Chapter 101: Online Supermarket
’Even Hunter Lowell was taken care of. How could small fry like them possibly survive?’ Lily Hart went to sleep, feeling at ease.
Night gave way to day. The next morning, Logan Holland from Central Command crawled out of bed, scarfed down a piece of bread, and rushed off to work.
Before he even reached his office, Logan Holland received a call from his superiors summoning him to a meeting.
He hurriedly changed direction and headed for the conference room—not the large one from yesterday, but a smaller one.
He pushed the door open to find it empty. Logan Holland was used to this and found a seat in a corner.
The attendees didn’t start trickling in until after nine o’clock. Ten seats, all of them filled.
The moment the person leading the meeting arrived, their first words were aimed straight at Logan Holland. "This meeting is to finalize everything regarding the procurement of supplies from Lily Hart—quantity, price, transportation, and so on."
Everyone nodded, their heads turning in unison to look at Logan Holland. He was the only one with Lily Hart’s Light Brain contact.
"Just make a video call. It’ll be better if we can all discuss this face-to-face," someone suggested.
Logan Holland hesitated. ’It’s still early, I wonder if Boss Hart is even awake yet.’ As he was thinking this, his hand slipped and he accidentally placed the call.
"!" He panicked and instinctively tried to cancel, but the person next to him saw and blurted out, "Hey, hey, it’s connecting!"
"Huh?" Logan Holland dazedly raised his Light Brain, his own face filling the screen, with Lily Hart’s appearing in a small window in the top-right corner.
The person next to him immediately tapped Lily Hart’s window, enlarging it to take up the entire Light Brain screen.
Seeing this, Logan Holland figured he might as well sync his Light Brain to the main conference room screen. In an instant, Lily Hart’s delicate face appeared on the large screen on the wall.
The screen was so large and clear you could practically see every pore on her face. But what surprised everyone even more...
...was the table in front of her, laden with a wide variety of breakfast foods.
「The scene shifts to just outside Nutwood Base.」 Lily Hart had just sat down to eat breakfast when Logan Holland’s video call came through.
She figured something was up and answered. An unfamiliar face appeared, and after the screen shook for a moment, Logan Holland came into view.
Lily Hart had a pan-fried chive and egg dumpling in her mouth. Its edges were slightly crispy from the pan, and the mix of chives and egg inside created a rich texture.
After quickly finishing it, Lily Hart greeted him. "Hi..." In response, a crowd of people appeared on the screen.
Logan Holland was in the far corner, frantically trying to signal her with his eyes. Lily Hart got the hint and gave a slight nod.
Hearing the commotion from the Light Brain, Frost Shaw leaned over for a look and accurately recited the name and position of every person on screen.
They were all important, high-level officials from Central Command, yet right now they were huddled around the screen like children.
It was all making Lily Hart’s head spin. Just as she was about to say something, she heard them start chattering on the other end.
"Is that soy milk?"
"No way. Who can even grow soybeans these days?"
"What’s that? A tea egg?!"
"Impossible. What chickens are still laying eggs? They’re more likely to peck you to death."
Some gasped in shock, others refuted it, but deep down, they all knew it was real. They just couldn’t bring themselves to believe it.
After a bout of chattering, the conference room finally quieted down. They pushed Logan Holland forward to do the talking.
"Boss Hart, long time no see." Logan Holland’s tone was formal, his expression distant.
"Minister Holland, how are the discussions about our collaboration coming along?" Lily Hart instantly got it. ’Ah, playing strangers. I can do that.’
The corner of Logan Holland’s mouth twitched into a subtle smirk. "I’m calling you today precisely so that everyone can discuss this matter more effectively."
"Alright. I’ll send a price list to Logan Holland," Lily Hart said, all business, inventing a price list that didn’t even exist yet.
Just then, an egg, its shell already halfway peeled, was handed to her. Lily Hart casually took it and finished it in a few bites.
On the other side of the call, the crowd swallowed hard at the sight of the boiled egg, their eyes scanning every corner of the screen for more food.
"Understood, Boss Hart. And the transportation issue...?" Logan Holland asked hesitantly. This problem remained unresolved.
Lily Hart jabbed Frost Shaw, who was sitting next to her, with her elbow. "Check if the software has a delivery function."
The two of them started chatting right in front of everyone, all while continuing to eat their breakfast. Their casualness was on another level.
Lily Hart took a sip of soy milk, then a bite of a fried dough stick, eating with great relish. The people on the other end were practically dying of hunger just watching her...
"Take a look." Frost Shaw shoved his Light Brain toward her, carefully angling it away from her camera so that only the two of them could see the screen.
Lily Hart tilted her head slightly to look. As she did, her own Light Brain’s camera dipped, giving the people on the call an even clearer view of the breakfast spread on the table.
A group of high and mighty officials from Central Command were now huddled in front of the wall screen, counting the different types of breakfast dishes on the table...
Soup dumplings, pan-fried dumplings, fried dough sticks, soy milk, rice noodle rolls, noodle soup, beef pancakes, fried eggs, congee... The sight was enough to make their mouths water, their minds instantly consumed by the feast.
Lily Hart looked at Frost Shaw’s Light Brain. The screen showed a home delivery function.
You could directly purchase items, fill in an address, pay a 20-point fee for each use, and then pay the item’s point cost. The goods would arrive at their destination in the next second.
It was incredibly fast and cost-effective.
’Is this system running a charity in the apocalypse?’ Lily Hart thought. ’How can it be so cheap!’
An idea struck her. ’Doesn’t that mean... I can send things wherever I want? I could open an online convenience store!’
’Customers select their items, fill in an address, pay for shipping and the goods, and receive their purchase in the next second! Isn’t that just like a food delivery app?!’
’And it doesn’t even require any manpower for the delivery! What a steal!’
Her mind raced. She tapped to activate the function, and a pop-up appeared: "Activation of this function requires 10,000 points. Activate now?"
Frost Shaw looked at Lily Hart, who directly tapped "Yes."
’If I can get an online supermarket up and running, it’ll have huge potential. It’s much better than just waiting for customers to show up at the convenience store. How did I not notice this amazing feature before?’
’This Frost Shaw... so rigid, unable to think outside the box.’
She typed a line of text on Frost Shaw’s Light Brain. The two of them exchanged a glance and nodded imperceptibly. Then, repositioning her own Light Brain, she announced to Logan Holland’s group, "We can provide door-to-door delivery."
Everyone on the other end’s eyes lit up. That would save them so much trouble. Lily Hart continued, "However, it’s one Crystal Core for every one hundred pounds of goods, and so on."
’Just skimming a little off the top,’ she thought. ’Not charging much extra.’
The other party agreed instantly. "No problem, no problem! Please send us the price list as soon as possible so we can confirm the purchase quantity."
They thought one Crystal Core for a hundred pounds of goods was an absolute bargain! It was infinitely better than sending their own people on a 1,500-kilometer trip to pick up the supplies.
Both sides felt they had gotten a great deal.
"Mm," Lily Hart agreed and ended the call. Then she instructed Frost Shaw, "Make a price list and send it to me later."
’If you can’t delegate, you’ll work yourself to death.’ Lily Hart understood this principle deeply and was committed to putting it into practice.