Chapter 343: Warm Clothes

Chapter 343: Chapter 343: Warm Clothes

His companion hesitated, struggling to describe the feeling. "It’s just... when you put it on, it’s so warm. You don’t feel cold at all. It’s like you can’t even feel the wind."

"Are you kidding me?"

Keep in mind, it was early winter. Every now and then, a frigid gust of wind would come whistling by, shooting straight down your collar.

Besides, they had all been poor before, so no one owned any thick clothing. It was common for their clothes to be threadbare and inadequate.

Now that the factory was here, they finally had a place to buy clothes, but the styles were random with no option to choose.

Not that anyone minded. As long as they had something to wear, that was enough. At least it offered some protection from the wind.

But now, his friend was actually claiming this jacket was so warm you couldn’t even feel the wind?

"I’m serious! Try it if you don’t believe me." As he spoke, his companion started to take off his jacket.

They were teammates who had been through life and death together, so there was a fundamental trust between them.

Once the jacket was off, the other man put it on without a second thought.

Instantly, the frigid wind that had been relentlessly seeping in through his collar and the hem of his shirt seemed to vanish completely.

All he felt was warmth.

’Ah, it’s so warm...’

’I can’t believe it. It’s just like he said—incredibly warm. What am I going to do? I don’t want to take it off.’

His teammate seemed to read his mind and quickly reached for the jacket. "Hey, give it back! Go buy one for yourself!"

"Alright, alright, here." He reluctantly took off the jacket and handed it back, then grabbed his friend and rushed to get in line.

Lily Hart, who had witnessed the entire exchange, was a bit stunned. ’Clothes that are actually warm? Are they really that incredible?’

She picked up her pace, wanting to check out the commotion for herself. The moment Stan Sterling saw her go, he hurried to catch up.

Seth was selling fast food and clothes all by himself and was often overwhelmed.

Sometimes, when Stan Sterling had free time, he would go to the factory to help. Over time, the two of them had become good friends.

The pair entered the factory with a familiar air. Seth was at a table, handing out one meal box after another.

The corner of his mouth curved up instinctively when he saw them, but a shout came from the window. "Hey, boss! Two orders of steamed spare ribs!" Seth had no choice but to turn and get them.

Seeing the situation, Lily Hart hurried over to help. ’How can he possibly manage all this alone? He really needs to get a robot assistant.’

Stan Sterling expertly set down his candied hawthorns and started grabbing meal boxes for the customers. The two of them were soon lost in the work. Only after the rush subsided...

...did Lily Hart remember why she had come in the first place.

She casually grabbed a skewer of candied hawthorn from the table and handed it to Seth, asking, "Do your clothes have some kind of warming feature?"

Seth was baffled. "Warming feature? Isn’t that the whole point of wearing clothes?"

"..." Lily Hart was speechless. She picked up a thin jacket from the table. The style was very similar to the one she had seen outside.

She handed it to Seth and asked, "This is a thin jacket, right? Can it really block the cold wind outside?"

Seth shook his head. Stan Sterling, however, had been right beside Lily Hart and had seen and heard the two men’s conversation and the clothes-swapping. He had even gotten a clear view of the satisfied look on the man’s face after he put the jacket on.

He went and grabbed a thin jacket himself. He took off the slightly thicker one he was wearing and put the new one on.

He even went outside and walked around for a bit. It was actually warmer than his original jacket. It fit snugly and didn’t let any wind in, yet it didn’t restrict his movement at all.

Seth took the jacket from Lily Hart. He’d been busy working and was only wearing a thin long-sleeved shirt, so he slipped the jacket on right over it and went outside to walk around.

He expected to be hit by a blast of cold wind, but the result was surprising. The areas covered by the jacket felt completely sealed. Not a single wisp of wind could penetrate it.

As he walked, his body grew warmer and warmer. He couldn’t even feel the cold on his lower body or ankles.

’This jacket is incredible! It looks like a normal jacket, but once it’s on, my whole body feels like it’s wrapped in a warm, toasty cocoon.’

Seth and Stan Sterling returned to the factory one after the other, expressions of sheer amazement on their faces.

"It really is warm," Stan Sterling said, a little excited. "I bet you could wear this in sub-zero weather." He was so comfortable he didn’t want to take it off.

Seth nodded excitedly. "Seriously! It would be perfectly fine for sub-zero temperatures! Fewer people will freeze to death this winter."

"Is it really that incredible?" Lily Hart reached out to feel the fabric. "It’s so thin. Does it have some kind of high-tech material in it?" ’Things from the system are always so hard to figure out.’

Seth glanced back at the clothing assembly line. ’It must be a new feature from the last upgrade,’ he thought. ’My focus was just entirely on the five thousand meal boxes.’

But he’d sold so many jackets today, and not a single customer had mentioned it.

’Do they appear randomly, and only in small quantities?’

The five thousand meal boxes for the day were already sold out. Seizing the opportunity while there were few customers, he started up the clothing assembly line and stood at the end, waiting for the items to come out.

He felt each item as it came out and quickly figured out the pattern. Only one in every ten articles of clothing was one of the special warm ones. ’Hmm, not a high chance, but not too low either.’

’Hopefully, the probability will increase after the next upgrade.’

Since the clothing styles were produced randomly, he usually sold them wholesale—either by the pound or by the piece.

He produced a few hundred pieces in a row and sorted out the warm ones. With such an incredible effect, the price would naturally have to be higher.

Lily Hart and Stan Sterling helped with the sorting. Before they knew it, night had fallen, and it was time for dinner.

She stretched. "Alright, let’s head back for dinner." She grabbed the remaining skewers of candied hawthorn as they left.

’I haven’t even finished browsing the shops, and it’s already gotten dark.’

’But that’s what happens when you stop to chat here and lend a hand there. Time just flies by.’

The three of them returned to the RV in a single file. Roman Rowe was already busy at the stove, stir-frying their dinner. He wore a cute apron, the ties of which were cinched tight, accentuating his lean, powerful waist.

Lily Hart was starving. The candied hawthorn wasn’t filling enough to be a meal, just a little treat. She handed out the remaining skewers to the others.

Just as she finished, Frost Shaw climbed into the RV. Seeing the skewer of candied hawthorn in everyone’s hand, his eyes instinctively shot toward Lily Hart, a hint of grievance in his gaze.

Lily Hart: ’Oh, crap.’

"If you want one, I can go with you to buy another skewer?" Lily Hart offered, hesitating. ’I have to treat everyone equally. Can’t show favoritism. It would be bad if he thought I was playing favorites.’

Frost Shaw’s first instinct was to refuse—it wasn’t like he was dying for one. ’But a chance to be alone with Boss Hart...’ He nodded. "Alright."

Lily Hart had barely even sat down before she was getting up again to leave the RV with him.

"How’s the automatic stocking system?" Lily Hart asked.

"It’s working great," Frost Shaw said with a light chuckle. "So great, in fact, that everyone’s a little bored."

Stocking the shelves used to be the busiest part of working at the convenience store. Now that even that’s taken care of, everyone’s having a hard time adjusting.

Lily Hart laughed too. "A little downtime is a good thing. Why work yourselves to the bone? They’re all still growing. They shouldn’t get too exhausted."

Frost Shaw wanted to say that if they didn’t find something for the others to do, they’d just spend all day sneaking snacks from the store, but he held his tongue and swallowed the words.

Soon, the two of them arrived at the night market. Customers were already streaming in, finding the food stalls they wanted and getting in line.

They easily found the candied hawthorn stall. Business was a little slower there compared to the other stalls. After all, it was just a snack, not a proper meal.