Capítulo 13: Turmoil
Alice entered the villa courtyard, observing the precious flowers, plants, and trees in the garden that had been almost completely destroyed. She felt a sense of regret.
This visit was specifically for the cars in the garage. Last time, to avoid arousing suspicion, she didn't dare to store all the cars in her space. The garage still had a considerable amount of accumulated water, enough to submerge ankles. Alice took out rain boots from her space and put them on.
There were six high-performance luxury cars left in the garage. Alice inspected them, and fortunately, the cars were well-sealed with no signs of leakage. The only issue was that they looked a bit dirty. It wasn't a big problem, and a simple rinse with water would clean them up.
Alice stored all the cars in her space. After some thought, she decided to take a stroll around the nearby villas.
It seemed that the people who lived here had all left. The surroundings were quiet, devoid of any signs of human presence. The first and second floors of the villas had been flooded, leaving only the upper floors intact.
Noticing a villa with its door wide open, Alice stepped inside. In an instant, a horrifying scene unfolded before her eyes. Several bodies lay on the floor, swollen from being submerged in water, unrecognizable. Someone with a weak heart might have been terrified at the sight, but Cheryl merely furrowed her brows slightly, closed the door, and left.
...
Back in Serenity Springs, Atticus and Blanche had just returned.
They had managed to secure a considerable amount of supplies. Blanche tidied up her disheveled hair and said with a hint of resignation, "The supermarket we went to was like a sea of people. Your dad and I got a bag of 100 kilograms of rice, 30 kilograms of noodles, two boxes of instant noodles, five kilograms of soft bread, and some daily necessities."
Atticus opened the trunk, revealing it crammed full of items. Even the front seats were loaded.
Before long, Arnold also returned. Unlike the disheveled appearance of Atticus and Blanche, his clothes were neat, and his hairstyle was still intact."Little sister, thanks to the cash you provided, or else I wouldn't have been able to buy these things." Arnold opened the car door and showed Alice, expressing his gratitude.
Several people returned from outside, carrying only a few large bags compared to the three vehicles full of supplies that the Allen family family had.
Passersby looked at the Allen familys with envy, some even took several glances, their eyes gleaming with greed, showing signs of ill intentions.
"Mom, Dad, you stay here to guard the stuff. Big brother and I will bring the supplies upstairs," Alice suggested.
Atticus and Blanche, fearing that their hard-won purchases might be stolen, agreed. "Alright, you two go. Check if the elevator is working."
Moving everything to the sixteenth floor was no small task.
Arnold added, "The property management just sent a message five minutes ago. The circuit in the community has been fixed."
Without hesitation, Alice swiftly started unloading the supplies. The longer they waited, the more dangerous it became, especially since others might not have been able to buy anything. There was a high probability that they would take risks for a meal.
When one person started to take action, those who had been waiting for an opportunity would swarm in. Even if they were capable of fighting, it would be challenging to protect their belongings.
"Leave the rice to me, you take some lighter items," Arnold said, taking a bag of rice from Alice and striding towards the elevator.
Alice carried as much as she could, holding several large bags of daily necessities in one hand and noodles in the other. With the items concealed in the car, onlookers couldn't see clearly. If they took them down now, the crowd would be astounded.
An elderly woman approached and asked, "Where did you buy so many things?"
Alice replied, "We ran around half the city; there's nothing left nearby."
The old lady stared at the items in Alice's hands and hesitated before asking, "Could you...?"At that moment, the elevator arrived, and the siblings quickly stepped inside. Arnold saw the elderly lady trying to enter as well, so he swiftly pressed the 'close door' button. As the elevator ascended, they heard the woman hurling insults, "Eating so much, won't be enough to feed you."
Upon reaching the sixteenth floor, Alice put down the items, took out the keys, and opened the heavy iron door. Without time to tidy up, they left the items and headed back for the second trip.
Meanwhile, a few residents of Serenity Springs had gathered around Atticus and Blanche, hoping to buy some supplies at a higher price. Atticus and Blanche remembered Alice's words; if they had decided to be tough, there could be no moment of softness.
They firmly refused, "The quantity might seem abundant, but it's not enough for our family. The markets outside have gradually resumed business, and you should be able to find supplies there now."
"The heavy rain has stopped, the floodwaters have receded, and everyone's life will soon return to normal. At this time, we should help each other through this difficult period. People won't forget your great kindness."
"After a natural disaster, it takes time to restore production. Selling us a bag of rice could save lives."
"If that's not possible, selling some noodles and flour would suffice. As long as we endure these few days, we'll soon see the dawn of victory."
"Sorry, we're not selling."
Blanche continued to reject them with a cold expression. On such a gloomy day, it felt like another downpour could happen at any moment. If that were to occur, she couldn't guarantee that the limited supplies would be enough.
Alice walked up behind them, expressionless, and said, "Please step aside. Don't blame us for not being polite if you continue to bother us."Confronted with Alice's icy and intimidating gaze, the onlookers instinctively took two steps back. The word had spread in the group: Alice was the most terrifying among the Allen familys. Someone had posted a picture of her wielding a knife in the group, and those who saw it had faces that changed drastically. They harbored varying degrees of fear and apprehension towards her.
Blanche gave a faint smile to Alice and said, "You stay here; I'll go with your dad to bring the supplies upstairs."
Atticus also noticed that people were more afraid of Alice. She had the ability to command the situation, so he entrusted the goods to her care.
The onlookers hesitated to approach Alice, only watching with envy at the items in their car.
"Why hasn't the younger one returned yet?" Arnold wondered. Just as he was about to take out his phone to make a call, Alice spoke, "Probably went to find Beryl."
Arnold paused for a moment, and then Alice's phone rang—it was Alexander calling. "Second brother?"
"I'm staying at Beryl's for a few days. You guys don't have to worry," Alexander said.
Alice responded casually, "Alright, I'll convey it to Mom and Dad."
After a pause, Alice asked, "Did you manage to secure supplies?"
An indignant voice came from the other end of the phone, "Don't mention it. I found a supermarket in the outskirts, filled a whole car with supplies, but halfway back, half of it was robbed. I fought tooth and nail for the remaining half. They couldn't take it all. Otherwise, I would have worked for nothing today."
Though it wasn't appropriate, Alice couldn't help but feel a bit pleased. She would rather be robbed than let Beryl have the supplies.
"Second brother, you're not injured, are you?" Alice inquired.
"No, how's the situation over there? Did you manage to secure supplies? If not, I can send some over," Alexander offered.
After some consideration, Alice declined. Half of Alexander's supplies were already gone, and the remaining half had to be shared with Beryl. It probably wouldn't be enough for them to eat.
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