She grabbed a backpack and used it as cover, slipping the jewelry inside before sending it into her hidden storage space. Of course, she didn't empty the cases completely. She left a few pieces in the bag so it wouldn't look like everything had vanished into thin air. It wasn't as fast as before, but it was safer this way. The quality of the emeralds in this mall was about the same as the ones in brand-name stores downtown. Plenty of mid-grade pieces, not many high-end ones, and none of the rare treasures worth millions. Those kinds of jewels were locked away in the private safes of celebrities and wealthy wives, not sitting on glass counters. She was busy sweeping the counters when the sound of voices made her tense. "Look at that! Some fool is wasting time on jewelry instead of grabbing food and water!""Guess she's never had her hands on the real stuff. The sparkle's got her so hooked she forgot shiny rocks can't fill an empty stomach." "Haha! This woman must be out of her mind!" It was a group of scavengers who had just come in, heading toward the supermarket on the lower floor to find supplies. Natalie ignored them and kept loading jewelry into her bag. They mocked her for a while, but when she didn't respond, they lost interest and hurried downstairs. A few moments later, a man and a woman who had just entered the mall were drawn over by the noise. The woman saw Natalie stuffing handfuls of jewelry into her backpack and tugged on the man's arm with a sugary tone. "Baby, I want jewelry too!" The man looked helpless. "We should grab food and water. If we waste time here, someone else will take everything." But the woman pouted and stomped her foot. "Oh, come on. Picking up a few necklaces and rings won't take that long!" She dragged him toward Natalie. The man sighed but followed along, clearly not wanting to argue. Natalie noticed them heading her way and moved quickly, sweeping the emeralds into her bag. As for the gold and diamonds, she didn't bother. She already had plenty stored, and it wasn't worth fighting over. The emeralds were all she cared about. But the woman suddenly yelled, "Hey! You're taking all the crystal!" Natalie ignored her and kept working. "Hey! I'm talking to you! Can't you hear me?" The woman's sharp voice grated on Natalie's ears.Without looking up, Natalie kept working and said flatly, "You want the gold? If you don't, I'll take all of it too." The woman froze, then hurried to grab the gold necklaces in front of her, shoving them into her pockets like a squirrel hoarding nuts. At the same time, she snapped at her partner. "What are you standing there for? Come help me!" The man wanted to leave and search for supplies, but he looked scared of the woman. Reluctantly, he joined her in scooping up jewelry. Natalie gave them a quick glance. Definitely a couple. Probably newlyweds. If they'd been married more than two years, he'd have already flicked her on the forehead and said, "Quit wasting time—go get food." Under his girlfriend's pressure, the man had no choice but to keep grasping jewelry. But after a short while, his expression changed.His hands moved faster and faster, and he started to look excited. These were gold and gemstones. Before the world fell apart, he could work an entire month and still not afford half a gold bracelet. Now, he could scoop up handfuls at once. Ten thousand dollars here, another ten thousand there—it was addicting. Meanwhile, the woman clutched a diamond ring, but she kept glancing greedily at Natalie. When she saw Natalie filling her bag with emeralds, she snapped, "Hey! Don't take all of those! Leave some for me!" She dropped the diamond ring in her hand and rushed to stuff a few pieces of jewelry from the nearby counter into her bag. Natalie glanced at her but stayed silent. The woman wasn't even grabbing emeralds—only cheap peridot.So Natalie couldn't be bothered to argue. Peridot might sound fancy with its name, but it was really just a type of quartz. To the untrained eye, it looked a little like emerald, but the value was worlds apart. A real emerald could be worth tens of thousands, while a peridot is worth maybe a few bucks. Stores only managed to sell it for hundreds, sometimes a thousand, thanks to bright lights and brand hype. But compared to emerald—the king of green gems—it was nothing. Besides, even if peridot had some value, it couldn't upgrade her storage space. For Natalie, it was completely useless. The woman couldn't even tell the difference between peridot and emerald. That proved she didn't really care about emerald jewelry at all. She just wanted to compete with Natalie. Natalie found it ridiculous. What's there to fight over? There's so much jewelry here. Even if everyone split it, we'd all walk away with plenty.If you don't even like the stuff, why should you care if someone else takes it? She stayed silent and kept packing. The woman, frustrated that Natalie ignored her, seemed to take it as a challenge. She deliberately reached only for the jewelry, too. But she didn't understand quality. All she did was grab whatever looked the shiniest. Naturally, everything she stuffed into her bag was just cheap peridot.