Chapter 87
Suzy stared at him, completely stunned. "Hannah really said all that? He’s sending her photos?"
Leonard nodded with certainty. "Of course. I was right behind them. They didn’t even bother lowering their voices."
He could practically taste the bitterness in Hannah’s tone.
She had gone on and on about how comfortable Richard Stone’s life was—how he lounged at home in air conditioning, eating well, living as if nothing had changed at all.
According to her, Richard even sent her videos to show off, but refused to let her move in.
Leonard paused, then added thoughtfully, "Honestly... it felt like she was saying it on purpose. It was like she wanted me to hear it."
When she noticed him behind them, the conversation had abruptly shifted to Richard—repeating again and again how well he was living, how much water and food he had stored.
Suzy’s eyes flickered. "She couldn’t be trying to bait us... into targeting him, could she?"
Leonard nodded slowly. "Not impossible."
If someone desperate for water and food heard that... How could they resist the temptation to check?
Suzy let out a quiet breath. "She’s smarter than she looks. But... it seems like both our households have already been marked. We’re in danger now."
Leonard gave a low chuckle. "If anything, Richard’s the bigger target. He never comes down for water or supplies, yet he’s living comfortably at home. That’s basically announcing to everyone he’s stocked up."
"And those videos..." he shook his head. "I really don’t get what he’s thinking. He can’t be THAT careless."
Suzy frowned slightly. "Could it be... he actually wants people to come after him?"
Leonard shook his head again.
Neither of them could make sense of it.
They then dropped the subject.
After a simple meal, they each retreated to their rooms.
***
Once inside, Suzy locked the door and slipped straight into her private space.
Lately, whenever she had nothing to do, she trained.
She took on practicing shooting.
Without a professional instructor, she could only rely on fragmented memories from her time in the school military preparation camp, figuring things out through trial and error.
But ever since that "close contact" earlier... She noticed something.
Handling firearms felt smoother now—more natural, more intuitive.
The improvement wasn’t explosive, but it was real.
After two hours of continuous shooting, her hands trembled from recoil, her arms slightly numb. She paused to rest.
Instead of leaving, she moved into her farmland area.
Compared to her room, the space was cooler, calmer—no need for air conditioning. Time even flowed more slowly here.
There was simply more she could do inside.
After watering her crops, she pulled up the materials and books she had downloaded in advance and began reading.
She had barely gone through a few pages when a knock sounded outside. Suzy immediately exited the space and opened the door.
Leonard stood there, his expression unusually grave.
"What’s wrong?" she asked.
"Something’s about to happen." He handed her his phone.
The community group chat was still active.
And just now, property management had posted a new notice:
Water distribution would be reduced.
What used to be every other day... was now extended to once every seven days.
One bucket per household.
The moment the message dropped, the group exploded.
"Are you kidding me?! One bucket every other day wasn’t even enough—now it’s once a week?! You want us dead?!"
"Exactly! Does the government even care if we live or die?!"
"My family of five can’t survive on one bucket for two days—how are we supposed to last seven?!"
"This is completely unfair!"
"I refuse to accept this!"
...
Anger flooded the chat. People spammed and tagged Manager Williams relentlessly.
Eventually, Manager Williams reappeared, offering a rushed explanation—they were only relaying official orders. The city’s water supply was critically low. Under relentless heat, rivers had dried up. There was simply no water left to draw.
After posting the explanation, he vanished again. Even he knew how unreasonable it sounded. But what choice was there? At this point, having any water at all was already a luxury.
Soon enough... even that might come at a price.
The group chat continued to spiral—complaints escalating, some even talking about protesting.
Suzy read through it all, her expression steady. She understood exactly what Leonard meant.
With water growing scarcer, any household that still had reserves... would become a target.
Once others ran out, they would act.
Suzy remained calm.
Their door had been specially reinforced at great cost. Even if someone tried, it wouldn’t be easy to break through. And there was still the outer security door.
For now, they were safe.
"Right," Leonard said suddenly, "we need to move everything into your space. Food, water—all of it."
Previously, for convenience, Suzy had left snacks out in the study. They had even turned it into a small storage room.
Leonard could grab whatever he wanted without asking her to retrieve things.
But now? That was no longer safe. Everything had to disappear.
Suzy nodded.
She moved quickly—clearing the storage shelves, sweeping everything into her space.
Then the kitchen. The bathroom. Every drop of stored water—gone. She left behind only a single bucket.
Leonard looked around at the now nearly empty apartment and exhaled.
"Yeah... this feels much safer." He paused, then added, "We should warn Thomas too—tell him to prepare."
Suzy raised a brow. "With his build? Who would dare target him?"
Leonard paused mid-text, then chuckled. "Fair point."
Tall, imposing, naturally intimidating—most people wouldn’t even dare get close.
"Still," he said, finishing the message, "I’ve told him just in case. Knowing him, he’s probably already prepared."
After all, someone with a mercenary background... would never sit around waiting for danger.
Suzy nodded. "Good."
Just then, the doorbell rang. Both of them froze. Their expressions sharpened instantly.
Suzy pulled out her phone and opened the surveillance feed.
On the screen... stood a stranger.
Well-dressed. Clean. Wearing glasses. He looked refined. Harmless, even.
But he kept knocking.
At first lightly—then harder.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The sound echoed loudly through the reinforced door.
"I’ll get it," Leonard said.
Suzy stopped him, handing something over. "Take this."