"Got it," kitty responded, springing lightly into the air.

Moments later, it returned with a small chick clamped gently in its mouth and dropped it in front of Suzy.

Suzy pointed at the chick and looked at the little white snake. "Go on. Bite it. Let me see how strong your venom is."

The snake nodded, still a little dazed, and gave the chick a quick bite.

The chick collapsed and then, a moment later, scrambled back to its feet, chirping and hopping around as if nothing had happened.

Suzy’s lips twitched.

"Your venom is way too weak. You can’t even kill a chicken?"

So much for using it as a hidden weapon. At best, it could scare Wendy.

The little snake blinked, clearly sensing the disappointment radiating from Suzy.

She thought its venom was weak? No. It hadn’t even used its full strength yet.

Ever since gaining awareness, it had learned to control the amount of venom it released. For that chick, it had used less than ten percent. That was why it survived.

If it unleashed everything, the chick wouldn’t stand a chance.

Realizing what Suzy wanted, the snake quickly spoke up. "Master, wait."

It slithered back to the chick and bit it again.

This time, its slender white body coiled around the chick as venom surged into its bloodstream. The chick dropped instantly, its body going stiff.

The entire process took less than two seconds.

Suzy poked the lifeless chick, stunned. "Wow... so you are impressive. Were you holding back just now?"

Her surprise delighted the little snake.

"I can control my venom!" it said eagerly.

"Not bad." Suzy reached out and patted its head. "You’re actually useful. Fine, you can stay."

With such an obedient little weapon at her disposal, anyone who crossed her could be dealt with quietly. One bite, and revenge would be effortless.

Its small size and speed made it even more effective, especially at night. Most people wouldn’t even notice it coming.

Of course, if she wanted it to be truly reliable, she would need to train it properly.

"From now on, you listen to me. Consider it repayment for what you did," Suzy said sternly.

It had drained her spirit spring. If it dared to disobey her, she would deal with it first.

The little snake nodded obediently. "Don’t worry, Master!"

"And from now on, your name is Dummy."

"Yay!" Dummy circled around her happily.

Suzy spent quite a while in the space observing and testing Dummy before finally leaving.

That night, after dinner, the rain stopped.

Leonard was the first to notice. He had developed a habit of checking the window, watching for any change in the weather or signs of movement outside.

This time, after pulling back the curtain, he froze.

The rain... had stopped.

At first, he thought it was just his imagination. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.

It was real.

"Suzy! Thomas! The rain’s stopped! It’s really stopped!"

Suzy and Thomas hurried over and pulled the curtains aside.

Outside, everything had gone eerily quiet. The relentless drumming of rain against the glass was gone. No more splashing water, no more wind-driven sheets of rain.

No one knew when the rain had stopped, or how long it had been quiet.

But it also signaled something else. The typhoon and endless torrential rain disaster had finally come to an end.

There might be a short buffer period before the next catastrophe arrived.

Extreme cold. Endless, merciless cold.

For Suzy, the rain stopping brought another advantage. It meant she could finally go out and search for supplies again.

The transition period after the rain wouldn’t last long. The deep freeze was coming fast.

Time was tight. She needed to gather the materials required to upgrade the house as soon as possible. While she was out, she could also search for gold, jewelry, and other resources useful for upgrading her space.

Naturally, Suzy hoped to level up her space during this window of time.

The three of them stood by the window for a long while.

The relentless rain that had fallen without pause for so long had finally gone silent. For a moment, Suzy found herself unable to adjust to the sudden stillness.

"No time to waste. Uncle, let’s head out tomorrow," Suzy said.

Her mind was completely occupied with thoughts of upgrading the house.

Even if construction materials weren’t particularly valuable and probably wouldn’t be contested, she still worried something unexpected might happen.

"Tomorrow?" Leonard froze briefly before nodding. "Alright. Tomorrow it is."

That night, the three of them carefully mapped out a detailed plan for the trip.

After everything was settled, Suzy called Thomas into her room.

With the system involved, what they shared wasn’t indulgence, but preparation.

Still, since they needed to head out early the next day, they didn’t stay up too late.

In the end, Suzy fell asleep in Thomas’s arms, sleeping deeply until the alarm rang the next morning.

The shrill sound cut through the room.

Suzy opened her eyes and discovered Thomas already sitting at the edge of the bed.

His back faced her, and from where she sat, she could clearly see the scattered red scratch marks trailing across his bare skin.

It was unfairly attractive.

Suzy sat up and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.

Thomas’s body stiffened slightly before he turned to look at her. "You’re up?"

She nodded sleepily.

Thomas leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead before lifting her into his arms.

Seeing her dazed expression, he couldn’t help but laugh softly. "Come on. We need to leave soon."

"The rain’s completely stopped, right?"

"Yeah. It’s over."

Before Suzy woke up, Thomas had already checked the window. The sun had even come out.

The long nightmare of endless storms had finally ended.

After washing up, the three of them ate a simple breakfast together.

Then Suzy slipped the prepared medicinal water into her pocket.

Thankfully, the spirit spring hadn’t disappeared completely. It had merely been drained dry.

After an entire night, a thin layer of water had finally accumulated again, enough for Suzy to dilute and use.

Although she had promised the Austen brothers she would visit again today, she hadn’t expected the rain to stop so suddenly. She could only break her promise for now.

Given the circumstances, Liam would probably understand.

Once they finished preparing, the three of them headed downstairs together toward their planned destination: the building materials market.

When they reached the thirteenth floor, Leonard and Thomas continued downstairs ahead of her.

Suzy had already warned them beforehand that she would stop by to deliver medicine to Noah and might need a little extra time.

Neither of them objected, only reminding her to be quick.

On the thirteenth floor, Suzy knocked on the door, and almost immediately, it opened.

Liam and Noah were both standing at the door, as though they had been waiting for her the entire time.

"Morning," Suzy greeted with a smile.

"You’re here." There was unmistakable happiness in Liam’s eyes.

Beside him, Noah lit up immediately. "Suzy!"

But the moment Liam’s gaze landed on Suzy’s outfit and the backpack slung behind her, the warmth on his face slowly froze.

"You’re going out?"

"Yeah." Suzy kept it brief. "I came by to drop off the medicine."

She handed over the bag. Inside were the medicinal water and some food she had prepared for the two brothers.

This time, it wasn’t just snacks for children. There were things Liam could eat too, along with freshly heated porridge.