Chapter 388: The Prize Wheel

Chapter 388: Chapter 388: The Prize Wheel

The more obstacles there were, the slower travel became, which also led to all sorts of casualties. Over time, people stopped traveling far, sticking to the areas around their bases.

They’d just kill some zombies to get by.

But no matter how many zombies were near the bases, they would eventually be cleared out. People had to venture further and further out, returning later and later.

’If only there was something like a high-speed rail network, that would be amazing.’ She couldn’t even begin to imagine what that would be like.

The prize wheel had five categories in total. One was "Transportation," and next to it was "First-Prize Shop (Random)." The others were "Weapon (Random)," "Food (Random)," and "Plant (Random)."

It all sounded a bit up in the air. Right now, Lily Hart only wanted the transportation prize. It sounded fun, assuming it was what she thought it was.

Given her usual luck, it would be a long shot to get what she actually wanted.

But that was fine. She could cheat.

She crossed her arms, frowned, and asked in feigned anger, "You’ve been holding onto my reward for this long, and this is the one big thing you came up with? I’m not having it. Give me some other options!"

System: ’...You think I don’t know what you’re up to? You obviously want that vehicle prize!’

It tried to bargain. "How about you eliminate two options? And choose from the remaining three?" ’That’s a fair deal, right?’

"Nope. Eliminate three," Lily Hart said, putting her hands on her hips, full of bravado.

The truth was, she was afraid her luck was so bad that even with three options, she still wouldn’t land on the vehicle prize.

The system hesitated, but finally agreed. "Fine, three it is."

The wheel changed, going from five prize categories to just two: a red block and a yellow block, each taking up half the space. Lily Hart frowned at it for a long time.

"Nope, I’m topping up. One point to make the red section a little bigger," Lily Hart said imperiously. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought she was throwing around a fortune.

The red section was for the vehicle, and the yellow was for the first-prize shop.

System: ’I’ve met my match.’

With a main system above it, her system couldn’t just agree outright. It said coyly, "No way, that’s too little."

It was a clear hint: pay more, and I’ll pull some strings for you.

Having dealt with the system for so long, Lily Hart knew its quirks. She said reluctantly, "Fine, ten points! That’s enough, right?"

"Tsk, fine! You’re the one who forced my hand!" the system said, its words rushing out.

The next second, the wheel changed again. The red section now took up eighty percent of the space, squeezing the yellow sliver into a tiny corner.

Lily Hart blew on her hands for luck. ’I’ve already cheated this much,’ she thought. ’If I still don’t get the vehicle prize...’

’...then I’ll just have to threaten the system into letting me spin again!’

The pointer was already aimed at the red section. Lily Hart gripped the edge of the wheel and gave it the faintest of nudges.

If the yellow sliver hadn’t shifted up a tiny bit, the system would have thought she hadn’t spun it at all. ’Well damn, that’s a clever move...’

You couldn’t say she didn’t spin it, because she did. But if you said she did spin it, the movement was just way too small!

The cheating was so blatant. The system could only shake its head, helpless.

"Fine, fine, fine! Prize awarded," the system said before instantly vanishing.

The prize wheel was the reward for reaching Level 6. There were five major prize categories in total, but you only got one spin.

But Lily Hart was satisfied. She wasn’t even curious about what the other random rewards might have been.

She immediately went to her inventory to check the prize.

It was a "Transportation Super Pack." Lily Hart immediately retrieved it.

She opened it and saw it contained all sorts of vehicles: airplanes, high-speed trains, subways, buses...

But they all came with numerous restrictions. First and foremost, they could only be installed at bases Lily Hart had personally visited.

Furthermore, installation cost points; it wasn’t free.

For airplanes, for instance, she would have to build terminals, tarmacs, runways, and a whole series of related structures.

She glanced at the cost. Installing an airport at a single base would require at least a million points. That was no small sum.

A high-speed rail station was much cheaper at only 200,000 points, and that included the train itself. The tracks, however, were priced separately.

After all, the distances between bases weren’t short, and the routes were full of obstacles. Laying tracks would be no simple task.

Lily Hart understood. She then took a look at the price for laying the tracks.

Thankfully, the cost wasn’t calculated by the kilometer. The system still had some conscience, it seemed.

For example, the route from Central Command to Steadfast Base was about 400 kilometers. Laying a double track would cost nearly 30,000 points.

At first glance, the price seemed acceptable. But there were so many bases in all of Cathaya. Connecting all of them would be a colossal expense...

She felt that for a project this massive, she couldn’t just handle it alone. She had to get Elder Shaw involved.

She immediately told him about it, explaining everything in meticulous detail.

The main reason was to get him to contribute. Otherwise, what was in it for her? She didn’t even need the high-speed rail herself; she had her RV for travel.

’Wait, that’s not right. Once the high-speed rail stations are built, people will definitely have to buy tickets to ride. I can get a cut of that!’

Lily Hart thought with satisfaction. ’That’s not an excessive demand at all.’

Elder Shaw replied quickly. "We absolutely have to do this! A high-speed rail network would be fantastic!"

"I know, right?" Lily Hart replied frankly. "But I’m a little short on funds right now, you know? Once it’s built, how about Central Command and I split the ticket revenue?"

She might be earning a lot every day, but her expenses were just as high!

Replicating shops every day cost 500,000 points. Buying five vending machines was 25,000 points, and the automatic lottery ticket machines cost another 50,000 points.

Right now, she was just about breaking even.

She wasn’t losing points, but she wasn’t gaining much either.

When Elder Shaw heard this, he smiled. He was currently in charge of Central Command’s resource exchange center.

He would purchase supplies from Boss Hart several times a week and then stock them at the exchange center for others to buy.

The prices were slightly higher than in her convenience store and vending machines, but not by much—still within an acceptable range for most people.

After all, things had been even more expensive when The Mysterious Clan was in charge, so by comparison, the current prices felt cheap.

So, Elder Shaw had actually earned quite a bit lately. And even if he didn’t have enough on hand, he could pull from the logistics department.

After all, the head of the logistics department was one of his people. However, a matter this big would require a formal meeting and a vote.

Elder Shaw wasn’t worried in the slightest. Eighty percent of the people at the meeting would be on his side. The Mysterious Clan couldn’t make any waves anymore.

They would have to agree, whether they wanted to or not.

So even though the meeting hadn’t happened yet, Elder Shaw and Lily Hart had already agreed: this project was a go.

At the very least, they would get the high-speed rail stations connecting the major bases built first. Things like bus stops could be discussed later.

Trains couldn’t only transport people; they could also transport supplies, right?

After getting Elder Shaw’s support, Lily Hart decided to get started right away. The points hadn’t been transferred yet, but she trusted him.

First, she went into her Light Brain, selected the option to build a high-speed rail station, and paid the 200,000 points.

She then selected a location for the station just outside Kenseng Base. Considering the large footprint of a rail station, she specifically chose a wide-open spot with no surrounding obstructions.