"You’re saying Suzy has been watching us this whole time...?"

Wendy’s voice came out as a shaken whisper. A chill crawled violently up her spine, leaving her scalp numb. The thought that Suzy had secretly been monitoring them all along made nausea rise in her throat.

When had that bitch started spying on them? A long time ago?

Yes... probably.

That would explain why Suzy’s attitude toward her had changed so drastically. She must have discovered something ages ago.

Goosebumps erupted across Wendy’s skin.

More importantly, Suzy now knew about her dimensional space. If she told anyone...

Cold sweat slid down Wendy’s temples.

No. This can’t happen.

She would not let Suzy live. She had to get rid of her as quickly as possible.

Now that she possessed the system, it felt as though fate itself was helping her. As long as the timing was right...

Lost in her thoughts, Wendy failed to notice Vanessa quietly shifting backward.

Then came a sudden splash.

By the time Wendy snapped back to attention, Vanessa had already fallen into the water.

Wendy lunged instinctively, trying to grab her, but she was too late. Her fingers caught only a torn corner of fabric before it slipped away.

Vanessa sank beneath the surface.

Wendy stared at the spot where she disappeared, her gaze dark and unreadable.

"System, can she still survive?"

[Probability of survival: 10%]

"Tch. Let’s go. The itch is as good as dead." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

This was the apocalypse, not some peaceful world. With survival odds that low, death was practically guaranteed.

Wendy did not believe Vanessa could survive injuries this severe anyway.

After being drenched with that much pepper spray, her eyes would never recover.

To put it plainly, her future was that of a blind woman. A gravely injured blind woman. Someone like that had no chance of surviving in the apocalypse.

Wendy saw no reason to waste any more time on her. What mattered most right now was treating her own wounds.

Both of her legs had been stabbed by that lunatic Vanessa. If she failed to treat them quickly, an infection would set in. In the worst case, it could trigger all kinds of complications.

She needed to recover first.

Only then could she deal with Suzy properly.

And this time, she would strike first.

Once she made up her mind, Wendy steered the assault boat back the way she had come. But not long after she left, the body that had disappeared beneath the water slowly floated back to the surface.

Vanessa’s face was deathly pale, like someone already standing at death’s door. Her eyes remained tightly shut as she drifted aimlessly with the current.

Her body temperature continued dropping. Her body felt lighter and lighter. The darkness before her eyes deepened. An overwhelming exhaustion consumed her. Right now, all she wanted was to sleep.

Maybe she was really going to die.

She did not know how much longer she could hold on. Still... at least she had not died at Wendy’s hands.

How humiliating would that have been?

She had wanted to kill Wendy... But she failed.

In the end, she had still underestimated that woman. Underestimated her luck.

Looks like Parker and the others were right.

And she... had been careless.

Vanessa slowly closed her eyes completely and sank into endless darkness.

***

"Hm? There’s someone over there."

Far across the water, a pale face drifted on the surface. Leonard narrowed his eyes as he stared into the distance before suddenly calling out in surprise.

These days, seeing corpses floating in the water was nothing unusual.

But... Leonard noticed the person still seemed to be breathing. The breaths were incredibly weak, barely noticeable, but they were there.

Leonard quickly motioned for Suzy and Thomas to look.

Suzy narrowed her eyes toward the water. The moment she focused, she spotted the figure floating among the waves.

Her eyesight was excellent, clear enough to make out the woman’s features distinctly. And her memory was just as sharp.

With one glance, she recognized the woman immediately.

"Isn’t that Tommy’s precious little sweetheart?"

What was her name again? Ah, right. Vanessa.

Suzy remembered her. She was the sole survivor of the Sanders family.

Back then, Vanessa had torn out the surveillance equipment, and after that, Suzy never heard another word about her.

She still remembered their final conversation vividly. Vanessa had contacted her to confirm whether Wendy was the one who murdered the Sanders family.

And Suzy had answered her.

Originally, Suzy assumed that with Vanessa’s personality, she would have gone after Wendy for revenge.

So why was she here instead? And in such a miserable state, no less.

"Uncle, head over there," Suzy said, signaling for Leonard to steer the assault boat closer.

"We’re going over?" Leonard shot her a surprised glance. "You sure about this? You know her?"

Based on what he knew about Suzy, she was definitely not the type to show kindness for no reason.

Suzy nodded. "Uncle, did you forget? The Sanders family."

Leonard paused, clearly trying to recall.

"The Sanders family...?" he repeated slowly.

Suzy gave him another hint.

"Tommy’s girlfriend."

Realization dawned on Leonard instantly. "Oh, it’s her."

Back then, Leonard had watched plenty of the Kale family surveillance footage alongside Suzy, so he vaguely remembered Vanessa as well.

Strictly speaking, she had been the fuse that ignited the Kale family’s downfall.

If she had not encouraged Tommy to bring the Sanders family into the villa, the Kales would probably still be living comfortably right now.

"How did she end up here?" Leonard asked curiously.

Suzy shook her head. "No idea. Let’s go take a look."

Leonard’s curiosity had already been fully stirred. He immediately maneuvered the assault boat forward with far more enthusiasm than before.

As he steered, he briefly explained the situation to Thomas.

Not long afterward, their boat arrived beside Vanessa.

None of the three acted rashly. Instead, they cautiously observed both Vanessa and the surrounding waters.

After confirming there was nobody else nearby and that Vanessa had no ability to resist, Leonard exchanged a glance with Suzy.

"She’s still alive. Suzy, what do you think?" Leonard asked.

"I have a few things I want to ask her," Suzy replied calmly. "Bring her aboard."

Leonard nodded. Truthfully, he was curious too about how Vanessa had ended up in such a horrific condition.

Blood streamed continuously from her eyes. Her face was so pale it barely looked human anymore. Faint traces of blood spread through the surrounding water, likely from severe blood loss.

"She probably won’t last much longer," Leonard muttered.

"It’s fine," Suzy said evenly. "I have a way."

Working together, Leonard and Thomas hauled Vanessa out of the water and onto the assault boat.

Earlier, half her body had remained submerged, making it impossible to see the full extent of her injuries. But the moment they pulled her up, all three of them were stunned.

"She’s hurt this badly..." Leonard sucked in a sharp breath.

Vanessa’s condition was far worse than he had imagined.

There was a massive hole torn through her abdomen. With every faint rise and fall of her breathing, fresh blood bubbled from the wound in thick, crimson streams.