Caroline circled the mall two more times, picked up a huge gold cross, then prepared to leave. But the storage space's energy bar had only inched up a tiny bit. She started doubting her entire strategy. Most gems in malls were low grade. She needed real jade markets or places that sold gemstones and antiques. Just as she was about to go, the storage space gave a small tremor. The vibration was faint but clear enough to make her excited. After circling the area, Caroline quickly realized the vibration from her storage space was coming from a display counter right beside her. A locked cabinet beneath a cashier counter. If she hadn't looked closely, she would've missed the hidden compartment. Caroline kicked the cabinet open. Inside were two red cloth bags. The moment she lifted the first one, the storage space shook twice. She raised a brow, opened the bag, and found a finely wrapped gift box inside. A tiny tag hung on the box. It was priced at 380,000 dollars. Caroline stared. What kind of thing costs 380,000 dollars? Caroline opened the gift box and found a small palm-sized pendant inside, smooth and deep green, almost like polished glass. Just looking at it made her feel strangely calm, the kind of quiet that settles your mood without you noticing. Tucked beside it was a note: A gift from Mr. Mills to his beloved wife. Before the world fell apart, pieces like this had been popular—simple, unengraved pendants meant to symbolize peace and protection. Nothing ornate, no carvings, no fancy patterns. Just a clean square charm made from a rare green stone, carrying whatever wish the giver had for the person wearing it. Whoever Mr. Mills was, he had clearly loved his wife a lot. The wrinkled, water-damaged paper looked like a relic of the disaster, as if telling its own story. He must have ordered the piece and planned to pick it up ... right before the world fell apart. Caroline sighed. If the apocalypse hadn't come, Mr. Mills's wife would've been delighted to receive such a beautiful gift. But now, who knew if either of them was even still alive, let alone coming back for a gift they once planned together. She silently thanked Mr. Mills, then placed the pendant into her storage space. The storage system no longer needed to consume items, so the pendant remained safely stored even after its energy was absorbed. Her energy bar rose more from this single pendant than from the entire mall sweep combined. Caroline's resolve hardened. She needed high-quality gems, not cheap mall stock. She checked again. She still needed the equivalent of 40 more pendants to upgrade the storage space. Without wasting time, she headed to the next location with Raven and Jet. She cleared two more jewelry stores and three malls before the sky grew dark. Now she still needed about 35 pendants' worth of energy. Things grew less smooth the further she searched. Especially around this area. Most malls had been broken into, and many cabinets had been freshly smashed open, without even a layer of dust settling yet. Someone had looted the jewelry recently. Caroline frowned. Who else needed gems the same way she did? Ability users? Collectors? Or just someone who liked shiny things? Either way, Caroline decided she needed to move past this area and search farther out. Caroline brought Raven and Jet into the storage space to rest. She hadn't seen anyone all day—probably because the heat was unbearable, and most people waited until after sunset to come out. Jet's scouting definitely helped too. She stopped now because she figured going farther at this hour increased the chance of meeting people. Better to wait until after midnight. Jet was buzzing with excitement, hopping around and whispering nonstop.He had learned his lesson, though—every word was in a hushed tone. Several times, Caroline nearly laughed aloud. Jet's natural voice was already rough, like a loudly complaining uncle. Now that he was whispering, he sounded exactly like a greasy middle-aged man. A chubby one. "Human, you don't know," Jet said in his deep whisper, "I almost flew right into a whole group of ability users today. Good thing I'm fast. If not, they might've roasted me on a stick and eaten me..."