Chapter 362: Recalled to Central Command?

Chapter 362: Chapter 362: Recalled to Central Command?

It’s so wonderful that everyone can eat their fill.

At the thought, Cynthia Whittaker couldn’t help but smile even more brightly.

The image of a certain valiant, heroic figure flashed through her mind. ’I wonder how she’s been doing lately. Is she okay at Solara Base?’

At that very moment, far away at Central Command, Sue Sutton was staring blankly at Elder Shaw, who sat opposite her.

Elder Shaw waved a hand in front of her face. "What are you thinking about? Are you adjusting to being transferred back?"

Sue Sutton snapped back to reality, nodding distractedly. "I’m adjusting fine. Thank you for your concern, Elder Shaw."

Elder Shaw chuckled. "It’s no trouble. I was just worried about whether Solara Base could still be managed well without you."

"They’ll definitely be fine. They procure supplies from Boss Hart every week and then sell them to the residents for Crystal Cores. They’re very familiar with the whole process now, and the new Base Commander is very diligent."

"All the other matters, big and small, are handled by the various department heads. As long as they follow the established procedures, there won’t be any major issues," Sue Sutton explained smoothly.

Elder Shaw was reassured by her words, but the woman before him still seemed out of sorts.

She was nothing like the decisive, heroic Base Commander he remembered.

"Your transfer back to Central Command this time... was it because you wanted to...?" Elder Shaw asked tactfully.

Sue Sutton pressed her lips together. She tried to come up with a lie in her head, but facing Elder Shaw’s seemingly omniscient gaze, she just couldn’t bring herself to say it.

She could only offer a weak smile. Seeing this, Elder Shaw didn’t press further. ’It’s good that she’s back, though,’ he thought. ’She’s a great asset to have.’

After leaving Elder Shaw’s office, Sue Sutton sighed. She had returned, but Boss Hart hadn’t.

But the group far away at Kervan Base was completely oblivious to all this.

Owen Warren was excitedly telling everyone about what happened at the bathhouse that morning, even making sure to vividly describe the crowd’s psychological state.

Listening to him, Roman Rowe felt a strange sense of melancholy, as if his job was being stolen.

Especially since Lily Hart was listening so intently, so interested, so engrossed!

’Is it really that funny?’ he thought. ’She’s giggling so much she’s not even eating the meat in her bowl anymore.’

Roman Rowe kept stealing glances at her, gritting his teeth at the crispy fried pork in his bowl, feeling rather disgruntled.

Frost Shaw nudged Roman Rowe with an elbow. "What are you doing? Be careful, you’re being way too obvious!"

Hearing this, Roman Rowe silently lowered his head and focused on poking at the food in his bowl, scraping up the last few grains of rice while keeping his ears perked for the sounds from their conversation.

Owen Warren, tired from talking, took a break to have a spoonful of soup.

"And then what?" Lily Hart asked.

"And then he just left," Owen Warren said honestly.

"Tch. How boring." Lily Hart looked down and shoveled two big mouthfuls of rice into her mouth.

That "tch" of hers left Owen Warren feeling vaguely annoyed. He wracked his brain, trying to imagine what the man might have done next.

"He probably skipped town," Owen Warren said seriously.

Suddenly, his gaze shifted, and he spotted the "murderer" right outside the RV, playing a scratch-off ticket!

He immediately perked up, sat bolt upright, and pointed with his chopsticks.

"There! Look there!" Owen Warren exclaimed, drawing everyone’s attention.

They followed his pointed chopsticks, but with so many customers outside, who knew what the heck he was talking about?

Owen Warren specified, "The bald guy in the black jacket! The one who looks kinda fierce!"

The description was accurate enough that, combined with the direction he was pointing, everyone managed to spot him.

"He’s the murderer? Is he that bold? He hasn’t skipped town yet? Is he planning on turning himself in?" Lily Hart clicked her tongue in amazement.

