Chapter 348: Jessica Corbin

Chapter 348: Chapter 348: Jessica Corbin

She didn’t dare to face them... Her body was trembling violently. Lily Hart noticed and pulled her closer, tightening her grip on her shoulders.

Looking over the girl’s lowered head, Lily Hart’s sharp gaze swept across the crowd, locking onto the stares of the onlookers.

The group, who had been blatantly arrogant with their feelings written all over their faces, immediately reined themselves in when they met Lily Hart’s eyes.

They all looked away, feigning innocence. Lily Hart sneered inwardly. ’When the avalanche comes, not a single snowflake is innocent.’

On the way back to the RV, the system had already investigated what just happened.

Someone had deliberately caused a disturbance in the crowd, intentionally pushing the customers forward and then purposefully knocking over the machine.

Once chaos erupted, the starch sausages that fell to the ground were left unattended and trampled into mush.

But a few people alone couldn’t have caused such a massive uproar. Everyone else had, intentionally or not, fanned the flames.

’Was it envy, jealousy, hatred?’

’Perhaps all of the above.’

’Besides, she’s just an ordinary person. What’s the harm in bullying her? It might even feel good for a moment.’

’After all, I’m not the main culprit, and they’ll never trace it back to me.’ This mentality was what led to such an outcome.

Lily Hart led the girl back to the RV and settled her on the rug in front of the sofa.

It was so soft, warm, and clean that the girl didn’t even dare to touch it, afraid she would dirty it and be unable to afford the damages.

Lily Hart took out some ointment for scrapes and, without a word, began applying it directly. The girl stared at Lily’s focused expression.

A bittersweet feeling swelled in her heart. ’To think someone as kind as Boss Hart still exists in this apocalypse.’

She was already endlessly grateful that Boss Hart had allowed her to set up a stall at the night market, giving her a form of unseen protection.

’I never thought... she’d even apply the medicine herself.’

After applying medicine to the scrapes on the girl’s elbows and knees, Lily Hart let out a long sigh.

"Don’t be so rash in the future. You’re not allowed to hurt yourself. If you have to hurt someone, hurt others. No matter what, it’s always someone else’s fault, understand?"

Lily Hart said this in a preachy tone, speaking with earnest sincerity.

Hearing this, the girl lowered her head again, lacking confidence. "I... I don’t have a superpower. I can’t beat them..."

"Do you know who it was?" Lily Hart asked in return.

"I have a rough idea. There’s a gang here in Prudence Base that loves to cause trouble. For the past two days, anyone who won a prize from the scratch-offs has been harassed by them."

"Even if they can’t steal the prize, they’ll still bully the person who won it, either by beating them up or throwing them into a pile of zombies," the girl said sullenly.

Lily Hart frowned. ’Why are there people like this, who stop at nothing, everywhere you go?’

She was genuinely angry now!

She pulled up the system’s surveillance footage for the girl to see, pointing at several people on the screen. "Was it them?"

"Yes! That’s them, and that one is their leader!" the girl, whose name was Jessica Corbin, exclaimed.

Lily Hart memorized their faces and an idea formed in her mind. She leaned in and whispered a few words into Jessica Corbin’s ear.

The more Jessica Corbin listened, the brighter her eyes became. She swore an oath, "Boss Hart, I’ll cooperate perfectly!"

"Good. I believe in you!" Lily Hart offered her encouragement. She asked for the girl’s name, noted it down, and then let her leave.

When Jessica Corbin left the RV, her eyes were red as if she had been crying, and she looked particularly ashamed as she trotted away.

The surrounding customers couldn’t help but speculate. "What happened?"

"Don’t tell me the starch sausage machine was taken back?"

"Maybe Boss Hart thought she was too much of a coward and won’t let her sell them anymore?"

"Boss Hart doesn’t seem like that kind of person, though."

"Then what do you think it was?"

"My guess is she just got a scolding and couldn’t take it."

No one could figure it out, so they dropped the subject and went back to lining up for scratch-off tickets.

Jessica Corbin didn’t run far. She found a deserted spot, waited for about half an hour, and then took the starch sausage machine out of her spatial inventory.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she headed back toward the lottery ticket shop. The machine had small wheels on the bottom, so it was easy to push.

As she neared the lottery ticket shop, she saw that there were already many customers around the outskirts.

When they saw Jessica Corbin, they acted a bit unnaturally, having just been accomplices to her misfortune.

But they were still very curious and asked, "What did Boss Hart say to you just now?"

Jessica Corbin just smiled without answering and asked, "Care for some starch sausages? Two for one Crystal Core, or five for two Crystal Cores."

The customers’ attention was instantly diverted. Smelling the savory aroma, they eagerly said, "I’ll take two."

Twenty sausages were snatched up in an instant, but someone was still curious. "You were in there for so long. What did Boss Hart say to you?"

Jessica Corbin smiled without answering, simply watching as twenty new starch sausages appeared in the machine.

She repeated her earlier words, "Care for some starch sausages? Two for one Crystal Core, or five for two Crystal Cores."

Seeing this, the people around her found it boring and began to disperse.

In a distant corner, several people were staring at Jessica Corbin. "Boss, shouldn’t she be completely crushed and unable to get back up?"

The man called "Boss" was wearing fluffy gloves and a scarf around his neck.

He was bundled up warmly, leaning against a wall with his eyes closed, resting.

After his underling had spoken for a bit, the Boss impatiently opened his eyes and said with certainty, "Lily Hart must have said something to her!"

Based on his understanding of Jessica Corbin, she was an ordinary person—insecure, sensitive, and with no one to rely on.

Winning the starch sausage machine was like a poor man suddenly striking it rich, instantly going from earth to heaven.

And what they did had instantly plunged her from heaven back down to hell.

She should have been completely crushed, never to recover. Then they could have gone over to threaten and entice her, pulling her into their own camp.

That way, the starch sausage machine would have been theirs.

The plan was perfect. Their group had been lying in wait here, looking for the right moment to threaten and entice her.

But now, Jessica Corbin was somehow perfectly fine and continuing to sell? It looked like she was in great spirits, not affected at all.

’Impossible! Either Boss Hart said something to her, or she’s just putting on a brave face!’

A vicious glint flashed in the Boss’s eyes. He was determined to get those starch sausages!

"Let’s go!"

At his command, his underlings immediately sprang into action, scattering to surround Jessica Corbin from all directions.

Jessica Corbin wasn’t selling near the lottery ticket shop anymore. Instead, she was pushing her machine and wandering around.

One moment she was behind the hotel, the next she was at the entrance to the bathhouse, and then she was at the factory gate.

She went wherever there were people.

They didn’t understand her reasoning, but they all followed her covertly.

After a little while, Jessica Corbin wandered behind the factory, in front of the hot pot restaurant, but to the side where there were fewer people.

She walked toward the hot pot restaurant, calling out, "Starch sausages! Starch sausages! Two for one Crystal Core, five for two!"

Just as she was about to reach the front of the hot pot restaurant, the Boss, hidden in the shadows, gave a signal.

Several men instantly rushed out from all sides and surrounded Jessica Corbin. This time, they were causing trouble openly.

One of them shoved the machine over, but thanks to Jessica Corbin’s quick reflexes, she managed to catch it.

But then another man shoved her, and she fell, bringing the machine down with her. The starch sausages spilled out onto the ground.

Feet began to stomp on the starch sausages, and even on her hands and feet.