Chapter 475: No One Wants It

Chapter 475: Chapter 475: No One Wants It

At that moment, her little heart felt like it had been dropped into a pool of honey water—sweet and full to bursting.

Lily Hart hadn’t expected that. She’d only said a few words, and now the young woman before her was in tears.

Still, she was strangely used to it. So many people had cried in her presence.

Even Frost Shaw was no exception—though in her case, it was usually in bed.

She silently pulled out a tissue for her and offered a dry bit of comfort. "Don’t cry. Go get some rest. We still have the grand opening tomorrow."

It might have sounded a bit dry and perfunctory, but Yvonne Hale was easily soothed.

She took the tissue, hastily wiped her face a few times, and gave a very earnest nod.

She bowed to Lily Hart once more before turning around and entering her room, remembering to close the door behind her.

Once the door was shut, Lily Hart headed back to the lottery shop.

As she approached the lottery shop, her eyes were inevitably drawn to the giant apple and refrigerator structures.

At this point, those two buildings were even more eye-catching than the lottery shop itself!

’I have to move these two,’ she thought. ’Otherwise, they’ll completely overshadow my majestic RV.’

Now that even an appliance mall had shown up, Lily Hart couldn’t imagine what other kinds of first-prize buildings were left.

She quickly shared the good news far and wide, posting on her social feed and the Human Social Sphere.

She broadcasted it on every channel available to her.

And don’t accuse Lily Hart of playing favorites; she’d gone through this exact process for all her previous shops.

At first glance, her social feed looked like it belonged to a professional advertiser.

She had barely finished posting—not even having time to close her Light Brain and take a sip of water—when a cascade of pings and notifications erupted.

She had taken photos while exploring the appliance mall earlier, so she included them with her posts.

The reaction was immediate and explosive. People realized that if you had enough Crystal Cores, you could achieve true appliance freedom.

If they could just get water freedom on top of that, it would be exactly like the pre-apocalypse era.

The discussion boards lit up.

[Whoa, an appliance mall? It looks like it has everything!]

[An electric kettle! An electric kettle! I want one so bad!]

[You got water to boil, buddy? Shouting about a kettle... You’re clueless~]

[Holy crap, there are hair dryers! Oh, wait. Do I even have enough water to wash my hair?]

[And a washing machine! But do I even own enough clothes to make it worth it?]

Lily Hart nearly died laughing as she read the comments, but they all had a point.

’So what if you bought a rice cooker? Do you have any rice to cook in it?’

’So what if you got a washing machine? You only have one outfit that you wear forwards, backwards, and inside out. It’s completely useless.’

’So what if you bought a fridge? Do you have any leftovers or fruit to put inside? You’d scarf down every last crumb in one sitting. Having leftovers would be a miracle!’

’So what if you bought a kettle? Do you have any water to boil?’

’Even with all this new technology, it seems the most basic survival needs haven’t been met...’

’No water, no food.’

’The base tour plan needs to be moved up the agenda. I can’t delay it any longer.’

’I need to let more bases and more survivors enjoy my shops and the conveniences they bring!’

’I’ll go to one base at a time and install vending machines, automatic scratch-off lottery machines, clinics, factories, high-speed rail...’

’Then I’ll promote the mini-apps for the online supermarket, the food delivery platform, and the courier stations.’

’That should cover the basics. Food and daily necessities would be guaranteed.’

’And the alcohol from the bar. I’ll let them stock up on it; it could come in handy in a pinch.’

It was a beautiful fantasy. In her mind’s eye, she could already see a vision of a thriving and prosperous Cathaya.

Snapping out of her daydream, Lily Hart checked the temperature. It was indeed rising, little by little.

But this extreme cold disaster... it had arrived under strange circumstances, and now it was leaving just as strangely.

’Something about it doesn’t feel right,’ she thought.

But this was Lily Hart’s first apocalypse; she had no experience with any of this.

She decided to table her questions for now and bring them up for discussion with the others at dinner.

