Chapter 437: A Murderous Joke

Melody Summers waved her hand, stopping Joanne from rambling on.

Seeing the puzzled look on Joanne’s face, Melody Summers said seriously, "I didn’t come here to talk about that..."

Melody Summers explained to Joanne that a temporary shelter had been set up on the 23rd floor.

Joanne shook her head and replied, "We don’t need to go to the 23rd floor. We have plenty of supplies here. We’ll be fine for another three months, no problem."

As the saying goes, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. The Sutton Family had been a premier tycoon family before their bankruptcy, after all. Although most of their fortune was lost in the volcano along with Elias Sutton’s death, Mr. and Mrs. Sutton had sold their villa, furniture, and jewelry, leaving them with some money on hand.

Thanks to Mr. Caelus’s guidance, they had stockpiled a great deal of food and coal in unit 1506—enough to last them for the next few months.

Melody Summers nodded, then asked, "So, are you going to send Ethan Sutton and his mother, Margaret Adler, over there?"

’Knowing Joanne,’ Melody thought, ’she’ll probably convince Sean Sutton to dump the mother and son on the 23rd floor just to get them out of the way and have some private time with him.’

Joanne chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Of course not. If I let them go to the 23rd floor, who would I have left to torment?"

That was only half the story. The other reason was that Joanne, being pregnant, had been making Margaret Adler fetch her tea and water, do the laundry, and cook for her. If Margaret left, there would be no one left to serve her!

So, Joanne had no intention of letting the Suttons know about the shelter on the 23rd floor.

Melody didn’t press the issue. After saying goodbye to Joanne, only three units on the 15th floor remained to be notified: 1502, 1503, and 1504.

She went to 1504 first and knocked on the door.

A clear female voice soon answered from within. "Who is it?"

Melody explained the reason for her visit through the door, and it was quickly opened.

The person who opened the door was a young woman in a pale yellow down jacket. She looked to be in her early twenties, with a pretty face, big round eyes, and slightly upturned lips that gave her a very cute and endearing appearance.

She looked at Melody and asked, "Hi, are you from the Emergency Response Office? Let me introduce myself. My name is Chloe Sharp. You can think of it like a flower bud, ready to bloom! What should I call you?"

As Chloe Sharp spoke, a bright smile blossomed on her face, making her look just like a flower ready to bloom.

She gave Melody a playful wink and said in a chipper voice, "We’ll be heading to the shelter in a bit. We’ll be counting on you to look out for us and maybe save us a good spot!"

Melody found Chloe’s bright, cheerful smile and lively voice infectious, and she smiled back. "I’m not with the Emergency Response Office," she replied. "I’m just helping to pass on the message."

Hearing this, the smile on Chloe’s face dimmed slightly. She nodded and said, "Oh, okay. Thanks for letting us know. My boyfriend and I will pack our things and head up to the 23rd floor right away."

Melody nodded. "Alright, I won’t keep you then."

With that, Melody turned to go to 1503 to notify the next resident.

Seeing this, Chloe suddenly called out, "Hey, miss, you don’t have to knock! There’s no one living in 1503 right now!"

Melody froze. She had checked the resident registry before leaving and remembered that 1503 was occupied. Why would Chloe say no one was living there?

’Could it be... Did something happen to the people in 1503?’

Her heart tightened. Refusing to take Chloe’s word for it, she knocked heavily on the door a few more times while turning to look at Chloe, about to ask her to explain.

But in the next second, the door to 1503 swung open.

A man in a black down jacket appeared in the doorway. He looked at Melody, confused, and asked, "Can I help you with something?"

Staring at the man, Melody froze for a second before whipping her head around to look back at Chloe, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Caught in her lie, Chloe showed no trace of guilt or embarrassment. She still wore that same bright, cheerful smile.

She let out an exaggerated "Oops!" and stuck her tongue out playfully. "Don’t look at me like that," she chirped. "I was just joking! Anyway, I’ve got to go pack. Bye now!"

With that, Chloe shut her door with a SLAM.

Staring at the closed door of 1504, Melody’s expression slowly darkened.

’What is wrong with that Chloe Sharp?!’

’She was just joking?’

’Who jokes about something like that?!’

’If I had believed her and not knocked on the door, the resident of 1503 would never have known about the shelter. With months of severe cold still ahead, how would they have survived?’

’How is what Chloe did any different from attempted murder?’

The more Melody thought about it, the angrier she became.

The resident from 1503 clearly had no idea what had just transpired. Looking at Melody’s grim expression, he asked again, "...Is there something I can help you with?"

Melody snapped out of it and quickly explained about the shelter being set up on the 23rd floor.

The resident was overjoyed. "That’s wonderful!" he exclaimed. "My wife and I were just worrying about what we’d do when our coal runs out. I can’t believe the government set up a shelter. They really haven’t abandoned us! Thank you so much for letting us know. We’ll head over right away!"

"You’re welcome," Melody replied.

She hesitated for a moment before asking, "...By the way, do you know the people in 1504, across the hall?"

’I just can’t figure it out,’ Melody thought. ’What kind of grudge would make someone like Chloe do something like that?’

The resident of 1503 scratched his head. "1504...? I remember a young couple lives there. I think they’re social media creators or influencers, something like that. I don’t know much else about them."

’An influencer?’

Melody frowned. "Have... have you had any conflicts with them?"

The resident seemed taken aback by the question. His expression was one of bewilderment as he shook his head. "No, we don’t have any issues with them... Why would you ask that?"

Hearing this, Melody knew she couldn’t say much more. She could only offer a tactful warning, "It’s nothing, but... you should probably be careful around the people in 1504."

The resident nodded in confusion, then went back inside to pack.

After leaving 1503, Melody went to 1502, the last unit on the 15th floor.

This time was strange. Melody stood at the door and knocked loudly for a long time, but no one answered.

Just as Melody was wondering what was going on, the door to 1504 opened. Chloe Sharp and her boyfriend walked out, each carrying a bag. They were clearly on their way to the 23rd floor.

When she saw Melody standing at the door to 1502, Chloe suddenly snorted with laughter.

Melody heard the sound and turned to face her. Chloe was beaming as she said, "Stop knocking, miss. I’m not kidding this time. There’s really no one in 1502!"