Chapter 498: Preparing to Move

Chapter 498: Chapter 498: Preparing to Move

In the newly created topic, "[Lily Hart’s Fresh Market]," she saw a ton of photos from customers.

There were pictures of heaps of lush, green vegetables, arranged neatly on tables as if they were treasures.

Others showed lots and lots of meat, carefully wrapped and placed in the freezer compartment of a refrigerator.

Everyone had lived through the apocalypse; they all understood the importance of stockpiling food.

Now that they had a little money in their pockets and a place to go on a shopping spree, it was only natural to hoard, hoard, hoard. Only then could they feel secure.

Lily Hart fell asleep as she was scrolling, a contented smile still gracing the corners of her mouth.

The next day, the first thing Lily Hart did upon opening her eyes was check the temperature. It had become a habit over the past few days.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it. Minus ten degrees. The temperature had held steady for three consecutive days.

According to Frost Shaw and the others, there was always a flash freeze period before winter truly set in, after which the temperature would slowly settle into a normal winter range.

’Looks like the past few days were the flash freeze, and things are stabilizing now.’

’It’s already November. It’s about time things stabilized.’

Lily Hart got out of bed, washed up, and quickly got ready before heading down to the first floor. The fresh market across the way was already open.

Just by peeking through the main entrance, she could see the neat rows of lush, green vegetables inside.

The market didn’t just have one entrance; it had four—north, south, east, and west—for the convenience of customers coming from all directions.

In Lily Hart’s experience, mornings were usually the market’s peak hours.

Early-rising seniors would rush over to buy their groceries, believing the produce was freshest at that time.

But things were different here. Any time could be peak time.

Lily Hart watched the bustling market, her heart filled with gratification. The lottery shop was also packed with customers.

An increasing number of people were winning ’First Prize’ shops, so everyone was hoping that kind of good luck would smile upon them.

But, that was impossible.

By noon, no one had won a ’First Prize’.

Lily Hart, however, was used to it. ’After all, it’s pure luck. And if someone else wins, I get to enjoy the benefits too, don’t I?’

With nothing to do in the afternoon, Lily Hart went to browse the fresh market again. She found it quite interesting.

She grabbed a small shopping basket, buying a head of lettuce here, a baby napa cabbage there, and then a piece of pork loin.

’Wow, browsing a fresh market is actually this much fun.’

But this market was missing a key ingredient: haggling.

Lily Hart returned to the RV carrying a basket filled to the brim, setting it down with satisfaction. She arranged the contents nicely and took another picture.

She posted it on the Human Social Sphere again—not to make everyone jealous, but to make an announcement: [In three days, we’re heading to a new base!]

Top comments:

["I’ve waited so long for this day! Boss Hart is finally leaving Central Command!"]

["Whoa whoa whoa, I’m begging you to pick Direwolf Base! Please notice us, notice us! Direwolf Base, Direwolf Base! Boss Hart, you can see this, right?!"]

["Then I’ll spam some for Summitspire Base too! Hope we can earn Boss Hart’s favor soon!"]

["Oh, so we’re doing this now? Fine, I’ll spam too! Phoenix Crest Base! Look over here, Boss Hart~"]

Lily Hart actually saw these comments mentioning base names and liked them one by one.

’When the time comes, I’ll just visit them in the order I liked the comments. The RV’s speed is adjustable anyway.’

Half an hour after she made the post, Elder Shaw called.

Even through the Light Brain, Lily Hart could hear the reluctance in his voice.

"Ah, Lily, I hear you’re off to another base in three days."

"That’s right, Elder Shaw! Don’t miss me too much!" Lily Hart said playfully.

Elder Shaw was speechless. Of course he’d miss her, but he’d miss her shops even more.

He steered the conversation back on track. "How are the replications of your shops coming along?"

Lily Hart counted on her fingers. "I’ve copied all the most important ones. As for the hot pot restaurant and places like that, you’ll just have to order delivery. It’s just a tiny bit more expensive."

Elder Shaw breathed an inward sigh of relief, though he still sighed out loud.

"Alright, then. Be safe on the road, you hear? And remember to come back! We’ll be waiting for you right here~" Elder Shaw reminded her.

Lily Hart nodded on her end and verbally agreed. Central Command was the base she had stayed at the longest.

It was practically her home base in the apocalypse; she would definitely be back.

It was just... her return date was uncertain.

After hanging up, she started taking mental stock: the clinic, the factory, the bar, the hardware store, the home appliance mall.

She had copied those five. Next, she just needed to replicate the fresh market, the car dealership, and the breakfast shop, and that would be about it.

The lottery shop had its automatic scratch-off machines, and the convenience store had vending machines.

As for the hot pot restaurant, milk tea shop, fried chicken stand, cake shop, and fruit shop, people could just order delivery, so there was no need to waste points replicating them.

Lily Hart finished her planning with a sense of satisfaction.

For dinner, they once again used the meat, vegetables, and seafood that Lily Hart had brought back from the fresh market.

Roman Rowe laughed. "You’re becoming a regular at the fresh market. Take me with you next time, I’ll carry your bags for you~"

He said the shameless words with a cheeky grin.

How could Lily Hart refuse an offer like that? She smiled and agreed, "No problem, I’ll call you next time!"

The others didn’t want to watch and stared intently at the food on their plates.

Frost Shaw spoke carefully, "To another base in three days? Have you decided which one we’re going to?"

She hadn’t told her companions beforehand, instead posting it directly online.

Lily Hart took a sip of soup before replying, "Yup. Let me see~"

As she spoke, she opened her Light Brain, navigated to the Human Social Sphere app, and found her ’Liked Comments’.

The first one was for Direwolf Base. She read it out: "Direwolf Base. Has anyone been there?"

Roman Rowe shook his head. "Never even heard of it."

Frost Shaw also frowned. "It might be a small base."

Lily Hart waved her hand dismissively, still holding her soup bowl in the other. "It’s fine. Big base, small base—who cares? As long as there are people, it’s a good base."

That made sense.

In any case, they were leaving in three days, not immediately, so no one felt particularly anxious.

They acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had been announced. After dinner, some cleared the table while others washed the dishes.

Lily Hart was reminded of the old saying, ’Walk a hundred steps after a meal, and you’ll live to ninety-nine,’ so she began pacing in circles inside the RV for a post-dinner walk.

But the space was too small, and she got dizzy from turning, so she just got out of the RV.

She strolled along the main avenue, walking from the lottery shop to the last shop at the end of the road and back again.

’That counts as a hundred steps,’ Lily Hart figured.

Except that when she returned to the lottery shop, she was holding a mango mousse in one hand and mochi in the other.

’Couldn’t be helped. Even after a full meal, she couldn’t resist the temptation of a little cake.’

’Besides, she’d just gone for a walk and digested her dinner a little. There was definitely room for cake now.’

Lily Hart sat cross-legged on the sofa, gleefully eating the mango mousse with a spoon.

This was the scene that greeted Roman Rowe and Stan Sterling when they came out.

Lily Hart was happily eating her little cake, the bun on top of her head bobbing with her movements. A stray strand of hair clung to the side of her face, tracing the line of her jaw.

She radiated such a joyful aura that one couldn’t help but smile just looking at her.

The two men, their hands still dripping with water, simply stood there and stared, completely captivated.