Chapter 398: Light Brain Rental Machine

Chapter 398: Chapter 398: Light Brain Rental Machine

She took another look. Renting for 30 days only cost 888 points. Not bad, not bad—practically half price.

Renting for 60 days was just 1888 points, which was about 19 Crystal Cores.

’If everyone had a Light Brain,’ she had thought before, ’wouldn’t online supermarkets and fruit flash sales become widespread? At the very least, life would be better than it is now.’

Lily Hart patted the man’s shoulder. "Keep up the good work. You’ll definitely make a fortune!"

The man wrung his hands and asked hesitantly, "Boss Hart, can I go with you? I don’t want to stay at the Celestial Citrus Base anymore..."

"Of course!" Lily Hart didn’t ask why, just agreed readily. She had wanted him to come along anyway, so when he brought it up himself, she naturally said yes.

’If the Celestial Citrus Base treated its residents well, he wouldn’t be trying to run away.’

Lily Hart scanned the area, her eyes landing on an empty spot next to the clinic. She pointed to it and said to the man, "Why don’t you put the machine there? It’s an automated rental machine, so it doesn’t need much supervision anyway."

The man looked, then nodded. "So... where do I sleep at night?"

"Go get a long-term room at the hotel. It’s not expensive. There’s an employee discount, so it’s half the price others pay~" Lily Hart said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Okay, thank you, Boss Hart!" The man followed Lily Hart to place the machine next to the clinic.

The clinic was the first shop on the left. A useful machine like this naturally had to be placed right at the front, so no customer could miss it.

And so, while Lily Hart was taking the man to the hotel to get a room, news of an automated Light Brain rental machine spread throughout the Celestial Citrus Base.

Wow! People came to see and found that you really could rent them, and it was cheaper than buying a Light Brain outright!

A brand-new, basic-model Light Brain cost around 800 to 1,000 Crystal Cores, with custom, premium, and other versions priced even higher...

According to official information, a Light Brain had a lifespan of about two to three years, and it needed to be sent in for maintenance annually, which was another expense.

So... if they had a choice, it was much more cost-effective to rent a Light Brain here for a year or two than to buy one!

People started lining up like crazy, but most customers chose the basic model. As long as the thing worked, that was good enough; there was no need for anything fancy.

Only the rich liked to show off with custom and premium versions.

While getting the room, Lily Hart also learned the man’s name: David Holland.

After they got the room, David Holland took the key card and came out with Boss Hart, his mind already on the machine.

As they approached, they saw a massive crowd packed so tightly it was impenetrable. David Holland’s heart instinctively fluttered with panic. Because of what happened before, he was a little afraid of crowds...

Lily Hart, walking ahead, noticed he had fallen behind. She turned and called out, "What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to check on it?"

’Didn’t he just keep muttering about whether it restocks automatically when it runs out, if the machine will run out of power after a while, or if he’d have to buy more stock himself if it sold out?’

’Why did he stop walking?’

David Holland looked troubled, his furtive glances darting toward the huge crowd as he hesitated.

After struggling for a long moment, he made a firm decision and started forward.

’I can’t be a coward my whole life. I have to get over this hurdle. After all, there will be many more times like this in the future.’

’Be brave!’

Lily Hart was just about to hurry him along when she saw David Holland marching forward with the grim determination of someone heading to their doom.

’What a sudden change.’

Lily Hart followed him, watching as David Holland pushed his way through the crowd and started restocking the machine.

He could restock three hundred fifty units at once, which was enough for the machine to be emptied ten times.

When David Holland finished restocking, he squeezed back out of the crowd, drenched in sweat. Unlike the nervous expression he’d had when he went in, his face now wore a smile.

It was as if he had let go of some heavy burden. Seeing this, Lily Hart returned to the RV, satisfied.

In just one day, they had gotten a chestnut-roasting machine, a first-prize fried chicken cutlet shop, and a Light Brain rental machine from the scratch-off tickets.

Not bad, pretty good. The lottery luck at the Celestial Citrus Base was excellent~

Much better than at the other bases! But it was also really tiring.

After wandering around outside and coming back, it was now almost time for dinner.

Lily Hart just hoped she could have some peace and quiet until dinner, that no one else would show up...

But as it often goes, you get what you dread. Diana Sharp swiveled on her high stool to face her. "Lily..."

Hearing her name, Lily Hart instinctively started to get up. "What is it? Did someone else win something?"

’Can’t everyone just take a break? I’m begging here.’

"Yeah..." Diana Sharp grabbed Lily Hart, stopping her from getting up. "Someone won an orange tree. I just wanted you to take a look."

"Oh, you scared me." Lily Hart patted her chest in relief.

She peered outside. It was a massive orange tree, almost reaching the second floor of the RV.

Lily Hart looked closer and noticed something was off. This orange tree seemed to be some kind of hybrid... It had all sorts of fruit on it!

Satsuma mandarins, Wogan mandarins, jelly oranges... It had nearly every variety of orange and mandarin imaginable.

’Is that right? Is one tree supposed to bear all that?’

’And can they even keep it alive?’ Lily Hart wondered.

After a moment’s thought, she swung her legs over and went downstairs, walking over to the orange tree.

Looking up, the tree was packed with a dense canopy of fruit, the branches bent low under the weight.

A satsuma mandarin hung right by Lily Hart’s shoulder, dangling enticingly and releasing a tempting fragrance. Without a second thought, she plucked it.

There were other people under the tree, all looking on in disbelief, but no one dared to pick any fruit.

How could one tree have so many different kinds of oranges and mandarins?

Was it some kind of mutated plant?

Lily Hart was wondering the same thing, but her hands were already peeling the mandarin with practiced ease.

The crown was huge, the leaves were lush, and the fruit was plentiful. It was cool and shady standing beneath it, completely blocking out the sun.

"Are you... Boss Hart?" a woman’s voice asked from the side.

Lily Hart’s heart skipped a beat. She instinctively glanced down at the freshly peeled mandarin in her hand. ’Busted by the tree’s owner.’

She turned to see a young woman with yellow hair, just like the peel of the mandarin.

Her already fair face looked even paler in contrast to her yellow hair, but her gaze was full of tenacity.

"I’m Lily Hart. And you are...?" she asked, snapping out of her daze.

"I am Amber Hale, the Base Commander of the Celestial Citrus Base," Amber Hale said.

The woman’s name, her hair color, the name of the base—it all screamed one thing to Lily Hart.

She must really love oranges or mandarins!

’Could it be that she won the orange tree because of her sheer force of will?’

Realization dawned on Lily Hart. She quickly switched the peeled mandarin to her other hand and extended her right hand. "Hello, a pleasure to meet you."

Amber Hale smiled. "Hello, Boss Hart. I’ve heard so much about you." She also extended her right hand and shook Lily’s.

They let go after a couple of seconds, and Lily Hart’s gaze drifted unconsciously to the branch where she had just picked the mandarin.

To her surprise, an identical satsuma mandarin had appeared in its place.

’The restocking speed,’ she thought, ’is incredibly fast.’