"Life's unfair—some folks are rolling in cash, while the rest are scraping by," Roderick muttered as he stepped into the room. Cassian noticed him; he set the barbell back on the rack, grabbed his water bottle, and took a drink. "How did things go?" he asked. "All the fuel has been placed where you told us to, and the crew's wages have been settled. But ... " Roderick trailed off. Cassian wiped the sweat from his face with a towel, giving him a sharp look. "Spit it out." "There's something really strange going on again," Roderick said, frowning. He handed over a stack of photos. "Some of the gas stations looked odd. These were taken by the workers on site."Cassian flipped through the photos one by one. Roderick explained as he pointed. "Look at these. The ground at these gas stations hasn't been dug up, except for a few small holes, maybe a foot wide. But the underground fuel tanks? They're gone. Completely gone. There are 6 gas stations like this, all outside the city." The more he said, the more unsettled he became. "There's no way to pull a huge tank out through holes that small. It looks like these tanks just disappeared into thin air." Roderick remembered how an entire shopping mall's supplies had vanished the same way. His voice dropped. "Mr. Holland, you don't think ... ghosts are real, do you?" Cassian's expression stayed calm as he looked at the pictures. "I don't believe in ghosts.""But the tanks are gone in such a weird way! And the mall's goods too—vanished just the same. There's no scientific explanation for it." "If science can't explain it," Cassian said evenly, "then we'll find another explanation." Roderick studied his boss in awe. Has Boss already piece it together? Of course—he wasn't a billionaire for nothing. His brain worked faster than anyone else's. "You mean ... you know what happened?" Roderick asked curiously. Cassian's lips curved into the faintest smile. "I don't know." Roderick was wordless. Cassian lifted his gaze and met Roderick. "I don't believe in gods or spirits. I only believe there are people who like to play tricks and act like they have power." He thought back to that blurry video of a woman whose face couldn't be seen. His voice dropped, steady and cold. "Someone out there must have gained some unbelievable ability." Roderick hesitated. "Then ... should we keep investigating?" Cassian stayed silent, his lips pressed together. Roderick looked at him nervously. Boss, please, I'm begging you—drop this. I'm terrified! That thing—whatever it is, man or ghost—can make fuel tanks and supplies vanish into thin air. What if it could make my organs disappear too? I can't even handle ghost stories, let alone real supernatural stuff. I've got a wife and kids counting on me. I can't take the risk of messing with something that dark. Cassian thought for a moment before saying, "Forget it. Even if we keep digging on this, we won't find anything. "If someone out there had real abilities, then unless you understood what you were up against, it was smarter not to provoke them." Roderick let out a long sigh of relief. "Understood, boss." Cassian asked, "What's the situation with the officials?" "It's chaos. The two top leaders are locked in a power struggle. From the looks of it, the military side will most likely end up with the say." Cassian nodded. "We're not picking sides. We focus only on surviving the apocalypse." He paused, then added, "Before the officials start paying attention, clean up those six gas stations." "Yes, boss," Roderick understood perfectly. Times were rough and sensitive. Their stockpile of fuel and supplies was eye-catching enough. If anyone discovered something strange had happened at those stations and thought the Holland Group had some kind of hidden supernatural ally, it would only bring more trouble. Maplecourt. Natalie pushed open the door of her apartment and Lucky leapt up at her, tail wagging, mouth wide in a happy grin. She petted her for a while before going inside to change clothes. Lucky trotted after her, expecting to see her change into something comfortable. But when she saw Natalie pulling out a workout gear instead, she knew her human was about to start training again. With a little sigh, she padded back toward her dog bed, ready to lie down and watch her. But then Natalie called out unexpectedly, "Lucky, come here!" Ears perked, Lucky dashed over happily. Natalie told her seriously, "Starting today, you're training too."Lucky tilted her head in confusion. "We'll begin with endurance," she said, pulling out a toy ball. She dangled it in front of him, then tossed it across the room. "Go! Fetch it back!" Lucky's eyes lit up. Is she finally going to play with me? She bounded after the ball, grabbed it, and proudly dropped it back into Natalie's hand. The moment she had it, Natalie threw it again. Lucky bolted after it, tail wagging furiously, and returned. Again and again they repeated the drill until, after ten minutes, Lucky stood panting, tongue hanging out, chest heaving, and too drained to run.