Chapter 375: If You’re Bad, Practice More

Chapter 375: Chapter 375: If You’re Bad, Practice More

After lending a hand wherever help was needed, they all returned to their respective shops.

Lily Hart scanned the area. Seeing that only the cashier was needed and there was nothing else to do, she led Frost Shaw and the others away without worry.

Back in the RV, Roman Rowe immediately slumped onto the table. Lily Hart laughed and poked him. "What did you do to get so exhausted?"

Roman Rowe shrugged, shifting so she could poke a different spot. "Arranging those cakes wore my hands out."

"If you suck, just practice more," Frost Shaw commented quietly from the side.

Roman Rowe instantly straightened his back. "You’re the one who sucks! You were just wandering around outside, of course you’re not tired!"

Seeing him act like this, Lily Hart couldn’t help but laugh and poured him a glass of water.

That made him even more smug. He took the glass of water Lily Hart had poured and flaunted it in front of Frost Shaw, his face a mask of smugness.

Frost Shaw’s gaze darkened. She stared at the glass of water for a moment, then turned to look at Lily Hart with a pitiable expression.

She said nothing, her eyes alone a silent accusation. ’Why pour water for Roman Rowe but not for me...?’

Lily Hart burst out laughing. "Here, here, here!" She handed over the cup in her own hand, forgetting it was hers.

Frost Shaw hesitated for a moment before taking it, but she just held it in her hand, not daring to drink.

She was already quite content, and she forgot all about bickering with Roman Rowe.

Roman Rowe noticed. His mouth opened, about to shout something, but Frost Shaw clamped a hand over it and shot him a glare.

"HUMPH!" Roman Rowe snorted heavily and took a big gulp of water!

Not long after handing over the water, Lily Hart went to help Diana Sharp organize the scratch-off tickets.

She was completely unaware of the minor squabble that happened behind her.

Although it was dinnertime, Lily Hart wasn’t hungry at all. That afternoon, she’d had cake and also eaten the meal Frost Shaw had brought over.

She was still a little full.

Roman Rowe had already started preparing dinner. As usual, he asked Lily Hart what she wanted to eat. She just shook her head. "I don’t know, just make whatever you think is best."

"Alright," Roman Rowe replied. Carrying the half-finished glass of water, he happily headed to the kitchen.

Frost Shaw placed the cup back on the table and quietly slipped into the kitchen to help Roman Rowe with the prep work.

As seven o’clock approached, everyone started to arrive. It was the same group of people for dinner, which seemed to have become a tradition.

Lily Hart didn’t call over the few shopkeepers who had won the first prize on the scratch-offs later on.

Firstly, they didn’t know each other that well. Secondly, the number of shopkeepers would only grow; if everyone came to eat, the cook would be worked to death.

So, the number of people for the three daily meals remained constant.

Frost Shaw from the convenience store, Roman Rowe from the clinic, Leo Colby from the hotel, Owen Warren from the bathhouse, Stan Sterling from the vegetable patch, Seth from the factory, Cynthia Whittaker from the hot pot restaurant, plus the six little ones, and Lily Hart.

Fourteen people in total.

But every one of them was a big eater, so they had to cook at least two pots of rice for every meal.

Fortunately, everyone was considerate. Several people would always cook together, so they wouldn’t just dump all the work on one person.

After dinner, closing time drew nearer and nearer.

The customers all knew Lily Hart would only be staying for one day. The closer it got to closing, the more reluctant they were to see her go.

This was mainly reflected in their increasing spending.

Some customers were also filled with regret. ’Why didn’t I kill more zombies and save up more Crystal Cores?’

It’s only when you need to spend them that you realize how few Crystal Cores you have!

Just before closing time, a furious roar erupted from the crowd: "Who stole my Crystal Cores!"

Lily Hart sighed and facepalmed. ’This is happening again.’

She always reminded them to watch their valuables to prevent them from being stolen by pickpockets; by then, it would be too late for tears.

