Chapter 253: Chapter 253: Unlocking a New Area

After Roman Rhodes, Winnie Summers, and Colin Summers left, Melody Summers and the others moved the three boxes of fruit Roman had brought to the balcony.

This time, Roman Rhodes had brought a box of apples, a box of pears, and a box of oranges.

He had been very thoughtful, choosing three types of fruit that could all be stored for a long time.

The low temperature and suitable humidity on the balcony meant that, if nothing went wrong, the fruit would last for two or three months without spoiling!

******

Just as Melody Summers returned to her bedroom after moving the fruit, Albus immediately jumped out from the space.

Albus landed on Melody Summers’s shoulder and said to her happily:

[Host, the Peach Blossom Value is full. You can start unlocking a new area!]

Melody Summers smiled and rubbed Albus’s head, then held him as she returned to the Arcadian Space.

Inside the Arcadian Space, Leopard was sprawled out on the soft grass, its round belly in the air as it sunbathed.

Seeing Melody Summers enter the Arcadian Space, it slowly rolled over, stood up, stretched lazily, and walked over to wag its tail at her.

Melody Summers first picked up her phone to check the e-commerce platform. She had been incredibly busy lately; after dealing with the Hayes Family, she had been preoccupied with moving, so she had temporarily delisted all the items in her shop.

Many buyers had left her messages, urging her to relist her products as soon as possible.

"User xxx: Boss, why are you closed again? Are you taking 300 days off a year? Hurry up and relist your products!"

"User xxx: Sigh, I’ll be honest, ever since I’ve had your fruits and vegetables, nothing from anywhere else tastes right... When are you going to relist them??"

"User xxx: It’s going to snow soon, and my family is planning to stock up on food for the winter. Can I place a bulk order for fruits and veggies with you? I’ll pay double!"

"User xxx: Hi, Boss. I have a question. Because of the snow, my family moved from our villa to a large apartment in the city center. But the balconies here are all enclosed. I was wondering, can your drones still make deliveries under these circumstances?"

"..."

Melody Summers was casually scrolling through the 99+ messages when she suddenly noticed that Paige Walsh’s account had also left her one.

Melody Summers assumed Paige Walsh wanted to ask for her help with pharmaceutical research again, so she quickly tapped on the message. She discovered, however, that it had nothing to do with research; Paige was simply expressing her concern.

Paige Walsh reminded Melody that a massive, unprecedented blizzard was about to hit the entire globe. This snowfall would be different from any before it and was expected to last a very long time. She asked Melody if she needed any help.

Paige said that if Melody needed help, she should be sure to contact her. She could provide Melody with a new place to live and help her prepare all the food and other supplies she might need.

Melody Summers didn’t expect Paige Walsh to still be concerned about her. She was a little touched and typed back a reply: "Thank you for your concern. Everything is fine on my end, and I don’t need any help for now."

Putting her phone away, Melody Summers ran to the lakeshore dock and began to refuel the yacht.

Watching barrel after barrel of fuel being poured into the massive tank, Melody felt her heart bleed at the cost.

Based on her last trip, a round trip in the yacht at low speed took about seven or eight hours and consumed roughly one to two thousand liters of fuel.

If she sped up and cut the voyage down to three or four hours, the fuel consumption would definitely exceed two thousand liters!

It was only the second year of the apocalypse, and she had already used up about half the fuel she had stockpiled before the disasters began...

’Looks like I’ll have to find a way to replenish my fuel reserves.’

Melody planned to order some gasoline and diesel online after her return trip. Even though the prices were already astronomical, it was still better than not being able to buy any at all.

After filling the yacht’s tank, Melody Summers picked up Albus, sat down in the cockpit, and prepared to set sail!

******

「Meanwhile, in a duplex presidential suite at The Nimbus Hotel.」

Paige Walsh sat on a plush sofa in the middle of the suite’s living room, periodically pulling out her phone to check her messages.

Finally, a notification chimed. Seeing the reply from Melody, she let out a sigh of relief.

Zane Simmons sat beside her. Watching his mother’s worried expression, he said with a hint of jealousy, "Mom, why are you so concerned about a complete stranger? You’ve never been this worried about me!"

For the past few days, Paige Walsh had been telling him how she was worried the owner of The Arcadia Store would have nowhere to live once the blizzard hit.

Paige wanted to help her arrange for housing and also set her up with some necessary winter supplies.

After all, in her view, the owner of The Arcadia Store ran a produce shop, so she must live on a farm, not in the city.

If a massive blizzard hit, survival conditions on a farm could become extremely difficult.

And so, for the past few days, Paige Walsh had been glued to her phone, waiting for a reply from the owner of The Arcadia Store.

The more Zane Simmons thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt!

For years, Paige Walsh had been completely absorbed in her scientific research and the operation of her institute, rarely showing concern for anyone else.

This was the first time she had ever shown so much concern for a single person!

Even he, her own son, had never received such treatment!

Paige Walsh shot Zane Simmons a look and retorted, "If you had even a tenth of her ability, I’d be just as concerned about you!"

Although Paige Walsh didn’t know who exactly ran The Arcadia Shop, she had keenly sensed from their previous interactions that the owner was likely a fairly young woman.

In fact, she was probably about the same age as her own son, Zane Simmons!

At this thought, Paige Walsh couldn’t help but sigh to herself.

’Both are young people of this era,’ Paige thought. ’The owner of The Arcadia Shop is helping the country with scientific research, while my own son is just a good-for-nothing heir, idling his life away.’

The entire Simmons Family had come to The Nimbus Hotel to take shelter from the snowstorm, and Zane Simmons had even brought the sisters Joanne and Lucy White along.

The arrangement was highly improper, and she could only imagine how many people were secretly laughing at the spectacle.

Just thinking about Zane Simmons’s carefree, devil-may-care attitude all day was enough to irritate Paige!

Zane Simmons groaned and complained in a disgruntled tone, "Mom! How can you say that? I’ve been working really hard lately!"

He might seem like a flippant playboy, but he was never careless when it came to company business!

Before Paige Walsh could respond, Zane’s father, Bernard Simmons, came smiling down the stairs. "That’s right, I can vouch for him. Our son has been very dedicated to the company these last couple of years. Paige, you shouldn’t always be so hard on the boy!"

At the sight of her nominal husband, Paige Walsh’s expression instantly turned cold.

The reason was simple: both before and after their marriage, Bernard Simmons had a never-ending parade of women by his side.

If it weren’t for the shared interests of the Simmons and Walsh Families, Paige Walsh would never have continued this marriage of convenience.

To others, Bernard Simmons was a handsome and wealthy tycoon. But in Paige Walsh’s eyes, he was nothing more than a walking biological weapon of venereal disease.

Her years of loathing had reached the point where the mere sight of this man nauseated her.

She wasn’t even willing to put on the most basic act of a harmonious couple for Bernard Simmons’s sake. They weren’t just estranged in spirit; they didn’t even bother keeping up appearances.

If not for the fact that this presidential suite at The Nimbus Hotel was the most suitable shelter for the impending blizzard—and, to a lesser extent, to spare her son Zane’s feelings—Paige Walsh would never have been willing to stay under the same roof as him.

Thankfully, the presidential suite was a duplex with plenty of rooms. Otherwise, Paige Walsh would never have agreed to stay here.

As Bernard Simmons came smiling down the stairs, Paige merely shot him a cold sneer before turning and walking away.