Chapter 407: 4S Store Opening

Chapter 407: Chapter 407: 4S Store Opening

She continued, "But I see we can offer installment plans. A down payment of tens of thousands, with monthly payments after that. That’s not bad. If people work hard, they should be able to afford it."

"I agree," said Lily Hart.

’It’s no big deal if they don’t sell. She isn’t relying on this one shop’s business to get by.’

’Those who need one will come and buy it.’

’People who travel between bases, or those who often go on long trips to kill zombies, could buy one for transportation.’

"Alright, so are you planning to open for business today, or...?" Lily Hart asked.

"Today! The sooner we open, the sooner we start making money. What if someone in this base wants to buy a car right now!" Fiona Finch was brimming with enthusiasm.

"I agree! You have my full support!" Lily Hart gave her a thumbs-up. ’I love employees with this kind of drive!’

Encouraged, Fiona Finch felt even more energized and gleefully went to open the door.

This was the small entrance. Next to it was a large garage door for vehicles to drive in and out.

Although the dealership was at the end of the road, it was incredibly eye-catching and had drawn everyone’s attention the moment it appeared.

Everyone could see the big, impressive vehicles inside, but since the dealership hadn’t opened yet, they couldn’t go in.

They could only linger outside, drifting in and out of other shops while keeping a close watch.

Now that they saw the door opening from the inside, their eyes lit up, and they started walking over in twos and threes.

They were all from the same base as Fiona Finch, so they all knew her. After all, she was a Seventh-rank Superpower User with a limp—it was hard not to recognize her.

The customers at the front were rather surprised to see Fiona Finch.

"You...?"

Fiona Finch said confidently, "I’m the manager of this shop. We sell cars, so please, come in and take a look if you’re interested."

Determined not to embarrass Boss Hart, Fiona Finch straightened her back and projected an air of confidence.

The customers’ gazes shifted downward, landing on her right leg.

"Your leg is healed?" someone asked in surprise.

"What? How did that happen? Something like that can heal?"

"She’s been limping for years. How could it have healed?"

Hearing this, the people in the back started laughing one after another, brazenly staring at Fiona Finch’s right leg.

"You know, now that Fiona Finch isn’t limping anymore, she’s much easier on the eyes."

"Exactly. Before, tsk, tsk, she was a blight on our base’s appearance."

Some people talk as if their mouths are full of shit, but Fiona Finch was used to hearing such things and remained completely unfazed.

Fiona Finch might have been used to it, but Lily Hart was not.

She strode forward, shielding Fiona Finch behind her. Her eyes flashed as she demanded coldly, "Is something funny?"

The crowd’s smiles froze. Only then did they realize Boss Hart was there. She had been blocked by a car earlier, so no one had noticed her.

Now that they saw her, they instantly reined themselves in, awkwardly nudging each other and looking uncomfortable.

Bad-mouthing an employee in front of their boss was, needless to say, a bit awkward.

They were used to mocking Fiona Finch. She never talked back or resisted—a total pushover, someone easy to pick on.

A moment ago, they had forgotten she was the manager of the shop...

Seeing Boss Hart’s dark expression, one person took the initiative to apologize. "We’re sorry, Boss Hart. We were out of line..."

They had heard that if you got on Boss Hart’s bad side, you’d end up on her blacklist.

That was a terrifying consequence.

Once one person started, the rest followed easily. They bowed to Lily Hart one after another. "We’re sorry..."

Lily Hart pulled Fiona Finch forward, fiercely protective. "Apologize to *her*!"

The crowd didn’t hesitate. They bowed again. "We’re sorry, Manager Finch..."

A chorus of apologies flooded her ears, everyone scrambling to be heard.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t moved. Ever since she had developed her limp, she had been extremely sensitive and insecure.

Even after awakening a superpower during the apocalypse, her deeply ingrained people-pleasing personality remained. She never dared to speak harshly to anyone or argue back.

Over time, she had become Harshwind Base’s resident pushover.

Anyone who saw her would bully her a little. People even assigned her missions directly without paying her in Crystal Cores!

She had been planning to just laugh it off this time, too, but she never expected Boss Hart to stand up for her...

She kept her face tense, struggling not to break into a smile. ’So this is what it feels like to have someone in your corner. It’s amazing!’

Only after every single person had apologized did Lily Hart reluctantly grant her forgiveness.

"If I ever hear anyone say another bad word about Fiona Finch, they’re going on the blacklist. For life!" Lily Hart declared, her eyes sweeping over the crowd.

She emphasized the last two words to make sure they understood the consequences.

She knew what a devastating blow it would be for them to be blacklisted.

Hearing this, the crowd quickly agreed, promising to watch their own mouths and make sure others did the same.

"Alright then. Come in and look at the cars," Lily Hart said, stepping aside to clear the path.

There were too many customers and a lot of cars. Lily Hart worried that Fiona Finch wouldn’t be able to manage on her own.

So, she bought a few sales robots and programmed them with information about all the vehicle models.

And just like that, she had enthusiastic, articulate robot salespeople ready to give a pitch!

’She would’ve had to buy them eventually anyway.’

Customers were allowed to look at, touch, and test-drive all the vehicles.

Behind the glass-walled showroom was an open lot specifically for test drives.

Even if they couldn’t afford one right now, they still wanted to test-drive the cars and see how they felt on the road.

People just can’t resist beautiful things, after all.

What’s more, these cars had exceptionally strong defenses and could withstand zombie attacks. That feature really struck a chord with everyone.

Lily Hart also noticed a few vehicles that couldn’t just defend against zombie attacks—they could go on the offense.

How badass is that?

Of course, the price tag was also incredibly steep.

With so many customers wanting a test drive, Fiona Finch had to screen them one by one.

The primary condition, of course, was that you had to know how to drive!

Even though it was the apocalypse and driver’s licenses were obsolete, driving skill wasn’t something you could judge by a piece of plastic anyway.

Fiona Finch screened them one by one and then scheduled staggered test drives. Otherwise, with everyone crowding the lot at once, an accident would be inevitable.

Fiona Finch, who had thought running a shop would be simple, now desperately wanted to take back that thought.

’This is so hard.’

The worst part was... they test-drove the cars but didn’t buy them.

After being busy all the way until sunset, they had only sold three vehicles.

"That’s still amazing!" Lily Hart encouraged her. "These cars are so expensive. It’s like that old saying: ’One sale a year is all you need to prosper!’"

Fiona Finch felt encouraged. She glanced at her account balance with satisfaction. The pay wasn’t bad at all for an afternoon of hard work.

’Totally worth it!’

"Come on, I’ll take you to the hotel and get you a room. From now on, you’re with me!" Lily Hart said, slinging an arm over her shoulder.

Fiona Finch chuckled, closed up the shop, and left with Lily Hart.

Leo Colby was left a bit speechless. ’If more and more shop owners and vendors keep showing up...’

’...I might have to section off a dedicated residential area just for them. That’s actually not a bad idea.’

After getting the room set up, Fiona Finch went back to rest, and Lily Hart returned to her lottery shop.

Helping Fiona Finch all afternoon had been pretty tiring. She collapsed onto the sofa again.

She always sat in the same spot, and after a while, the sofa had developed a slight depression there.

But that just made it more comfortable; it was perfectly molded to her butt now. Lily Hart wiggled a little, leaned back, and closed her eyes to rest.