Chapter 339: Automatic Restocking

Chapter 339: Chapter 339: Automatic Restocking

With that, he broke free from the Guardian Corps’ grasp and bolted outside.

The Guardian Corps members looked at each other in confusion. "Breakfast? Have they lost their minds? Where are you going to get breakfast around here?!"

A passing resident tossed out a comment. "You guys on duty? Didn’t you check your Light Brains or even look outside? How could you have missed Boss Hart?"

They really hadn’t... They’d gone straight to work after waking up and had been patrolling inside the base the entire time.

Hearing this, the eyes of the Guardian Corps members lit up, and they exchanged a glance.

"Boss Hart is here? The one with the lottery shop, the convenience store, the bathhouse, the hotel, and tons of fruit?!"

Another resident passed by. "Who else would it be? Hurry up and go take a look when your shift changes. She’ll be gone in another two days."

At these words, all the Guardian Corps members grew excited, craning their necks in anticipation. ’Why isn’t it time for the shift change yet!’

It wasn’t even eight o’clock, but the area outside the breakfast shop was already packed with people, all waiting in eager anticipation.

When they arrived at Prudence Base yesterday, it was already almost eleven o’clock, so the breakfast shop simply didn’t open for business.

But everyone had heard about this breakfast shop, which had only made its debut a few days ago.

It offered a huge variety of items, all served hot and fresh. The prices weren’t expensive, and the food was filling.

The breakfast shop opened for business, and Lily Hart, as usual, hired six part-time employees. After settling on their wages, she had them get right to work.

It was all simple work. As long as you weren’t slow, you could get the hang of it.

The only potential difficulty was calculating payments, but there were calculators, and even better, cash registers that automatically tallied the total.

There was absolutely no need to worry.

Residents who arrived later saw the long line and felt their hearts sink, but only for a moment.

They immediately perked up and went to line up at the factory instead. They had already figured out the routine.

The factory only served two thousand fast-food meals a day. This wasn’t some orderly, first-come, first-served affair—you had to be fast, fast, fast!

If you weren’t near the front of the line at either of those places, your only other option was to squeeze into the convenience store. Everyone knew Boss Hart was only staying for three days, and each and every person was racing against the clock to shop.

They were determined to experience every single shop—some even rented a hotel room by the hour just to enjoy those wonderfully springy mattresses!

The area outside the breakfast shop was a sea of people, but everyone remained surprisingly orderly. There were no incidents of line-cutting, troublemaking, or bun-snatching—perhaps because everyone was aware of Boss Hart’s formidable reputation.

If anyone dared to pull any underhanded tricks here, they couldn’t blame Boss Hart for what would happen next.

The rumor was she’d throw you out on the spot, put you on a blacklist, and you would never be allowed to shop at her stores again.

For people in the apocalypse, this was ten thousand times more agonizing than death. At least if you were dead, you wouldn’t have your sense of smell or taste.

But as long as you were alive, you’d have to watch other people eating fruit, playing scratch-offs, slurping instant noodles, buying breakfast, and eating fast food—while you couldn’t have any of it!

It was pure torture!

Given the circumstances, everyone was exceptionally well-behaved.

Fortunately, during this time slot, the breakfast shop’s food was in unlimited supply, so everyone in line was able to buy something. The only ones to be pitied were those who arrived later.

They could only watch helplessly as the breakfast shop closed for the day.

Lily Hart propped her chin on her hand as she watched the breakfast shop. ’Business is booming,’ she thought. ’And that old man is certainly patient. He hasn’t shown his face even once.’

She grew even more curious about his identity.

She turned to look at the convenience store, which was also packed with cheerful, bustling crowds.

Everyone emerged with bags of all sizes, looking as if they were stocking up on goods for the New Year. As Lily Hart watched, a satisfied smile unknowingly spread across her face.

Roman Rowe was stationed at the clinic full-time now and no longer helped at the convenience store. This left Frost Shaw and the four youngsters somewhat overwhelmed.

