Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: This Shop Owner Is Above That

She said nonchalantly, "You can scratch off any kind of prize. It all depends on your luck. As for skipping town... my business is well-established. I wouldn’t stoop to that~"

The slight lift at the end of her sentence somehow gave her an air of fabulous wealth.

The man’s name was Damon Donovan. He paused for a moment, then calmly replied, "In that case, I’ll take one."

He cautiously took out a Crystal Core, grabbed a ticket, and turned to leave, leaving everyone else confused.

Lily Hart watched his thin back recede and said enigmatically, "That man... is very strange."

Roman Rowe sidled up to her. "Strange how? Want me to go check him out?" He said it as if he were planning to assassinate the guy.

Lily Hart shot him a look and played along. "I want all his information within a minute."

"Boss Hart, I can’t do that!" Roman Rowe covered his mouth with both hands, shaking his head in exaggerated disbelief.

"Pfft... Get lost." Lily Hart pushed him away, shooing him off.

’What a clown. Where’s the cool, arrogant guy who rode a motorcycle and blew smoke rings at her when they first met?’

’Was that Roman Rowe’s second personality? Did this one eat it?!’

Frost Shaw’s gaze followed Damon Donovan until he disappeared around a corner. Then, he lowered his head and swiped a few times on his Light Brain.

Lily Hart didn’t have time to dwell on these two things. Customers started arriving one after another, some from Bloomfall Base and others from the surrounding area.

Wave after wave.

She was busy until noon. Lily Hart stretched and called out, "Alright, closing up, closing up! Come back this afternoon~"

With Diana Sharp and Tina Jacobs helping out in the morning, things were much easier for her. The two of them were exceptionally quick learners, understanding things after just a little guidance.

As she was stretching, Lily Hart spotted a dusty RV driving into Bloomfall Base.

Curious, she grabbed a customer and asked, "Who’s that?"

The customer turned around, squinted, and shook their head. "That license plate looks really familiar. Boss Hart, you should search for it on your Light Brain. Someone’s bound to have posted about it."

Lily Hart lowered her head and did a quick search, discovering the license plate belonged to Hope Base. ’So, Hunter Lowell?’

’That makes sense. It’s just communication between Base Commanders.’

But Lily Hart couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Feeling uneasy, she scrolled through her Light Brain and asked in the Hope Base group chat.

"Has anything been happening at Hope Base recently?"

The moment Boss Hart spoke, people immediately responded, the messages flooding in.

"Haven’t heard anything major, but the Base Commander’s daughter was crippled."

"Yeah, the Base Commander’s been in a foul mood the past few days. The whole base is going through a major shake-up."

"That’s right, a lot of people couldn’t take it and skipped town. I’m planning on leaving too."

"Which base are you guys going to?"

"Probably Nutwood Base. It has a large population and it’s a major base. I heard the Base Commander is down-to-earth too."

"Count me in!"

"I’m going to Nutwood Base too, mainly because it’s close."

The topic gradually strayed, but Lily Hart quickly grasped the main point.

’Winnie Lowell was crippled. She knew that; she’d paid Roman Rowe one Crystal Core to go beat her up.’

’Could Hunter Lowell be teaming up with Zelda Whittaker to deal with me? On what grounds!’

Lily Hart was indignant, but subconsciously, she felt Zelda Whittaker wasn’t that kind of person. She was elegant, generous, reasonable, and considerate of her base’s residents.

’Yes, it must be that old scoundrel Hunter Lowell who’s after me!’

Just then, Roman Rowe was nearby. She tossed him a Crystal Core, and he caught it instinctively, asking, "Who are we killing this time?"

If the customers hadn’t mostly cleared out, Lily Hart would have slapped a hand over his mouth.

She leaned in and whispered, "Hunter Lowell!"

Roman Rowe shook his head vehemently, his hair flying everywhere. "No way! Hunter Lowell has people backing him up from above!"

