The water disappeared in a flash, leaving the world dry and scorching. Caroline couldn't spill what she'd seen in her previous life, so she just pulled out a few photos to give a subtle warning. Tyler nodded. "Yeah, something big is coming. Otherwise, Obsidian Fang wouldn't be showing off all this equipment so openly. I've been keeping an eye on them. Every worker and piece of gear is concentrated above the 30th floor. The snow hasn't reached that high yet, and the army has still arranged for people to live in the snow-covered floors below. Even though those floors are dark, they're surprisingly warm." Caroline nodded, impressed by his sharp observation. She added, "And it's clear they're focused on the army now. From here on, we need to keep our distance. I'll finish all our dealings with them in the next few days, then just sit back and collect profits. Let's stay out of their business as much as we can." That night, Francis showed up again. Caroline and the team were upfront about their plans. They agreed that the day after tomorrow, they'd join the army to take control of Harry's labs. Of course, she and Francis had a deal. Once the labs were under army control, she'd get a 10% stake. He agreed immediately. They also had two resource depots they promised to return to the army for Niko, which they'd be clearing out today. Those depots were pretty far away. Back when they made the deal with Niko, they traded rights to everything above the 64th floor of a building. Caroline got the first pick of whatever they found; the rest went to the army. Francis was thrilled as he'd gotten more profits for Nathaniel. But he could tell they wanted to keep their distance from the government. With a big smile, Francis reached out to grab everyone's hands. This time, everyone dodged quickly, and he only managed to catch Raven's paw, who looked annoyed. Raven glanced at Caroline as if to say, "He seems to be your friend. But I don't really want him to hold my paw." Francis didn't care. He held Raven's paw and looked at the group. "No matter what, we're still friends in private. I know I've been taking advantage of you all lately, but trust the country, trust the army, trust me! We won't forget what you've done for us!"Caroline quickly waved him off and pulled back Raven's paw. "Okay, we get it. We just don't want to get too tangled up with the government. We'll work with the army, but more like neighbors or friends." "Totally get it!" Francis grinned, finally looking relieved. He knew Caroline's team was talented and too strong to be held down. Right now, the army was weak, and even Building B was pushing boundaries. The priority was building strength and training troops. Only real power mattered. That night, Caroline went to bed early. They'd planned to hit a few supply spots Tyler mentioned the next day. In the middle of the night, she woke up in a sweat. The room felt unusually warm. Since it had been freezing, she'd been burning firewood from her storage space, even tossing in three logs in the stove, which made things cozy. She opened the window to check the outdoor thermometer. It read -88.6°F. Overnight, the temperature had jumped 68°F! No wonder it was so warm inside. Caroline tossed off the blanket and went back to sleep, sleeping better than before. In the morning, she pulled a bowl of braised beef noodles from her storage space. She'd bought it from a famous pre-apocalypse spot. The beef was tender, the soup rich, and the noodles perfectly chewy. After finishing, she fed Raven and Jet, then put on her thermal suit with storage space boots and socks. With Raven and Jet ready, she knocked on Tyler's door. Thanks to Denton's mutant rat army, they could leave some behind to guard the place, making trips so much easier. This time, Tyler also brought Snow along. As soon as Snow spotted Raven, she ran over to greet him, clearly trying to play by nibbling his tail.