Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 151: Chapter 151: Factions and Taking Sides

Leo Colby spoke slowly, "Central Command controls the largest supply of resources in all of Cathaya, so naturally, there are more disputes. It’s split into several factions, which is why I don’t want to get involved."

Lily Hart propped her chin on her hands, wearing a "tell me more" expression. At the same time, she started the RV and continued driving toward Spring-Watch Base.

"One faction believes humanity has been abandoned. They can’t beat anything at their own level, so they want to give up and just let things rot. Their research is pretty conventional—basically how to make potatoes taste better and how to adapt seeds to the current soil. They’re the ’Let It Rot’ Faction."

"Another faction thinks that since superpower users have appeared among humans, there’s still hope. They’re constantly researching how to turn zombies back to normal and end the apocalypse. They’re the ’Hope Faction’."

"Then there’s an even crazier faction. They think this disaster is a gift from the heavens, a test for humanity. They want to make humans stronger, and their main research focus is... combining humans with zombies and mutated plants and animals. They’re the ’Radical Faction’."

Lily Hart raised her hand to ask a question. "So which faction is the most powerful in Central Command right now?"

Her serious expression made Frost Shaw unable to hold back a soft chuckle.

Leo Colby said seriously, "They’re all powerful."

Yes, they were in a delicate balance, and Lily Hart’s appearance had shattered it.

There were three major factions, and each one was desperate to win Lily Hart over. With her, they would have a bargaining chip.

"Oh~" Lily Hart nodded as if she half-understood.

After some more rambling conversation, Lily Hart gradually developed a clearer understanding of this world.

At first, she thought she was just here to sell scratch-off tickets and fulfill her grand ambition of opening a lottery shop in every base.

Her attitude toward this world had always been indifferent; after all, she was just here to do business.

But gradually, after getting to know Frost Shaw, Roman Rowe, Leo Colby, Zelda Whittaker, Douglas Donovan, Logan Holland, Diana Sharp, Tina Jacobs, Easton, Frederick Shaw, and the others...

...she started to feel a sense of belonging, the warmth of a home?

’If the system asked me right now if I wanted to go back, I’d probably hesitate. Go back to what? To being a corporate drone working 996? To scraping by on a measly four or five thousand a month? I’d rather be here, being Boss Hart, running my lottery shop, eating and drinking well every day, and surrounded by all these handsome men. Life couldn’t be better! Aside from the occasional danger and all the unknowns, there’s not much else to worry about. But that’s what makes it so exciting and cool, right?! I could brag about this for a lifetime back in the 21st century!’

Lily Hart’s mood suddenly brightened. ’Time to go big, get strong, and achieve new glory!’

Frost Shaw watched her expression go from cloudy to sunny, and he couldn’t help but feel happy too. ’As long as she’s happy, that’s all that matters.’

"So, do you guys know which faction is behind Spring-Watch Base?" Lily Hart asked, though she already had a sinking feeling about the answer.

"The Radical Faction!" the three of them replied in unison.

Lily Hart said thoughtfully, "They really are radical."

The group chatted about everything under the sun as the RV reached its destination. It automatically found a spot big enough to accommodate all its buildings and parked.

This was in front of Spring-Watch Base. Almost every base had a wide, flat area out front in case of future needs like expansion.

They had just stopped, and Lily Hart had just opened up the side of the RV, ready to see what the notoriously violent Spring-Watch Base looked like.

"Look out—" Frost Shaw’s shout came from behind her. She instinctively squeezed her eyes shut and activated the RV’s maximum defenses.

The next second, a wave of cold air washed over her. She slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was a group of ice sculptures.

A quick count revealed more than a dozen of them. They were holding weapons, their faces contorted in vicious snarls, looking like they were about to smash the vehicle.

Lily Hart’s eyes went wide. "What’s going on?" She reached out and poked the nearest ice sculpture, which fell to the ground with a CLATTER.

Leo Colby walked over to inspect them. "They’re all from Spring-Watch Base."

"So they were...? What were they trying to do? They weren’t trying to kill me, were they?" Lily Hart guessed.

"You guessed right," Frost Shaw’s voice was steady but laced with displeasure. His sharp eyes swept over them. "Should I kill them all?"

Lily Hart shot him a glance. "Did you say ’chill them all’? Because you already did that."

Frost Shaw’s tense face suddenly relaxed, and he couldn’t help but turn his head and laugh.

"Let’s thaw them out," Lily Hart said to Frost Shaw with a snap of her fingers, summoning some plants at the same time.

She had them stand next to the people from Spring-Watch Base, one plant per person, just staring them down intently.

With a wave of his hand, Frost Shaw thawed them. The people shivered violently from the cold, their eyes still closed. They rubbed their arms, not yet realizing what had happened.

Until someone exclaimed, "Look! Outsiders!"

Those two words snapped the dozen or so people to their senses, and they all turned to look at the RV.

The people inside were bright and clean, watching them as if they were a show.

Then they looked at themselves—disheveled and filthy. A flood of jealousy, envy, and hatred washed over them.

"Kill them!"

"What the hell are these, mutated plants!"

"Forget it! Let’s just take that RV first!"

They had just taken a single step when the mutated plants that had been watching them sprang into action. A Sunflower shot straight through a person, and a Willow Tree strangled another.

A Mimosa poisoned someone to death, and a Laurel wrapped around another until they suffocated...

In an instant, the dozen or so people were dead, each in a different way.

Roman Rowe clapped his hands. "Amazing, Boss Hart."

Lily Hart gave a dismissive wave. "It was nothing. More importantly, we won’t get in trouble for killing them, right?" Having been in the apocalypse for so long, she was gradually becoming desensitized to things like killing.

"At another base, you’d probably get a lecture or two. At Spring-Watch Base, it’s as simple as squashing an ant," Frost Shaw said.

The disdain for Spring-Watch Base was clear in their voices.

Lily Hart was no exception. Hearing so many stories had soured her impression, and besides, she hadn’t even been here for half an hour before the base’s residents were screaming to kill her. How could she not be annoyed?

They didn’t bother dealing with the pile of bodies. A Willow Tree simply pushed them aside with its branches, creating a small, rather spectacular-looking hill.

They had been delayed by a rat swarm on the road, so it was nearly noon by the time they reached Spring-Watch Base. There were no guards at the main gate, and no one came out.

Lily Hart looked around for a moment. She had heard that Spring-Watch Base was even larger than Fortune Base, so why was its main gate so crude? It wasn’t even as good as Rebirth Base’s.

’When in doubt, eat first!’

"Go tell the kids to come eat. They can stop working," Lily Hart ordered Roman Rowe.

That morning, the people from Fortune Base had made one last massive shopping run at the convenience store and lottery shop, nearly clearing out the inventory of both.

The six little brats had been stocking shelves all morning.

Roman Rowe scurried off happily. Lily Hart glanced at Frost Shaw. "Don’t you have an automatic restocking function? Why didn’t you turn it on?"

Frost Shaw replied smugly, "No way. If I turned it on, those little brats would have nothing to do and would pester me all day again. I’m just giving them something to do."

’What a great big brother.’

"Ever thought about awakening their superpowers?" Lily Hart asked, idly making conversation as she flipped through options for what to eat for lunch.