By the time they got back, the tents were already standing tall in the moonlight. Money really could twist the world around. The two men saw that the tent they'd set up only fit two people. Somehow, they pulled another one out of nowhere and pitched it beside the first so the three little ones would have their own spot. Natalie seemed pleased. She tossed them a few pieces of candy as thanks. They grinned wide, nodded, and walked off to stand guard outside Cash's tent. Natalie crouched beside the three small creatures and pointed toward the new tent. "Inside," she told them. She poured some pet food into bowls, then turned to Cassian. Together, they stepped into their own tent. They sat cross-legged, sharing bread and milk until their stomachs stopped aching. Hours passed. The camp grew quiet, the air thick with sleep. Only then did Natalie unzip the tent flap and step out. The guards tensed up the second they spotted her. Gratitude or not, they kept their hands near their weapons, watching her every move. But all she did was stroll to the next tent and lift the flap. "Go to sleep," she told the little ones. "We've got work tomorrow." She dropped the flap and headed back inside. The guards traded a look, both exhaling at once before settling back into their post. Inside, Cassian whispered, "Everything stored?" Natalie nodded. "All of them." A tiny smile curved her lips. "Lucky ran straight to the spring and drank like she hadn't seen water in years." Cassian's voice dropped lower. "Then we move now." Natalie grabbed his hand tight. "Let's go." A blink later, the world shifted. They reappeared in the cave hidden behind Cash's tent. Since she wasn't sure of the exact spot, Natalie teleported first to the entrance, then crouched low to store the bombs in her space. She crept forward, each step echoing faintly against stone. Cash wasn't entirely useless after all. The three traps were still perfectly intact, not a wire out of place. They didn't risk disarming them. Instead, they teleported right past the barriers. After passing through three doors, they stood inside the warehouse. The sight hit like a wave. The northwest's stockpile stretched endlessly, rows upon rows fading into the dark. Natalie had braced herself for ruin, maybe overturned crates or looted shelves. But it looked untouched. Not even a scuff. She turned to Cassian. "It doesn't look like it's been raided at all." He stepped deeper inside, eyes narrowing. "You're right. Only the food racks were touched. Barely, too." There had to be fifty rows of food shelves. Over forty were pristine. Even the few disturbed racks were still mostly full. The rest of the goods looked untouched. There were clothes enough to fill several malls. Whatever that foreigner had taken was nothing compared to what remained. And he lived like a ghost. Other than food, clothes, and a few tools, he barely touched a thing. He ignored the good stuff—self-heating fondue, instant pasta, anything with flavor. What he devoured were the dry biscuits and bread. For light, he used candles instead of flashlights, like some hermit clinging to the dark. He was probably terrified that a single beam of light would give him away.As Natalie gathered supplies, she muttered, "That guy only cared about keeping himself alive." With that many people in the camp, there was no way they'd burned through so little. The weekly rations must have been just enough to stop people from starving. If anyone had eaten their fill, this place wouldn't still be packed. No wonder no one felt loyal to him. Cassian's quiet "Huh" broke the silence from across the warehouse. Natalie froze and hurried toward him. "What is it?" The northwest depot was as large as the northern one, holding almost the same kind of stock. The difference was clear, though. The northern base stored fuel. This one held construction supplies. On the plane, Natalie had asked if this site had fuel too. Cassian had told her no. Controlling the north's fuel was already a stretch. Getting this region's too was impossible. But since Holland Group had handled Project Re-Northwest, they'd had piles of construction material left over. So when Cassian gathered resources, he had dumped them here to fill the extra space. The warehouse had been half empty back then, so why not fill it? And fill it they did. Now those stacks of steel and boards were worth more than gold. Every base in every region was desperate to rebuild after the earthquakes. Steel, panels, paint, composite materials—every bit of it had become treasure.