Jon and Kain head to the roof, unaware of the conversation being held downstairs.

On the way, Jon couldn’t help asking a question. "Mr Nightfall," he said.

Kain hummed in response.

"Do you mind if I ask a question?"

"You just did." Kain glanced at the man as he folded his lips. "Go ahead."

Taking a breath, Jon opened his mouth. "You don’t seem like the type of person who would take disrespect. I’ve noticed the enhanced senses since I’ve begun meditating. That woman, she isn’t angry. At most, she is trying to undermine you. Why don’t you do anything about it?"

He looked carefully at Kain, unsure if he would answer or whether he was stepping on a boundary.

Kain was silent. Jon thought he wouldn’t answer. It wasn’t until they were standing in front of the lush green that Kain replied.

"Did you know? Vincent tried to kill me."

Jon’s shocked appearance made him chuckle.

"I’m not invincible, you know. Everything can be killed." He sighed. "I don’t mind him trying. Everyone’s testing. So are you." He paused. "You’re all testing to see whether I can be a good leader, how much you can push until I snap, whether you can take control.

I don’t actually mind. None of you has crossed my bottom line. And like you are testing, so am I."

Kain walked away. The plant that managed to mutate from Jon’s research was bigger. It didn’t show any signs of dying.

A tomato plant, Kain confirmed. Though the tomatoes looked like something that would poison you with their bright, vibrant blue skin, Kain knew they were safe.

He took a look at the greenery for the two packets he had given Jon. They had started growing, but he couldn’t quite confirm what they were.

Jon found him standing in front of the blue tomatoes.

His eyes widened with shock. He had never seen blue tomatoes before, well, not this kind of blue tomato. Looking at them, he couldn’t help wondering whether they were edible.

"This..." he stopped. He wasn’t sure what to say about them.

If they couldn’t be eaten, he would be heartbroken. They were the only ones to survive. He wanted to taste the first fruit of his labour.

"They aren’t ripe yet," Kain said. He watched Jon as he wondered whether the tomatoes were poisonous. "They aren’t poisonous."

Jon seemed to accept this. He didn’t ask how Kain knew, just like he didn’t ask where the mosquitoes disappeared to when he went back on the roof to alert them.

Both puttered around, making sure there were no bugs and such on the plants. They watered them before going back down.

Some time in the afternoon, Jake and Kain went to the warehouse to check the inventory. The warehouse was placed on Floor Four.

This is because Floor Four is the place for the most trusted subordinates. They are the only people who have minor access to Kain and Amelia’s home.

"Boss, what are we planning to give them? We can’t give them too much, or we won’t have anything left."

"Rice, flour, some canned meat, some seasonings, cigars, liquor, nothing too conspicuous," Kain replied. "They don’t need fresh meat or seafood. We aren’t giving them food for them to live in luxury."

Jake looked at the tablet in his hand. It recorded all the food, drink, and so on that was in the Sanctuary. He could see the tons of meat that were sitting there, waiting for them to eat.

When he heard Kain say they weren’t treating them to luxury, he wondered if Kain was planning to eat all the available meat.

"Don’t look at me like that," Kain said. "The higher you go, the more your appetite will grow. Even if we finally find food, isn’t it better to have something on hand? Would you prefer to starve?"

Jake looked at him. In his mind, he was thinking, ’Boss, don’t you just want to keep them coming back. Why are you making it sound like you’re doing it for our survival? Even if we ate around the clock, we couldn’t finish everything here.’

Kain saw his thoughts and ignored them. Jake wasn’t someone who had many complex thoughts. One of the reasons he didn’t treat him kindly before was that he couldn’t keep his thoughts off his face.

Now, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that the man was willing to die to help him. That’s all he needed.

"When are they coming to collect?" Jake asked.

"They should be here by tomorrow."

They finalized the amount of food going to the barge relatively quickly.

Meanwhile, on the barge, Gene and his subordinates were deciding what kind of information to compile and give to Kain.

In the short amount of time they had been going around and saving others, though the volume of information wasn’t large, it was enough.

As for whether they would give all the information they had, that would never be in question.

Should more food be available, they would have more information to share next time.

Did he believe they had enough food to give? Not really. But the couple had made a compelling case.

While they were inside compiling and deciding what information they should give, a knock came from outside.

Gene gestured for one of them to open the door. They packed the files together, in case someone came in.

No sooner had they completed the task than the subordinate who went outside brought in a family of five.

They looked like a family of pitiful things, but Gene wasn’t stupid. Their posture denoted their fragility, but their eyes were anything but.

"How may I help you?" he asked, scanning them from head to toe.

The woman spoke, "We heard that we would be collecting food from some kind-hearted people. We were wondering if you needed any help unpacking? My husband is strong and capable; he should be able to help."

"You came...to help us?" Gene asked skeptically.

She nodded sincerely.

Gene looked at the five of them. He wasn’t sure whether to allow it. But more than anything, a question lingered in his mind. Who told them they would be collecting food?