She propped her head in her hand, looking at the sea of heads outside. ’How am I supposed to find anyone in this?’

It was basically impossible to get them back.

The person moved past the anger phase and began unconditionally and indiscriminately suspecting the customers around him.

He would grab one person and accuse him of being the thief, then grab another and accuse her. His strategy was to spare no one.

But no one was a pushover. As soon as they were wrongly accused, they would immediately curse back. Lily Hart just sat back and watched the show.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help; this sort of thing had happened countless times before.

The first few times, she had felt sorry for the customer and tried to help search.

She’d had the system pull up the security footage, but with the massive crowds, it was impossible to find anything or identify a suspect.

They were obviously experienced criminals. Once they succeeded, they would leave immediately, melting into the crowd like a drop of water in the ocean, perfectly hidden.

Even their expressions were remarkably calm and natural.

Lily Hart stopped reminiscing and turned her attention back to the customer who had lost his Crystal Cores.

Unable to find the thief, he started to lose it, even demanding that the surrounding customers each compensate him with one Crystal Core.

Let’s just say zero people cared.

The ten o’clock alarm rang. It was closing time. Lily Hart shot up from her chair with a jolt.

’Finally, time to clock off!’

’My own joy isn’t enough; I have to spread it to everyone!’

She sent a message in the main shopkeeper group chat, [Closing time! Everyone, pack it up! Closing time!]

Then, she sent a private message to Rhonda Kane, [Go get a room from Leo Colby, there’s an employee discount, you know~ And all the nearby shops offer an employee discount too. Eat your fill! Don’t worry!]

Rhonda Kane was deeply moved when she received the message. She was determined to earn money quickly so she could pay Boss Hart back for the Light Brain.

’She might not accept it, but I have to give it to her!’

After closing, Lily Hart bought five automated scratch-off ticket machines and five vending machines and set them up outside.

She then duplicated the clinic according to the poll results, and after that, she set the next destination.

And then she could finally wash up and go to sleep in peace!

...

「Central Command.」

Steven Gibbs and two others had gathered together, holding another little meeting.

Lena Corbin yawned and said wearily, "Do we really have to hold a meeting this late at night?"

"Are you stupid? If we did it during the day, we’d be discovered," Steven Gibbs retorted, rolling his eyes, equally exasperated.

’Did she think he enjoyed losing sleep to hold meetings here at night?’

Brian Booker slapped the table. "Alright, stop bickering. What’s the agenda for this meeting?"

"What else? It’s about Boss Hart. How many more bases is she going to visit? Is there any solid news at all?!" Steven Gibbs said anxiously.

Lena Corbin and Brian Booker shook their heads and said in unison, "We don’t know. Who can guess what she’s thinking?"

"She’s already been to the five bases in Kaelus, so now she probably wants to finish the four bases in Kembey City?" Lena Corbin speculated.

Hearing this, Steven Gibbs’s hopes were instantly ignited. He began counting on his fingers.

"Kervan Base, Bain Base, and today she’s at Pearl Base, right? That means there’s only one left... Goldwin Base!" Steven Gibbs said excitedly.

The three of them exchanged a look. "It’s possible."

Steven Gibbs once again began to fantasize about the days of unrestricted scratch-off ticket binges after Lily Hart returned.

"What’s the word from The Mysterious Clan?" Brian Booker asked.

Steven Gibbs shrugged. "What else? Naturally, they hope Lily Hart never comes back. They’d prefer it if she died out there."

"The O’Malley Family feels the same way. They don’t want to see Lily Hart either, mainly because they lost too much last time," Brian Booker said with a sigh.

"The White Family doesn’t just want Lily Hart dead; they want to take everything she has," Lena Corbin said sarcastically.

Speaking of The White Family, one had to mention their new director.

That’s right, the third director after Quentin Carter. The two in between weren’t very sensible and were promptly taken care of.