Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 148: Chapter 148: Spring-Watch Base

They were shouting and banging gongs and drums. The whole spectacle was more elaborate than the grand opening of a bathhouse.

The noise woke Frost Shaw and the others in the convenience store. They stumbled onto the balcony, one by one, eyes bleary with sleep. A look down below instantly sobered them up.

Roman Rowe muttered, "Well, damn."

Six little rascals were leaning over the balcony railing, looking down. A row of fluffy little heads, utterly adorable. Roman Rowe couldn’t resist patting each of them.

Frost Shaw urged, "Hurry down and see what’s going on."

Meanwhile, Lily Hart quickly freshened up, went down to the first floor, and opened up the four sides of the RV. She was met with even more fervent cheers, like fans from the old world screaming for their idol.

Lily Hart covered her ears, her brow furrowed. She raised her hand and pressed it downward, signaling for them to stop.

Douglas Donovan met her gaze and was the first to stop playing his suona. He trotted over to her and asked expectantly, "How was that, Boss Hart?"

"..." What could she say? Faced with his expectant gaze, she had no choice but to force out a compliment. "Not bad. But please, don’t do this again."

"Why not?" Douglas Donovan loved putting on these kinds of displays. He staged a few shows in the base’s plaza every month, claiming they boosted morale and inspired everyone’s fighting spirit.

"Waking up this early isn’t good for you," Lily Hart said, pulling an excuse out of thin air.

"Thanks for your concern, Boss Hart, but we’re used to getting up early," Douglas Donovan said sincerely, flashing a grin that revealed a set of clean teeth.

Lily Hart sighed. Looking into his sincere eyes, she knew he just wanted to give her a proper send-off. ’But isn’t this a bit much? Or was he just afraid I’d be gone if he came any later?’

Pushing the thought aside, Lily Hart offered, "Why don’t we have some breakfast together?"

’We can eat, rest for a bit, and then it’ll be about time to hit the road.’

Douglas Donovan was overjoyed. "Yes! Absolutely!" After accepting, he first dismissed the residents, telling them to hurry over to the convenience store and stock up on food before they left.

He, meanwhile, boarded the RV like he owned the place and found himself a seat.

The moment Frost Shaw and his group opened the door, they were stunned by a swarm of customers. Their minds hadn’t even processed it before their bodies automatically switched into work mode.

Meanwhile, inside the RV, Douglas Donovan and Lily Hart were already digging into a delicious-smelling breakfast.

Today’s meal was rice noodle rolls and soup dumplings. Douglas Donovan first took dozens of photos of the spread from every conceivable angle before he finally started eating, his eyes welling up with tears as he did.

Lily Hart was used to it. She’d known Douglas Donovan for barely a week and had already seen him cry at least four times. ’Is he just emotionally incontinent or something?’

She casually grabbed a tissue and handed it to him, offering a half-hearted platitude. "What’s with the tears? The good days are still ahead of you."

Douglas Donovan cried gracefully. He took the tissue, wiped his tears, and then impatiently dove back into his food.

After a moment, he said, "Sigh, you wouldn’t understand. This is a sign of respect for the food."

Lily Hart fell silent, finishing her breakfast to the soundtrack of Douglas Donovan’s quiet sobs.

After a long pause, Douglas Donovan finally said, "Boss Hart, are you heading to Spring-Watch Base? Let me just give you a little warning: the residents there are... a bit volatile."

Lily Hart asked curiously, "Volatile how...?"

Just then, having dealt with the first wave of customers, a starving Frost Shaw and Roman Rowe boarded the RV, just in time to catch the last few words.

’How to hold?’

’Hold? Hold what? Who are we holding?’

Giant question marks might as well have appeared over their heads.

Douglas Donovan wasn’t distracted. He continued answering Lily Hart’s question. "Just extremely short-fused. They’ll fly off the handle at the drop of a hat. You need to be careful."

It was a sincere warning.

Lily Hart took his words to heart. If even someone as gentle and people-focused as Douglas Donovan said it, then the residents there must be truly volatile.

