Chapter 228
Both Leonard and Suzy looked at him in surprise.
Thomas spoke calmly.
"Suzy, she betrayed you."
A gust of wind swept across the water, carrying Vanessa’s corpse farther and farther away until it gradually disappeared into the distance.
Thomas steered the boat toward Starlight Towers.
Suzy sat quietly in place, her gaze fixed on the horizon as her thoughts spiraled. She kept replaying Vanessa’s final words in her mind.
What did she mean... Wendy could not be killed?
Suzy clearly remembered what Vanessa had said. Wendy had some kind of protective barrier around her. It could not be pierced. She could not be killed.
The explanation sounded absurdly similar to a video game boss with locked health.
Except this was reality.
The thought itself was unbelievable.
If Suzy had not already known Wendy was the female lead of this world, she would have dismissed the whole thing as delirious nonsense.
An impenetrable shield... Was that what a protagonist’s plot armor looked like?
"Suzy, what are you thinking about?"
Her expression must have been too conflicted, because Leonard finally could not help asking.
Suzy snapped out of her thoughts and looked toward him, brows furrowed.
"I’m thinking about what Vanessa said."
"Which part?"
"She said Wendy can’t be killed."
Leonard inhaled sharply. "Now that you mention it, I think it’s strange too."
How could someone possibly be impossible to kill? What was Wendy supposed to be, some indestructible cockroach?
Just thinking about it sounded ridiculous.
Maybe Vanessa had hidden some important detail. Or maybe it was just delirium talking.
"Thomas, what do you think?"
Unable to make sense of it, Leonard exchanged a glance with Suzy before both of them turned toward Thomas.
Meanwhile, Thomas remained perfectly calm as he piloted the assault boat. After meeting their gazes, he simply shook his head.
"We’ll know the next time we run into her."
Leonard nodded. "That’s true..."
There was no point in overthinking it now. Sitting here guessing would never get them any answers.
Once they encountered Wendy again, the truth would reveal itself sooner or later.
"Suzy, what are you planning to do about Wendy?" Leonard asked again.
He had understood enough from Vanessa’s ramblings. Wendy most likely would not let Suzy go. Eventually, the two of them were bound to clash head-on.
Leonard’s own instinct was simple. Rather than waiting for Wendy to strike first, they should take the initiative and eliminate her before she had the chance.
There were three of them against one. The advantage should have been theirs.
Then again... maybe not. Wendy was simply too strange.
That was only Leonard’s personal opinion, though. He still wanted to hear what Suzy thought.
"...There’s no rush," Suzy said after a moment.
They still did not fully understand Wendy’s situation, so provoking a direct conflict right now would be reckless.
What concerned Suzy most was the so-called protective barrier Vanessa mentioned.
If it was true... Wouldn’t that make Wendy invincible?
And if they confronted her recklessly before understanding how it worked, the ones who would suffer in the end might be them instead.
So until they figured things out, avoiding unnecessary conflict was the smartest choice.
But that did not mean she intended to spare Wendy. Sooner or later, there would be a final battle between them.
"We’re almost there," Thomas said, pointing ahead.
Suzy and Leonard both looked ahead at the same time. In the distance, the outline of Starlight Towers had finally come into view.
"We’re finally home." Leonard let out a long breath of relief.
Even though the conditions outside had not been terrible, nothing compared to home.
Only after being away for so long did he truly realize how comforting it was.
Right now, all Leonard wanted was to collapse onto his own bed and sleep for an entire day.
"Stay alert," Thomas warned quietly. "There could be people nearby."
The two of them nodded immediately and began scanning their surroundings with caution.
Suzy could vaguely sense eyes watching them from somewhere in the shadows. Fortunately, whoever was hiding there did not seem interested in attacking.
The boat eventually arrived safely beneath their building without incident. The three of them remained careful as they headed upstairs.
The last thing they wanted was to make too much noise and attract Wendy’s attention.
After encountering Vanessa earlier, Suzy had already pieced together a rough guess. If nothing unexpected had happened, Wendy was probably back home by now. After all, after a violent clash with Vanessa, there was no reason for her to keep wandering outside.
They passed Wendy’s floor smoothly. Then they reached the thirteenth floor.
Suzy was walking last.
The moment she stepped onto the landing, the security door on the thirteenth floor suddenly opened from the inside.
She nearly jumped in surprise. A familiar face appeared through the narrow gap.
Liam.
Suzy froze as their eyes met. For a brief moment, she noticed how bright his eyes looked.
The usual gloom lingering around his delicate features had faded slightly, replaced by a rare spark of warmth.
"You’re back," Liam said softly.
Suzy did not answer verbally. She simply nodded once. Then she pointed upstairs, signaling that she was heading back up.
Liam gave her a small nod in return.
After the brief exchange, Suzy withdrew her gaze and continued climbing the stairs.
But the moment she looked up, she realized both Thomas and Leonard were staring at her.
Especially Thomas. There was something complicated in his expression. Something dimmed.
Suzy instantly felt awkward and inexplicably guilty.
They had only exchanged a simple greeting, yet somehow it felt like she had been caught sneaking around behind his back.
Embarrassed, Suzy quickly looked away and hurried upstairs.
Thomas said nothing more. Leonard patted him on the shoulder in silent consolation.
At long last, the three of them arrived safely on the twentieth floor.
Leonard immediately rushed forward to unlock the door. Suzy, however, did not enter.
Pointing toward the apartment across the hall, she said, "I’m going over there for a bit."
After informing them, she headed toward the opposite apartment. All the required materials had already been prepared. The upgrade could begin immediately.
Suzy locked onto the apartment across from them, activated the house upgrade card, and submitted the materials.
The house instantly entered upgrade mode.
Required completion time: twenty-four hours.
After checking several times to make sure the apartment upgrade had truly begun, Suzy finally returned home.
Leonard was sprawled lazily across the sofa. The moment he saw her walk in, he lifted a hand and waved.
"You’re back, Suzy."
She nodded absently while glancing around the apartment.
Thomas was nowhere to be seen.
"Where’s Thomas?" she asked.
"He went back to his room," Leonard replied.
Suzy changed into her slippers and headed toward her bedroom, planning to shower first.
After spending the entire day outside, dust and grime clung stubbornly to her skin.
Once she finished bathing, she lay down on the bed for a short rest. But before she realized it, she had fallen asleep.
By the time she woke again, night had completely fallen. The room was pitch black, so dark she could barely make out anything around her.
Suzy blinked slowly, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Then, almost immediately, she felt it... A burning gaze fixed intently on her.
She turned her head sharply and met a pair of scorching eyes in the darkness.
Startled, she jerked upright.
"It’s me." Thomas’s low voice broke the silence.
Suzy let out a breath and sat up properly. "When did you come in?"
"About five minutes ago," he explained. "I came to call you for dinner, but you were still asleep."
The room was too dim for her to see him clearly. Only the vague outline of his figure emerged from the darkness.
Slowly, she reached a hand toward him.
Thomas chuckled softly before reaching out as well, pulling her into his arms.
The fresh scent of his body wash surrounded her instantly, clean and cool with a faint lingering sweetness.
"You could’ve just woken me up," Suzy murmured quietly.
"You were sleeping too deeply. I couldn’t bring myself to do it." His large hand slid gently through the ends of her hair. "Tired?"
Suzy nodded and naturally leaned against his shoulder.
Thomas tightened his arms around her slightly, drawing her closer into his embrace.
For a while, neither of them spoke. They simply enjoyed the rare moment of peace in silence.
Then suddenly, Thomas spoke again. "When is your friend coming over?"