Chapter 360: Kervan Base

Chapter 360: Chapter 360: Kervan Base

She breathed a sigh of relief. ’Once I install vending machines at every base, who will dare to gossip then!’

So what if she was ambitious! There was nothing wrong with that!

The ones in the wrong were those self-righteous big shots from The Mysterious Clan who were fanning the flames!

Lily Hart opened the map, then the list Elder Shaw had given her—the one for his team.

She casually pointed with a grand wave of her hand, her fingertip landing right on Leonine Base.

She bought a vending machine and commanded her system, "Here, put it here!"

DING! [Placement failed. Host must have visited Leonine Base before a vending machine can be installed~]

That instantly extinguished Lily Hart’s grand, world-conquering momentum.

She was so angry she sputtered, not even thinking it but saying it aloud, "Y-y-you, why didn’t you say so earlier?"

It felt like the sky was falling again. But it was fine. This was salvageable.

She immediately bought twenty vending machines. She placed one at each base she had already visited. That left ten, so she placed another one at each of them!

She planned to compile photos and instructions for the vending machines into a post for the Human Social Sphere.

’But on second thought,’ she wondered, ’wouldn’t that be like admitting to it?’

’Admitting that I’m pushing out the original supply exchange posts? That the moment they close, I set up my vending machines?’

’Life is so hard.’

’Whatever. Let them think what they want. Someone will support me!’

She decided to start her base tour the next day. She would stay at each base for one day and earn 100,000 points.

’I’ll set up the automatic scratch-off machines and the vending machines, then I’ll leave without a second thought!’

’Isn’t buying from my machines cheaper than at The Mysterious Clan’s supply exchange posts? It’s countless times cheaper!’

Hoping everyone would recognize a good thing when they saw it, Lily Hart dropped the bombshell during lunch. Everyone was surprised by how quickly things were changing.

Stan Sterling raised the same concerns as Lily Hart, but by now, she had come to a decision.

She waved her hand dismissively. "It’s fine. Don’t they love to throw baseless accusations around? I’ll just own it! We’ll see who needs Crystal Cores more."

Leo Colby gave her a thumbs-up. "Nice! We’ll see who gets desperate and cornered then!"

The more Frost Shaw thought about it, the more brilliant it seemed. "They planned to use public opinion to force you to give up, but they didn’t expect you to double down and see it through to the end."

"Um... huh?" ’Why does that sound a little off?’ Lily Hart thought.

But it was fine. Once she decided on something, she had to do it! There was no turning back!

Today also happened to be their last day at Phanfly Base, and Lily Hart had told Elder Shaw and the others about her plan.

They all expressed their support.

Lately, The Mysterious Clan had been too busy slandering Lily Hart to pay attention to Central Command, giving Elder Shaw’s group of four a perfect opportunity.

Taking advantage of this, Elder Shaw and his group managed to turn several more people to their side.

The number of people within Central Command loyal to The Mysterious Clan was dwindling. By the time the clan realized what was happening, it would be too late.

Meanwhile, Lily Hart finished replicating the factory and lay down to sleep, completely satisfied.

She didn’t forget to set the RV to autopilot, with a destination programmed.

This time, she wasn’t lingering around Kaelus. She left directly, heading for the nearby Kembey City.

There were four official bases there. All one could say was that her schedule was incredibly tight, and very few people knew about it.

The information Lily Hart had previously leaked all suggested she was returning to Central Command.

Who would have thought she’d pull a complete U-turn and head to Kervan Base! She had truly caught everyone off guard.

Every base looked more or less the same. Besides the name, size, and level of grandeur, the rest was pretty similar.

"Kervan Base... why not Kervan Pepper Base? Are they afraid people would get hungry just thinking about it?"

Lily Hart stood inside the RV, hands on her hips, gazing at the base and muttering to herself.

Beside her, Diana Sharp bent over laughing but managed to hold it in. Everyone was up early today.

Perhaps because they knew they were arriving at a new base on a tight schedule, all the shops were open for business before eight o’clock.

Lily Hart was very pleased with this. She loved this feeling of everyone being united and working together as one.

This time, she hadn’t posted an announcement on the Human Social Sphere. The main idea was a surprise attack.

The effect was immediate.

When the first group of survivors emerged from the base and saw the RV a hundred meters away, they all froze in place. They couldn’t quite believe it, asking the people around them if they were seeing things. Was this really happening?

Weren’t there rumors that Boss Hart was going to Central Command?

Why... why would she come to a small, obscure base like this!

Everyone felt a strange sense of being unexpectedly favored. ’Even Central Command can’t compare to us!’

Even though they had been gossiping about Lily Hart monopolizing the market just a couple of days ago, seeing the RV—which they’d only ever seen online—in person was a huge shock, and they tossed all those thoughts to the back of their minds.

In their minds, in their hearts, in their very blood, there was only one thought!

’I want to play the scratch-offs!’

’I want to shop at the convenience store!’

’I want to eat hot pot!’

’I want to go to the bathhouse for a scrub, a soak in the hot springs, and to watch a movie!’

It was over. Too many desires flooded their minds, and not a single one of them was about boycotting her.

Who could possibly resist this?

If a person who had been starving and thirsty in a desert for years suddenly saw a source of water and delicious food, who could hold back?

Whoever could deserves a big thumbs-up.

And so, the first group of survivors out of the base started sprinting toward the RV.

No one knew how long Lily Hart would stay. Even if she was just passing through, they had to buy, buy, buy! A mad shopping spree!

Lily Hart greeted this batch of customers with a smile, enthusiastically pointing them toward the breakfast shop. She told them to get some breakfast first before playing the scratch-offs, that there was no hurry.

Seeing this, the crowd felt an even greater sense of joy, as if they were being respected.

The breakfast shop had an enormous variety of items, all steaming hot. One look was enough to warm everyone’s hearts.

They all started lining up to buy breakfast. Those who arrived later and saw the long line at the breakfast shop went to the convenience store first instead.

They heard from people at the front of the line that Boss Hart would only be here for one day but would stay open until ten at night.

’We have to make the most of this limited time and do more things!’

Lily Hart watched them bustle about, one moment emerging from the convenience store with bags big and small.

The next, they were rushing toward the factory and the hot pot restaurant, then moving on to the bathhouse.

Time was limited, so no one was worrying about their Crystal Cores anymore. It wasn’t like they could spend that much, anyway. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; if they missed it this time, who knew where she would be next.

...

「Inside the convenience store.」

"Good heavens, there’s so much variety! I’m completely overwhelmed!"

"Don’t get overwhelmed yet. We still have to go to the hot pot restaurant. I hear you can get just as overwhelmed there."

"Holy crap! So many flavors of instant noodles. I wish I could get a cup of each."

"You’d better check if your Crystal Cores can handle it first."

"Oh my god, mineral water! I’ve gotta buy dozens of bottles!"

"Don’t be impulsive. There’s a purchase limit. If everyone bought like you, they wouldn’t even have time to restock."

...

「Inside the bathhouse.」

"No wonder they say this place is heaven on earth. They weren’t wrong. I don’t ever want to leave."

"Stop talking and just enjoy it. You can’t soak in a hot, fragrant spring like this anywhere else!"