The three of them sat quietly for a while, digesting the food and enjoying the peaceful atmosphere around them. It was almost as if they were all trying to soak in the calm they had been missing so much in the last few days.

"Alright, let’s go through our haul and see what we can use!" Leonard suggested after a pause, already reaching for the bags filled with jewelry. "We’ve worked way too hard for this, I’d like to leave it all behind as soon as possible."

"What can you even use all that stuff for?" Thomas asked, genuinely curious. Now that he had found out about Suzy’s secret space, he couldn’t help but wonder whether their trip to the mall was meant to gather things for storage.

Suzy shrugged, her attention focused on the gold Leonard was pulling out of his bags.

"Most of this stuff is going into my space," she explained idly, her eyes flickering between the gold pieces. "If it finds anything good, it will upgrade, allowing more storage space and maybe even some additional abilities."

"I see..." His reply was calm, but inside, his brain was churning with more questions.

"Rest," Leonard commanded, noticing Thomas’ hazy eyes. "We’ll check the stuff in my room."

Thomas only nodded, feeling no need to intrude anymore.

Inside the room, Leonard dropped the bags on the floor.

"We have quite a lot," he grinned, slowly pouring the contents out of the bags. "There must be something worthy here."

And there definitely was.

Amongst the piles of jewellery and gold pieces, a large red gold pendant gleamed under the lamplight, catching Suzy’s attention.

Something within her chimed back, sending waves of strange energy through her entire body.

This must be it. She thought, her hands already reaching for the pendant.

"Ah yes, that is quite a piece," Leonard noted, dumping more jewellery on the pile. "I remember the tag saying that it came from a Slavic ruler of the Kyiv Rus––the last gift he bestowed upon his wife before one of the tribes murdered him."

"Apparently, his widow placed it between the tribe leader’s teeth and made him chew on it until all his teeth were broken. That was how she tortured him before killing him to avenge her husband’s death."

Suzy held it against the light, her thoughts reeling. "That explains its strange shape. So it’s teeth marks, huh? Brutal..."

"Well," she added after examining the pendant more, "that is quite a collection you have gathered here, Uncle. Thank you very much!"

Leonard waved his hand, putting on a casual air, though the smile tugging at his lips was impossible to hide. "Alright, alright, stop flattering me. Put it away and see if it’s enough for your upgrade."

Suzy nodded. With a flicker of thought, the pile of gold and jewelry on the bed vanished, all of it absorbed into her space.

She closed her eyes, focusing carefully on the changes within.

As the gold, diamonds, pearls and jade entered, she could feel the energy inside her space slowly rising. The sensation was like someone who had been starving finally taking a bite of food.

Bit by bit, the energy climbed.

Her heartbeat quickened along with it.

And then, it stopped.

Suzy opened her eyes, her expression turning complicated.

Leonard had been watching nervously the whole time. The moment she moved, he asked impatiently, "Well? Did it upgrade?"

She shook her head and let out a sigh. "Just a little bit."

"Just a little?" Leonard froze. "All that gold still isn’t enough?"

They had gathered so much from the mall, split up and filled two large bags. And it still wasn’t enough?

"Suzy, how much gold do you even need to upgrade that space?" he couldn’t help asking.

She shook her head. "I don’t know."

There was no visible progress bar. She could only rely on intuition, and right now it was clear that she was just a tiny step away.

So close. It was frustratingly close.

Her mood dipped.

Noticing it, Leonard patted her shoulder gently. "It’s fine. After the typhoon passes, I’ll go find more for you."

Warmth spread through her chest. She looked at him, touched.

He smiled. "There’s no rush. We’ll get there eventually. It’s not like we’re lacking anything right now."

She nodded, her disappointment easing under his reassurance.

"By the way, Suzy, the apartment across from us is empty, right?" Leonard suddenly asked, stepping aside to talk to her privately. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Yeah. Why?"

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Why don’t we let Thomas move in across from us?"

Suzy blinked, caught off guard. "Huh?"

Leonard explained, "Think about it. Where he lives now isn’t far, but the weather’s getting worse. Typhoons and storms come out of nowhere. If something happens on his way back, we won’t be able to help in time."

He paused, then added, "And with your relationship now... you can’t keep risking going out every time you want to see each other. That place across the hall is empty anyway. If he moves in, it’ll be much more convenient."

He remembered that all the units in this building were fully furnished. The one across from them showed no signs of being occupied.

In times like this, all they had to do was open the door and move in.

With her space, adding furniture and bedding would be easy.

"That could work." Suzy’s eyes lit up.

If he moved closer, they could see each other more often, and it would be easier to look out for one another.

"But... we should still ask him," she said.

"What’s there to ask? A free apartment, no rent. If it were me, I’d say yes immediately. And it’s closer to you too."

Leonard turned and headed for the living room. "I’ll talk to him."

Suzy quickly followed.

In the living room, Thomas was sitting on the sofa, the TV still playing. Hearing them, he turned, his gaze settling on the two of them.

Leonard walked over and sat beside him, getting straight to the point. "Thomas, I want to discuss something with you."

Thomas looked at him, waiting.

Leonard pointed toward the opposite unit. "The apartment across from us is empty. Fully furnished, no one’s living there. What do you think about moving in?"