Pinky and Silver stood quietly next to him, gazing off into the distance. Caroline walked over. "What are you looking at?" When Denton saw her, his face lit up. "Caroline! Tyler is gone!" She was speechless. Tyler's missing, and you're this thrilled? Are you running a fever or something? It turned out that Denton meant Tyler had slipped into the core area of Building B. Right when he was about to get caught, he vanished and dodged a bullet—probably jumped straight into the storage space. "Tyler's storage space is awesome! He said you've got one too. I'm the only one without!" Denton said, giving her the saddest puppy-dog eyes. Caroline tapped his head gently. "But you've got your mutant rat army!" His face instantly brightened. "Yeah! My mutant rat army! Hehe, I've been teaching them to dance. Once they get it down, I'll show you and Tyler!" Watching him, Caroline couldn't help but smile. Teens were easy to please. He was just adorable. Another reason she'd rushed back was Jet. When she got home, the bathroom door was still shut, and the house was silent. Jet hadn't finished upgrading. Not wanting to disturb him, Caroline opened the door slowly. Jet was in the basin, looking bigger than before. His colors were brighter, and specks of blue starlight shimmered across his feathers. The little tuft on his head had grown, curling into a tiny question mark, wobbling with every breeze. Raven stayed quietly by, keeping watch. When Caroline entered, he lifted his head. She realized he hadn't gone to the bathroom the whole time. He must be dying for a break. She was about to tell him he could rest, that she'd watch Jet. But before she could say a word, Jet's eyes popped open. His eyes were now a dreamy purple, and with his gray-blue feathers, he looked magical and striking. "Human ... " he said weakly. Caroline scooped him up quickly. He felt warm—he must've finished upgrading! But she still had no clue what his new ability was. Jet devoured a huge bowl of parrot food, some protein snacks, and a small bowl of fruit. Only after that did he stop. Then, he asked his first proper question since upgrading. "Human, do I look cool now? When you take me out, won't you look awesome with me by your side?" Caroline patted his head, grinning. "You look super cool! Everyone will notice when we're together." But then, Jet ducked his head shyly and mumbled again. "Human, do you think Silver ... will like this new me?" Caroline rolled her eyes. No matter what upgrades, Jet was still hopelessly romantic. He hadn't discovered his new skill yet. He just felt warm and fuzzy inside. Caroline stroked his head, reassuring him. After upgrading, Jet started circling Raven, chattering away. Raven just sat there, face drooping, rolling his eyes in pure annoyance. She guessed they were talking about something Raven thought was completely pointless. Lately, Caroline noticed Raven was acting more mature, almost like a big brother. Today, she was craving something sweet. She pulled out a slice of caramel cheesecake and a taro cream roll from her storage space, poured herself some tea, and stood by the window. She nibbled, watched the view through her binoculars, and let her mind drift. It was still freezing outside, but the cold snap wouldn't last much longer. Suddenly, not far away, a house collapsed! The heavy snow had crushed the building, already weakened by acid rain. It collapsed like a stack of blocks, sinking into the endless white.The thick snow on top completely buried it. In just seconds, all that remained was a mound, like a grave, leaving no hint that a high-rise had ever stood there. Looking farther out, she noticed more of these "graves" scattered across the snowy land, like markers of where people once lived.