Chapter 18

In the darkness of the night, the hair-raising screams struck fear into everyone's hearts. There were people running around everywhere like headless flies. Irene had developed an excellent sense of hearing during her time in the apocalypse. She gripped Jenny's arm tightly and avoided the crowd as she zigzagged her way to the staff entrance. The door to the staff entrance was closed. She bent down and took out the tools Dan and the others had used to break into her house, stabbing them into the keyhole twice. The door opened after two clicks. She immediately stuffed the tools back into the space and said to Jenny, who was tense and trembling, "Let's go." Dizzy, Jenny kept pace with Irene they took the stairs down to the basement. The hot wind in the plaza outside blew into Jenny's nose, and she finally felt like she had come back alive. That was terrifying. Everything that had happened in the supermarket was like the workings of a mad demon. Irene could not afford to give Jenny time to stew in her thoughts. With a few long strides, she headed straight for the car. When Jenny saw her, she threw her fear aside and quickly chased after Irene. The electricity had gone out in the plaza as well. Fortunately, the weak light from the solar-powered street lamps allowed them to vaguely distinguish the direction they were heading in. Irene did not know if Dave was here alone or if he had other associates nearby, but she reminded herself to tread carefully at all times. She paid attention to the movements around her, constantly checking if anyone was spying on her. Suddenly, she felt a gaze fixed on her back. That gaze was so uncomfortable that Irene subconsciously took out the military knife that was still stained with blood, glancing back toward that gaze sharply. "Irene!" When their eyes met, Lina was so surprised that she wanted to jump up from the ground. She looked utterly overjoyed. Her eyes lit up as she rushed toward Irene. Irene narrowed her eyes slightly as she studied Lina. Lina was dressed in fancy, branded clothes. Although her face was covered in sweat, she did not look that haggard. Irene had to admit that she was rather disappointed she could not see Lina in a sorrier state. Lina ran up to her, trying to hug her arm like before. "Irene, have you moved away from Ocean Bay? Dad and I went to Seaview Garden last time, but we couldn't find you." Irene's eyes were filled with undisguised disdain for Lina. The moment Lina reached out, she frowned and took a step back. Usually, Lina would never be so close to her. There could only be one reason why she was so enthusiastic! Irene raised her hand slightly and interrupted Lina, asking, "I remember lending you almost ten million dollars before. I don't have any money left., so pay up." She held out her hand and demanded the money confidently. In her previous life, she had craved love. In order to please her father Edric, she had always agreed to her stepsister Lina's requests. Over these years, Lina had taken a lot of money from her. The mask of joy on Lina's face cracked, and she looked up at Irene in disbelief. "But Irene, I thought you had two properties…" "I gambled them all away. I only have less than fifty thousand bucks on me now, and you know that the prices of goods is skyrocketing. Do you want me to starve?" Irene said loudly, shoving Lina away rudely. "Hurry up and pay me back. Just in time, too, since I was running out of cash." "I…" This was the first time anyone had openly asked Lina for money like that. She was embarrassed and angry, stammering, "I don't have any money. And that's not why I'm looking for you. Dad's foot injury is worse than before. Can you take care of Dad for a while…?" Irene could not be bothered to listen to her nonsense. "You guys cheated me of all my money and still want me to take care of him? Ha, sure, I can take care of him — as long as you give me back my money. With enough money, everything is negotiable." She stubbornly insisted on money and nothing else. Lina's joy at seeing Irene was completely ruined by Irene's talk of money, money, and more money. She had been thinking that once she finally found Irene, she would dump that burden of a father on her sister to take care of. After all, Irene was famous for being a devoted daughter. Contrary to her expectations, though, Irene was being surprisingly heartless. Lina did not believe Irene had squandered the two billion dollars. Still, if she had not lost her entire fortune in a bet, how else could her personality have changed so drastically? At this point, Lina hesitated. She could not get any money from Irene, nor could she throw the burden on her. In that case, why should she treat Irene with any respect? She stopped her pity act and glared at Irene. "Well, serves you right for losing two billion in gambling! You're going to hell for being such a bad daughter. After everything Dad said about missing you, too!" "Piss off!" Irene snapped. It took her every ounce of control to stop herself from plunging the knife into Lina's aorta. Once Lina was completely out of sight, Irene got into the car, her expression terse. After her regression, she realized that there was a huge problem with her mental state. She had become even more bloodthirsty, vicious, and colder than before. Irene decided that when she got back, she would read more psychology books for self-help. Although might was right in the apocalypse, she still did not want to fall prey to her primal desires and wind up becoming a heartless killing machine. Jenny, who was standing at the side, had no choice but to listen to everything. After carefully getting into the car, she pointed her fingers together. When she saw Irene's lips pursed into a straight line, she hesitated and said, "Irene, if you need money, I can lend it to you. My father is very rich. It's just that… I don't want you to gamble. Gambling is bad." Irene was in the middle of evaluating her state of mind, but she could not help but laugh at Jenny's words. She had repeatedly mentioned her gambling problem not only for Lina's ears, but also to ensure that those people lusting over her fortune from the shadows would back off. To her surprise, Jenny took her nonsense seriously. Irene would rather be known as a gambler than a millionaire with hundreds of millions in assets. That was why she waved Jenny off by saying, "Don't worry, I'll borrow money from you when I really need it.” The solar-powered street lamps were the only source of light all the way home from the supermarket. It looked as though the entire city was fast asleep, as far as the eye could see. Irene remembered very clearly that the city-wide blackout was due to the extreme heat. The power supply was under high pressure every day, and the power plant just happened to catch fire at this time. Many of the facilities were destroyed in the fire. It was also after the complete power outage that the social order gradually fell apart. Irene did not waste any time on the road. Soon, she had driven back to Celestial Gardens. On the other hand, Lina cursed Irene viciously as she reluctantly returned to her car. However, when she saw the few people with tattooed arms leaning against her car, her mind went blank for a second. They were obviously not the sort to be trifled with. She subconsciously took a few steps back. "Who are you? What do you want?" A man rubbed the stubble on his chin and strode up to Lina, swinging his nunchakus. He pinned Lina against the car behind her and asked her gruffly, "Who's Irene Fulmer to you?" Lina cowered under his fierce gaze, her mind a mess. She did not know what these people wanted, but she knew she could not afford to cross them! Did Irene hire them to deal with her? Yes, Irene had been looking like she wanted to kill her every time she saw her recently. She must have resented Lina for a long time now! Lina opened her mouth and was about to deny her relationship with Irene when the man continued, "Irene sold two buildings some time ago, right? Then where is the money? Do you know?" Wait, so Irene had not hired them, after all? The cogs in Lina's mind turned, and she came up with a plan. "Irene has a habit of keeping gold bars and cash at home. Go to her house and look for them. I'm sure she has money at her place. Besides, her grandmother made a fortune gambling on precious stones. Her house must have a lot of jade and antiques. I guarantee that you'll hit the jackpot if you go there." The man with the deep scar on the left side of his face stubbed out his cigarette with his bare hands. There was a glint in his eyes. "Do you have the key to her house in Celestial Gardens?" So that was where Irene had moved to. Lina's eyes narrowed, a plan also forming in her mind.