Chapter 282
Elijah had been happily chatting with Aaron when he suddenly looked up and found three shadowy figures standing in the stairwell.
No wonder he had nearly jumped out of his skin.
He sucked in a sharp breath and pressed a hand against his chest, still rattled from the scare.
"So it’s you guys!"
Compared to him, Aaron remained much calmer. He casually lowered the hand crossbow behind his back, showing little reaction.
Suzy smiled apologetically.
"Sorry for startling you."
She genuinely had not meant to scare anyone.
Still, Elijah’s reaction had been so dramatic that she had to suppress a laugh.
He cleared his throat awkwardly.
"It’s fine." His gaze swept over Suzy and the others. "You’re heading downstairs?"
Suzy nodded.
"We were planning to check out what was happening below."
A faint glimmer flickered through Aaron’s eyes. Elijah seemed to understand immediately.
"The people downstairs have already been dealt with." After a brief pause, he added casually, "They were here because of us."
Suzy nodded in understanding.
Apparently, there had never been any need for them to get involved.
The strength of Aaron’s group was clearly not to be underestimated. They had handled the situation on their own with remarkable efficiency.
"Looks like we can head back now," Leonard said.
The whole matter had been resolved far more quickly than any of them had expected. Since everything was over, there was no reason to continue downstairs.
There were probably only a few corpses left at the entrance. None of them felt particularly eager to go confirm it.
"Alright, let’s head back."
They had only made it halfway down before turning around and retracing their steps.
As they walked, however, something occurred to Suzy––Liam was nowhere to be seen.
Hadn’t he said he was coming down as well?
Aaron had been quietly observing her the entire time. Noticing the question in her expression, he spoke before she could ask.
"He’s still downstairs."
Suzy blinked in surprise before nodding. "I see."
Since Aaron and his group lived on one of the lower floors, they soon arrived at their apartment.
After exchanging brief farewells, the two men stepped inside and closed the door behind them.
Suzy, Leonard, and Thomas continued upward.
As they climbed, Suzy’s thoughts drifted elsewhere again. Once things settled down, she needed to speak with Aaron’s group about forming an alliance.
There was also the matter of Bill. The doctor had gone out of his way to help Derek. She still owed him a proper thank-you.
Later, on the eleventh floor.
Inside Aaron’s apartment, a small group had gathered in the living room.
Suzy, Thomas, Liam, and all four members of the doctors’ household were present.
Seated on the sofa, Suzy cradled a steaming cup of tea between her hands while quietly observing the four men across from her.
This was her first time visiting their home.
From the details scattered throughout the apartment, it was easy to tell they had been living relatively comfortably despite the apocalypse.
The fact that they could still serve hot tea meant they had access to a functioning power source or backup energy supply.
She had already met Aaron and the twins several times before. The only unfamiliar face had been Lucas, the sickly man she had heard about but never met.
Today, she finally saw him in person.
He appeared to have recovered considerably. His complexion looked healthy, and there was none of the frailty she had expected.
At that moment, Bill stood nearby holding a black bag.
With a smile, he looked at Suzy and said, "You didn’t have to bring anything. Just coming by was enough."
Even as he spoke, he opened the bag and glanced inside. The smile on his face faltered slightly, replaced by obvious surprise.
Standing beside him, Elijah caught the change in expression and leaned over to take a look.
His eyes widened as well. The two brothers exchanged a brief glance.
Suzy smiled back. "It’s only a small token of appreciation. Thank you for helping us. If it weren’t for you, my family member wouldn’t have recovered so quickly."
Her gratitude was entirely sincere. She genuinely owed Bill a debt of thanks. Without his prescription, Derek would never have regained consciousness.
And if Derek had never woken up, he would not have witnessed everything she had done for him during those desperate days.
His feelings would never have crossed the final threshold. No matter how she looked at it, Bill had helped her tremendously.
Since she intended to repay that kindness, she had no intention of doing it halfheartedly.
The gifts she brought today were not extraordinarily valuable, but in the current world, they were worth far more than money.
Inside the black bag were several medicines, along with cigarettes and alcohol.
Before the apocalypse, every item in that bag could have been purchased at an ordinary convenience store for a modest price.
Now, however, things were very different.
In a world where supply chains had collapsed and resources were vanishing by the day, medicine could save lives, cigarettes could be traded like currency, and alcohol had become a luxury few people could afford.
To anyone trying to survive in these harsh conditions, the contents of that bag were nothing short of precious.
Now, those three things were among the most valuable commodities left in the apocalypse.
In some cases, they were worth even more than food.
Suzy’s generosity caught Bill completely off guard.
For the first time, he felt a little embarrassed accepting a gift.
"You’re being far too generous," he said with a laugh as he carefully set the bag aside.
With the gift exchange concluded, Suzy finally steered the conversation toward the real reason for her visit––the incident downstairs.
Gratitude was only one purpose behind today’s meeting. The larger goal was to discuss an alliance.
She wanted to join forces with Aaron’s group against the new organization that had been steadily expanding throughout Starlight Towers.
Before coming, she had already spoken privately with Liam about the idea.
Compared to her, Liam had a much closer relationship with Aaron and the others. He was the natural bridge between the two groups.
He had agreed without hesitation. That was the reason everyone was gathered here today.
Liam had already explained Suzy’s intentions beforehand, so Aaron’s group saw no reason to hide anything.
The moment she asked, they openly shared the details of what had happened downstairs and the history behind their conflict.
Liam had given her a brief overview before, but that had only been the short version.
This time, she heard the full story.
At its core, the dispute came down to resources. Both sides had discovered the same cache of supplies. The other group had tried to claim everything for themselves, but they had been no match for Aaron’s team.
In the end, the resources went to Aaron and his companions.
The defeated group had never let go of that resentment. Unable to accept the loss, they had returned seeking revenge.
Apparently, they had not anticipated that Aaron’s group would reinforce and seal off the building’s entrances so thoroughly.
That was why they had spent so much time downstairs hammering uselessly against the doors.
Unfortunately for them, they never even managed to break through.
They died first.
Suzy listened quietly as the entire sequence of events was laid out in detail. Only after the explanation ended did Aaron add one final piece of information.
"Those people were members of the organization."
Truthfully, Suzy had already guessed as much. She did not waste time dancing around the issue.
"Then let’s work together too."
There was no surprise in Aaron’s expression.
Instead, he simply nodded. "Alright."
Just like that, the alliance was formed.
Both sides understood the reality of the situation:
They lived in the same building.
They faced the same enemies.
And sooner or later, the organization would come for all of them.
It made far more sense to stand together than to fight alone.
Unfortunately, before they could even begin discussing a strategy for dealing with the organization, the organization made the next move.
They came knocking once again.