He pointed a finger to the sky, a grave and mysterious look on his face. Lily Hart also pointed a finger to the sky.

"I’ve got people backing me up too, and my connections are stronger than his! Are you going or not? If not, I’ll find someone else!" Lily Hart said impatiently.

’I just want to kill all these people. All I wanted was to run my lottery shop in peace. What did I do wrong?!’

"I’ll go, I’ll go!" Roman Rowe agreed at once, stashing the Crystal Core. Was he scared?

’Of course, he was!’

’He was scared Boss Hart would stop feeding him and kick him out of the "family"!’

「...」

Meanwhile, inside Bloomfall Base, Zelda Whittaker held a bowl of black jelly, finding it rather hard to swallow.

She couldn’t help but think of the luxurious breakfast she had seen by the RV yesterday morning—noodles in a rich broth with vegetables and a fried egg.

Just thinking about it made Zelda Whittaker’s mouth water. Suddenly, the black jelly didn’t seem so bad. She tilted her head back and gulped it down in one go.

’Then she started to wonder again, what were the chances of winning Boss Hart over...’

’Given her personality, she probably wouldn’t stay in one base for too long.’

Just as she put down the bowl, there was a knock on the door. A member of the Guardian Corps came in to report, "Base Commander, Hunter Lowell from Hope Base is here."

’Hunter Lowell... he’s not bad at managing his base, just a bit rigid. But he has powerful backers, so you can’t afford to offend him.’

"Show him in." Zelda Whittaker sat up straight, her fingers unconsciously tracing the rim of the bowl as she mulled something over.

Hunter Lowell strode in, followed by four bodyguards, all with solemn expressions.

"Base Commander Lowell, what wind blew you here?" Zelda Whittaker rose to greet him briefly, then said, "Please, have a seat."

Hunter Lowell sat down very naturally in the chair opposite her. Zelda Whittaker sat down as well. Their eyes met, and sparks flew.

During the recent zombie tide at Hope Base, only Bloomfall Base had come to their aid, leading five hundred members of the Guardian Corps as reinforcements.

Though it wasn’t many, it was all the forces Bloomfall Base could mobilize, and they had brought many supplies with them.

This was what had managed to briefly halt the unstoppable zombie horde, allowing the exhausted Hope Base a moment to catch its breath.

Hunter Lowell was very grateful to her. And so, he got straight to the point. "I hear that lottery shop has opened in Bloomfall Base?"

Zelda Whittaker’s heart skipped a beat. She had heard a little about the feud between Lily Hart and Hunter Lowell...

"Yes. To possess such a rare superpower, Boss Hart is truly formidable. I even specially invited her to operate within the base for a day," Zelda Whittaker said truthfully.

There was also a hint of a warning in her words.

A flash of disdain crossed Hunter Lowell’s eyes. He clenched his fists, wishing he could have Lily Hart drawn and quartered.

He scoffed and cut to the chase. "Zelda Whittaker, I came today because I want to cooperate with you to eliminate Lily Hart. If you agree, I will also approach Nutwood Base and Rebirth Base."

Rebirth, Hope, Bloomfall, and Nutwood—the four largest bases in Rodington City.

Not to mention the dozen or so smaller bases that didn’t even qualify to register with Central Command and could only survive by depending on the larger bases.

As he spoke, Hunter Lowell grew so agitated that he stood up, planting his hands on the table and glaring at Zelda Whittaker with bloodshot eyes.

Zelda Whittaker subtly shifted back a little, meeting his terrifying gaze and shaking her head in refusal. "I will not cooperate with you."

"And Boss Hart won’t be so easily eliminated. Base Commander Lowell, I advise you to give up on this idea," she suggested with great sincerity.

Hunter Lowell’s eyes widened, the whites completely filled with red veins, a terrifying sight. His lips trembled as he said angrily, "Do you have any idea what she did to Winnie?"