"We just moved from the refugee camp to the base yesterday." Dennis pointed at the water tank truck behind him. "As soon as we got settled, we came out to work for the boss." Natalie nodded thoughtfully. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they said their goodbyes, got in their vehicles, and drove into the Hillside Villa District. Natalie sat in the passenger seat and glanced at the water tank truck behind them through the rearview mirror. Something suddenly occurred to her, and she turned to ask Cassian. "How does your villa get its water supply?" While driving, Cassian answered, "The villa's water supply is connected to mineral water from inside the mountain." Natalie was surprised. "You know how to set that up? How did you connect it?" Cassian smiled. "It wasn't set up after the apocalypse. It was connected when the villa was originally built." Natalie thought back. "How come I didn't know there was a water source in Greenhaven Mountain that could be tapped?" She had been a property owner on the hillside too and lived here for so many years, but she'd never heard of water inside the mountain. Cassian explained, "This water is the Hollands' private resource. The other estate owners don't know about it." Natalie was amazed. The Hollands' premier villa being built differently from everyone else's was one thing, but they even had exclusive water resources? Cassian glanced at Natalie's expression and said with a smile, "Actually, this place wasn't originally intended to be developed into a Hillside Villa District." Natalie realized. "You mean the Hollands' villa came first, and then the Hillside Villa District was developed later?" Cassian hummed in agreement. "My grandfather and I didn't like the isolated mountain life. We wanted some neighbors nearby." Natalie nodded. That made sense. This was originally the Hollands's private land, so naturally the water resources were exclusively theirs. Even after they developed and sold the Hillside Villa District, whether or not to share the spring water with others was their choice. Natalie understood. "No wonder none of us knew about this spring water." Cassian gripped the steering wheel, eyes on the road. "The Mervyns knew." Natalie was surprised. "And they still moved here?" The Mervyns had always competed head-to-head with the Hollands. Buying property in a Holland development was strange enough, so why settle down here? Wouldn't it be better to develop their own mountain and create a similar high-end Hillside Villa District with exclusive resources? Cassian smirked. "That father and son keep a close eye on me. They probably feel insecure if they're too far away." Natalie's mouth twitched. She suddenly remembered how back in school, the kid who was always second place never stopped watching the one in first. They were afraid that if they looked away for a moment, the gap between them would suddenly widen. The Mervyns probably felt the same way too? Natalie thought about it and said, "In that case, even though the official base promised you a plot of land, it might not be as comfortable as here." After all, in the apocalypse, unpolluted freshwater resources were extremely precious. While no one would lack water during the coming Frostfall period, who knew what would happen after that? Forget the apocalypse—even before, countries often went to war over water sources.But Cassian pressed his lips together. "I thought the same thing before. However ... " He paused thoughtfully. "I think the water in this mountain is running out." Natalie was stunned. "How could that be?" Cassian explained, "After the Great Heat started, the water flow at home has been noticeably weaker than before. Recently when showering at night, the water flow has been intermittent and can't keep up." Natalie hadn't really noticed before. She only used the house water for morning washing. At night she bathed and washed her hair by going directly into her storage space, so she'd never used large amounts of water for extended periods. Cassian speculated, "At this rate, it won't be long before the water runs out completely." Natalie sighed. "Good thing we have the storage space; otherwise, we'd have water trouble." Cassian wasn't too worried. "No problem. I have a private reservoir at my northern warehouse. We won't be short on water for now. It's just that using water from there means we'd have to transport it ourselves like the Mervyns, which would be more troublesome." Speaking of water transport, Natalie glanced in the rearview mirror. "Doesn't seem too troublesome. They've only made this one delivery in the past month and a half." Cassian also glanced at the rearview mirror. "The Mervyns used to transport water every week. When they threw parties, they'd transport it continuously for days." Natalie said, "I never got to see those famous pool parties after I moved here." Cassian deduced, "Due to the prolonged Great Heat, it's not just our spring water running dry; their reservoir storage must be running low too." Theodore, who'd always been wasteful and extravagant, wouldn't tighten his belt unless things got really tight.While they were talking, the truck had already reached their front gate. After parking in the garage, Natalie used the walkie-talkie to contact Olivia, Harold, and Roderick. She specifically instructed them to drive over.