Leonard Kale fell quiet on the other end of the call for several seconds.
Then, in his usual gentle voice, he asked, "Do you need your uncle to transfer you some extra money?"
The concern in his tone made Suzy's chest tighten instantly.
Her nose stung again, and when she spoke, her voice came out slightly hoarse.
"No… there's really no need."
Leonard could clearly sense that something about Suzy's mood today was unusual.
Without pressing further, he calmly changed the subject.
"If you're feeling stressed lately, why not come to City C for a few days and relax?"
The moment he mentioned City C, Suzy suddenly remembered something important.
Leonard's birthday was only a few days away.
In fact, his birthday was very close to Wendy's.
In the dream, Suzy had ultimately chosen to stay in City A to celebrate Wendy's birthday.
And the very next day, she received news that Leonard had died in a car accident.
The memory struck her like lightning.
Suzy's face turned pale instantly.
No.
This time, she absolutely could not allow that to happen.
"Okay," she agreed immediately. "I'll book a flight and come over tomorrow."
"You don't need to book anything," Leonard replied with a laugh. "I'll arrange it for you."
Then his tone became slightly lighter.
"The timing is perfect, actually. I can introduce you to your aunt. She just returned from overseas recently."
Suzy paused slightly before smiling.
"Alright."
She remembered hearing Elisabeth Ashford mention once that Leonard had always had a woman he deeply loved—a white moonlight he had quietly waited for while she lived abroad for years.
It seemed that after all this time, he had finally gotten the ending he wanted.
Although Suzy had never met this future aunt before, she suddenly found herself genuinely curious about her.
After chatting a little longer, Suzy finally ended the call.
Perfect.
Since every supplier in City A seemed impossible to access now, she could simply stockpile supplies in City C instead.
She refused to believe the suppliers there had also been completely bought out.
Lowering her head, Suzy reopened her phone and continued organizing her plans carefully.
A moment later, a flight notification popped onto the screen alongside a message from Leonard.
He had already booked her plane ticket for tomorrow afternoon.
The timing worked perfectly.
At this stage, the safe house and vehicles had already been handled.
The next major priority was stockpiling supplies.
Suzy planned to complete most of the large-scale purchasing in City C.
Renting a warehouse and arranging direct supplier deliveries would be far more efficient than personally running around buying items one by one.
As for now, she decided to focus on gathering foods she personally enjoyed.
Suzy drove directly to one of the most famous restaurants in the city.
Using the excuse of hosting a gathering for friends, she ordered twenty full tables' worth of dishes to be packed for takeout.
The kitchen estimated it would take at least an hour to prepare everything.
After paying the deposit, Suzy suddenly remembered there was a highly rated bun shop nearby.
She decided she might as well stock up on those too.
But just after stepping out of the restaurant, something scraped lightly beneath her shoe.
Suzy lowered her gaze.
An ID card lay on the ground, reflecting faintly beneath the light.
She bent down to pick it up.
The moment she saw the photo clearly, she froze.
Richard Stone.
The face on the ID unmistakably belonged to him.
Was Richard nearby?
Suzy instinctively looked around.
Sure enough, not far away, she spotted a familiar figure.
It really was Richard.
She had just opened her mouth, about to call out, when he climbed into a black SUV and drove away.
Suzy hesitated briefly.
Then she immediately got into her own car and followed him.
Unfortunately, traffic was terrible.
Several times she almost caught up, only to get blocked by red lights again.
By the time she realized where they were heading, she had already driven toward the outskirts of the city.
Suzy narrowed her eyes slightly.
She knew this district extremely well.
After all, she had grown up in City A.
And if she remembered correctly, this area contained a large number of warehouse facilities.
A thought slowly formed in her mind.
Suzy gradually slowed the car down.
Ahead, Richard's black SUV turned into a side road.
Instead of following directly, Suzy quietly parked at a secluded spot nearby before getting out and continuing on foot.
Coincidentally, years ago, when Elisabeth had once planned to rent warehouse space, she had brought Suzy here before.
Back then, there had been several stray kittens wandering around the area.
Because of them, the place had left a surprisingly deep impression on her.
The warehouse district was extremely isolated.
No pedestrians.
Barely any traffic.
After walking another few minutes, Suzy finally spotted the familiar black SUV parked in the distance.
She slowed her footsteps immediately and hid behind a nearby tree, carefully observing the scene ahead.
A large freight truck was parked outside one of the warehouses.
Crates after crates of supplies were being unloaded continuously and carried inside.
And standing nearby, overseeing everything calmly, was Richard.
At that moment, every scattered clue in Suzy's mind suddenly connected together.
The abrupt renovation of his apartment.
The mysterious shortage of suppliers throughout City A.
And now these massive shipments being moved into hidden warehouses.
There were only a few possible explanations.
Either Richard somehow knew insider information about the coming apocalypse…
Or he had been reborn, just like Suzy.
Or perhaps... Like Wendy, he was someone who had transmigrated into this world and taken over another person's body.
The realization made Suzy's heartbeat slam violently against her ribs.
She had just begun retreating quietly when Richard suddenly paused.
The hand lifting his cigarette stopped midair.
As though sensing something, he abruptly turned his head and looked directly toward Suzy's hiding place.
A shadow shifted faintly between the trees.
Richard narrowed his eyes.
But when he looked carefully again, there was nothing there.
No movement.
No person.
After staring for several more seconds, he slowly frowned.
Maybe he had imagined it.
Suppressing the strange unease rising in his chest, Richard took another drag from his cigarette.
At that exact moment, Suzy was hidden safely inside her spatial dimension, breathing hard.
His instincts were terrifyingly sharp.
She remained inside the space for a while longer before cautiously stepping out again.
The unloading operation was still continuing.
Fortunately, the surrounding trees provided excellent cover, and no one noticed her presence.
Suzy quietly prepared to leave.
Ahead, Richard turned and walked toward the warehouse with his back facing her, completely unaware someone had been secretly observing him.
A lighter flipped lazily between his fingers.
Then, in the next instant... The lighter disappeared.
A faint glimmer flashed briefly from the earring on his ear.
Suzy saw everything clearly.
Her heartbeat nearly stopped.
He has a spatial storage too.