The four mbers of the Sumrs family worked in perfect sync. They moved quickly, and before long, they had collected all the volcanic ash from the roof and bagged it up.
Gazing at the clean roof, the four of them took off their protective suits and gear with satisfaction. They carefully carried the bags of volcanic ash down before heading back inside to wash up and go to bed.
Perhaps it was because the dark clouds had blurred the line between day and night, but lody Sumrs found herself unable to sleep.
She casually picked up her phone and scrolled through the group chat ssages, discovering that everyone was discussing the news report about the tallest tower collapsing under the weight of the volcanic ash.
"4-1209 Goofing Off: How could such a famous building just collapse like that? I never even got to visit it."
"2-1908 Coco: We’re witnessing history yet again."
"4-2009 Nina: Isn’t it just dust? How could a layer of dirt make a whole building collapse? That tower must have been a shoddy piece of work!"
"2-1908 Coco: It’s not dirt. Didn’t you see the news? It’s all rock particles, and it’s incredibly heavy—hundreds of millions of tons, apparently. With that much weight pressing down ton by ton, of course it would make the building collapse."
"4-2009 Nina: No wonder the property managent staff was cleaning the roof all day. Ugh, these are tough tis."
"6-2702 Holly: Everyone, try not to take your kids outside these days. The air quality has gotten so bad since the volcanic ash blew into our city. I just took my kid downstairs for a quick walk, and he’s been coughing non-stop since we got back."
"2-1408 Bella Grant: Definitely don’t take the kids out. My husband went out for a bit, and he’s had a runny nose ever since he got back. His snot is black, and it looks like it’s full of tiny rock particles."
"Property Managent Center: @All Residents. Please be sure to wear masks and goggles when going outside. If you do not have masks, you can pick them up at the property managent center or the supply distribution point. Each person may collect two masks per day with their ID."
"6-2702 Holly: Ugh, if it’s like this in our city, I can’t imagine how much worse it is in the hardest-hit areas. Life is so difficult. When will this ever end?"
"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: Did you guys know? In 1815, Mount Vorlag had a super-eruption that caused long-term drought and blizzards across the Aeridorian Continent. In the end, crop failures in Veridian nations led to a major economic depression, and hundreds of thousands of people died. To shift the crisis, they started colonizing everywhere, which is also related to the Opium Wars."
"5-2602 North Window: @4-1009 Lowell On Deadline I know about that. The acid rain caused by the volcanic ash also triggered cholera outbreaks in many countries. Cholera spread all the way from Veridia to Southeast Archanea. That’s the terrifying power of the butterfly effect!"
"7-901 Adventurous Lawson: Acid rain? Hey, I’d take any rain at this point. As long as there’s water. I just want to take a shower before I die. Pray for rain!"
"4-1209 Goofing Off: @7-901 Adventurous Lawson Don’t you dare pray for rain! Didn’t you see the news? When volcanic ash gets wet, it becos conductive. All the power lines and fiber optic cables will be fried. How are we supposed to surf the web then?"
"..."
lody Sumrs scrolled through the group chat, recalling how in her past life, many people had developed respiratory and pulmonary infections from inhaling volcanic ash, leading to incessant coughing.
Since she couldn’t sleep anyway, she got up and went into the Arcadian Space. She rummaged through the seed warehouse and found so Chinese dicinal herb seeds she had bought before.
She sowed seeds for scrophularia root, fritillaria bulbs, rehmannia root, ophiopogon root, and asparagus root in the Arcadian Fields. She planned to make so loquat syrup for her family after a while. It was said to be very effective for clearing the lungs and stopping coughs.
After finishing her work, lody Sumrs opened the online shopping platform in the Arcadia Store. Ever since the long night began, many pieces of night-use equipnt had been added to its stock.
After a quick search, lody Sumrs found a product with the title: [Just Like Dayti! Latest Technology! Top-Tier Chip Algorithm—Full-Color Night Vision Surveillance Cara].
lody Sumrs scrolled through the reviews and saw that everyone praised the cara’s night-filming capabilities. Gritting her teeth, she placed an order for 100 units.
Colin and Winnie Sumrs had ntioned before that during this period of darkness, soone had been taking advantage of the gloom to steal things, and the community’s surveillance caras couldn’t get a clear picture.
If this thief wasn’t caught and was allowed to continue, she feared more and more people would start imitating them.
’Once a theft succeeds, there will be another.’
’It’s as they say, "Greed is a bottomless pit." It would slowly escalate to robbery, then ho invasions...’
’This budding instability had to be nipped in the bud, or the consequences would be dire.’
lody Sumrs planned to replace the surveillance caras at her own ho and throughout the community with these new, full-color night vision models. ’Hopefully, they’ll be able to catch that thief!’
