Chapter 80

Thomas didn’t stand on ceremony. He stepped inside, setting the bucket of water down near the door for the moment.

"Go sit on the couch," Suzy said. "I’ll get you a glass of water."

She headed into the kitchen, but in reality, she took two cups of spiritual spring water from her storage space, added a few ice cubes to each, and brought them out—one for Thomas and one for herself.

Over the past few weeks, Suzy had frequently given both Thomas and Uncle Leonard small amounts of this spring water to drink, subtly strengthening their bodies.

Neither of them had noticed anything unusual.

She handed Thomas the glass.

"Thanks." He took a sip. The water was icy cold and pleasantly sweet.

He had already noticed something: the water at Suzy’s place always tasted especially good.

He didn’t stay long. After finishing the glass, he stood to leave.

Suzy had originally planned to invite him to stay for dinner, but Thomas declined.

"I’ll walk you out," Suzy said.

"No need to trouble yourself," he replied.

"What trouble?" Suzy smiled. "It’s nothing. Come on, I’ll see you off."

Seeing how determined she looked, Thomas didn’t argue further.

The two stepped out together.

Suzy didn’t escort him all the way to his door—only as far as the underground parking garage.

"That’s far enough," Thomas said as the elevator doors opened and he stepped out.

"Alright, I’ll head back then. Message me when you get home," Suzy said, waving.

Thomas nodded.

The elevator doors slid shut, carrying Suzy back upstairs. The elevator stopped briefly on the first floor, and a woman stepped inside. She was struggling to lift her water bucket. Suzy instinctively helped her carry it.

The woman smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome," Suzy replied.

The woman pressed the button for the tenth floor. After a moment, she struck up a conversation.

"You live on the fifth floor, right?"

"Yeah." Suzy nodded.

"Did you see the announcement today?" the woman asked suddenly.

"What announcement?" Suzy replied.

"The supermarket will open tomorrow for supply purchases."

Suzy nodded again. "I saw that."

"You’re going tomorrow, right?" the woman asked.

Suzy stayed cautious and didn’t answer directly. "I’ll see how things look."

The woman seemed about to say something else, but the elevator had already reached Suzy’s floor.

"I’m getting off here," Suzy said, stepping out.

She walked briskly back to her apartment.

When she entered, Leonard called out, "Come take a look—it’s all set up."

The solar panels were arranged neatly on the balcony. Suzy’s balcony faced the sun and received plenty of direct sunlight.

"Not bad," she said approvingly.

Leonard stretched his arms. "I’m going to take a shower. What are we eating later?"

These days, their biggest daily dilemma was deciding what to eat for dinner.

"Shall we cook something?" Suzy asked.

Leonard shook his head. "Too hot. Don’t feel like cooking today."

The gas stove still worked fine, but Leonard didn’t want to cook.

First, the heat in the kitchen was unbearable.

Second, if the smell of cooking drifted out and the neighbors caught it, it might attract unnecessary attention.

"Then let’s do a mystery meal," Suzy suggested. "Whatever I pull out of storage—that’s what we eat."

Leonard nodded. "Works for me. I’m going to shower then."

He went into the bathroom and rinsed off quickly.

By the time he came out, Suzy had already laid out the meal on the table.

"Tonight we’re having asian style noodles."

The noodles had originally come from a noodle shop that Suzy had visited earlier. She had packed them up and stored them immediately in her space, where they stayed perfectly fresh—just like they had been freshly cooked.

She took out several side dishes and packaged snacks as well, though her expression grew slightly distracted.

She couldn’t help wondering how that kind-hearted noodle shop owner was doing now.

"Smells amazing." Leonard had already caught the rich aroma drifting from the table.

He hurried over and inhaled deeply. "These noodles smell incredible."

"Eat before they get soggy," Suzy said, handing him chopsticks.

Leonard mixed the noodles. "They look like they were just made."

The beef stock was rich and fragrant. The beef was cut thick—nothing like the paper-thin slices most restaurants served.

Large cubes of braised beef rested on top of the noodles, simmered for hours in a deep red sauce. A few stalks of baby bok choy were arranged neatly beside them.

Once mixed with the broth, the fragrance rose immediately.

Leonard took a bite and gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

"These noodles are great! Why haven’t you brought them out before? Do we have more?"

"Plenty. Eat as much as you like."

Suzy had packed dozens of bowls that day. There were still over fifty servings left in storage—more than enough.

And besides these, she had many other noodle varieties. Rotating through them would last them quite a long time.

As they ate, Suzy told Leonard about the supermarket supply opening tomorrow.

"Uncle, let’s go together tomorrow."

"Sure," Leonard said. "We should invite Thomas too. He doesn’t have a car—we can give him a ride."

Suzy nodded. "Okay, I’ll message him later."

After dinner, Suzy contacted Thomas right away to tell him about the plan.

He agreed without hesitation. They set a time to meet downstairs the next day and leave together.

Afterward, both Suzy and Leonard returned to their own tasks.

Suzy entered her storage space to check on things.

The crops she had planted earlier had already produced their first harvest. She had just completed the second round of planting.

Once she finished processing the seeds, Suzy walked around the space for a while.

Recently, she couldn’t go out much, which meant she couldn’t upgrade the space.

She had originally planned some "zero-cost shopping"—but the timing still wasn’t right.

After finishing everything in the space, the night passed quickly.

The next morning, Suzy stayed inside the space until she sensed Leonard knocking on the door.

She stepped out.

"Let’s go," Leonard said. "It’s about time."

Suzy packed a small backpack and left the bedroom. They had just entered the elevator when the same woman from yesterday stepped inside.

The moment she saw Suzy, her eyes lit up. "Oh—it’s you."

Suzy returned her a polite but distant smile.

"You’re going to the supermarket to buy supplies, right?" the woman asked.

Instead of answering the question, Suzy replied calmly, "Is there something you need?"

"Well... I also want to go shopping," the woman said. "But I don’t have a car. Could you give me a ride?"

"That wouldn’t be convenient," Leonard answered for Suzy.

He could tell Suzy wasn’t familiar with this woman—otherwise her attitude wouldn’t have been so distant.

The woman frowned slightly.

After a moment, she tried again.

"Well... how about this? I’ll write a shopping list, and you can buy the things for me."

The moment she said that, the air in the elevator seemed to freeze.

The polite smile faded from Suzy’s face.

Leonard’s brows knit together immediately, his eyes openly scrutinizing her.

"Buy things for you?" he said coolly. "Is this really something to ask of some strangers?"