Qiao's Response

"Mom, I..."

"Listen to me, Freya!" Liv snapped, breathless, "The money is hidden... behind the cabinet... through a hole in the wall..."

"You take the money... to the hospital or the Church... don't worry about it... Daisy..."

"She's... smarter than you..."

She couldn't help but make a gurgling sound, like a broken bellows panting.

Feeling the searing heat on her lungs, Liv's wide, bloodshot eyes filled with deep confusion.

She couldn't understand why her illness, which had always been in good health, had progressed so rapidly this time, turning into this state in just a minute or two.

She couldn't understand why fate was playing such a cruel trick on them.

They had clearly tried very hard—worked hard, tried hard to survive, tried hard to escape the vortex, and moved to the eastern edge of the East Borough where the environment and safety were better.

Everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.

They clearly saw hope, so why is it like this?!

Freya's eyes were red, she bit her lip hard, and with tears streaming down her face, she pulled out the free face Face Mask she had received and struggled to move the cabinet to take out her savings.

"Mother..."

She ran outside, sobbing softly.

Stopped by her mother Liv, Freya, who had tossed the Face Mask to the two of them from a distance, clenched her fists tightly and said firmly:

"Mom, wait for me!"

"I'll go and get you a doctor and some church clergy right away. They'll definitely come, they'll come. I'll give them the money."

Liv forced a kind smile, tried hard to suppress a cough, and nodded, saying:

"Okay, we'll wait for you."

In truth, Liv knew that she wouldn't be able to hold on until then, and that the doctors and clergy wouldn't come back with her daughter; instead, they would forcibly stop her.

But that's enough.

At least his daughter is still alive.

My eldest daughter and my youngest daughter, she will surely live well too.

"You must wait for me to come back, Mom!"

Freya shouted loudly, turned towards the stairs, and scalding tears fell continuously onto the slightly dirty bluish-gray floor tiles.

"Okay... I'll wait for you to come back..." Liv leaned against the wall, watching her eldest daughter run towards the stairs, a satisfied smile spreading across her face.

Suddenly, her expression froze, and her eyes bulged out.

In a room two numbers away, the bare door suddenly opened, and a disheveled figure pounced on his daughter and snatched her Face Mask.

"You bitch!"

In an instant, Liv felt her anger erupt like a volcano.

I'll accept this neighbor as my own!

When everyone was organizing to get Face Mask, she was the only one who scoffed and laughed at them for being silly, saying that there's no such thing as a free lunch.

When everyone returned with their free Face Mask, she looked disdainful and said that these things were useless and that they should have earned more coins instead of waiting in line.

Now she's actually stealing her own daughter's Face Mask!

You bitch!

Come and get mine, I can even give it to you for free!

Why did you try to take my daughter?

"Mom..." Freya was slammed against the wall, a gash appeared on her forehead, and blood flowed down her face, mixing with her tears.

Fueled by hatred, Liv gritted her teeth and slowly stood up, leaning against the wall.

She walked towards him step by step.

She heard the other person's sneer and saw the disdain in their eyes as they turned around.

However, just as the other person smugly put on Face Mask and turned around to leave, Old Kohler suddenly reached out and grabbed the other person's leg.

Thump!

The other person fell straight down.

He fell to the ground with his forehead on the ground, the redness spreading, and he never got up again.

"Ha?"

Liv couldn't help but let out a strange laugh.

She exhausted all her strength and slowly moved to her eldest daughter's side, reaching out to hug this daughter who had suffered so much with her.

She covered her eldest daughter's wound with one hand and gently patted her back with the other, humming a lullaby she had learned as a new mother.

"Don't be afraid... Freya... the pain will subside soon..."

After her daughter fell asleep peacefully, Liv used her last strength to look up at Old Kohler, a faint smile appearing on her lips:

"By the way, Old Kohler, there's a question I've had for a long time."

Why are you taking such good care of my daughter and me?

Old Kohler was almost at his limit. He struggled to turn over and lay on the ground, staring blankly at the gray Ceiling.

He chuckled, then hesitated before speaking:

"Because of the Detective's instructions, and also..." His lips trembled slightly before freezing, and his voice abruptly stopped.

His frozen lips curved slightly into a half-smile.

Liv pursed her lips, hugged her eldest daughter tightly, and slowly closed her eyes.

at the same time.

The Posner Face Mask Factory is located at the border of the Factory District and the East Borough.

Manager's office.

Joe took off his silver-rimmed glasses and gently rubbed his slightly sore eyes.

He looked up at the wall clock and realized it was already 4:30 pm, only half an hour away from the early departure time he had promised yesterday.

"Go take a walk around the workshop, tell everyone to stop production, and then move today's Face Mask into the warehouse. That should be about right."

Thinking this, Joe stood up from his office chair.

Just then, he heard hurried footsteps.

A dozen seconds later, someone roughly pushed the door open and entered.

A young man shouted in a panic:

"Manager, no, something terrible has happened!"

"Someone's dead! One of our hired drivers is dead!"

Upon hearing this, Qiao Wei was slightly taken aback.

He had originally planned to jokingly remind the other person to "stay calm at all times," but his expression changed drastically and he hurriedly ran outside.

After running only a few steps, he couldn't help but clutch his chest and cough.

The younger man, who was in better physical condition, caught up and asked:

"Manager, are you alright?"

Joe shook his head and looked around at the dark yellow mist.

Suddenly, a thunderbolt exploded in his mind:

"Face Mask!"

The young man was taken aback. "Huh?"

"I said Face Mask!" Joe coughed halfway, then forced it back down and shouted, "The fog looks off today, go tell everyone to wear Face Mask!"

He took a deep breath and gave the order very quickly:

"And then... cough cough!"

"Find a few strong men to carry a box of Face Mask out and tell the drivers, cough, to wear them and keep their distance from those with severe symptoms!"

"You guys cough, don't stay in the workshop any longer!"

"Go to the empty Warehouse Number One. cough cough Go back to the office to get the key Door Opening. Remember, make sure to notify everyone to come to Warehouse Number One!"

"Send the drivers to Warehouse Number Two!"

"Go quickly!"

The young man hesitated, "But you..."

Manager Joe treats his employees very well, and he himself has benefited from this; since becoming an employee here, his salary has more than doubled.

"I'm fine, I'll be alright in a bit." Qiao waved his hand and urged.

"Go and inform them immediately!"

"Yes!" The young man didn't hesitate any longer, turned around and strode towards the workshop.

Joe took a few quick breaths and gritted his teeth as he walked toward his office.