Chapter 160

Liam was right beside her. Noticing her movement, he glanced at her.

"Liam, I’ll go upstairs and take a look too," Wendy said softly.

Without waiting for a response, she hurried off after Leonard.

This was the perfect opportunity to get close to him—she wasn’t about to let it slip away.

A man and a woman alone together... and with her identity as Suzy’s sister, getting closer to Leonard would be the most natural thing in the world.

At the thought, a faint, satisfied smile curved her lips.

Their figures disappeared one after the other.

The space was left with only three people—Suzy, Thomas, and Liam.

Suzy’s gaze drifted lightly toward Liam. He was still seated by the window, lost in thought, a slight frown between his brows as if something weighed on his mind.

She could faintly sense the restlessness radiating from him.

But they weren’t familiar with each other, and it wasn’t her place to say anything.

The steady patter of rain only made the atmosphere more oppressive.

Suzy stood. "Let’s go help Uncle."

Sitting here doing nothing wasn’t going to solve anything.

She needed something to distract herself.

The moment she rose, Thomas pressed a hand lightly against her, stopping her. "I’ll go. You stay here."

He shared her thoughts—working together would be more efficient.

But if they both left, no one would be here to keep watch. What if someone broke in?

Liam was still here, yes, but he was with Wendy. Thomas didn’t consider him one of theirs.

Suzy frowned. "That doesn’t feel right."

"You’ll be safer here," he said. "If someone comes, you can warn us. I’ll go help."

In his view, this floor had already been checked—it was relatively safe.

Upstairs, however, was unknown territory. There could be dangers lurking. Suzy staying here was the better option.

Besides... he didn’t want her running around unnecessarily.

Suzy opened her mouth to argue, then hesitated.

He wasn’t wrong.

Someone did need to stay behind. Even with the acid rain, there was always the chance someone might approach.

"...Then come back quickly," she said at last.

He nodded and stood, but his gaze flicked briefly toward Liam by the window.

After a moment of silence, he leaned down and murmured into her ear, "You can handle him, right?"

Suzy blinked, then smiled and nodded. "Mm."

That was enough for him.

After what had happened before, he had a rough understanding of her strength.

If Liam tried anything, she could deal with it herself.

"Alright. I’ll head up first," he said.

She reached out and lightly tugged at his hand.

He turned back, puzzled. Lowering her voice, she asked, "You’re really okay with leaving me alone with him?"

Wasn’t he just jealous a moment ago?

Thomas’ lips curved slightly. "Yeah. I’m not worried."

He could tell—Liam had no interest in Suzy.

No... more accurately, he had no interest in anything around him.

So nothing would happen.

With that, Thomas just left.

Now, the space held only Suzy and Liam.

Rain lashed against the windows, the dim light casting long shadows across the room.

Suzy glanced toward him again. He remained immersed in his own thoughts, unaware of her gaze.

A few meters separated them. Neither spoke.

Just as Suzy was about to look away, Liam suddenly stood.

Her gaze stilled, fixing on him.

He walked straight toward the shattered exit they had broken through earlier, as if inspecting something.

From Suzy’s angle, she could only see his back.

Through her confusion, Liam extended a hand toward the outside, as if trying to touch something.

But there was nothing out there—nothing except the relentless acid rain.

Was he seriously trying to touch it?

The thought flashed through her mind.

Was he out of his mind?

Did he not understand how dangerous acid rain was?

The moment his skin made contact, it would be burned by the corrosive liquid.

He didn’t have any healing spring to rely on. What would happen afterward... she didn’t even want to imagine.

Acting on instinct, she called out, "Don’t touch it! The acid rain is dangerous!"

His movement paused at her sudden warning.

Suzy got to her feet and walked closer, continuing, "It’s highly corrosive. Don’t touch it—you’ll get hurt."

Liam withdrew his hand and turned to look at her. Those deep eyes seemed dimmer now.

"I know," he said. "Thanks for the warning."

That only made her more confused.

If he knew, why reach out at all?

"Then why were you...?"

She didn’t finish the question, but he clearly understood.

"I just wanted to see how bad it really is," he said flatly, his gaze returning to the rain.

That made even less sense to her.

If he wanted to test it, did he really have to use his own hand?

Liam offered no further explanation. He continued watching the curtain of rain, though he didn’t reach out again.

Soon, something caught his attention.

A deflated inflatable raft drifted on the murky water below.

It sagged limply, bobbing unsteadily, until a floating plank snagged it and held it in place.

Following his gaze, Suzy frowned slightly.

Why did that look so familiar?

Wait... wasn’t that theirs?

She hurried toward the broken exit to check whether their raft was still there.

But shards of glass were scattered across the floor, and rainwater had pooled beneath them. Moving too quickly, her foot slipped—

Her body pitched forward, straight toward the outside.

Before she could react, someone grabbed her arm.

A firm force pulled her back into safety.

The hand released her just as quickly.

Suzy froze for a second, a cold sweat breaking out across her back.

She had almost fallen into the water.

With acid rain mixed into it... she didn’t even want to think about what would have happened. It would have been no different from falling into acid.

Luckily, Liam had caught her in time.

She turned to him, gratitude written all over her face. "Thank you—really."

He didn’t respond with much warmth, only giving a small nod. "Be careful."

It was then that she noticed—the raft that had been docked near the entrance was gone.

Which meant the one drifting outside... was theirs.

Somehow, it had already deflated.

But she clearly remembered—it had been made of reinforced material, thick enough that even a knife wouldn’t easily pierce it.

A few shards of glass shouldn’t have been enough to damage it.

So that left only one possibility.

The acid rain had eaten through it.

Had it really become this powerful?

Suzy felt a chill run through her body.

If she had fallen into that water just now... how would that have been any different from being submerged in sulfuric acid?

"...We should head back," she said quietly.