Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 182: Chapter 182: Jili

[Oh my god, what in the world is Boss Hart doing?]

[Yeah, like she was pulling up radishes. Just plucked her businesses up one by one and left.]

[So smooth...]

[To be honest, I was a little worried Boss Hart would crash into the people in front.]

[When Boss Hart’s in charge, you don’t have to worry!]

[So, does this mean she’s heading to a new base? I wonder which one’s next.]

Setting those comments aside, the several hundred people left on the ground could only watch helplessly as the RV floated away.

They stared at each other, speechless for a long moment, before finally turning back to the base, completely defeated.

Inside the RV as it floated farther and farther away, Lily Hart stood with her hands on her hips, head thrown back, letting out a peal of delighted laughter. It felt absolutely wonderful.

Roman Rowe was laughing beside her. "You should’ve seen the look on their faces! Like a bunch of country bumpkins, just staring dumbfounded."

Then he began to sarcastically mimic them with wild gestures, "If you want to pass, you’ll have to run over our dead bodies~"

This made Lily Hart laugh so hard she could barely breathe. Even though no one was hurt, it was incredibly satisfying. ’That’ll teach you to threaten me!’

Hmph. Hmph.

After everyone had a good laugh and calmed down, Frost Shaw finally asked, "Are we going to Auspice Base now?"

Lily Hart nodded but paused midway through to cautiously check her Light Brain. The destination was indeed Auspice Base. "That’s right," she said. "What’s the difference between tonight and tomorrow morning, anyway!"

Roman Rowe nodded in enthusiastic agreement. Frost Shaw sat in his chair, watching the high-spirited Lily Hart with a smile. Leo Colby, meanwhile, rested his chin on his hand and looked at everyone, hiding a smile of his own.

The two bases weren’t far from each other, only about five hundred kilometers apart. For the RV at full speed, it would only take an hour.

The gates and walls of every base were more or less the same, all built one after another in the second year of the apocalypse. The only differences were their size and name.

Auspice Base was larger than any other base Lily had seen, with walls that stretched out of sight and stood considerably high.

Members of The Guardian Corps were stationed at regular intervals along the walls, while searchlights as bright as day swept the area, making the whole setup look far more professional.

The RV slowly came to a stop in an open area a few hundred meters from Auspice Base. A searchlight beam happened to sweep over them, but it just lazily passed by.

Then, as if it had just registered their presence, the beam shot straight back and fixed on the RV. The already bright vehicle was now painfully dazzling, and Lily Hart couldn’t help but raise a hand to shield her eyes.

"They must have spotted outsiders," Frost Shaw explained from the side, taking a small step forward to partially block the intense light.

"And then?" Lily Hart asked, not understanding.

’Come to think of it, she’d never arrived at a base in the middle of the night before. It was always in broad daylight...’

The thought flashed through her mind, and then the searchlight began to blink rhythmically, now mixed with red, yellow, and green lights. Lily Hart found it even more blinding.

Immediately after, a distant voice came from the main gate of Auspice Base, accompanied by the distinctive static of a loudspeaker, "Who goes there?"

Seeing that they meant no harm and were just making a standard inquiry, Lily Hart also took out a large loudspeaker and replied, "Lily Hart! From the lottery shop!"

The other side was clearly taken aback and didn’t respond for a long time. Lily Hart waited patiently. When a voice finally came again, she could tell it was a different person.

"What are you here for?"

Lily Hart yelled at the top of her lungs, "To sell lottery tickets!"

Fair enough.

The person on the other end replied, "Welcome to Auspice Base to sell lottery tickets, Boss Hart! Are you opening up shop now?"

Lily Hart glanced at the moon hanging high in the sky and was struck speechless for a moment. ’It’s the middle of the night. What am I supposed to be selling?’

"Tomorrow morning at nine!" Lily Hart’s voice nearly cracked from shouting. Fortunately, the other side just replied with an "Okay," and she figured the conversation was over.

Everyone gradually went back to their own quarters.

Frost Shaw lingered behind. He fiddled with the corner of a table, hesitating before speaking. In a low voice, he reminded her, "Now that we’re at Auspice Base, you must be careful of Stan Sterling."

Lily Hart acknowledged his warning, taking it to heart.

Little did she know, things on the other side were just getting started.

After finishing his exchange with Lily Hart, the Guardian Corps captain on duty that night immediately scrambled down from the wall. Holding up his pants as he ran, he sprinted towards the core district where the Base Commander and high-level leadership lived.

He had to pass through several checkpoints and inspections along the way to reach the core district.

He finally arrived at the Base Commander’s residence: a small, three-story villa with a rather large courtyard. Members of The Guardian Corps stood guard outside.

The squad leader stood outside the courtyard, waiting to be announced. After a long while, he was finally granted permission to enter.

The Base Commander had been about to go to sleep. He was now leaning back in a soft sofa, his feet propped up on the coffee table. He dug in his ear and said, "If you have something to say, say it quick."

The squad leader said respectfully, "Lily Hart has arrived with her lottery shop, convenience store, hotel, and bathhouse. Right now, she’s parked about three hundred meters outside the base."

He explained the situation in just a few sentences, then carefully raised his eyes to observe the Base Commander’s expression.

But he couldn’t read anything from it. The Base Commander stared blankly at his own toes and said flatly, "I see. You may leave."

"Yes, sir." The squad leader withdrew.

After he had completely left, the Base Commander slowly took his feet off the table. He stood barefoot on the carpet and, with a loud CRASH, kicked the coffee table over.

The items on the coffee table scattered across the floor with a series of clatters.

He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath, "What the hell is Stan Sterling even doing?! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have let him go. I should’ve kept him here to serve me!"

Then he glanced at the person kneeling in servitude beside him. He suppressed his anger slightly before saying, "Clean this up. Then get yourself upstairs."

The person, who was prostrated on the floor, trembled upon hearing his words. Their fists were clenched tightly, and their eyes were red.

Before the apocalypse, it was an era of civilization. People advocated for equality, and with the law holding them in check, no one dared to commit heinous acts.

But once the apocalypse broke out, coupled with the random emergence of superpowers, humanity’s ugliest side was fully exposed.

Having a superpower was the ultimate advantage. From there, they gradually amassed more power and influence, doing all the things in the apocalypse that they had wanted but never dared to do before.

Besides, Central Command was a world away, powerless to intervene.

For example, Shane Wilder, the Base Commander of Auspice Base, had some... special little quirks.

Outside Auspice Base, Lily Hart was completely oblivious to all of this. She was lying in bed, leisurely playing on her Light Brain. After casually posting a message, she fell sound asleep.

The next day, Lily Hart woke up naturally. But people will be people, and beds are hard to leave. Unwilling to get up just yet, she lingered under the covers and casually opened her Light Brain.

It was as if no one had slept. Overnight, Lily Hart’s post had been pushed to the top of the trending list, with over a hundred thousand likes and tens of thousands of comments.

Although some of the likes were inflated; Central Command had secretly bought her some online engagement to keep her from losing hope in humanity.

Lily Hart scrolled through them. The comments were all more or less the same—the usual stuff, like "Come to our base!" or "What prizes have been scratched off recently?" or "When can we buy scratch-offs online?"

And so on.