Mag-log inThe extra rooms stopped there.Apparently, the storage space topped out at a three-and-a-half-story villa. Thankfully, the black soil garden was still expanding.That night, Weasel finally showed up again. "Think you can do two tankers in a few days?"Nicole frowned. "That much?""Some rich kid's throwing himself a birthday party. Wants a pool party."Nicole went silent for a second before finally saying, "I'll figure something out. Shouldn't be a problem."Weasel pushed his luck even further. "What about ice?"Nicole gave him a look. "That's a lot harder.""Tell me about it. But the guy's loaded. Not only does he want a pool party, but he's also planning one of those fancy ice buffet setups."The client was spending money like it was nothing, and Sven badly wanted the connection. The profit was one thing, but opening doors to people like that mattered even more.The payment wasn't low, either. Just for one truckload of ice, the guy was offering a flawless raw emerald worth a
To show good faith, Sven had personally picked every item himself, making sure they were all supposed to be top-quality pieces.Nicole smiled faintly. "My family's been into antiques for generations. I know enough not to get fooled easily."Sven went quiet for a second. He wasn't actually an expert himself. "Then I probably got burned, too," he said. "I'll replace it tomorrow."All the paintings and antiques had come from trades with wealthy collectors. He hadn't expected counterfeits mixed in, but if he had misjudged one, then he would take the loss.Once he got back, he planned to check his records and cut ties with whoever sold it to him.After the deal wrapped up, Nicole slung the backpack over her shoulder and left with Zeph.By then, dawn had already started breaking over the horizon. Pale morning light slowly pushed back the darkness as another brutal day began.If not for the heat and drought, the view actually would've been beautiful. The cloudless blue sky glowed red
"We run a clean business," Weasel said. "We're in it for the long haul. You'll see."Nicole had no problem with that. As long as she controlled the water, she could end the partnership any time they got shady.The tanker held 20 tons. Filling it through a single faucet would take forever, so Nicole took the opportunity to ask Weasel for several large bundles of flexible hose.Weasel looked speechless. Nicole seriously couldn't go a single day without squeezing extra perks out of somebody.Still, considering she had saved their lives, a few hoses were nothing.The deal was set. They would hand over the tanker at 9 p.m. to fill it, then exchange water for goods at 5 a.m. the next day.Zeph still didn't feel comfortable letting Nicole go alone, so that night, he headed out with her.As for Cola and Poppy, they were locked inside Zeph's apartment.There were three stainless steel security doors downstairs, plus another six barriers along the stairwell. Even if someone had the guts
These two were supposedly priceless treasures. Whether they were real or not was another question entirely.Weasel sounded completely sure of himself. "These were the boss's favorite pieces. When he first got them, he was so excited that he didn't sleep for three straight days."Back then, Sven had gone to bed every night, dreaming that the disasters would end someday, and he would wake up a billionaire. But the longer the world stayed broken, the faster those dreams fell apart.Real or fake, they were still meant as repayment for saving his life, and Nicole had no reason to turn them down. "Thanks."Weasel dug another item out of his backpack. It was a gold bar wrapped in newspaper, about two pounds heavy. "This, too. My boss said it's yours."Nicole frowned. "Mine?""The thugs you met yesterday used it to buy water. Nobody expected them to try and rob us after the deal."Since Nicole had killed them, the gold rightfully belonged to her.Nicole stared at him. "You guys charg
"I've got clients looking to buy antiques, paintings, gold, silver, gemstones, anything like that. Think you could help me source some?" she asked. Sven had already heard plenty about Nicole from Weasel, but meeting her in person still caught him off guard.She was far younger and prettier than he had expected. After what happened tonight, he knew the rumors about her skills weren't exaggerated either.Honestly, he had been prepared for her to demand something outrageous in return. Instead, she wanted antiques?Sure, that stuff used to be worth a fortune, but that was back when the world still made sense.At the start of the disaster, Sven had assumed society would recover eventually. Besides stockpiling cash, he had also hoarded gold, artwork, antiques, and collectibles. He figured he would make a killing once everything returned to normal.Now, all of it just sat there collecting dust.The cash Nicole gave him still hadn't even been burned through as toilet paper yet, let a
Nicole and Zeph frowned.What the hell? Surviving was already hard enough. Now, people were getting terrorized by outsiders on their own turf?Most people would've kept their heads down in someone else's territory. These guys were out here acting like they owned the place.In the dim alley, several men surrounded three people sprawled on the ground, kicking them over and over while barking out curses between laughs.One carried a long sword, another had a gun, and another swung a baseball bat.Killing somebody would've been quick, but they weren't trying to end it quickly. Every hit came harder than the last, like they were getting drunk on it.The more the victims screamed and begged, the more excited they got. One of them raised his blade high, face twisted with excitement as he drove it down.Thunk!The rush of violence had gone to their heads so badly that they never noticed danger creeping out of the dark behind them.The blade never landed. Instead, the man got skewere







