Chapter 131: Sprained Ankle, Applying Medicine
A flicker of surprise flashed through the High-level Zombie’s eyes. It quickly lowered its head in assent and followed the Zombie King back to their nest.
Inside the speeding RV, Lily Hart texted Roman Rowe. "Well? Did you catch him?"
He replied almost instantly, his grievance practically seeping through the screen.
"Like hell I did! That kid’s way too fast. He rounded a corner and was gone. I don’t know this place—God knows where he went to hide!" Roman Rowe complained, punctuating his message with several crying emojis.
Lily Hart: "You useless thing. Where are you? I’m coming to get you."
But she sympathized. ’The boy was far too familiar with the local roads and terrain. She and Frost Shaw had learned that the hard way last time, when he’d given them the slip.’
Done worrying about Roman Rowe, Lily Hart turned her attention to Stan Sterling. She demanded, "How are you here? Are you healed?"
She was referring to the injuries from the zombie horde two nights ago. Stan Sterling knew what she meant. He nodded, then shook his head.
He bit his lower lip, looking like he wanted to say something but was holding back. Lily Hart was already annoyed and had no time for his theatrics. She was about to give him a piece of her mind.
But then she heard him say, in an incredibly caring and gentle voice, "Does your ankle still hurt? Let’s put some ointment on it."
It hadn’t been so bad until he mentioned it, but now Lily Hart felt like she was dying from the pain. "Hiss... It’s killing me."
Lily Hart bent over to look, gently pulling up her pant leg. Her ankle was red and swollen, puffed up like a plump, red steamed bun.
Stan Sterling produced a tube of ointment from who-knows-where. It was nearly empty, the bottom half of the tube squeezed flat.
It must have been squeezed hard countless times to end up looking like this.
He carefully unscrewed the cap and squeezed a little of the ointment into his palm. After rubbing his hands together to warm it, he gently smoothed it over Lily Hart’s ankle.
Lily Hart instinctively recoiled. ’This ointment isn’t poisoned, is it? This guy is up to no good!’
Stan Sterling, oblivious to her thoughts, began to slowly and gently massage her ankle.
Lily Hart grimaced in pain, instinctively grabbing his slender shoulders to distract herself.
Stan Sterling let out a muffled grunt, but his hands didn’t stop. In just one minute, beads of sweat had formed on both their foreheads.
"All done," Stan Sterling murmured, releasing her ankle. He slowly rose, tucking his hands behind his back.
The memory of her delicate skin flashed through his mind, and he quickly forced the thought away.
When Lily Hart looked at her ankle again, the swelling had visibly subsided. This ointment really worked.
"Where’d you get this ointment?" Lily Hart asked, curious. ’How could a regular person have something so effective?’
As if it were a priceless treasure, Stan Sterling screwed the cap back on and stored the tube away in his space. Only then did he slowly say, "Back at Auspice Base, I was always getting beaten up. A kind benefactor gave me a tube of it..."
Lily Hart watched his deliberate, gentle movements. He treated that tube of ointment as if it were his lover.
’Right. Stan Sterling really was a gentle person—meticulous and considerate.’
Lily Hart listened as he spoke, his voice low. But his expression was placid, as if he were simply stating a common fact.
’Great. Now I feel sorry for him again...’
"So, why are you here?" Lily Hart asked, pressing on. The pain in her ankle had noticeably subsided.
"I was buying a scratch-off ticket when I saw you run out in such a hurry. I was... afraid... afraid something might happen to you, so I followed," Stan Sterling explained frantically.
His head was bowed, and his hands unconsciously fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. He kept sneaking glances up at Lily, terrified she would be angry.
’It was such a reasonable excuse. I couldn’t even get angry if I wanted to.’
Lily Hart felt like she’d thrown a punch into a bale of cotton—completely ineffective. She turned her back on him.
She let out a heavy sigh and waved a dismissive hand. "Fine. Just sit down. Stop just standing there."
Only then did Stan Sterling take a seat, choosing the one farthest from her. He perched on just the edge of the chair, his posture ramrod straight.
Driving the RV, Lily Hart found Roman Rowe looking thoroughly dejected, the corners of his mouth drooping.
She had to suppress a laugh. "Oh, come on. So you didn’t catch him. Who’s this long face for?"
At that, Roman Rowe broke into a wide, purely innocent grin. Paired with his flamboyant golden hair, he looked just like a large dog happily wagging its tail.
"What’s with you?" Lily Hart asked, raising an eyebrow as she reached out to ruffle his soft hair, enjoying the feeling of it between her fingers.
Roman Rowe flinched slightly. A strange feeling flickered through him, and when he looked back at Lily Hart, his expression was complicated.
He shook his head, the smile never leaving his lips. He’d only been pouting earlier because he was afraid Boss Hart would chew him out...
"Tch," Lily Hart snorted, done with him. She clapped her hands together and looked ahead. Fortune Base was just up ahead.
The RV had moved, and of course, it took the convenience store and hotel with it. Under any circumstances, the three were bound together.
The consequence of this sudden teleportation was a large crowd of utterly bewildered customers left in its wake.
They even started to wonder if Boss Hart had skipped town. It had been almost half an hour, so why wasn’t she back?
Worst of all, when the convenience store vanished, the customers who had been inside browsing were abruptly ejected.
They could only watch helplessly as the three buildings receded into the distance, their half-filled shopping baskets still inside.
We already paid with our Crystal Cores! And we didn’t even get our stuff!
The residents exchanged bewildered glances. Deep down, however, they still believed Boss Hart wasn’t the type to do something like this.
Even Douglas Donovan heard the commotion and rushed out from inside the base, only to find a completely empty plot of land.
He first tried to calm the crowd, then assured them that Boss Hart would never skip town and must have just had urgent business to attend to.
As for when she’d be back... he had no idea.
"Base Commander, stop making excuses for her!"
"Yeah! If this isn’t skipping town with our money, then what is it?!"
"I just topped up my account with ten Crystal Cores to buy things! What about my Crystal Cores?! Who’s going to reimburse me?!"
Douglas Donovan raised his hands, gesturing for quiet. "I understand how you all feel, but you have to have faith in Boss Hart’s character! She’s been here for days—has she swindled anyone out of their Crystal Cores?!"
That was true, she hadn’t. But the RV, the convenience store, and the hotel had just sprouted legs and run off at top speed.
That made it hard to keep the faith...
Just as the crowd was roaring, one of the residents shouted, "The RV! It’s Boss Hart! She’s back!"
The few agitators who had been shouting the loudest immediately clammed up. After all, their points were still with Boss Hart.
’If we piss her off and she bans us from the scratch-offs, the shop, and the hotel... what then?’
The RV slowly came to a stop in its original spot. The residents swarmed it like bees to a hive. Lily Hart opened her mouth to explain...
But the residents started talking all at once, each one seemingly overcome with concern.
"Boss Hart, where did you go?"
"Boss Hart, are you all right?"
"That’s right, we were so worried! We’re just glad you’re okay~"
"What happened, Boss Hart?"
"Do you need any help? I’m a superpower user!"
Lily Hart swallowed the explanation she had been about to give. Truly, no explanation was needed for those who already understood.
She shook her head, her gaze sweeping over the crowd. Some of the concern was genuine, some was fake, but it didn’t matter either way.
Lily Hart braced her hands on the tabletop, her presence naturally commanding. "Thank you for your concern, everyone. I’m fine. Please, carry on!"
Hearing this, Douglas Donovan breathed a sigh of relief. ’He’d been genuinely terrified something had happened to Boss Hart... They had finally found a glimmer of hope; it couldn’t be snuffed out just like that...’