Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Roman Rowe

If the system detected any murderous intent, it could eliminate the source directly, pending her approval.

Lily Hart wasn’t scared at all. The system backing her up was the greatest source of her confidence. She lifted her chin and said forcefully, "Get out."

The man slowly shook his head. He took out a box of cigarettes, tapped it, and tipped out the last one.

His slender fingers held the cigarette, placed it between his lips, and lit it. He took a quiet drag, then leisurely tilted his head and exhaled a ring of smoke.

"You think that makes you look cool?" Lily Hart took a step back to avoid the smoke, her voice dripping with disdain.

The man froze, a flicker of murderous intent appearing in his eyes as he looked at her. It was the first time anyone had ever spoken to him like that.

’Usually, what woman who saw him wasn’t either terrified or infatuated? Who was like her? How audacious!’

He shot his hand out with lightning speed, aiming straight for her pale neck, but just an instant before he made contact...

The man’s legs gave out, and he collapsed, landing flat on his rear. He looked up at her, only to see a mocking smile in her eyes.

Incensed, he scrambled back to his feet to attack again. The energy of a Sixth-rank Superpower User erupted in an instant.

Lily Hart stood her ground, as immovable as a mountain, seemingly completely unaffected.

The crowd gathered around the RV, worrying helplessly, were blasted back by the force of his energy. "Quick, go get Boss Shaw!" someone shouted anxiously.

Someone else, enjoying the show, remarked, "Have any of you ever seen Boss Hart at a disadvantage?"

True enough. No one had ever defeated Boss Hart inside her RV. The crowd relaxed slightly, settling in to watch the drama unfold.

Frost Shaw arrived late. Not bothering with the door, he placed one hand on a table and vaulted inside.

"Lily Hart, are you all right?!" He had just sensed the energy fluctuations of a Sixth-rank Superpower User.

He wasn’t sure if the RV could take it—or if Lily Hart could—and had rushed over, his heart burning with anxiety.

"Frost Shaw? What the hell are you doing here?!" the man exclaimed.

Hearing the familiar voice, Frost Shaw looked over at him and frowned. "QQ Rowe?"

QQ Rowe’s expression soured. "Don’t call me that. It’s Roman Rowe!"

"..." Frost Shaw didn’t care what the man wanted to be called. He cut straight to the point. "What are you doing here? Did you take a job to kill Boss Hart?"

QQ Rowe—no, Roman Rowe—nodded cheerfully. "Yep. The pay is great. Enough for me to live it up for half a year."

Then it dawned on him. "Wait, you called her Boss Hart? You’re working for her? Frost Shaw, you’ve fallen so low!"

Lily Hart stepped forward, positioning herself between the two men and holding a hand out toward each of them.

She turned her head to Roman Rowe. "Stop. Don’t talk in front of me about how much you’re being paid to kill me. I’m not going to offer you double—I’m just going to tell you to get lost!"

Then she turned to Frost Shaw. "And you, take your friend and get him out of my sight."

Frost Shaw shot Roman Rowe a vicious glare. ’It’s all your fault,’ he thought. ’Now Boss Hart has a bad impression of me!’

"Getting him out of her sight" meant Frost Shaw dragging him to the convenience store. The moment they stepped inside, Roman Rowe couldn’t help but gasp. "This... is this mineral water?"

"So what?" Frost Shaw said calmly. He was used to this reaction; after all, he’d had the exact same one.

"So what?!" Roman Rowe echoed in disbelief, circling Frost Shaw a few times. "Is this all yours? Have you become some kind of tycoon?"

Frost Shaw shrugged. "Nope. The store belongs to Boss Hart. I just work for her."

Roman Rowe was floored. "What in the world is she paying you? For you—a mighty Seventh-rank Superpower User, the world’s *only* Ice Element user—to be working for her?"