Frost Shaw and Roman Rowe sidled closer. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Spring-Watch Base," said Lily Hart.

"Oh! I’ve been there!" Roman Rowe raised his hand, a proud look on his face.

Three pairs of eyes turned to him. Lily Hart arched an eyebrow, shifted her body to face him, and sat back casually. "Let’s hear it."

"The moment you set foot in there, you’ll owe them eighty thousand Crystal Cores," Roman Rowe said with dramatic flair. He then added with a laugh, "What I mean is, they take one look at you and they already hate your guts."

Douglas Donovan chimed in, "Exactly. It’s like they hold a grudge against the whole world. There’s constant conflict inside the base. Murder and arson are regular occurrences."

"It’s not that Central Command doesn’t intervene. The Base Commander of Spring-Watch Base has powerful backing," he said, lowering his voice. "Word is he’s the illegitimate son of some big shot."

Frost Shaw also remembered something about Spring-Watch Base. "And it’s the base in all of Cathaya with the most skewed male-to-female ratio."

"How skewed?" Lily Hart asked.

"Hmm... about 100 to 1," Douglas Donovan said after a moment’s thought.

Lily Hart’s jaw dropped. "That’s seriously skewed. If it’s like that, why would any women be there at all?"

The three men exchanged a look and said in unison, "Military prostitutes."

Lily Hart understood. Wisps of cold anger coiled in her chest just from hearing their description.

’It sounded like hell on earth, where people were murdered and buildings burned at the slightest disagreement, all with the Base Commander’s tacit approval.’

Seeing the dark look on her face, Douglas Donovan tried to comfort her. "Their base is full of people, and almost all of them are just as short-fused. It’s hard for a normal person to survive among them."

It’s a classic case of "the beggar fears not the king." They’re all hot-tempered, so who’s going to back down? Their motto is basically, ’Forget talking, let’s fight!’

Lily Hart listened. ’Well, damn,’ she thought. ’So it’s basically a massive gathering of hotheads. That’s fine. It’s not like I’m afraid of tapping into that market.’

’But no matter how short-fused they are, if they want to enter my lottery shop, they’d better put out that fire first!’

"GROWL..." Roman Rowe’s stomach rumbled, and his face scrunched up in a frown.

Lily Hart got them both a serving of rice noodle rolls and soup dumplings. Roman Rowe’s face instantly broke into a grin as he started to wolf it down.

"Alright, Base Commander Donovan, it’s time for us to go," Lily Hart said, getting to her feet. Her voice was slow and measured, and a gentle smile played on her lips.

Douglas Donovan was sad to see her go. The apocalypse was a dangerous place; once she left, he didn’t know if they’d ever meet again.

’Would he ever get to play scratch-offs in the lottery shop again, buy instant noodles and ham from the convenience store, or take a long, luxurious shower in the bathhouse?’

The thought made tears stream from his eyes. Douglas Donovan sniffled and choked out, "Please... take care of yourself."

His crying made Lily Hart sigh internally. ’If I don’t cry too, will I seem cold and heartless?’

’But I can’t just force myself to cry...’

’Ever since the apocalypse began, my life has been one of constant stops and starts. The longest I’ve stayed anywhere was Nutwood Base, and that was only for about ten days.’

She patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Don’t cry. We’ll meet again."

Frost Shaw and Roman Rowe, with soup dumplings dangling from their mouths, glanced up at the pair, then exchanged a look before peacefully returning to their breakfast.

After a wave of sadness, Douglas Donovan reined in his emotions. He gave Lily Hart one last, deep look, and stepped out of the RV, still wiping tears from his eyes.

"Wait," Lily Hart called after him.

Douglas Donovan turned back. But what greeted him wasn’t Lily Hart’s radiant face, but a large fruit basket.

It was a kaleidoscope of colors, incredibly beautiful. Each piece of fruit looked impossibly fresh and plump, as if whispering, *Come on, eat me~*

Lily Hart struggled under its weight. She took two steps forward, shoved it directly into his arms, and urged, "Here, take it."