Chapter 196: Beijing Roast Duck
Of course, the Zombie King, Owen Warren, was an exception. He wanted to eat her, and besides, humans and zombies walked different paths. They were completely incompatible.
Lily Hart went downstairs without a care in the world, her mood light and cheerful. She practically skipped back to the RV.
The number of customers was still about the same—around a hundred. Lily Hart was used to it by now.
She also had a vague idea of what the Base Commander of Auspice was up to.
She had asked Frost Shaw and Leo Colby about it during dinner last night. All hundred-odd people were superpower users.
Moreover, they were all Fourth Rank or higher. That was no small feat; within the base, they would be at least at the level of a squad leader in The Guardian Corps.
The superpower users who were permanent residents of the base were mostly First, Second, and Third Rank. Any High-level superpower users had ambitions that lay elsewhere.
After some discussion, they came to a reasonable suspicion. This group of people belonged to the Base Commander. Were they his trusted aides? Members of The Guardian Corps? A secretly trained squad of superpower users?
In any case, they were the Base Commander’s men, taking orders from him and him alone. That’s why they had been sent here to buy scratch-offs.
Lily Hart had also noticed through her observations that no matter what they won from the scratch-offs, they immediately stored everything away.
Even when they won fruit or other tasty treats, it was obvious they were dying to eat them, but they forced themselves to hold back. The same went for any other items; everything was put away.
It was as if they had to take it all back to report on their mission.
But this was all just speculation. After all, with so few customers, they had a lot of idle time.
People tend to let their minds wander when they’re idle, and Lily Hart was no exception. At that moment, she was spinning on a high stool, but she was actually observing the customers intently.
One man won a box of fragrant pears, about six of them. She watched him stare at it for a long, long time before he finally gave in, opened the lid, took one out, and surreptitiously slipped it into his pocket.
The box of pears then vanished into thin air. Lily Hart knew he had stored it in his space.
Right after, the man started pulling out Crystal Cores to buy more scratch-offs. His movements were mechanical, showing no regard for the Crystal Cores at all, as if he were just pulling a handful of dirt from his pocket.
Lily Hart shifted her gaze to the customer next to him. His actions and expression were identical to the first man’s—completely blank, almost like a robot.
Even when they won a prize, there was only a fleeting moment of surprise before their expressions turned lifeless again. They would store the prize and move on to the next ticket.
Lily Hart felt she was getting infinitely close to the truth; she was just missing a catalyst.
Time flew by, and soon the sky was dark. Seth had arrived early and was sitting quietly in a chair. His hair was a little long, hanging down over his face and partially obscuring his eyes.
When she turned around, that was the scene that greeted her. Under the warm yellow light, the boy sat in silence, his slightly long bangs casting a small shadow across his face.
It gave him a faint, inexplicable air of loneliness, as if he were the only person left in the world.
Lily Hart called out, "Seth?"
"Hmm?" Seth snapped out of his daze and looked up at her instinctively, his eyes brightening slightly.
"What would you like to eat?" Lily Hart asked, her voice and expression gentle.
To Seth, it was as if she were glowing, radiating a divine light. He hesitated for a moment before stating his request. "I’d like to have... Peking duck... Is that okay?"
He was only ten when the apocalypse began. At that very moment, he had been eating Peking duck with his parents. He had just finished making a wrap and hadn’t even taken the first bite...
Suddenly, a zombie appeared at the next table. His parents grabbed him and ran, and in the panic, the wrap he was holding fell to the ground.
He looked back, wanting to pick it up, but it had already been trampled by countless feet.
Life in the apocalypse after that was even more chaotic. He awakened a superpower, but his parents died one after another. He became an orphan and had been wandering ever since, never staying in any one base for long.
But today, he felt like he had finally found a small sense of belonging.
Lily Hart was taken aback for a second before readily agreeing. "Sure, of course."
A faint smile spread across Seth’s face at her words. Lily Hart found herself momentarily captivated. Suddenly, a figure planted itself squarely in front of her, blocking her view.
She snapped back to reality and saw who it was. Roman Rowe stood there with a long, pouty face, looking utterly miserable. In a wheedling tone, he asked, "Boss Hart, what are you looking at?"
Lily Hart broke into a smile. She reached out, pushed his face aside, and teased, "Not you."
Roman Rowe ignored her, shoving his face right back in front of hers and completely blocking her view. "Then who are you looking at?" he asked shamelessly.
"Fine, I’m looking at you!" Lily Hart said without a hint of annoyance, feigning seriousness as she stared into his glittering eyes.
Roman Rowe fell silent. The tips of his ears quietly turned red. He scratched his head awkwardly, then turned to leave, muttering disdainfully, "Tch, who are you kidding?"
In reality, he was ecstatic.
He sat down in a daze, Boss Hart’s words still echoing in his head. ’She was looking at me? Hehehe... I’m so happy!’
Frost Shaw followed behind him, a speechless look on his face. He had witnessed the little exchange between them, and a sour feeling welled up inside him. ’I could never be as shameless as Roman Rowe...’
’I wonder what kind of man Boss Hart even likes...’
He sat down next to Roman Rowe in silence, lost in thought. Every so often, he could hear a stifled giggle from beside him. Annoyed, Frost Shaw turned his head to glance at Roman, shooting him several glares when he wasn’t looking.
Finally, unable to stand it any longer, he clamped a hand over Roman’s mouth and whispered, "Stop laughing."
Roman Rowe still wanted to laugh. It was just one short sentence, and he knew Boss Hart was only teasing him, but he couldn’t help feeling overjoyed.
Laughter danced in his eyes. He snuck a glance at Frost Shaw’s gloomy face and decided to rein it in a little.
The result, however, was that he failed to stifle his laughter, twisting his face into an awkward expression. This only made Frost Shaw even more annoyed. Seth, who had been observing the interaction between the two, began to form a suspicion.
Soon, everyone was there. Seth sat in a corner, feeling a bit out of place. It had been a long, long time since he’d eaten at a table with so many people...
He didn’t know what to do with his hands and feet, feeling so awkward he could barely hold his chopsticks properly.
But no one was paying any attention to the boy in the corner. All eyes were on the Peking duck on the table. A large platter was filled with neatly arranged slices of duck meat and skin, the latter roasted to a crispy, golden brown.
Beside it was a dish of thick, brown dipping sauce and another small dish of sugar.
Next to those were finely sliced cucumber and shredded scallions. And next to that was a large basket of thin pancakes.
Everyone was a little dumbfounded. The spread looked both familiar and strange. But the rich, roasted aroma wafting into their noses was impossible to ignore.
It had been so long since they’d last seen it that the memory of this delicacy had all but faded from their minds.
They all turned to look at Lily Hart in unison. Roman Rowe wiped his mouth and asked impatiently, "How do we eat this, Boss Hart?"
Lily Hart thought for a moment. She picked up a pancake, spread it open in her palm, then took a piece of duck skin, dipped it in the brown sauce, and smeared it fairly evenly across the pancake.
Then, she added some cucumber strips and shredded scallions on top of the skin, and it was done.
She rolled it up into a small wrap about two fingers wide, then stuffed it into her mouth in a few bites. After finishing, she nodded in satisfaction and gave a thumbs-up.
"You eat it just like this," she announced. "It’s delicious!"