After rinsing them off, the jewelry finally showed its true sparkle. Gold gleamed, diamonds flashed, and pearls shone even brighter than before. Natalie stared at the bathtub filled with glittering treasure. It reminded her of those adventure movies she used to watch—where the heroes fought through endless dangers and finally discovered a hidden cave overflowing with riches, rolling in piles of gold like kids in a ball pit. Her storage space looked exactly like that imaginary treasure cave. A mischievous thought crossed her mind. What if I spread all this gold and jewelry across my bedroom floor then slept on top of it? Waking up each morning with sunlight bouncing off piles of jewels would be dazzling.How wonderful would that be? But then she looked around her small, plain room. Yeah, no. It would feel like hanging priceless art in a shack—completely out of place. Besides, who could sleep on diamonds? She was pretty sure she couldn't get any sleep. She chuckled at her daydream and kept working, moving the jewelry in and out of the tub for another rinse. One load after another, until she had lost count of how many batches she'd washed. Eventually, she leaned back with a faint smile and drifted off to sleep, whispering to herself. "I really am such a simple soul. Big diamonds can't be eaten, and gold bracelets can't quench your thirst, but somehow, they still make me happy." Meanwhile, at Unit 1302.Owen pushed through the front door, weighed down with bags of supplies. Elena hurried over the moment she saw him. "Owen! How was today's haul?" she asked eagerly. Her eyes lit up when she noticed the bulging backpack and the heavy bag in his hand. She took one of the bags from him with a bright smile. "Looks like you brought back more than yesterday!" But Owen's expression was grim; he didn't share her cheer. "The supermarkets are getting emptier. If this keeps up, finding food will only get harder." Elena brushed it off and carried the bag toward the kitchen. "Don't worry so much. What you've brought home over the last few days will last us a long while." Owen rubbed his forehead, his thoughts far darker than hers.Sure, what they had now would get them through for a while. But what then? Elena hadn't seen what it was like outside, but he had. There was only so much food and water to go around. People were rushing home with whatever they could grab, and supplies were shrinking fast. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before there was nothing left to find. And that wasn't even the worst of it. The heat kept climbing higher every day. If this Great Heat didn't end soon, they'd be sweating rivers with no water left to drink. The final outcome would be simple—death by thirst. This moment was critical. Stockpiling now was like putting money in the bank—it meant survival later. But if they just sat around using up what they had, the future would swallow them whole. He glanced at Elena, who was humming while she arranged the food in the kitchen. His face darkened. This woman never wanted to lift a finger. She just sat around waiting to enjoy the fruits of someone else's work. If Elena had gone out scavenging with him the past two days, they would've brought back twice as much food and water. But no—she acted cute, played dumb, and insisted on staying home and living off him. How much could one man carry by himself? And whatever he dragged back had to feed two mouths. Compared to his wife, Elena was nothing. Back then, most of the money came from his wife's hard work, and he never had to worry about a thing. Elena was different. All she thought about was how to squeeze more out of him.During the floods, things were still somewhat under control, so he tolerated her laziness. But now, with the heat climbing and danger everywhere, he couldn't allow her to go on living so carefree. Owen cleared his throat. "Elena, we're having two guests tonight." She turned her head. "Guests? Do I need to make food for them?" She looked annoyed. "You know we don't have much left." "No need," Owen replied. "They're friends I met while scavenging last night. They're coming by to bring us supplies." Elena's eyes lit up. "They're bringing us supplies? Owen, you really are amazing! I knew sticking with you was the right choice!" Owen gave a smile. "Then hurry up and get me something to eat. After that, I need some sleep. I was out all night hunting for supplies, and I'm beat." "Alright!" Elena quickly tore open a bag of crackers and handed it to him. As he took them, Owen pinched her pretty cheek. "You really are easy on the eyes. You've lost weight, but you're still attractive. Unlike those walking skeletons outside—you can't even tell if they're men or women." Elena gave him a smug little look. "Well, if I wasn't good-looking, you wouldn't have picked me, right?" Inside, she sneered. Of course. It's this face and body that made him betray his wife and hook up with me. After eating, the two of them went back to the bedroom to rest. Daytime temperatures now stayed over 120°F; it was so hot it made lying on the bed become unbearable. Even sleeping left them drenched in sweat. Owen tossed and turned, unable to cool down, but he forced himself to keep his eyes shut and try to rest.