Alice left with the guns and bullets, leaving Bobby in contemplation. She emanated an enigmatic aura, appearing calm and collected despite being a wealthy heiress, resembling a seasoned mercenary.
Bobby shook his head, chuckling at his own paranoia.
Alice visited the garage where she had left the address for Bobby. It was a stable owned by the Allenfamily, and she had her own exclusive garage there. The spacious garage, nearly two hundred square meters, was ample for her calculations. She estimated the supplies needed for two trucks and began retrieving them from her spatial storage.
Bobby had asked for eighty percent of the supplies to be food, without specifying the type. Alice decided on twenty percent for daily necessities, ten percent for water, twenty percent for easily storable vegetables, ten percent for noodles, and ten percent for dry goods, including cured meats, sausages, and dried bamboo shoots. The remaining thirty percent would be rice.
It took her a full hour to bring out all the items. Once done, she locked the garage securely.
Returning to the apartment building, she found a crowd of people enjoying the cool evening. Alice specially covered the guns with a bag before heading upstairs.
As she approached the elevator, a man wearing a duckbill cap hastily stepped out. His hat brim was low, concealing his face, and he almost collided with Alice. She gave him a suspicious glance but didn't dwell on it, entering the elevator and pressing the button for the 16th floor.
Upon exiting the elevator, she was about to unlock the large iron door when she noticed signs of tampering. There were clear marks of attempted forced entry, and the lock cylinder showed obvious abrasion. Her family members had keys, and this kind of damage could only be caused by someone attempting to break in.
Alice grew wary, re-secured the large iron door, and swiftly entered her apartment.
"I've brought back the guns," Alice said, placing the items on the coffee table.
Atticus walked over, untied the bag, and pulled out a handgun. "This one looks good, convenient for carrying."
Alice also handed a gun to Blanche. "If you don't know how to use it, I'll teach you."
"I know how. Back when I followed your dad, I didn't know how dangerous it was. I used to carry a gun everywhere back then," Blanche scolded her husband with a playful glare.
Alice picked up a rifle, preferring these larger weapons. With five guns in total, they decided to keep them for Alexander until he returned.
"Is the silencer attached to this one?" Arnold asked eagerly but hesitated about making too much noise.
"Yes, it is. You can try the feel of it. If you find it unsatisfactory, I can replace it," Alice assured them. She had already bought a hundred guns from Bobby, and she was open to exchanging any if they weren't satisfied.
Arnold placed a vase against the wall and quickly pulled the trigger after aiming. A bullet flew out, hitting the center of the vase, causing it to shatter into countless pieces.
"Not bad," Arnold raised an eyebrow, quite satisfied.
Blanche and Atticus also tried their hand. It had been years since they touched a gun, taking some time to aim before firing. Fortunately, their accuracy was good, hitting the target each time. The whole family now knew how to use the guns, giving Alice some peace of mind.
Alice took stock of the stored food in the house—eight bags of rice, over a dozen boxes of instant noodles and noodles, miscellaneous flour, various beans totaling several dozen pounds, and an abundance of snacks filling one corner. The three refrigerators were filled with meat, including winter melons, potatoes, and sweet potatoes stored in bags. There were also over a dozen bags of dried goods and various snacks.
All these items were brought back from their outings, making their supplies appear quite eclectic. Knowing what they had, Alice went into the bathroom to prepare for a bath before having dinner. She planned to end the night with another cup of frozen milk tea.
The next morning, the entire neighborhood experienced a sudden power outage due to the circuits being burnt out from the intense heat, according to the property management. Fortunately, most people in the neighborhood had installed solar panels, providing sufficient electricity during the day, and complaints were minimal.
When Alice left home, the rest of her family hadn't woken up yet. She had been laboring outside throughout the night and was now rushing back home to prepare for sleep. Perhaps due to the inverted day and night routine, many people in the neighborhood had heavy dark circles, looking tired and worn out.
Alice drove to the stable, where Bobby had already arrived. Behind him were two trucks, and over a dozen armed men stood silently.
Opening the garage door, the towering mountain of supplies greeted Bobby. He rarely showed any emotions, but the sheer volume of goods piled up before him managed to elicit a rare expression of shock.
At first glance, the supplies inside encompass a variety of items. These supplies were easy to find before the disaster struck, but now it's difficult to gather everything. Judging from the traces around, these items were likely placed here recently, possibly moved by Alice from elsewhere last night.
"Where are the things I need?" Alice asked nonchalantly without explaining the origin of the supplies.
"Here," Bobby walked to the back of two trucks and had someone open the doors. Inside, the trucks were filled with boxes containing the bullets Alice needed. They came here specifically to exchange goods, and these items were parked at the dock, transported overnight.
"These are the guns you wanted." Bobby unloaded the outermost box, opened it for Alice to inspect. Inside were various rifles, including the Gatling gun she had her eye on, along with a sniper rifle. Alice couldn't help but bite her lip, testing the feel of the weapons.
From her proficient movements, Bobby could tell that Alice had some training. He jokingly asked, "Do you want us to count the bullets?"
Alice glanced at him. Counting a hundred thousand bullets one by one would take forever. Suddenly, she thought of something, curled her lips, and said, "Sure, count each one in front of me."
Now, Bobby couldn't find a reason to laugh. He covered his mouth with his fist, cleared his throat, "The sun is about to come up; we shouldn't waste time."
Alice didn't mind. She let them unload the boxes, randomly checked them to ensure Bobby didn't deceive her.
A massive trade was fervently taking place in the quiet horse stable. An hour later, after they had loaded the supplies from the garage onto the trucks, Bobby asked, "Do you want help moving the bullets inside?"
Alice shook her head, "No need, I've arranged for someone to come and take them away."
Bobby assumed she was working for an underground organization or some kind of gang; otherwise, who would need so many firearms and ammunition.