With some time to kill before dinner, Lily Hart hopped out of her RV for a stroll.

She walked to the edge of the RV’s hundred-meter safe zone, stuck out a finger, and tested the air.

’Ooh, that’s cold.’

She quickly pulled her hand back and shoved it into her pocket.

Suddenly, she noticed a nearby plant slowly stirring to life.

A small green shoot slowly poked out from the soil. It had two vibrant green leaves, carrying the fresh scent of spring.

Lily Hart crouched down to see what it was doing, but it seemed to be just coming out for a breath of fresh air.

A moment later, the leaves wrapped around the shoot, and it retracted back into the ground.

She found it odd. ’Is it because the weather is still too cold?’ she wondered. ’Animals hibernate, do plants have to as well?’

Lily Hart wandered around a bit more before heading to the bathhouse. She felt like a nice, long soak in a medicinal bath.

The last few days had been exhausting. The bar, the fruit shop, the appliance mall... it was one thing after another.

’Even though I’m not technically the "owner," it’s still tiring, okay?’

When she arrived at the bathhouse, Owen Warren was popping Holy Daughter Fruits into his mouth one after another, his eyes still glued to his Light Brain.

He seemed completely engrossed.

But the moment Lily Hart stepped within a ten-meter radius of him, Owen Warren’s head snapped up, his gaze locking with hers.

His mouth was still stuffed with several Holy Daughter Fruits, making his cheeks puff out.

It didn’t quite match his usual roguish image, making him look surprisingly cute and boyish.

Lily Hart couldn’t help but laugh. She walked over quickly and gave one of his cheeks a poke.

It was, in a word, rock-solid.

Owen Warren hastily swallowed the mouthful and, in the same motion, grabbed her mischievous index finger.

"Where do you think you’re poking? If you’re going to poke something, poke here." Owen Warren grabbed her hand and guided it to his chest.

Lily Hart scoffed softly, acting as if she wasn’t the least bit intimidated. She didn’t even wait for him to grab her other hand.

She placed it right over his heart herself.

She concentrated for a moment, then squeezed. ’Huh? Why isn’t there a heartbeat?’

Owen Warren was speechless. ’Shameless! This woman is completely shameless! She’s actually doing it!’

He put on his usual roguish air and asked flippantly, "Had your fill of feeling me up?"

Lily Hart shook her head. Frowning, she squeezed again but still couldn’t feel a heartbeat. Not ready to give up, she moved her hand to the other side. Still nothing.

She stated it plainly, "You’re heartless."

Owen Warren froze. He’d been wondering what she was trying to feel. ’Well, I’ll be. She was looking for my heart.’

"Are you dense? I’m a zombie. My anatomy isn’t the same as yours. I don’t have a fragile little thing like that."

He pulled her down to sit on his lap, lowered his voice, and whispered close to her ear.

All Lily Hart could feel was his warm breath tickling her ear; she barely registered what he’d said.

Luckily, the reception desk was high and enclosed on three sides. Plus, everyone else was busy with their own thing, so no one noticed them.

"Then where is your heart?" Lily Hart asked, her curiosity piqued.

Owen Warren pointed to his head. He looked her right in the eyes and said seriously, "My heart is my Crystal Core. If it’s gone, I die."

Lily Hart frowned, reaching out to touch his temple. The spot was soft.

It felt as if, with just a little pressure, his Crystal Core could be hers.

"What’s wrong? You want it?" Owen Warren let her hand explore, showing no sign of alarm.

It was hard to tell if he trusted her implicitly or was just that confident in his own power.

"You keep offering up junk nobody wants," Lily Hart scoffed, pulling her hand back and crossing her arms over her chest.

His thighs were firm, and she felt perfectly stable sitting there, with no fear of him being unable to support her weight.

Owen Warren’s eyes went wide. He reached out and pinched her cheek. "What do you know? People would kill each other to get their hands on a Tenth-tier Zombie’s Crystal Core!"