Chapter 301: Yearning to Be a Store Manager

Chapter 301: Chapter 301: Yearning to Be a Store Manager

It wasn’t until Frost Shaw finished her shower and saw the light seeping from under the door that she came knocking. She told them to hurry back to their own rooms to sleep and stop making a racket so late at night.

The people in the room fell silent instantly, exchanging glances. Easton, being the eldest of the group, took charge. "Alright, let’s hurry back and get some sleep."

He even remembered to shout out to Frost Shaw, "Got it, we’re going to sleep now!"

Frost Shaw waited outside for a moment. Noticing no one had come out yet, she urged them again, "Hurry up. Have you even looked at the time?"

Only when she saw Diana Sharp and Tina Jacobs emerge did she finally leave, relieved.

...

Late that night, Brian Booker, Lena Corbin, and Steven Gibbs held a small meeting.

They discussed what The White Family’s new director might be like, as well as Elder Shaw’s actions that day.

The three of them were in Brian Booker’s office, each holding a black jelly cup. Lena Corbin frowned. After a single bite, she just held it in her hand, her expression full of disdain.

"Which one of you found that guy? Utterly useless," Brian Booker scoffed.

Steven Gibbs timidly raised his hand. "I did. He seemed reliable at first, and the plan was going okay, but who would’ve thought Lily Hart would disarm the bomb so easily..."

Brian Booker shot him a look. ’Seriously, you can’t do anything right. The guy you found was completely useless. And what a pathetic excuse for a bomb!’

She leaned back in her chair. "It’ll be much harder to pull something like this in the future."

Lena Corbin slammed the black jelly cup down on the desk. "Can’t the research institute come up with something that actually tastes good? What is this stuff? It’s disgusting."

Steven Gibbs, feeling guilty about messing up, steeled himself and pulled a large apple from his personal storage. The moment it appeared, the other two caught its scent and their heads snapped in his direction.

"Where did you get that apple?" Lena Corbin’s energy surged, her eyes fixed on it like a predator.

"Won it from a scratch-off at the lottery shop..." Steven Gibbs mumbled. His hushed voice held a hint of pride, though he was trying his best to keep a straight face.

Brian Booker clicked her tongue, took the apple from his hand, pulled out a small knife, and sliced it into three pieces. She handed one to Lena Corbin and another to Steven Gibbs. "You’ve been playing scratch-offs at the lottery shop?"

"Just a few times," Steven Gibbs said, looking shifty as he chewed on his slice of apple.

Right now, everyone was supposed to be united against a common foe. It wouldn’t look good if he were discovered frequenting the lottery shop.

’But it’s just so damn addicting!’

’That feeling of anticipation while you’re scratching, wondering if you’ve won... and the sense of accomplishment when you actually hit a prize... it’s the best feeling in the world!’

Lena Corbin asked curiously, "So those convenience stores, the hotels... were they really won from scratch-offs?" She’d never quite believed it, but it seemed to be the only plausible explanation.

Steven Gibbs said with a straight face, "They were."

"How would you know?" Lena Corbin and Brian Booker asked in unison.

"Because I want to win one, too..." ’They have to come from scratch-offs. That’s the only way I’ll ever have a chance to get one,’ Steven Gibbs thought silently.

The two women gave him a speechless look. Brian Booker remarked, "I never took Director Gibbs for a wannabe shopkeeper..."

Steven Gibbs nodded earnestly, his face filled with longing for the life of a shopkeeper. ’What’s so great about being a director? I just want to chill... Scheming all day is exhausting, you know?’

Brian Booker and Lena Corbin were left speechless. If they had a choice, they wouldn’t want to be puppets either.

But they had been chosen by The Mysterious Clan, groomed as potential directors, ready to be replaced at a moment’s notice should anything go wrong.

Like Quentin Carter and Chad Yates before, The White Family would just send a new person to take over.

The thought made her sigh for reasons she couldn’t quite explain. The O’Malley Family was decent enough; even if you were replaced, you could still live a relatively comfortable life. But The White Family, she’d heard, simply executed their failures...

As they chatted, the topic drifted to Lily Hart.

This woman had appeared out of thin air with her lottery shop, completely upending the trends of the apocalypse. She became the center of attention at every base she visited.

On the [Human Social Sphere], there was even a prize leaderboard. Any prize that was publicly revealed got voted on and ranked by the community, with many kind souls even adding pictures.

Of course, there were also plenty of people who kept their winnings a secret, not wanting anyone else to know.

First place was the convenience store, which had everything one could possibly need.

Second place was the bathhouse. No one who went ever wanted to leave; they’d happily stay there until the end of time.

Third place was the hotel, for much the same reason. It was an incredibly safe haven, and it wasn’t even expensive.

Further down the list were factories, saplings that could improve the soil, tanks, cannons, and so on...

Steven Gibbs opened the [Human Social Sphere] and went through the list of prizes with the other two, his voice thick with envy, as if wishing every single one was his.

Lena Corbin’s eyes were green with envy. "We should have forced Lily Hart to hand over the lottery shop back when she wasn’t so powerful. Just think of all the prizes we could have by now!"

Brian Booker mentally rolled her eyes. ’They had sent Logan Holland to negotiate at the very beginning. Did that work?’

’They tried the soft approach and the hard approach.’

’Neither worked!’

’And after Lily Hart arrived at Central Command, they tried all sorts of tactics. Were any of them useful? No. As long as she doesn’t want you to, you can’t even get close to her RV.’

"Wishful thinking," Brian Booker said, bursting her bubble.

The two of them were just shooting the breeze, fantasizing about the bliss of owning the lottery shop: waking up to eat, sitting around for a bit, eating again for lunch, and then having afternoon tea.

You could go to the bathhouse to watch a movie and have a soak, then eat dinner, and then go straight to bed.

God, how they yearned for a life like that.

After living so long in an environment where resources were scarce, everyone’s craving for good food was immense.

They were especially envious of Lily Hart, who could eat and drink to her heart’s content without a single thought for where her next meal would come from.

The three of them sighed in unison. They exchanged a look, and a new, different idea began to form in their minds.

Brian Booker cleared her throat, trying to cover it up. "Alright, it’s getting late. Go home, wash up, and get some sleep."

Lena Corbin got up, grabbing her unfinished black jelly cup. She turned and walked out, tossing over her shoulder, "Stop daydreaming about things you can’t have."

The idea had been churning excitedly in Steven Gibbs’s mind, but her words immediately deflated him.

...

Early the next morning, Lily Hart yawned as she climbed out of bed, thinking it might be time to buy a new vehicle.

’The RV isn’t easy to move on a whim. It’s tied to too many buildings, and I have to shrink them all down every time we move. It’s so inconvenient.’

’I should buy another vehicle, one with self-driving capabilities.’

She browsed the Shop, carefully weighing her options, but couldn’t make a decision. The main issue was the number of people she had to accommodate. A vehicle that could fit everyone...

...would have to be a minibus or a mid-sized bus.

’Hmm? That’s not a bad idea!’

She picked a minibus that could hold up to fifteen people, had an autopilot function, and was heavily armored.

She placed the order instantly.

’I’ll keep it under wraps for now. I’ll save it for a surprise reveal when the time is right.’

Lily Hart rolled out of bed. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she went downstairs in her cotton slippers—a cute pair of white lambs, complete with short little ears.

She opened the side of the RV. Customers were already waiting in front of the machines outside. As soon as they saw her open up, a huge crowd started moving in her direction.

But in the crowd, Lily Hart thought she spotted a few familiar faces...

’Weren’t they in the meeting room at Central Command?’