Natalie, are you okay?! Lucky was covered in dirt, with small scratches on her paws. She was usually so well-trained that she never got hurt. Clearly, she had run too hard and too fast this time. Natalie's chest burned with emotion. "Good girl, you were so worried, weren't you?" "Ow! Ow! Ow!" Natalie hugged Lucky and kissed the top of her head. She couldn't understand her words, but it was easy to see the relief in the dog's eyes. "You came running out like this. What if you couldn't find me and some bad people caught you? They could've turned you into stew." "Ow!" Lucky bared her teeth, trying to look fierce. She tried to tell her human that she could take on ten people by herself. Natalie patted her back gently. After circling Natalie and checking her from head to toe, making sure she wasn't hurt, Lucky finally went to Cassian and pawed at him too. Cassian crouched down, stroked her head, and praised her. "Good girl." After a while, Natalie called Lucky back and sent her into the storage space, letting her rest inside the mansion with fresh water. Then she started the car again and headed home with Cassian. Soon they reached the hillside. Before entering the villa district, both of them looked down through the car windows. Greenhaven Mountain was high. From there, they could see most of Northlorn spread below. The tall buildings, once shining symbols of the city, now stood with smashed windows and broken frames. From far away you could still picture the old skyline, but now it was mostly ruins, bleak and silent. The cracked ground was littered with collapsed buildings. A few still stood, crooked and ready to fall at any moment. Even though they were far away, Natalie could almost hear the cries and wails of the survivors echoing up the mountain. She let out a heavy sigh and pulled up to the gate of the villa district. She honked once and rolled down her window. The guardhouse was still standing, but the security staff inside looked shaken. Walter spotted them first. Recognizing Natalie and Cassian, he quickly opened the gate and called out, "Mr. Holland! Ms. Ashford!" Cassian gave a short nod. "Thank you for holding up." The car drove inside. The sight that met them was worse than Natalie expected. These villas were supposed to be the strongest homes in the city, yet about a quarter of them had already collapsed or were too damaged to live in. People crowded the main road. Some cried with joy at surviving, others stood frozen in shock, and many dug through rubble searching for loved ones. No matter if their houses were still standing or not, most refused to step back inside. Except for the few still digging people out, everyone else stood out on the street. No one even dared to step back into their house, afraid another aftershock might bring their fragile houses down. When Natalie pulled up to her house, her heart sank. The roof had caved in, and the entire third floor was gone. The first and second floors of the house were still standing, but deep cracks had spread across the walls. No one could tell when the whole place might collapse. Harold's villa next door looked better, yet the walls there had also split open. It was clear his family couldn't stay inside either. Natalie looked around but saw no sign of Cash, Baron, or Olivia. Her heart sank. She quickly opened the storage space and let Lucky out. "Lucky, where are Cash and Baron? And what about Olivia and the others?" Lucky barked twice, calm and steady. Natalie could tell from her face that everyone must be fine. She just didn't know where they had gone. After a moment of thought, she turned to Cassian. "Let's check your house next." Cassian nodded. Natalie restarted the car and drove on. But before they reached his place, she spotted a familiar figure on the side of the road. She braked hard, killed the engine, and jumped out. "Olivia!" Olivia turned, holding Cash in her arms. Her face lit up. "Nat! You're back?!" The moment he heard her voice, he wriggled free and fluttered his wings, racing toward his human. At the sound of all the noise, more people spilled out from the villa behind Olivia. Harold was first. "Idol! Buddy! You made it back!" Baron came next, tall and powerful, followed by a line of normal-sized rabbits and a group of chickens with their chicks. From another villa nearby, Ghania hurried out. The moment she saw Natalie, she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Oh my gosh! Nat! Cassian! You two alright?!" Natalie's eyes swept over the group. Everyone was there—safe and sound. Even Harold's flock of poultry was unharmed. Relief washed over her. "We're fine."Olivia looked down at Lucky standing beside Cassian. Her shoulders loosened. "Thank goodness. Everyone's safe, and Lucky made it back too." Harold praised Lucky. "That pup's loyal to the bone. The second the ground stopped shaking, she bolted out to find you. We couldn't stop her." Natalie rubbed Lucky's head. "As long as everyone's safe, that's all that matters." Ghania crossed her arms and grinned. "We all owe your pets today. They saved more lives than I can count."