Suzy and the others remained on guard, their bodies tense and ready, showing no sign of relaxing despite Wendy’s reassurance.

A moment later, a tall figure stepped out from the shadows.

He was a broad-shouldered man dressed in a black tactical jacket, a mask covering most of his face, leaving only a pair of deep, unreadable eyes exposed.

His stride was steady. Even in this miserable scramble for shelter from the rain, he carried an air of distance that was hard to ignore.

Those eyes swept across everyone in the office, pausing briefly on Suzy before moving on.

They were familiar.

Suzy had seen them before.

It was Liam.

Seeing him here with Wendy wasn’t surprising.

Not long ago, when Leonard had contacted them, he’d mentioned that Wendy had been with an unfamiliar man. Suzy had already guessed it might be Liam.

Now it was confirmed.

Leonard and Thomas watched Liam with guarded expressions.

Wendy, on the other hand, stepped forward to greet him, her tone warm and familiar. "Liam, you’re here. There are people taking shelter here too—turns out it’s my sister. What a coincidence, right?"

Liam’s gaze returned briefly to Suzy, flickering over her before shifting away again.

Suzy’s eyes narrowed slightly in thought.

What a coincidence indeed, running into him here.

She wondered if there was a chance to build some goodwill.

Even a little would do. If she could somehow form a connection with him, she might be able to snag a reward for free.

The thought made her restless.

The more she considered it, the more intense her gaze became.

At this moment, Liam was no longer a person in her eyes—he was a walking reward. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Lost in her thoughts, Suzy had no idea how strange her expression looked to others.

The first to notice was, of course, Wendy.

She saw the way Suzy stared at Liam—so direct, almost burning with a vague, indescribable longing.

What was this girl trying to do? Don’t tell me she’s taken a liking to Liam?

A surge of irritation rose in Wendy’s chest.

In her mind, Liam was already hers.

As one of the male leads, he belonged to her, the heroine.

Even if nothing had happened between them yet, it was only a matter of time. There was no doubt about it.

And now, seeing a mere side character covet her man, it was impossible not to feel uncomfortable.

She quickly glanced at Liam again. When she saw that he hadn’t paid Suzy any attention, hadn’t even looked at her properly, she let out a quiet breath of relief.

Good. It didn’t seem like Liam had any interest in Suzy.

Wendy stepped forward subtly, blocking Suzy’s line of sight.

Then, just as quietly, she moved a little closer to Liam.

"Liam, what took you so long? Did you find anything?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No."

Wendy glanced outside and sighed. "Who knows when this acid rain will stop. We’ll have to stay here for now. Still, it’s lucky we ran into my sister."

On second thought, running into Suzy might not be such a bad thing.

It gave her a chance to probe her.

A side character like Suzy surviving this long in the apocalypse—and with two such exceptional men by her side—must have stumbled upon some kind of opportunity.

If she could get her hands on it...

Wendy suppressed the upward curve of her lips.

When the time came, not only the opportunity, but those two men as well, would fall neatly into her grasp.

"Suzy, still staring? Has your soul been stolen?"

Leonard’s voice sounded by her ear, pulling her back to reality.

Suzy snapped out of her thoughts to find both Leonard and Thomas looking at her.

"Ah—what is it?" she asked, a rare flush creeping onto her face.

She had been far too absorbed in thoughts of building favor just now.

"So that’s your type?" Leonard teased with a smile. "You were practically staring holes through him."

"...Was it really that obvious?" Suzy felt her face heat with embarrassment.

Instinctively, she glanced at Thomas.

His expression looked no different from usual—calm, composed, and cool. But the moment their eyes met, he looked away, turning his gaze toward the window.

Oh no. He couldn’t actually be jealous... could he?

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but Leonard was right there, and Wendy was too. Anything she said now would be inappropriate.

Besides, Leonard still didn’t know about their relationship... this wasn’t the time to explain.

She quietly edged closer to Thomas.

Before long, she was standing right beside him.

With her hands behind her back, she pretended nonchalance and hooked her pinky around his.

No response.

She tried again, this time with a little more pressure.

His fingers shifted slightly—but he still didn’t hold her hand.

A flicker of unease crept into her chest.

Great. He really was upset, wasn’t he?

She kept brushing her finger against his, again and again, trying to coax a reaction.

Finally, he responded.

Only to push her hand away.

Her heart sank.

Just as she was starting to worry about what to do next, his hand suddenly came back—covering hers completely, gripping it firmly in his palm.

Suzy froze for a moment and looked up at him.

Thomas was still staring out the window, his profile sharp and unreadable.

A smile tugged at her lips.

This man...

Once she was sure he wasn’t truly angry with her, she relaxed.

After a while, she let go and returned to her seat.

Inside the office building, the group waited patiently for a long time, but the acid rain showed no sign of stopping.

Leonard paced back and forth by the window, visibly anxious.

If the rain didn’t stop, they would be trapped here indefinitely.

Naturally, he wanted to get home as soon as possible—this place was nothing compared to the comfort of home.

Unfortunately, things rarely went as one hoped.

By the time dusk fell, the acid rain still poured relentlessly.

"It looks like we’ll have to stay here for the night," Leonard said with a sigh.

Suzy and Thomas exchanged a glance.

Leonard’s gaze swept over the rising water level outside. "I’ll head upstairs and see if there’s somewhere we can rest. There should be plenty of empty offices in this building."

At this rate, the water would only continue to rise. Staying here wasn’t an option.

By midnight, it might flood this entire floor.

If they were going to spend the night here, they needed to move higher.

After speaking, Leonard shot Thomas a look. "I’ll go up first. Keep an eye on Suzy."

Thomas nodded. "Got it."

Leonard stood and left first.

Wendy, who had been sitting quietly to the side, noticed his movement and watched his retreating figure for a long moment.

Then, suddenly, she stood up, too.