"You can pass, Uncle—you don’t really need one," Suzy replied.
"Huh? What do you mean I don’t need one?"
"Just trust me, you don’t."
Without offering any further explanation, Suzy pushed the three storage pouches toward Thomas, Liam, and Derek.
Not standing on ceremony, the three picked out their preferred colors and held the pouches in their hands, turning them over. The moment their fingers touched the fabric, they felt a subtle, peculiar surge of energy.
"Senior, what are these?" Derek asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.
"These? They’re storage pouches," Suzy said casually, dropping an absolute bombshell.
The three of them froze in total shock, clutching the pouches in their hands, momentarily completely speechless.
Storage pouches?
Does such a thing actually exist?
Isn’t that something straight out of fantasy novels and TV shows?
"Try using your mental energy to sense what’s inside," Suzy instructed, guiding them on how to operate the pouches.
Derek was the first to get the hang of it. Before long, he successfully picked up on the ten-cubic-meter space within, his face lighting up with excitement.
"Suzy, I feel it! Wait, there are already things packed inside! Did you prepare all this for us?"
Suzy smiled warmly. "Mhm. Just as a precaution, so you’ll have whatever you need if something comes up."
Shortly after, Thomas and Liam managed to connect with their respective storage pouches as well. When they discovered the generous stash of supplies Suzy had thoughtfully packed inside, a deep wave of surprise and gratitude washed over them. They hadn’t expected her to be so meticulous, thinking through every single detail on their behalf.
Suzy added a gentle reminder: "Make sure to keep these stowed away safely. The storage pouches don’t have a soul-binding function, so if anyone else spots them, they could easily be stolen—and that would be dangerous."
All three took Suzy’s warning strictly to heart. Receiving such an extraordinary gift out of nowhere came as an absolute thrill—after all, these were actual storage pouches packed to the brim with crucial supplies. They spent quite a while turning the pouches over in their hands, marveling at them before reluctantly stowing them away safely.
Meanwhile, once Leonard realized what Suzy had given them, his interest evaporated completely. He already possessed a spatial dimension of his own, complete with a soul-bound connection—not to mention it offered vastly more capacity than those pouches combined. Compared to his setup, his spatial ability was far superior, so there was really nothing to envy.
And so, life carried on seamlessly.
During this stretch of time, no one came looking to trouble Suzy’s group. Mike had managed to seize complete control of the residential compound. Whatever else he was, the man genuinely possessed leadership skills. Armed with firearms to serve as a potent deterrent, he ran his organization with tight discipline.
Under his explicit orders, no member of his group dared set foot near Building 8 to cause trouble. In fact, his organization had inadvertently helped cultivate a terrifying myth around Building 8. Word on the street was that every single occupant living inside was a formidable powerhouse. Of course, Suzy and her group remained completely oblivious to these wild rumors.
Their day-to-day routine inside the safehouse remained largely unchanged—gathering together after meals to relax, play games, and work out. This quiet rhythm persisted for a full month.
It was during this month that the relentless grip of the extreme cold finally began to loosen.
Temperatures started creeping upward step by step. Though the daily increase was minuscule, the subtle shift didn’t escape the notice of the observant. Slowly, people began to realize that the brutal freeze might finally be coming to an end.
Yet, that realization brought a chilling question: what would they have to face next?
The weight of the unknown hung over everyone like a suffocating net. At the thought of another impending natural disaster, a heavy gloom settled over the survivors’ hearts. Still, a few eternal optimists held onto hope, convincing themselves that once the extreme cold passed, the apocalypse would finally draw to a close, and everything would return to the way it was before the end of the world.
A mere week after the first subtle signs appeared, the extreme cold officially came to an end. It all happened far faster than anyone had anticipated.
It began one morning when Leonard noticed that the thick snow outside had started to melt. Right after, Suzy cracked open a window, only to find that the wind rushing inside was no longer biting or freezing—it merely carried a damp, refreshing chill.
She stood by the window, extending her hand outside to test the air. As the breeze swept around her fingertips, it no longer stung. She held her hand out a bit further, lingering for a good while, yet her skin didn’t even turn red from the cold.
Turning back toward the interior, she called out, "Uncle, the wind outside isn’t freezing anymore!"
Leonard poked his head out from the kitchen holding half a bowl of porridge, squinting at her before setting the bowl down. He strolled over to the window and stuck his hand out as well. His brow twitched slightly; though he didn’t utter a word, the subtle turn of his lips spoke volumes.
"It’s over," Leonard remarked softly.
Suzy gazed out the window, lost in thought as a flood of emotions washed over her.
"Yeah. It’s over."
She had successfully weathered the extreme cold.
Before she could indulge in her reflections any further, a sharp knock echoed at the door. She exchanged a quick look with Leonard, who beat her to the punch and went to open it.
They had assumed it would be Thomas or Derek, but to their surprise, Bill was standing in the doorway. Leonard froze for a brief second upon seeing him.
"What brings you over so early?"
Throughout this period, the two groups had kept in regular touch, and Suzy’s party had frequently sent supplies down to Bill’s family. However, ever since the rift involving Aaron, things hadn’t quite returned to the easy warmth they once shared.
Bill looked at Leonard with a complex expression in his eyes. After a heavy beat, he spoke. "We’re planning to leave."