Liam withdrew his gaze and gave a subdued nod.

"Alright."

The four of them headed downstairs at an unhurried pace.

Fortunately, they never crossed paths with the four men.

The strangers seemed to be lingering somewhere below the tenth floor and had not ventured up to the thirteenth.

Suzy could occasionally hear faint footsteps echoing through the stairwell, but she couldn’t determine exactly which floor they were on.

Before long, they arrived at the thirteenth floor.

Suzy and Thomas escorted Liam and Noah all the way back to their apartment.

After a moment of thought, Suzy reached into her pocket and pulled out a walkie-talkie.

"Liam, take this. If anything happens, you can contact me immediately."

She held it out to him.

Liam was visibly surprised. He clearly hadn’t expected her to have something like that.

Their apartments weren’t far apart, and with a walkie-talkie, communication would be much easier. They wouldn’t have to keep running back and forth between floors.

Before Liam could reach for it, Noah had already snatched it up on his behalf.

"Big Sis, does that mean I can talk to you anytime too?"

Suzy laughed. "Of course you can."

Noah’s entire face lit up. "That’s awesome!"

"If anything comes up, I’ll let you know right away," Liam said.

"Sounds good." Suzy smiled. "Then it’s settled. We’re heading back now. And thank you again for coming all the way here to warn me."

After saying their goodbyes, she and Thomas left.

Back inside his apartment, Liam locked the door and immediately began examining the walkie-talkie.

He wasn’t particularly familiar with the device and spent quite a while figuring out how everything worked.

Still, the thought that he could now contact Suzy whenever necessary left him with an oddly complicated feeling.

At the same time, Suzy and Thomas returned home.

The warmth inside the safehouse wrapped around them as soon as they stepped through the door.

Both removed their coats and headed into the living room.

The first thing they did was check the security cameras.

Suzy had installed surveillance equipment outside her apartment long ago.

The cameras provided full coverage with virtually no blind spots and could zoom in or out as needed.

Since power remained stable, the system was still functioning perfectly.

Pulling up the footage, she enlarged the image.

Sure enough, not long ago, four figures had appeared on screen, making their way through the snowstorm toward the building.

Leonard emerged from his room and wandered over when he noticed the two of them studying a tablet.

"What are you looking at?"

"Some people came to our building," Suzy replied.

"Let me see."

She replayed the footage for him.

The easygoing expression on Leonard’s face disappeared the moment he saw the four men.

His features turned sharper.

"We shouldn’t go out for a while."

His tone carried unusual gravity.

"We don’t know who they are or whether they’re dangerous. It’s better if we avoid contact altogether."

With the weather deteriorating so rapidly and their supplies more than sufficient, Leonard felt there was no reason to take unnecessary risks.

Food wasn’t an issue.

Water wasn’t an issue.

They were already living better than most survivors.

As far as he was concerned, staying home was the smartest option.

Suzy glanced at him, arching a brow.

His reaction seemed stronger than expected, though she couldn’t entirely blame him.

After a moment, she nodded.

"Alright. Let’s do that."

The temperature would continue dropping.

Remaining indoors for the foreseeable future was probably the safest decision.

She also hoped Liam and Noah wouldn’t run into any trouble.

As for the four strangers, as long as they stayed out of her way, she was willing to pretend they didn’t exist.

She had no intention of making the first move.

After they finished reviewing the footage, Leonard dragged Thomas off to play games with him.

Suzy returned to her room. Then a thought suddenly struck her.

The space. She hadn’t checked on it in quite some time.

After locking the door behind her, she disappeared in a flash.

The next instant, she stood inside her private dimension.

The small white snake that had been slithering through the grass immediately perked up when it saw her.

Delighted, it hurried over and affectionately rubbed against her.

Suzy held out an arm.

Without hesitation, Dummy curled itself around it.

"You haven’t been sneaking my spirit spring water, have you?" she asked.

"No."

The snake blinked its tiny ruby-red eyes innocently.

Nearby, the system, still in its kitten form, sensed Suzy’s arrival and came sprinting over.

"Don’t worry! I’ve been watching it the entire time!"

"Good job."

Suzy laughed and scratched the kitten behind the ears.

Then she glanced around.

"So how’s the space been doing under your management?"

The kitten immediately lifted its chin proudly.

"It’s been doing great, of course!"

Only then did Suzy truly take in her surroundings.

The sight left her momentarily speechless.

The entire space had changed.

After the upgrade, everything had expanded dramatically.

The grasslands stretched far into the distance, disappearing beyond the horizon.

Rolling green fields spread endlessly beneath the sky.

Several gentle hills had appeared in the distance, covered with countless tiny wildflowers that dotted the landscape like stars.

A clear stream wound gracefully between the hills, its waters sparkling as it flowed.

The sound of running water filled the air.

Then Suzy noticed the spirit spring.

Her eyes widened. The spring had grown several times larger than before.

"Has it gotten this big?"

The kitten sat proudly beside the water and dipped a paw into the surface.

"Naturally. The spiritual energy is much denser after the upgrade. The spring source itself expanded several times over."

It swished its tail smugly.

"The amount of spirit water produced in a single day now equals what you used to save up over an entire month."

Suzy crouched beside the spring.

An indescribable sense of satisfaction welled up inside her.

Scooping up a handful of crystal-clear water, she splashed it onto her face.

The cool sensation was refreshing enough to make her smile.

The farmland had expanded as well.

Rows of vegetables flourished under the system’s care.

Leafy greens shimmered with vibrant color. Tomatoes glowed a rich crimson. Heavy cucumbers dangled from trellises, weighing the vines down beneath their abundance.

Clearly, the system had been managing everything exceptionally well.

Nearby, fruit trees overflowed with ripe produce. Apples, pears, and peaches crowded the branches, filling the air with a sweet fragrance.

Suzy wandered into the orchard and plucked an apple.

The first bite released a burst of crisp sweetness and juice. It tasted even better than the fruit sold in supermarkets before the apocalypse.

Next, she picked a peach. After brushing away the fuzz, she bit into it, too. The flesh was soft, fragrant, and incredibly sweet.

"Are these fruit trees new too?" she asked between bites.

The kitten followed behind her, casually licking a paw.

"I planted all of them myself."

Its chest puffed up proudly.

"And not just these. There’s also an herbal garden over there. The plants aren’t mature yet, though. Give them a few more days."

Unable to contain herself, Suzy scooped the little cat into her arms and planted a firm kiss on its forehead.

"System, you’re amazing!"