Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 67: Chapter 67: Dahe and Dajiang

’How is that my problem? She brought it on herself. Why did she have to go and provoke Lily Hart for no reason?’

’From what I’ve learned over the past two days, I have a rough idea of Lily Hart’s temperament: if you don’t mess with her, she won’t mess with you.’

Zelda Whittaker grumbled internally, but her face showed none of it. Instead, she said with great regret, "I know, Winnie is still so young..."

"Winnie’s so young, but she’ll never be able to stand for the rest of her life. She’ll be stuck in a wheelchair forever! I’m furious! I wish I could drag Lily Hart here and let Winnie do whatever she wants with her!"

The more Hunter Lowell spoke, the more distraught he became. His body went limp, and he collapsed into his chair, speaking through gritted teeth.

His entire being radiated rage—extreme rage. If Lily Hart were in front of him right now, it was terrifying to imagine what he might do.

CRACK— The bowl in front of Zelda Whittaker shattered from the force.

Zelda Whittaker could only try her best to placate him, pretending to agree for now. After all, this was her office...

"Don’t be so hasty. This matter needs careful consideration..." Zelda Whittaker said, skillfully deflecting his anger.

Hunter Lowell gasped for air, his chest heaving violently. Zelda Whittaker was genuinely afraid he might drop dead right there.

She sent out a message with lightning speed before continuing, "I’ve looked into it. It seems the area around the lottery shop..."

"I already know that. She controls that entire area. Winnie told me. Even four Second-rank Superpower Users couldn’t break through," Hunter Lowell interrupted her.

He spoke with a crazed look in his eyes. "With enough power and enough superpower users, nothing is unbreakable! Zelda Whittaker, lend me the superpower users from your base!"

’He’s lost it. He’s completely lost it.’

Zelda Whittaker took a deep breath to calm herself and refused him again. "I can’t possibly lend you my superpower users."

Hunter Lowell stared at her in disbelief. "Do you have any idea what you’re saying? Do you know who’s backing me?! How dare you refuse me!"

Zelda Whittaker stood up and reiterated, "I don’t care who’s backing you. I will not lend you my superpower users!"

’I know perfectly well who’s more important between you and Boss Hart.’

’Besides, do you have any idea how much effort it takes for me to recruit and train a single superpower user?!’

’Lend, lend, lend—you’d borrow my base into oblivion!’

"Fine! You’re something else!" Enraged, Hunter Lowell slammed his hand on the table.

A crack spread out slowly from under his palm, and in an instant, the wooden table collapsed with a crash.

Zelda Whittaker let out a breath and calmly held out her hand. "Pay up."

’If we’re going to fall out, we might as well make it a clean break.’

’Anyway, he already paid me back double for the supplies I spent supporting him the other day. I’m definitely not at a loss here.’

Hunter Lowell shot her a glare. "You just wait!" He spun around angrily, turning so fast he nearly tripped over himself.

Zelda Whittaker stood on her tiptoes, waved, and called out a reminder, "Remember to pay for the table! I sent the bill to your Light Brain!"

"Hmph!" Hunter Lowell snorted heavily through his nose, his mind a tangled mess.

He couldn’t believe that even a broad like Zelda Whittaker wouldn’t help him. Hunter Lowell clenched his fists, a lump of frustration caught in his chest, making it hard to breathe.

As he was leaving the base in his RV, Hunter Lowell caught sight of a brand-new double-decker RV. He could clearly see Lily Hart smiling radiantly, the dimples by her mouth faintly visible.

’How dare she! His precious daughter was lying on a hospital bed, wishing she were dead, while this woman was basking in the sun and smiling so happily!’

"BLECH—" Overcome by a fit of rage, Hunter Lowell coughed up a mouthful of blood, staining the already dingy sofa cover red.

After spitting up the blood, Hunter Lowell’s vision blurred and his mind grew groggy. The next moment, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out.

