Cassian asked, "How did you get your superpower?" Natalie raised a brow. "Why? You want one too? Don't be greedy—you already have money power." "I'm just curious. You don't have to answer." Natalie started making things up. "During a flood, I almost drowned. At the edge of death, I suddenly learned how to Blink." It sounded believable enough. That's how novels and TV shows usually explained it. After thinking for a second, she added, "But I wouldn't recommend trying it. Not everyone unlocks a power when they're close to dying. Most people just die." Cassian didn't reply to her answer. Natalie studied him. "Anything else you want to ask?" "No," he said, though his brow stayed furrowed. She rolled her eyes. "Say what's on your mind." Is my story too far-fetched? Cassian finally asked, "When you were drowning, were you scared?" "Of course." His frown deepened. "Be more careful. If you can't swim, stay away from water." She blinked. He'd seen her fighting like a storm on the water, and now it turned out she couldn't even swim? And she'd still been jumping around on boats, battling enemies? Natalie lifted her brow. "That's what you wanted to say?""Yeah. Why? You think it's not important?" His tone was serious. She looked into his sharp eyes, her heart skipping a beat. Natalie thought he'd care more about her powers. She hadn't expected him to care about her safety. Cassian didn't say anything more. Instead, he picked up a wet wipe and reached toward her face. Natalie instinctively pulled back. He paused, then handed the wipe to her instead. "Wipe your face. You're covered in blood." She cleared her throat and took it. Then she asked, "You're not mad?" "Mad about what?" he asked. "I just admitted that, for a second ... I thought about killing you." Cassian's lips curved faintly. "That's good." Natalie froze. "Good? What's good about that?" "I mean, you have self-preservation instincts. That's good." He met her eyes as he spoke. Natalie stared at him for a long time, words stuck on the tip of her tongue. At last she whispered, "Are you ... ?" But she stopped and said nothing more. Cassian stepped closer. His voice was calm but steady. "What do you want to ask?"Natalie felt his presence surround her. She couldn't breathe. She shifted back uneasily. "I just want to say, you should head back to the villa, pack up your things, and go home. I've got something else to do." Cassian was quiet for a while. Then he said, "Alright." He turned straight for the gate without another word. Natalie watched his back as he walked away. Is he upset? She shook her head and decided not to think about it. Once he was far enough, she turned toward Magnus's body. Without hesitation, she cut off his head and right hand, then carried them to the warehouse door. She pressed his fingers to the scanner, lined up his face, and the door unlocked with a click. Magnus had already shown her around once before. Natalie moved with confidence, heading straight to collect supplies. She climbed to the top floor first and packed every valuable book into her storage space. After that, she swept up brand-name cigars, whiskey, wine, and even boxes of tea. While working, she thought to herself. Technically, half of this should belong to Cassian. After all, they had earned it together. But she couldn't risk letting him see her storage space. So she came here alone to take it all. Maybe one day she could make it up to him. With the third floor cleared out, Natalie headed down to the second. She emptied the freezer of every cut of meat, stored away gasoline and diesel from the side rooms, and even hauled the massive running generator into storage. Finally, on the first floor, she turned to the rice, flour, and oil.Food was the one thing she already had more than enough of. Between what she bought before the world ended and what she gathered after, she had enough to last several lifetimes. Still, in a world like this, food was money. No one would leave piles of hundred-dollar bills lying around. So Natalie loaded up more than half but left the rest. It would be enough for the outer wall people to survive on for a while. They weren't her enemies, not like her old neighbors back in Maplecourt who once tried to steal from her. Leaving them a way to live was fine with her. She also gathered candles, bottles of rubbing alcohol, propane tanks, and all sorts of survival odds and ends. By the time she stepped out of the warehouse, nearly an hour had passed. Her next stop was Magnus's villa. From what she'd seen of him these past days, there had to be more treasures inside. Again, she used his fingerprint to enter. The front wall was lined with shoe racks. Natalie wrinkled her nose at the stink and skipped past. The living room was grand and overdone. She wasted no time, sweeping his flat-screen TV, air conditioners, robot vacuum, and every other appliance into her storage space.