Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Nana

He averted his gaze and hurried away, his gaunt shoulders looking frail in the dark of night.

After sending him off, Lily Hart hurried back to her clay pot rice. She carefully touched the side of the pot with her hand.

’Good, it’s not cold yet.’ She picked up her spoon and mixed the rice, vegetables, and sauce. Now *that* was the way to eat it.

Lily hopped onto the table and sniffed eagerly at the clay pot. Lily Hart pushed her away, but the cat, not giving up, crept closer only to be pushed away again.

She was also given a stern lecture. "You’re a cat, you know that, right? Cats can’t eat human food. It’ll kill you! You can only eat cat food."

Still chewing, Lily Hart turned and pointed at the cat food, only to notice that Lily had barely touched the food dispensed by the automatic feeder today.

Lily Hart gulped down the food in her mouth and asked, puzzled, "Tired of your cat food?"

Lily nodded her head repeatedly, her big, watery eyes gazing at her pitifully.

Lily Hart felt a pang in her heart and surrendered. "Fine, fine. Order whatever you want yourself."

With that, she opened her Light Brain, scrolled to the pet section of the store, and turned the screen toward Lily.

Lily knew exactly what to do. She lay on the table with her paws crossed under her chin, swiping at the screen from time to time.

Five minutes later, the Light Brain announced, "Daily spending limit reached. Host, please spend rationally."

Lily Hart was so shocked she nearly spat out a mouthful of water. She quickly spun the screen back toward herself.

She scrolled through the order page. Three full pages of purchases, all of them pet supplies.

There were cat treats, a cat tree, a feather wand, a scratching basin, food bowls, a cat brush, nail clippers, a water fountain, all sorts of toys...

Lily Hart looked at Lily, then back at the three pages of orders, and almost couldn’t breathe.

"Seriously, Lily? You’re just one little cat. Do you really need to buy this much stuff? There’s no room for it in here!" Lily Hart lamented.

’This cat is nothing like me,’ she thought. ’So extravagant, spending money without any limits. She really has no idea how hard it is to make ends meet!’

Hearing this, Lily pulled the screen back over, scrolled to the very bottom of the order list, and pointed.

Lily Hart looked and her vision went dark. The cat had actually bought... another cat? And a female, at that... ’Do you even know that you’re a female cat, too?’

Under her stunned gaze, Lily tapped the "Confirm Receipt" button. A flash of white light burst forth.

A long-haired cat, pure white from head to tail, appeared on the table. Its fur was sleek, and it held its head high, exuding an air of nobility and grace.

Lily’s gaze toward the newcomer was incredibly fervent, as if she were looking at a long-lost sister.

She trotted forward eagerly, rubbing her head against the white cat and letting out a series of meows that were uncharacteristically high-pitched.

The white cat turned its head away, ignoring her, and meowed twice in annoyance. Lily began to meow back.

Lily Hart rested her chin in her hand, listening in. The gist of the conversation was: ’How are you doing here? Is this human treating you well?’

If she couldn’t understand meows, just looking at the white cat’s expression and tone would have made her think it despised Lily.

’Looks like they’re good sisters after all,’ she thought, relieved.

She had no choice but to get up and start taking out all the things Lily had just bought, including a cat tree that was so tall it nearly reached the RV’s ceiling.

Lily Hart stared at the pet supplies now occupying half of the RV and fell into deep thought. ’This place is just too small!’

She put the cat tree away for now and arranged the other items, trying her best to leave a clear path to walk through.

She was busy until almost eleven o’clock before she finally finished tidying up. Lily Hart straightened up slowly, rubbing her aching back.

She turned around only to glimpse the white cat walking ahead with a noble air, while Lily followed gleefully behind her, full of pep.

’What a pair... two fine cats.’

She secretly came up with a name for the white cat in her head. Voicing it to get its opinion, she said, "How about I call you Kuku? For being so cool."

The white cat shook its head, looked at Lily, and meowed a few times. *Tell this human that I have a name. My name is Nana.*

Lily Hart clapped her hands. "Okay! Nana it is, then."

Nana looked at her in surprise, then back at Lily. *This human can actually understand us?*

Lily nodded eagerly. Nana’s face fell. ’Then she must have heard what I just asked that stupid cat!’

She walked back to the new cat bed Lily had bought, her steps elegant, without giving Lily Hart another glance—whether out of shame or embarrassment.

Lily Hart couldn’t help but laugh. She quickly covered her mouth so the cat wouldn’t hear, then grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom to wash up.

The white cat curled up in the soft bed, turning her head inward. She was a little angry. ’That stupid cat didn’t even tell me!’

The sun rose on a new day. Sunlight streamed into the RV, creating square patches of light on the floor.

Lily was lying in one of the patches, calling for Nana to come sunbathe too. Soon the two of them were each basking in their own patch of light, looking completely content.

When Lily Hart groggily woke up, this was the scene that greeted her, and it made her heart melt.

Nana noticed her, but didn’t get up or greet her. Her body just tensed up slightly before quickly relaxing again.

’It’s fine,’ Lily Hart thought, not minding the cat’s little quirks. ’As long as she stays here long enough, she’ll eventually fit in. I’ll just be myself.’

After washing up, Lily Hart slid open the RV door, letting the sunshine spill in. She closed her eyes contentedly, letting the light wash over her.

It felt as if the morning sun was cleansing her whole body, leaving her feeling refreshed from the inside out.

"Boss Hart, morning! Are you open for business?" a voice called out, growing louder as it approached.

Lily Hart opened her eyes. The newcomer looked familiar, but she couldn’t recall their name. "Almost! Just a minute," she said.

She planned to leave the base today. Hope Base was nice, but with more people came more disputes.

Just yesterday, two people had gotten into a big fight over a scratch-off ticket.

She had watched the spectacle, fascinated. She really didn’t understand what was worth fighting over with an unscratched ticket. They didn’t even know what was on it.

She had been speechless, but still had to step in and mediate to keep them from flipping over her stall.

Lily Hart ducked back into the RV and then came out again. "I’m going to be selling at the base entrance today. If you want a scratch-off, you can go wait for me there."

"You got it!" The person was very agreeable and trotted off happily.

Lily Hart sent a message in the group chat, informing everyone that today’s sales location would be at the entrance of Hope Base.

She then drove the RV toward the main gate. Forrest Finch’s squad was on duty today, and they let her vehicle pass right through.

It was the first time she had truly felt the benefit of having connections. A glance back showed that everyone else had to undergo a search when entering or leaving the base.

The area outside the base had been cleaned up after a full day’s work yesterday and now looked as it did before, though there was still a faint stench of decay.

She heard they had gathered all the Space Ability Users in the base and used Space Storage Devices to load up the zombie corpses.

They were then transported to the garbage incinerator at the far end of the base to be burned, and that was that.

Lily Hart parked the RV and activated the safe zone with a single touch. Inside this area, the air was fresh, and the temperature was slightly cooler than outside.

She first took out the four sets of tables and chairs and set them up, along with the long table from yesterday, striving to give the first-arriving customers a good experience.