"Base Commander!" the bodyguards exclaimed. They rushed to surround him. Fortunately, one of them knew some basic medicine and immediately began first aid.

The driver floored the accelerator, racing back to Hope Base...

Lily Hart watched the familiar RV speed past her like a gust of wind, a swift WHOOSH.

’He’s out already? It hasn’t even been an hour. Did they reach an agreement? Or did the talks fall apart?’

Lily Hart looked down at her Light Brain and was surprised to see a message from Zelda Whittaker. It was just three words.

[Beware Hunter Lowell]

Based on her knowledge of Zelda Whittaker’s usual texting habits, she would have definitely included punctuation. The lack of it meant this message was sent in a hurry.

She stopped her mind from wandering and replied with a single word: "Okay."

Just as she closed her Light Brain, it vibrated again. Lily Hart looked and saw a reply from Zelda Whittaker: [Hunter Lowell wanted me to help him deal with you. I refused.]

[Awesome!] Lily Hart replied with inexplicable praise.

She knew this was Zelda Whittaker’s way of showing goodwill. Between her and Hunter Lowell, Zelda had chosen her.

Lily Hart was very pleased. She didn’t mind being someone’s second choice, as long as they chose her decisively in the end.

She propped her chin on her hand, gazing in the direction of Bloomfall Base and calculating...

’Once I sell out today’s scratch-offs, I’ll hit my goal of one hundred thousand points. Then I can leave the automatic scratch-off machine here at Bloomfall Base.’

’I heard that if I collect the five-pointed star icons from five different bases, a new surprise will appear.’

She was looking forward to it, even though she only had one so far...

As she was thinking, her arm felt like it had been poked by a piece of ice. She turned her head to see Frost Shaw holding up a Light Brain for her to look at.

Lily Hart leaned in. It was the profile of the first customer from the morning. She gave it a quick scan.

Name: Damon Donovan. Height: 5’10". Weight: unknown. Date of birth: unknown. Appeared to be around twenty years old.

Born and raised in Rodington City. Had excellent grades before the apocalypse. Only surviving family member is an older brother, Daryl Donovan.

Daryl Donovan, Damon Donovan.

’Those names sound so familiar, as if Zelda Whittaker mentioned them before.’

Since she had a connection, Lily Hart immediately went to ask: [Do you know who Damon Donovan is?]

The reply came back quickly and was even more detailed: [I do. They’re a bigger gang than Zeke Lowell’s crew, specializing in robbery. The older brother is Daryl Donovan, and the younger is Damon Donovan.]

[The two of them, one martial and one cerebral, are a perfect match. The older brother is a Fourth-rank Superpower User, while the younger brother is very smart—the team’s strategist.]

After a while, Zelda Whittaker asked, [Did they come looking for you? Nothing bad happened, right?]

[No,] Lily Hart replied.

’This is so weird. What do these people want? Is everyone coming to cause trouble for me?!’

’Whatever! Time to eat! Anyway, I’ve got two great protectors by my side and the system as my trump card. Whoever comes looking for a fight will get one!’

At noon, everyone happily ate lunch, took a short nap, and then reopened for the afternoon.

They had just put the scratch-offs out when Damon Donovan arrived, as if determined to be the first customer. Lily Hart sat on a high stool, watching him approach with her chin propped on one hand.

Damon Donovan didn’t look at her. He simply took out the scratch-off he’d bought that morning, placed it on the table, and said, "Claiming my prize."

Lily Hart took a look. Well, what do you know. On his first try, he’d won the fruit everyone dreamed of—and a whole fruit basket at that!

When the Lucky Cat spat out the fruit basket, Damon Donovan couldn’t help but gasp. It was so large it would take a grown man to wrap his arms around it, and inside were about ten different kinds of fruit, arranged in a chaotic yet orderly fashion.

Apples, pears, dragon fruits, jujubes, grapes, oranges, Holy Daughter Fruits, cantaloupes, peaches, and so on...

Every single piece was plump and glistening, clearly top-quality fruit.