Chapter 120
A diamond-shaped crystal pendant appeared in Suzy’s hand. She turned it over curiously, holding it up to the light.
"So this is the temporary space?"
The transparent crystal looked... ordinary. Unremarkable, even. If anything, it almost looked like cheap plastic.
So how exactly was this supposed to work?
The moment the thought crossed her mind, a response surfaced in her consciousness.
A layout.
A section of her storage space—ready to be allocated.
The temporary space would be carved out from her existing storage.
Fortunately, her space had already expanded several times. She had more than enough room.
Without hesitation, she designated one hundred square meters.
Authorization complete.
Excitement surged through her.
She jumped out of the bath, quickly changed into her pajamas, and rushed out.
She couldn’t wait to share this with Leonard.
While she had been bathing, the rain had started again.
Heavy. Relentless. It hammered against the windows, loud and unyielding.
The living room was filled with the aroma of food.
Leonard had gone all out—using up the remaining ingredients in the fridge to prepare a full meal for her.
"You’re done? Just one last dish—the chicken wings," he called from the kitchen. "Go sit on the couch for a bit. Watch something, or play on your phone."
Suzy smiled and nodded, heading into the living room.
She turned on the TV—still working—and picked an anime she liked.
The familiar sounds filled the room.
She took out her phone, replying to Derek Martin and Thomas Kim, letting them know she was safe.
Then, she opened the villa surveillance feed.
She wanted to see how George and the others were doing.
But there was no drama to be found.
Instead, the Kale family and the Sanders family seemed closer than ever. Like one big, harmonious household.
They sat around the table together, chatting and laughing.
At a glance, it looked warm.
But the more Suzy watched, the stranger it felt.
Was this... normal?
This wasn’t what she had expected to see.
She exited the feed and leaned back lazily on the couch, letting the anime play in the background.
She had watched this series dozens of times—she knew nearly every scene by heart.
She wasn’t really watching.
Just... filling the silence.
Before long, her thoughts drifted again.
That binding target from earlier—
Right. No wonder the name had sounded familiar.
Liam Austen. She repeated it in her mind.
And suddenly... Her eyes lit up.
She remembered.
That name—wasn’t he one of Wendy’s future men?
No wonder it rang a bell.
Wendy really had it good—every single man in her circle was rated SSS-tier.
"Suzy, come eat." Leonard’s voice pulled her back.
"Coming," she replied, getting up and heading to the dining table.
The spread was simple—but irresistible.
Three dishes and a soup. At a time like this, being able to eat fresh vegetables and meat—that alone set them apart from almost everyone else.
"Did anything happen on your way back?" Leonard asked, placing a chicken wing into Suzy’s bowl.
"It was fine. Nothing too dangerous," she replied, glossing over her encounter with Gloria and the attackers.
There was no point worrying him.
"That’s good." Leonard visibly relaxed.
Suzy took a bite of the cola chicken wing before asking, "Uncle, have you gone out at all these past few days?"
"No. I’ve stayed home the whole time. Why?"
"I ran into a neighbor downstairs on my way up."
Leonard looked surprised. "There are still people alive in this building?"
"Yeah. I was surprised too," Suzy said. Then, after a pause, she added lightly, "And... a pretty high-quality neighbor at that. Lives just downstairs."
Leonard raised an eyebrow. "What kind of person?"
"I only got a quick look. Young. Around my age, I think. He was wearing a mask."
Leonard nodded thoughtfully. "I see."
Before Suzy could even finish the chicken wing in her bowl, he added two more, looking at her with quiet affection.
"Eat more. You’ve only just gotten back—stay home and rest for a while," he said.
With their safehouse and abundant supplies, there was no need to risk going outside.
The weather was terrible. The outside world was chaos.
One wrong move—and it could cost them their lives.
Honestly, staying inside like a shut-in wasn’t so bad.
If they had the means, why not?
"Uncle, that’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Suzy said.
"Hm? Go ahead."
"This is the best time to gather supplies. In a couple of days, we should head out."
Right now, the world was still in the early chaotic phase.
Most places were flooded, yes—but there were still pockets where supplies remained untouched.
If they wanted the best resources, they had to act now.
Once more people caught on, the opportunity would be gone.
"Gather supplies?" Leonard frowned, unconvinced. "Don’t you already have plenty in your space? Enough for us to live on for a lifetime. Better to leave what’s out there for others."
They already had more than enough. Anything extra would just go to waste.
"No, you misunderstood," Suzy said quickly. "I’m not looking for food."
"Then what?"
"Gold. Gems. Antiques—things like that."
Leonard frowned even deeper. "What do you need those for?"
"To upgrade my space."
That was the key.
Before the disaster, she hadn’t gone all-in on buying such items—not because she didn’t want to, but because they were expensive.
Some antiques cost millions.
Buy too many, and she’d go broke—no funds left for essential supplies.
She had been lucky to acquire a few energy-rich items at reasonable prices.
But those were rare.
As her space leveled up, the energy required for further upgrades kept increasing.
Rather than hunting endlessly for rare treasures, it was more efficient to go by quantity.
Gold. Gems. Other precious things.
Individually, their energy might be limited—but in bulk?
Enough to push her space forward.
And now, in this new world, these things had lost most of their value.
Leonard fell silent for a moment... then nodded.
If it were for the space, then going out was unavoidable.
"Alright."
Then Suzy added, "Oh—there’s something I want to give you."
She took out the medium for the temporary space—the diamond-shaped crystal pendant––and handed it to him.