Chương 82: Not Found Yet
The footsteps outside suddenly disappeared. Just as Alice was considering making some noise to lure the people outside in, a knocking sound echoed.
Alice frowned and decided to step out from behind the curtains. She walked towards the door, and as she opened it, a dark barrel of a gun was suddenly pointed at her.
The person holding the gun was Hurley. Their eyes met, and he immediately lowered the weapon, ushering her inside.
"How did you get in?" Alice raised an eyebrow. There were guards at the staircase, and she hadn't heard any sounds of struggle outside.
"I pretended to be a newcomer. When they let their guard down, I took care of the guards," Hurley's handsome face looked somewhat grim. "That fat pig didn't do anything to you, did he?"He couldn't stand the thought of that sleazy man touching her and wanted to eliminate him.
Alice chuckled softly, "No."She was also particular about appearances. Someone like Chad, if touched, would make her feel repulsed, so she avoided him carefully.
Hurley's relieved heart finally settled down. He glanced around, not seeing Chad. There were bullet marks on the wall and a faint trace of dark red blood on the floor, but no body.He suddenly realized, "You killed Chad and stashed the body in your space?"
"Exactly," Alice nodded slightly. "I'm going to check the attic on the top floor. If my mother isn't there, I'll come down to collect the supplies and leave."
As she was about to leave, Hurley suddenly reached out, placing his hand on her shoulder. His magnetic voice said, "Let me go instead. I can't fit anything else in my space. You stay and collect the supplies. We need to hurry; Chad wasn't the leader of this group. If they come back,"
Alice nodded slowly. "Deal with it, and if you can't, come down and call for me."
The two parted ways. After Hurley left, Alice quickly stored the supplies in her space. Though the room seemed full, it appeared even more so when she began to collect. Most of the items were carelessly strewn on the ground, and picking each one took a considerable amount of time.
Five minutes later, Alice had only collected one-third of the supplies when Hurley pushed the door open and entered.
"The attic has three young women, but none of them are Aunt Blanche," Hurley explained.Those women were terrified when they saw him. He opened the door, took a look, confirmed Blanche wasn't there, and left.
"Okay, wait for me a bit longer. I'll be finished soon," Alice nodded.
The two thoroughly searched the base's faction for Blanche but didn't find her. In the end, they had to return.
Atticus and his son greeted her as soon as she returned, handing her a letter with solemn expressions. "Someone left this half an hour ago, wedged under the iron gate."
Alice opened the envelope, and on the paper inside, it was written: "If you want to save your mother, exchange your space's supplies. Come alone to the school auditorium tomorrow morning at ten o'clock."After reading the letter, Alice was somewhat surprised. While she had guessed that the individuals who kidnapped Blanche were after supplies, she hadn't expected them to know about her space.
"Besides our family, who else could know about your space?" Arnold's brow furrowed. They had already ruled out everyone they knew.
Their family had always been discreet, never boasting about the amount of food they had. Even the neighbors who lived in the same building assumed their supplies were hard-earned.
"We'll find out tomorrow," Alice said, her gaze deepening.
The first person outside the family who knew about her space was Beryl. At that time, she hadn't even told Herschel, let alone anyone else. Beryl was coveting the supplies in her space, and revealing such a secret would only attract more attention and unnecessary pressure. Beryl wasn't that foolish; when dealing with a group of covetous people, it was better to deal with just one.
The second person who knew about her space was Hurley. Alice trusted him; it was unlikely that he was involved in this.So, who could it be?Unable to figure it out, Alice didn't dwell on it. Regardless of who the person was, they had touched a nerve.
The next day, Alice rushed to the school auditorium early in the morning, which the base had used as a meeting place.Standing outside, she listened for any sound inside. There was complete silence. She gently pushed the door open.
The auditorium was empty, the thick curtains blocking most of the light, making it quite dim inside. Alice, with keen eyes, sensed that there was no one present and stepped inside.Surveying the area, she furrowed her brow. Where were they?Then, her attention was drawn to a seat in the front row, where a piece of paper was placed.
Alice quickly walked over and picked it up. The note read: "I want one bag of 100 kilograms of rice, 50 kilograms of meat, 50 kilograms of vegetables. Place the items down and leave. As long as you obediently comply, Blanche won't be in danger, and other supplies will temporarily stay in your space."Alice sneered. The person seemed to have a rather optimistic view, treating her space as a storage warehouse? She tore the note and, following the instructions, took out the requested items.
As she left the school auditorium, she found a hiding spot. Time ticked away, and there was still no sign of anyone near the auditorium. This outcome was within Alice's expectations. She guessed that the person must be secretly monitoring her every move.
The opponent was cautious, and Alice knew they wouldn't easily take the bait. She had only set up the ambush with a trial-and-error attitude. Since the stakeout yielded no results, Alice didn't waste any more time and left.
It wasn't until twenty minutes after Alice left that a dark figure appeared at the entrance of the auditorium. The person pushed the door and entered.
The Allen family, both father and son, anxiously waited at home. If they weren't worried about provoking the other party, they would have wanted to accompany Alice to the auditorium.
Seeing her return alone, the three of them were momentarily stunned. Atticus approached and asked, "Where's your mother?"
Alexander was furious, "Is the other side unwilling to release her?"
Arnold pondered for a moment, "I guess the other side probably hasn't shown themselves. Having a hostage in hand allows them to extort us indefinitely."
Faced with their concerned gazes, Alice sighed softly, "Just as big brother said."
The person knew the importance of Blanche to them; they wouldn't easily release her. Money and supplies were different. Money could be obtained all at once and easily carried away during escape. If well-hidden, it could remain undiscovered for a lifetime. Supplies, on the other hand, were not easy to take away. Even if the person wanted to take everything from Alice's space, they would need a large truck, attracting a significant amount of attention.
Moreover, with everyone suffering from shortages of clothing and food, if they saw a mountain of supplies, they would surely rush to grab them. Taking all the supplies at once was too risky. In comparison, holding Blanche hostage was a much simpler tactic.
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