to eat better than I do!’
’No way. I have to tell Frost Shaw about this and make him just as annoyed.’
After they finished eating, Lily and Roman zoned out, their minds wandering. Stan Sterling, who ate the slowest, left without a sound after he was done.
After a long silence, Lily Hart said, "So, tell me. How did you lose him?"
Roman Rowe was still spacing out, his thoughts struggling to return. His voice was flat and emotionless. "There were zombies in the way. I had to fight them and chase the kid at the same time..."
At this point, Roman seemed to snap back to reality. He shot to his feet, flailing his arms angrily. "Those zombies were the same rank as me! I couldn’t beat them! And there were two of them!"
"I didn’t want to get tangled up with them, but they just wouldn’t let me go! And just like that, in the blink of an eye, the little punk was gone..."
"Alright, alright, calm down." Lily Hart’s face scrunched up as she grabbed his arm and pushed him back down into his seat.
’Zombies again?’
’But it does make sense. That area is crawling with zombies.’
Lily Hart chalked it all up to coincidence once again, but the questions in her mind were multiplying.
’Why did the little boy suddenly show up? He knew there was good food here, he was hungry, and he decided to try his luck. He snatched it and ran.’
’I chased him because I wanted to know why he was an exception to the system. Roman followed to protect me.’
’And Stan Sterling... was he doing the same?’
’Then there’s the sudden appearance of the Zombie King, the High-level Zombies that intercepted Roman, and the little zombie—Zom—who threw a rock to "warn" me. Can all of this really be a coincidence...?’
’Aaaargh!’ Lily Hart wailed internally. ’Why is there still so much scheming and backstabbing even in the apocalypse?’
’My poor little brain can’t figure it all out!’
"Boss Hart, why the long face?" Logan Holland emerged with Cherie Lowell, on his way to the convenience store to buy some snacks.
"It’s nothing," Lily Hart replied, waving a hand dismissively. Recognizing Logan Holland, she managed a smile.
She suddenly remembered something and called out to Logan Holland. The couple boarded the RV, and seeing her secretive expression, they braced themselves for some major news.
"Can zombies be... good?" Lily Hart asked after a moment of deliberation. She seemed to realize how silly the question sounded and let out a small laugh.
Logan Holland stared at Lily Hart with a look that plainly said, ’What do you think?’ The corner of his mouth twitched, and for a second it looked like he was about to mock her, but he ultimately replied in a serious tone, "No."
Feeling that wasn’t precise enough, he added, "To be more specific, Central Command has never encountered such a case."
’Oh,’ Lily Hart thought. ’So Zom was most likely acting under the Zombie King’s orders, feeding me false information just to mess with me!’
’What a treacherous Zombie King!’
Logan Holland knew what she was alluding to and offered some reassurance. "Boss Hart, don’t dwell on it too much. It’s almost certain it was acting on someone’s orders. When a human is infected and turns into a zombie, their brain becomes a Crystal Core."
"They lose all human thought and emotion, becoming monsters that only want to eat human flesh. Only by continuously evolving and becoming a High-level Zombie can their appearance and thoughts begin to approach those of a human again."
"Some researchers have even proposed that it’s a cycle..."
Lily Hart was stunned by the explanation. ’So there’s a whole science to it.’ In any case, the conclusion was that Zom had been acting on orders!
"I understand. Thank you, Minister Holland," Lily Hart said with a nod, offering a casual thanks.
Logan Holland asked no more questions and went to the convenience store with Cherie Lowell. They needed to stock up on snacks and daily necessities for their hotel room since it was a long-term stay, and he was due back at Central Command the next day.
Lily Hart didn’t want to think about it anymore. All these trivial, annoying details were weaving together into a tangled mess that just frustrated her.
The afternoon had just begun, but Lily Hart already felt drowsy. Too lazy to go upstairs, she simply laid her head on the table to catch a quick nap.
As the noisy chatter of customers filled the air, Lily Hart gradually drifted off to sleep and had a very strange dream.
She couldn’t quite describe it, only that the Zombie King was in it, and they weren’t adversaries.
In a daze, Lily Hart was shaken awake. She rubbed her eyes, trying to focus, and mumbled instinctively, "Huh? What’s going on?"
She had just woken up, so her eyes were still trying to boot up, everything a bit blurry. Frost Shaw was bending over, his face close to hers.
A blast of cold air hit her face. Lily Hart instinctively leaned back, and the sudden chill shocked her wide awake.
Once she saw who it was, she broke into a smile. "Roman said last night you were training. How’d it go?"
Frost Shaw sat down beside her, waves of cold air emanating from his body. In the summer heat, he was practically a walking refrigerator.
But the RV’s temperature was perfectly neutral. With a giant ice cube suddenly sitting beside her, Lily Hart rubbed her arms, unable to get used to the chill.
He held out his hand, palm facing up. A tiny, eight-tiered ice pagoda floated above it, spinning enchantingly. It was surprisingly cute.
In the sunlight, its facets caught the light, refracting a brilliant, multi-colored spectrum that was beautiful to behold.
"Eighth Rank," Frost Shaw said calmly.
For him, it had only ever been a matter of finding the time to train.
Lily Hart’s jaw dropped. "Woooow," she breathed. "That’s amazing! You’re at the same level as Leo Colby now."
The smile on Frost Shaw’s face froze for a second. ’He couldn’t stand even hearing that guy’s name.’ But her praise made him unconsciously break into a smile again.
"So, this morning..." Lily Hart recounted the whole story of the Zombie King and the little boy.
They began discussing the matter back and forth. The atmosphere was surprisingly harmonious, as Frost Shaw’s thoughts on the matter were pretty much the same as Lily’s.
Zom was acting on orders, and the little boy was likely just a coincidence, since he’d tried to steal food before.
As for the Zombie King, he probably just happened to be in the area, caught Lily Hart’s scent, sensed her presence, and came looking for her.