Seeing the supplies suddenly offered to them, the women were initially quite pleased.
After all, in this situation, there was no way they'd dare to leave the apartment building.
They still had some provisions at home, but when it came to supplies, no one would ever complain about having too little. The more, the better, of course.
But just as they were about to reach out and take them, they heard what Sebastian Crawford had to say.
The hands they had just extended were quickly withdrawn.
One woman looked at Sebastian Crawford with disbelief in her eyes. "What do you mean? Are you saying you're giving us this one bag of supplies, and after that, you're washing your hands of us?"
Another woman next to her quickly chimed in, "Sebastian Crawford, that's not what you said before! When you told us to hand over our supplies, you promised we'd all share what we had!"
A hint of guilt appeared on Sebastian Crawford's face. "I did say that, but I was being inconsiderate. I thought I could manage so many people, but now that you all have such strong objections to me, I realize my abilities are limited. I truly can't manage this many people. From now on, you should all just fend for yourselves. I'll bring out your supplies for you in a moment."
Before they could say another word, Sebastian Crawford turned and went to open the door.
The women, of course, refused to accept this and immediately lunged at Sebastian Crawford to fight him.
But before they could even get close to Sebastian Crawford, Troy Lowell and his men blocked their path.
Troy Lowell and the men with him were all big, burly guys. The women were no match for them at all.
After a brief scuffle, the women were shoved to the ground.
Troy Lowell looked down on them. "Don't push your luck. Mr. Crawford is willing to return your supplies and even give you a little extra—that's because he has a good heart! I'm not so kind. If you keep this up, don't blame me for getting rough!
Your men are all useless trash. They weren't good enough to make it back. How can you blame Mr. Crawford for that?
If you have to blame someone, blame yourselves for being worthless! Now take your supplies and go home. Shovel down what you can, live as long as you can! Make any more trouble, and I'll throw you out to feed the Aberrant Beasts!"
Troy Lowell was already a tall, imposing man. With a ferocious expression on his face as he spoke, he was flanked by several other equally large men who were glaring menacingly.
Although the women were still seething with resentment, they didn't dare say a word.
Just then, Sebastian Crawford came back out of the room, carrying several bags.
The bags did indeed contain supplies, but the women could tell at a glance that there was far less than what they had handed over before.
It wasn't even a third of it.
A moment ago, they would never have let this go; they would have fought to get all their supplies back.
But now, they were too scared to say anything.
The women scrambled up from the floor, each grabbed a bag, and quickly disappeared down the stairwell.
A flicker of satisfaction crossed Sebastian Crawford's eyes as he watched them disappear.
Once they were gone, he turned to the others with a smile. "We took some losses this time, but we also brought back a lot of supplies. Come on in and let's take a look together!"
Having witnessed what had just happened, many of the others felt a complicated mix of emotions.
In the end, however, they all followed Sebastian Crawford into the room.
What just happened made it clear that Sebastian Crawford was not someone to be trifled with—a classic wolf in sheep's clothing.
It was best not to get on the wrong side of a person like that, at least for now.
As for the future... they could only worry about that when the time came.
-
Sierra Sullivan was completely unaware of what was happening downstairs.
She lived alone and had a two-course meal with soup for lunch, followed by fruit for dessert.
After resting for half an hour, she resumed her training.
Only when the sky had grown completely dark did Sierra Sullivan prepare to enter her space to wash up.
But just then, Sierra heard a faint noise.
It sounded like... someone was knocking on her door.
'Who's here now?'
Puzzled, Sierra crept quietly toward the door.
The power was out, so the hallway was pitch-black.
Although an emergency light was still on on one wall, its sickly green glow provided no real illumination, instead making the hallway look incredibly eerie.
Sierra could only vaguely make out the figure of a person standing at her door.
She couldn't see their face or tell who it was.
Sierra pressed her ear to the door and was finally able to hear the voice outside.
It was Sebastian Crawford.
"Sierra, the power's out. I don't know if you have a way to cook, but I brought back a gas stove and a gas canister today. I brought a set for you, along with a hand-crank camping lantern. I've already charged it, so you can use it in an emergency.
I honestly don't have any ill intentions. I just think that since we're neighbors, and you're a young woman on your own, it would be safer for you if we all stuck together."
After saying this, Sebastian Crawford paused for a moment.
He was probably waiting for Sierra's response.
But Sierra remained silent.
"I know you're being cautious by not opening the door, and I don't blame you. After I leave, remember to take the things inside. I'm afraid someone else might take them. I'll be going now."
From start to finish, Sebastian Crawford showed no sign of anger or irritation. In fact, his tone was almost excessively gentle.
But the more he acted this way, the more guarded Sierra became.
'Unsolicited kindness is a cover for either theft or treachery.'
'This Sebastian Crawford is far too calculating. He can bend to any situation.'
'Until I'm absolutely certain I can protect myself, I can't have too much contact with him!'
Outside the door, Sebastian Crawford waited a little longer before finally turning to leave.
He walked toward the stairs, and the sound of his footsteps grew more and more distant until it faded completely.
Of course, Sierra had no intention of opening the door.
But she didn't move away from it, either.
She was waiting.
Sierra had a feeling that things wouldn't end this simply.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before another figure crept stealthily closer.
This person was acting furtively. Although she couldn't see clearly, she could tell from their build and movements that it wasn't Sebastian Crawford.
Just as Sierra was wondering who it could be, she heard a low curse.
"A gas stove? Gas? A camping lantern? What is this junk!"
"If he was going to give something, why not food and water? That bastard is truly a piece of work!"
"Still, something is better than nothing. If that damn girl Sierra doesn't want it, I'll take it!"
The owner of the voice was none other than Mandy Sinclair.
Sierra hadn't expected Mandy Sinclair to be hiding in the shadows, watching, only to come over and take the items herself.
'Are Sebastian's things really that easy to take?'
'Looks like Mandy hasn't learned her lesson yet!'
Mandy Sinclair had just gathered the items in her arms when, before she could leave, Sebastian Crawford returned.
"Those are for Sierra. Did I say you could take them?"
Mandy Sinclair jumped in fright, and the items in her hands crashed to the floor. The loud noise in the dead of night was enough to make anyone's heart pound.