"I can’t be hearing this right... Who is this Lily Hart, anyway? Winnie Lowell offered me one thousand Crystal Cores to kill her!" Roman Rowe held up a single finger for emphasis.

Hearing the name, Frost Shaw frowned instinctively. ’Winnie Lowell again?’

’Her status isn’t exactly low. She’s the Base Commander’s daughter, after all. Can’t just take her out, or the repercussions would be endless.’

Seeing Frost Shaw remain silent, Roman Rowe, who was used to it, simply started wandering around the store by himself.

"Frost Shaw, you even have instant noodles! My favorite, pickled cabbage flavor! I haven’t had this stuff in years!"

"And ham sausages! My favorite, the corn-flavored kind! Oh my god! Is this heaven? I never want to leave!"

Frost Shaw silently followed behind him, holding the Lucky Cat. Roman Rowe spun around and nearly crashed right into it.

He patted his chest to calm his racing heart. His other arm was piled high with several cups of instant noodles and a handful of ham sausages.

"Pay up," Frost Shaw said flatly.

"Seriously? You’re the host here. Aren’t you going to show a little hospitality?" Roman Rowe was aghast, his narrow eyes widening.

Frost Shaw repeated, "Pay up!" his tone more forceful.

Roman Rowe reluctantly started pulling out Crystal Cores. He took out handful after handful, producing a few dozen in total. "Is this enough?" he asked.

’Privately, he thought it wasn’t nearly enough. After all, something like instant noodles was incredibly rare. You probably couldn’t find more than a few packages in the entire world.’

With the collapse of human civilization, the loss of water and power, and the sudden drop in population, factories had naturally ceased to operate.

Power had only been partially restored in recent years, but research institutes weren’t going to waste their time developing food like instant noodles.

They would only focus their efforts on foods that increased satiety and provided energy.

A few Crystal Cores clattered to the floor. Easton appeared just in time to pick them up.

He politely handed them back to Roman Rowe, counting on his fingers. "You don’t need this many. Five is more than enough!"

Roman Rowe was, yet again, completely stunned. "This cheap?!"

He immediately shoved the Crystal Cores into Easton’s hands and stored the items from his arms into his dimensional space.

Then he dashed to the shelves and began sweeping everything into his space, shouting, "Come on, come into your grandpa’s arms! Let grandpa take you all away!"

Frost Shaw was accustomed to his friend’s madness, as well as the facade he put on for outsiders.

The story of how they’d met was actually pretty funny. Roman Rowe had accepted a mission to kill Frost Shaw but ended up being completely unable to defeat him.

It was the only mission Roman Rowe had ever failed to complete in his entire career. From that fight, a friendship was born, and they had known each other ever since.

Two years prior, Central Command had launched a social media app with functions similar to old-world Weibo, and Roman Rowe’s account had amassed a considerable number of followers.

Many people were drawn to his wild and carefree personality, even though his public persona was that of a bloodthirsty maniac who killed without blinking.

He sometimes wore a terrifying mask on his missions, to the point that he’d become a boogeyman for children: "If you don’t stop crying, the bloodthirsty maniac will come and snatch you away!"

As night fell, the number of customers in the convenience store dwindled, which worked out perfectly for Roman Rowe. He completely emptied the shelves.

He then shamelessly used the convenience store’s hot water to make himself a cup of noodles and sat on the doorstep, slurping away.

Roman Rowe slurped his noodles loudly. From where he sat, he had a clear, albeit side-on, view of the double-decker RV in the distance.

He took out his Light Brain and snapped a photo of the sunset behind the RV, making sure to get the entire vehicle in the shot.

Then, still holding his noodles, he stood up and backed away, then backed away some more, to take a picture of the convenience store. Its shelves were already fully restocked.

Through the glass walls, everything inside was crystal clear: mineral water, instant noodles, spicy snack strips, ham sausages, and more...

Roman Rowe lowered his head and posted the two photos to the social media app with a caption: "Utopia."