A Murder

The man nervously watched every move Alice made. His Adam's apple rolled, and his fingers tightened around the handle of the knife. "Come here, I'll tell you," he said.

Alice chuckled and walked towards the man. Before he could act, she kicked him, knocking him down, and forcefully stepped on his chest. "Ambushing tricks work only once."

The man, unwilling to accept defeat, reached out to grab the nearby dagger. Alice frowned. Without hesitation, she stabbed his hand with her own knife and covered his mouth with the sheath before he could make a sound.

"Mm~" Alice faintly heard the sound of a door opening downstairs but no one came up to investigate.

She pulled the katana from the man's hand, blood splattering on the floor. The man's vision darkened, nearly passing out from the pain.

Alice traced the sharp blade on the man's neck, casually saying, "A single strike might not kill you immediately, but it will be the most desperate moment."

The man trembled, realizing the woman before him was not just making idle threats. Anxiously, he asked, "If I tell you, will you let me go?"

"You'll have one more choice," Alice replied.

Assuming she would release him, the man confessed, "I'm from the Falcon Gang. Last time, you killed one of us on the commercial street. Our leader is furious and will come for you sooner or later... not to settle a score, but to take your life."

"Is that so?" Alice's face remained calm, astonishingly composed. "Where is the Falcon Gang's headquarters?"

"At the m High School," the man revealed cautiously, keeping an eye on Alice. "I've told you everything I know. Can you let me go now?"

"Did I ever say I would let you leave?" Alice's mouth curved into a cruel smile. "When I mentioned one more choice, it meant letting you die a little more quickly."

The man, furious, widened his eyes, about to curse, but Alice's knife moved faster. A streak of blood appeared on his neck, and his eyes slowly lost their vitality.

Having dealt with the bodies of the two deceased individuals, Alice sighed at the inconvenience. After a few moments of contemplation, she decided to stash the bodies in her space and planned to dispose of them in the wilderness the next day.

Pulling out two bottles of mineral water, Alice washed away the residual blood on the ground. Once done, she securely locked the iron gate, realizing that the man from earlier had successfully unlocked it because she had opened it from the inside.

...

At five in the morning, Alice woke up Arnold and Alexander.

"Don't sleep in. We're going fishing today."

Alice had already prepared breakfast - two buns, an egg, and a bottle of milk for each person, to be eaten on the way.

She might not understand love, but she had heard that falling for someone was not easy to forget. Alexander had completely severed contact with Beryl in the past few days, seemingly moving on, but there was always the risk of Beryl returning and him forgiving her in a moment of weakness.

Therefore, the best way to forget someone was to stay busy, exhausted from daily tasks, leaving no room for romantic thoughts.

Arnold had no objections. He took his breakfast from Alice and remarked, "There's not much left in the fridge. We have a long way to go, and we shouldn't slack off while we can still find supplies."

Alexander added optimistically, "The country is establishing base camps, and they say supplies will be distributed. The economy and development will recover sooner or later. We just need to hold on for a little longer."

"You're being too optimistic. Two unprecedented natural disasters, and it's the first time they're building evacuation bases. Without experience, chaos is likely, especially in crowded places. We don't know what it'll be like then," Arnold retorted, giving Alexander a skeptical look.

Alice raised an eyebrow, expressing agreement with Arnold. "Big brother is right. We have our own food. Even if we don't go to the base, we can survive."

The three of them drove to a riverbank. With the intense heat, the water in the river evaporated daily, causing the water level to drop by several meters. Three fishing boats were on the river, indicating that everyone shared the same idea of finishing work before the sun rose.

Alice took out two inflatable boats, one of which Alexander had brought back. As they were about to get in the water, a group of men approached from the shore, sternly declaring, "This river is ours. You're not allowed to fish here."

Alexander laughed at his words, "This is clearly national land, a national river. How does it become yours personally?"

"Anyway, we've taken over this river. If you want to fish, go elsewhere," said the lead man with a fierce demeanor that had scared off many before.

"What if we don't leave?" Arnold, with a refined and handsome appearance and a magnetic voice, seemed harmless.

"I advise you not to be insolent," the man sneered, giving Arnold a disdainful look.

Alexander understood the man's expression and whispered, "Big brother, he seems to be calling you a pretty boy. Go up there and show him."

Arnold sighed, "Please tone down your delight in others' misfortune."

"Fernando, what's going on?" A woman approached, hearing the commotion.

Alice effortlessly carried two buckets of water past Arnold and Alexander, not breaking a sweat.

Both of them: "..."

Arnold glanced at Alexander. "Even your little sister is stronger than you. Don't complain about being tired."

As they reached the tenth floor, Alice had already started going down for the second round. She looked at Alexander with a playful smile. "Second brother, still want to stay here?"

When Alice reached the ground floor, she took the two buckets of water from Blanche. "You two rest; I'll handle the water."

Blanche couldn't bear to see the slender girl carrying so much weight. "Put down one bucket; let me do it."

"Mom, you seem to have some misunderstanding about my strength." Alice chuckled lightly, effortlessly lifting the two buckets and walking away.