******
Because the air outside was poor, lody Sumrs hadn’t gone out much recently. She spent her ti in the space tending to the dicinal herbs in the fields and diligently picking loquat leaves. She would take the leaves to the bank of the Arcadian Stream to wash them thoroughly, preparing them for the loquat syrup.
Today, after lunch, Sophie Thorne ca to visit the Sumrs’ ho.
She brought a case of snow pears, along with a good amount of lily bulbs and fritillaria bulbs.
Seeing this, her grandmother quickly said, "Oh, you dear child, you always bring so many things. You’re spending far too much!"
Sophie Thorne just smiled and replied, "Grandma, the air has been bad lately. These snow pears can be stewed into a drink to help clear the lungs and soothe coughs."
Sophie Thorne followed lody Sumrs up to the third-floor sunroom. After they sat down, lody noticed a Pink Diamond brooch pinned to Sophie’s chest.
’That size, that color...’
’It looked far too familiar...’
The more lody Sumrs looked, the more it resembled the Pink Diamond she had sold along with the blue one!
Albus, who was nearby, clearly thought the sa. The white cat sat up, staring intently at the brooch on Sophie Thorne’s clothes.
lody Sumrs asked tentatively, "Sophie, that brooch must be very expensive, right? Where did you buy it?"
Sophie Thorne was taken aback for a mont, then replied with so embarrassnt, "Ronan’s grandfather gave it to . I don’t know the exact price, but I heard it was auctioned off with another blue diamond, and they went for 2 billion in total."
Sophie Thorne had just co from the Rhodes Family’s estate. Since she was going to see Mr. Rhodes, she had deliberately worn the brooch he gave her.
After returning to The tropolis Residences, she wanted to share so of the things Mr. Rhodes had given her with lody’s family first, so she ca over without having ti to go ho and change, still wearing the brooch.
billion!
lody Sumrs: "..."
Albus: [...]
Albus stood up and paced a few circles on the table.
[Damn profiteer!]
Then, Albus began to roar furiously in lody Sumrs’s mind:
[A 1 billion price difference! We got ripped off for 1 billion!]
Albus’s voice was so loud that it gave lody Sumrs a headache. She couldn’t help but raise a hand to gently rub her temples.
Sophie Thorne couldn’t hear Albus’s voice. She curiously watched the white cat spinning rapidly on the table, finding it quite amusing, and imdiately took out her phone with a grin to record a video of the frantic feline.
Just then, lody Sumrs’s phone suddenly rang. She picked it up and saw it was a call from an unknown number.
lody Sumrs hesitated for a mont before answering, "Hello?"
A strange female voice ca from the other end. "Are you lody Sumrs?"
lody Sumrs replied, "I am. How can I help you?"
The woman on the phone said, "My na is Holly Rhodes. I’m Simon Lancaster’s girlfriend. lody Sumrs, I have sothing to discuss with you. Let’s find a place to et and have a proper chat."
lody Sumrs was stunned. She hadn’t expected Holly Rhodes to actually call her.
While lody Sumrs was still hesitating, Holly Rhodes on the other end had already given her an address and then promptly hung up.
Seeing lody Sumrs’s conflicted expression, Sophie Thorne asked with so confusion, "What’s wrong?"
lody Sumrs hesitated before replying, "It was Ronan’s cousin, Holly Rhodes. She wants to et at the cafe on the third floor of the Oceanus Hotel."
Then, lody Sumrs told Sophie Thorne everything, from Silas Lancaster showing up at her door with a knife to her writing the complaint letter against Simon Lancaster, and finally how Sylvia Lancaster had contacted her, asking her to take the fall for Simon.
lody Sumrs concluded, "I didn’t agree to Sylvia’s request back then, so Holly Rhodes is probably contacting now to persuade to get in touch with the Rhodes Enterprises investigation team and help Simon Lancaster get his job back."
Sophie Thorne listened with a frown, surprised that the Lancasters could be so shaless. After a mont of thought, she replied, "I’ll go with you."
lody Sumrs hesitated for a mont but finally nodded.
******
It was two o’clock in the afternoon, a ti that should have been bright with sunshine, but now it was completely dark, as if it were night.
To conserve electricity, the streetlights were only lit sporadically, barely illuminating the road on either side.
The amount of volcanic ash in the air had decreased significantly over the past two days, as the larger particles had settled to the ground.
The governnt organized crews to clean the roads every day, and gradually, so private cars dared to venture out.
As lody Sumrs drove, she observed the sides of the road. Every so often, she would see police officers on duty, their patrol cars’ hazard lights flashing, providing a strange sense of comfort in the darkness.
The two of them drove all the way to the Oceanus Hotel. After parking in the underground garage, they entered the elevator and headed up to the third floor, where they were to et Holly Rhodes.
This was lody Sumrs’s first ti at the Oceanus Hotel. She discreetly took in her surroundings.
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