Chapter 499: Open 24 Hours

Chapter 499: Chapter 499: Open 24 Hours

A moment later, Frost Shaw walked out of the kitchen and found the two of them standing there motionlessly.

Droplets of water dripped down one by one, forming small puddles on the floor.

He followed their line of sight and, just as he’d expected, there was Lily Hart—smiling radiantly, her joy infectious.

He frowned and gave them a push, muttering, "What are you doing? You’re blocking the way."

The two snapped out of it and shot a glare at Frost Shaw. Roman Rowe was feeling particularly cocky. "What’s it to you? Besides, there’s all this space to the side, but you just had to push us, didn’t you!"

His voice grew louder as he spoke, and he even puffed out his chest, taking two steps toward Frost Shaw, looking for all the world like he was ready for a fight.

Frost Shaw slapped a hand flat against his puffed-out chest and pushed him back. "Stop, stop, stop. Don’t come any closer."

Pushed away, Roman Rowe grunted reluctantly. The three of them then simultaneously walked over to Lily Hart, swooping in to squeeze her between them.

Lily Hart looked left and right, feeling like she was being squashed flat. She wriggled a bit and exclaimed, "What are you guys doing? Are you trying to crush me?!"

The three men froze, then all scooted over a bit. That gave Lily Hart some breathing room. She had been sitting cross-legged on the sofa.

The squeezing had forced her to draw her legs up, and now she was hugging her knees, looking a little pathetic.

Seeing this, Frost Shaw moved over a little more. Lily Hart understood his gesture and went back to sitting cross-legged. She was still clutching the mango mousse, which thankfully hadn’t been squished.

The three men stared eagerly at the mango mousse in her hand.

Lily Hart clutched it tighter and declared righteously, "It’s all gone. If you want some, go buy your own. Stop staring at mine."

Roman Rowe said shamelessly, "But I have a feeling the one in your hand tastes the best." So thick-skinned. No one else could say something so cheesy.

Lily Hart went, "Ew~" and shoved the mango mousse, which she had only taken a single bite of, into his hand. "Here, take it. Just stop grossing me out."

Roman Rowe’s smile widened. He wasn’t bothered in the slightest; in fact, he was delighted.

Frost Shaw and Stan Sterling looked on in silence. They hadn’t expected a single sentence to be so effective. But if they were asked to say such a thing, it seemed impossible for them.

And so, Roman Rowe ate while the other three watched. He, however, ate with perfect contentment.

The four of them sat around shooting the breeze for a while, dreaming about a brighter future. Lily Hart yawned, feeling it was time for bed. The shop was due to close for the night anyway.

She shooed them away. "Alright, you guys should get back and sleep." She yawned again. The sleepiness had really hit her all at once.

The three men could see she was tired, so they got up and said their goodbyes. Diana Sharp and Tina Jacobs gathered up the leftover scratch-off tickets and put them away.

After a quick tidy-up of the sofa and dining table, they too went to bed.

Just as Lily Hart was about to close up the four sides of her mobile shop, she noticed the marketplace was still open. People were still bustling in and out. Business was booming.

Everyone was thinking the same thing: Lily Hart would be leaving in three days. If they didn’t buy now, when would they get another chance?

They could buy from the delivery platform, but the prices were a bit higher—not worth it. Since they could buy in person now, they had to stock up. Plus, the cold weather meant the food wouldn’t spoil so easily.

’Rin Calloway isn’t planning on staying open 24/7, is he?’ Lily Hart wondered.

She decided to call and ask. Just as she suspected, a worried voice answered on the other end.

"Oh, Boss Hart, you have no idea. You know how a lot of people from Central Command are out there killing zombies?" Rin Calloway began to explain.

"Hm?" Lily Hart grunted, letting him know she was listening.

"Sometimes it’s too much trouble for them to make a round trip in one day, so they camp outside the walls," Rin Calloway continued. "But when they heard about the marketplace, they said they’d rush back overnight to check it out."

Lily Hart understood. "Alright. Just make sure you stay safe."

Rin Calloway boasted, "Don’t worry, Boss Hart! I have a bit of clout here in Central Command. Besides, this marketplace has its own protection system."

It wasn’t as if no one had tried anything funny today. Plenty of people had tried to secretly steal vegetables, using the crowds as cover to slip produce into their spatial inventories. The number of attempts was staggering.

But every one of them was foiled by the invisible security checkpoint at the entrance. Unpaid items, secretly hidden goods—nothing could escape its notice.

The vegetables and meat would fly out of their inventories and bags as if pulled by invisible strings, returning to their proper places on the shelves.

It was a rather spectacular scene, and all the nearby customers saw it happen.

It only took a moment’s thought for them to realize what was going on, and they all turned to shoot looks of disdain at the culprits.

The looks were accompanied by a collective, derisive "Ewwwwww~."

But anyone who dared to steal in the first place had guts and a thick skin. They were only stunned for a moment before scurrying away.

Lily Hart already knew about the shop’s protection system, so she just reminded him to look after his own safety before hanging up.

Time to go upstairs and get ready for bed!

Before falling asleep, she didn’t forget to make a wish to the System, hoping she’d get more and better rewards from the scratch-offs.

’A bank would be great,’ she thought, ’to fulfill that little wish for Elder Shaw and the others. Or maybe a few more restaurants. I’m getting tired of eating at the hot pot place every day~’

With her wishes made, Lily Hart drifted peacefully to sleep.

Meanwhile, the System fell into contemplation. It stared blankly at the first-prize pool, which still contained hundreds of small orbs. ’Who,’ it wondered, ’will be the next one?’

...

「Her third-to-last day in Central Command.」

Having gone to bed early and slept soundly, Lily Hart woke up bright and early, feeling completely refreshed!

She went down to the first floor, opened up the four walls of her mobile shop, and saw the marketplace was just as it had been—people coming and going. For a disorienting moment, she felt as if it were still the previous night.

Lily Hart called Rin Calloway again. "You didn’t stay up all night, did you? I completely forgot to tell you that you have a room in the staff dormitory."

Rin Calloway’s exhausted voice came from the other end. "I haven’t slept. I’ve been keeping an eye on the marketplace, afraid something might happen. But nothing did. Not a single thing."

Though he sounded exhausted, a hint of excitement crept into his voice as he spoke. "There were tons of people last night too, Boss Hart! They all rushed back from outside the walls! We earned so, so many Crystal Cores!"

"You’re still young, but you have to take care of your health," Lily Hart said. "The marketplace can run by itself; it doesn’t need someone watching it all the time."

’All these shop managers need to take care of themselves,’ she thought. ’I can’t have them collapsing on me.’

Hearing this, Rin Calloway was instantly touched. Someone actually cared about his well-being.

He suddenly felt less tired, as if he could stand guard over the marketplace for three days and three nights straight.

But he knew he should listen to Boss Hart and take care of himself. So, after hanging up, Rin Calloway went to the staff dormitory and found the room number Lily Hart had sent him.

He hadn’t expected the staff dorms to be so nice. No wonder everyone was desperate to win a first prize from the scratch-offs.

A one-bedroom apartment with a living room, unlimited hot and cold water, air conditioning, a refrigerator, a kitchen, a wardrobe, a dining table, a sofa... Wow, it had everything!

Rin Calloway immediately took a hot shower, scrubbing for a full half-hour before reluctantly getting out.

But his clothes were filthy, and he couldn’t bear the thought of getting the clean bed dirty, so he decided to just sleep in the nude.