"Yeah, I was wondering the same thing," Owen Warren said, propping his chin on his hand. "I don’t think he’s a High-level Superpower User. He’s just a Fourth Rank."

Roman Rowe, a Sixth Rank: ’I feel personally attacked.’

Outside the RV, the man calmly finished scratching his ticket, redeemed his prize, stored it in his personal space, and walked away with his hands behind his back.

He radiated an ethereal air of someone who had seen through the vanities of the world.

’Who cares if the Base Commander will take revenge? Who cares if I’ll starve to death on the road? All that matters is living in the moment.’

"Wow, what a free spirit," Cynthia Whittaker suddenly remarked.

Her words seemed to echo what everyone was thinking. If anyone else had been in his shoes...

...they probably would have panicked and fled, running as far away as possible to avoid being found by the Base Commander’s men.

However, for him to have the guts to do such a thing, he must have already considered and accepted the consequences.

Lily Hart retracted her gaze and said, "No need to come back for dinner this afternoon; you’ll have to sort it out yourselves. We’re staying open until ten o’clock. I’ll have to ask you all to work hard during this time."

Frost Shaw and the others nodded solemnly. They all understood the importance of the situation.

After lunch, everyone returned to their posts and continued with the day’s business, focusing on their respective jobs.

Lily Hart poured herself a glass of water. As she was drinking, she heard Diana Sharp’s raised voice outside.

She moved closer to listen. "Don’t push! What are you pushing for? Don’t you know how to line up properly?"

Lily Hart nodded in satisfaction. ’She’s getting more and more skilled at this,’ she thought. ’She was so timid when she first arrived, but now she can hold her own.’

Outside, because there were so many customers, people kept pushing and shoving, eager to get their tickets scratched a little sooner. They were too impatient to wait even a second.

Lily Hart took a look. She had already earned over 80,000 points at Kervan Base. She was just over 10,000 points away from unlocking the automatic scratch-off ticket machine.

’At least that will help divert some of the traffic, so everyone won’t be crammed together like this.’

This reminded Lily Hart of the vending machines.

’Since I’m already at Kervan Base, I can set them up now.’ With lightning speed, she bought five of them.

She brought them out, placed them outside the RV, and lined them up in a row. It was quite a spectacular sight.

The new items immediately caught everyone’s attention, and people crowded around to get a closer look.

They were surprised to find that the machines had everything the convenience store had!

The prices were only 2 points more expensive than inside the store. People began to venture a guess: even after Boss Hart leaves, will these machines stay behind?

The crowd involuntarily broke into a clamor. The speculation was too exciting!

"No wonder people online say Boss Hart is trying to monopolize the market. If she does this at every base, isn’t that exactly what a monopoly is?"

"And what’s wrong with that? Isn’t it a good thing that everyone can get access to cheap supplies and have enough to eat?"

"Yeah, weren’t you all complaining about the old supply exchange? Complaining it was expensive, the portions were small, and the stuff wasn’t fresh."

"That’s true. Looking at it another way, Boss Hart is benefiting all of humanity. Those people online are just jealous of her."

"Exactly. She’s doing so much good, and people are still launching personal attacks against her online every day."

"I don’t care, I’ll support Boss Hart forever!"

"Count me in! Count me in! If I hear anyone bad-mouthing Boss Hart again, I’ll... I’ll just be so mad!"

"I’m going to speak up for Boss Hart! What right do they have to talk about her like that?!"

Regardless, the residents of Kervan Base were ecstatic.

They had all heard that Boss Hart was only staying for a day, but she was leaving behind five vending machines, which was basically like leaving the convenience store itself!

It was absolutely fantastic news!!

Inside the RV, Lily Hart was replying to a message from Frost Shaw: [Why not just duplicate the convenience store?]

Lily Hart replied earnestly: [It’s expensive! Duplicating the store costs 500,000 points, but one machine only costs 5,000 points. If it were you, what would you choose?]