Chapter 97: Helicopter Part
So, the man named Alden stormed over and punched Eugene Lowell.
Two other men, radiating fury, were with him. Lily Hart took one look and found their builds quite familiar. She figured they were the same ones who came to buy scratch-offs in the wee hours of the morning.
Seeing that Alden had already thrown the first punch, they rushed forward, pinned Eugene Lowell down, and landed several heavy blows.
They shouted, "Hand over the scratch-offs, you son of a bitch! How dare you pull this kind of sneaky crap!"
Eugene Lowell struggled to explain, "I don’t have them! Mine are gone too!"
But no one was listening. It seemed they were just venting their frustration for the sake of it. By the time they grew tired, Eugene Lowell was barely breathing.
The men sat panting on the ground. The other customers had long since fled, watching the drama from a safe distance.
"Didn’t Eugene Lowell just say it wasn’t him?" one of the men asked meekly, shaking his numb wrist.
"If it wasn’t him, who else could it be! He’s always the one pulling this kind of crap!" Alden insisted.
His sharp eyes swept over the others. "If it wasn’t him, and it wasn’t you all, then where did the scratch-offs go?"
The men around him lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.
Lily Hart watched the monitor, thinking to herself, ’The scratch-offs are right here with me, and so are the points. Don’t even think about taking a single thing!’
Logan Holland sighed. "Don’t worry, Boss Hart. I’ll take care of this. I’ll make sure you get the outcome you want."
Lily Hart, naturally, felt at ease. She nodded and went back to watching the surveillance footage.
The feed was in high definition, complete with audio and a 360-degree rotation capability. To Lily Hart, it was like watching a TV drama.
Alden’s commanding voice came through the Light Brain’s speakers, "Eugene Lowell, open up your storage space for us to see!"
Eugene Lowell lay on the ground, barely hanging on. He couldn’t understand how things had ended up like this. He was a victim too, and he was filled with rage.
Despite his anger, he could only obey and open his storage space for them to inspect. It was plain to see that there wasn’t a single scratch-off ticket inside.
Alden fell silent, then exploded with anger. "So where the hell did the scratch-offs go?!"
He showed not a hint of guilt for having beaten Eugene Lowell, only pointless rage.
Fearing they would be next, the others quickly opened their own storage spaces to show him, explaining, "We don’t have any either! Everyone’s tickets are gone!"
"..." Alden turned and headed back to the base, snapping furiously, "Carry Eugene Lowell back. Every single one of you is a disgrace!"
The men reluctantly carried Eugene Lowell back to the base to report the matter to Hunter Lowell.
Lily Hart had no way of knowing what happened next. The camera was fixed to the machine and couldn’t follow them, so that was all of the drama she got to see.
Logan Holland had been watching the entire time as well. He knew Hunter Lowell was behind this and figured he was still sore about the setback he’d suffered at her hands a while back. He was resentful but didn’t dare provoke her too openly.
So, he had to wait until Lily Hart left before daring to pull any of his sneaky tricks.
He had also finished investigating all of Jason Lynch’s disgusting deeds the previous night. Today was the perfect opportunity to head to Hope Base and report and handle the issues from both bases at once.
After packing his things and checking out of his room, Logan Holland got into the sedan with his three bodyguards and set off for Hope Base. Lily Hart watched him go, waiting for good news.
"Boss Hart? What is this? Can you take a look for me?" a customer exclaimed.
Lily Hart couldn’t figure it out either, so she casually stuck it into the Lucky Cat’s mouth. It spat out a pitch-black part, which she turned over in her hands, still unable to recognize it.
She reached out and patted the Lucky Cat’s head. Taking the hint, it made an announcement: [Congratulations to Arthur Sullivan for winning a helicopter part.]
Upon hearing this, Arthur Sullivan tossed it onto the table in disgust. "What’s the use of this? Just one stupid part. They might as well have given me a whole helicopter."
"A helicopter? In your dreams," someone next to him said, nudging him playfully.
Arthur Sullivan was still disdainful. "This is lame. So lame."
Someone nearby seemed to have an idea. His eyes lit up, and he leaned close to Arthur Sullivan to whisper, "I’ll give you two Crystal Cores for it. Sell it to me, what do you say?"
With lightning speed, Arthur Sullivan snatched the helicopter part off the table and clutched it to his chest. "In your dreams," he refused. "Get lost."
"Didn’t you just say it was lame and you didn’t want it? If you hate it so much, just sell it to me," the man said, rolling his eyes. After a moment’s thought, not ready to give up, he added, "Three Crystal Cores! That’s my final offer!"
"Not for sale," Arthur Sullivan said. He wasn’t a fool. If this guy was offering three Crystal Cores for what looked like a piece of junk, then it must be valuable. No way was he selling.
Tucking the part away safely, Arthur Sullivan blended into the crowd and slipped away.
Lily Hart didn’t pay it much mind. Every day, customers won all sorts of strange and bizarre things from the scratch-offs. You could get anything, even little sex toys.
It was, in a way, a cure for everyone’s boredom.
Another day flew by. Lily Hart refilled the five machines at Hope Base with scratch-offs and set a purchase limit.
Each person could only buy five tickets per machine per day, for a total of twenty-five. Unless he got several hundred people to buy for him, he wouldn’t be able to scalp them for a profit anymore.
Just as Lily Hart and her group were about to eat, Logan Holland rushed back. She couldn’t help but suspect he’d timed his return to coincide perfectly with their dinner.
Since she had just asked him for a favor that morning, Lily Hart felt obliged to ask, "Want to join us?" She was holding a bowl filled with fluffy white rice.
Logan Holland feigned reluctance, though he was practically drooling. "Oh, I couldn’t possibly impose."
’Cathayans and their lifelong love of playing hard to get,’ she thought.
Lily Hart pouted. "Well, in that ca—"
Logan Holland blurted out, "Then it would be rude to refuse!" He turned to his three bodyguards and said, "You three go get some instant noodles from the convenience store."
He knew it would be too impolite to have so many people freeloading a meal. Logan Holland had that much self-awareness, at least.
Today’s meal was Hunan cuisine, solely because Lily Hart loved it. She’d gotten Frost Shaw and the others to love it too.
They felt out of sorts if a day went by without something spicy. And true to form, out of the dozen or so dishes on the table, eight or nine were packed with chili peppers.
Logan Holland’s appetite surged at the sight. He wolfed down a bowl of rice before finally slowing his pace slightly.
He glanced at Frost Shaw, Roman Rowe, and Leo Colby across the table. They seemed completely unfazed by the lavish spread, as if it were a common sight.
They ate with a calm and elegant demeanor, taking a bite of rice, then a bite of a dish, clearly savoring the entire process.
And then there was him, gobbling his food down like a starving animal, as if he hadn’t had a decent meal in centuries.
’That’s right, he *was* a country bumpkin. Who could possibly resist a table loaded with this much food?!’
The contrast between them was stark. ’They must eat like this with Boss Hart every day,’ Logan thought to himself. ’That’s why they’re so composed.’
’I’m so jealous...’
Filled with envy, Logan Holland polished off two more bowls of rice, only stopping when he was absolutely stuffed. Even then, his bowl was wiped clean.
Lily Hart had also finished her main course at a leisurely pace and was now eating her dessert—fruit that had been washed and cut into bite-sized pieces.
She raised an eyebrow at Logan Holland. "So? Any results?"