They were late for lunch as a result.

The five of them boarded the RV, their faces etched with fatigue. Seeing them all looking as limp and wilted as frost-bitten eggplants, Lily Hart couldn’t help but smile.

"What’s wrong?" Lily Hart asked with a smile, watching as all five of them marched in perfect sync to the sofa and plopped down in unison.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized.

Frost Shaw said wearily, "I guess everyone in Prudence Base knows you’re here. We had a ridiculous number of customers today, plus Roman Rowe wasn’t there..."

Lily Hart consoled him, "It’s alright. Why not buy the automatic stocking feature?"

Frost Shaw’s eyes lit up. He’d been so swamped he’d completely forgotten such features existed. With this many customers and such high volume, daily restocking was a real pain.

His arms felt like they were about to fall off from all the lifting and carrying. The youngsters could help, but they could only reach the bottom shelves. Anything higher was up to him and Roman Rowe.

He immediately perked up, opened his Light Brain, and navigated to the [Lily Hart] software.

Sure enough, he found an automatic stocking feature. You just had to configure it in the software—what items went on which shelf, and how many.

The system would then recognize when stock was low, retrieve items from the storeroom, and automatically arrange them neatly on the shelves. It was incredibly convenient and saved a lot of effort.

The only catch was that it cost a certain number of Crystal Cores each month to maintain the feature.

The amount was neither large nor small, and perfectly acceptable to Frost Shaw. ’We’re already making so much,’ he thought. ’What’s a small fee like this? It’s better than working myself to the bone.’

He purchased it on the spot and began configuring the feature based on the current product layout. Once everything was set, he hit the activate button.

Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and lean back, his burden lifted. He didn’t forget to shoot Lily Hart a grateful glance.

Roman Rowe came bounding up the steps. Seeing Frost Shaw sprawled on the sofa like a limp noodle, he approached with a wicked grin and reached out his mischievous hands to tickle him.

He laughed as he tickled him. "What did you get up to today to be this wiped out! I told you you can’t manage without me! Still trying to act tough, huh?"

Caught off guard by the tickling, Frost Shaw was overcome by an unbearable itchiness. He squirmed left and right, and even though he didn’t want to laugh, a dry "hahaha" escaped him as a reflex.

He tried to kick Roman Rowe, who dodged with lightning speed, but Roman’s hands kept roaming over his waist, leaving him utterly exasperated.

"Roman Rowe! Get the hell off me!" Frost Shaw cursed between laughs.

He honestly didn’t want to be laughing, but his mouth uncontrollably stretched into a grin. Once Roman Rowe had tired himself out, he flopped down next to him, waving his hand dismissively. "Alright, alright, I’m done."

Panting, Frost Shaw shot back, "Who wanted to play with you? You’re shameless."

"How childish," Lily Hart laughed, a smile gracing her features. She was even tempted to go join in the tickle fight.

Frost Shaw stiffened for a moment, then quickly recovered. Feigning nonchalance, he reached up to smooth his hair. ’I hope it’s not a mess,’ he thought. ’It’s all that damn Roman Rowe’s fault!’

Everyone was exhausted today, and there were still customers outside, so Lily Hart decided against cooking. She would just buy some ready-made dishes from the system’s Mall.

"Come and get it! Dinner’s ready!" Lily Hart yelled, hands on her hips, as if calling a flock of chicks and ducklings to their meal.

In response, the limp figures on the sofa stirred. They shuffled to the dining table like zombies and dropped into their usual seats.

Lily Hart scanned the group. They all looked completely wrecked by work, utterly haggard.

But handsome guys will be handsome guys. Even haggard, they possessed a kind of disheveled charm. Having completed her survey, Lily Hart averted her gaze and focused on her own food.

The meal ended quickly. Lily Hart asked the managers of the various shops, as well as the person in charge of the vegetable patch, to stay behind.