Sickly Cannon Fodder: Spoiled by the Powerful Apocalypse Bosses-Chapter 81

"Hey—who are you to talk to me like that?" The woman frowned, looking Leonard up and down with open annoyance. "I wasn’t talking to you anyway!"

She muttered the words under her breath, then turned eagerly back to Suzy.

"Since you’re going anyway, just help me out a little. We’re neighbors after all. I’ll pay you."

Suzy tilted her head slightly. "How much?"

"Uh... we can talk about that later," the woman said after a brief pause.

Before Suzy could respond, the woman quickly stuffed a folded note into her hand.

"Just buy these things for me first. I’ll pay you when you get back. Don’t worry, sis—I won’t be stingy."

"...."

There was no way Suzy would agree to something like that. She barely knew this woman, and it was obvious the request wasn’t sincere.

Once you gave someone an easy opening, they would latch onto you like a parasite.

Suzy wasn’t foolish enough to start that cycle.

She smiled politely, then—faster than the woman could react—pressed the note right back into her hand.

"Sorry. That’s not going to work," Suzy said, her voice courteous but distant.

Before the woman could say another word, Suzy grabbed Leonard’s arm and stepped out of the elevator.

The woman stood there for a long moment, stunned by how decisively Suzy had refused.

She had targeted Suzy precisely because of that deceptively gentle face.

Soft. Delicate. Obedient-looking.

The kind of girl who seemed easy to manipulate.

Yesterday, Suzy even helped her carry the water bucket. People like that usually had soft hearts.

If she just acted pitiful enough, Suzy would surely agree.

That had been Julia’s assumption.

Reality had just slapped her hard across the face.

A flicker of resentment rose in her chest. She glared at Suzy’s retreating figure, biting her lip in frustration.

"Cheap and heartless," Julia muttered bitterly. "People like that always get what’s coming to them."

She turned and walked away unwillingly. Her own car had been sent for repairs after a minor collision recently.

The supermarket that had reopened was nearly two kilometers away from the residential complex—not exactly close. Walking there would take a long time.

That was why Julia had targeted Suzy in the first place. Suzy looked young, gentle, and easy to persuade.

If she acted miserable enough, she could probably hitch a ride.

But she didn’t expect Leonard to interfere. Now she would have to find another solution.

Fortunately, Julia soon remembered her pink electric scooter. She had barely used it since buying a new car—it had been gathering dust in the underground garage.

Now it would finally be useful again.

Meanwhile, Suzy and Leonard arrived at the parking slot. They found Thomas already waiting beside it.

"Here so early?" Leonard said with a smile, patting his shoulder.

"Just got here," Thomas replied.

Suzy reminded him, "Did you bring your ID?"

These days, buying supplies required an ID card, and there were strict limits on how much each person could purchase.

Thomas checked his pocket and nodded. "Yep. Got it."

The three of them got into the car.

Leonard drove while Suzy and Thomas sat in the back seat.

The car rolled out of the underground garage as the navigation system began issuing directions.

Suzy scrolled through local forum posts on her phone, checking for any recent updates.

Leonard suddenly asked, "Suzy, what was up with that woman just now?"

At his question, Thomas also turned his gaze toward her.

Suzy lifted her eyes from her phone. "I don’t know. I don’t even know her. I met her once in the elevator yesterday and helped her carry a bucket. She asked about the supermarket, but I didn’t tell her much." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Leonard frowned. "If you run into people like that again, just ignore them."

People like that were never good news.

"Got it," Suzy replied.

The car looped around inside the residential complex and approached the exit ramp from the underground garage.

Suddenly—

Screech!

Leonard slammed the brakes.

Suzy had no warning at all. The abrupt stop sent her tumbling sideways.

"Damn it! Who drives like that?" Leonard cursed.

Suzy felt dizzy. Her phone slipped from her hand and fell under the seat. When she finally regained her senses, she realized she had fallen directly against Thomas.

One of his hands gripped the handle above the seat, his muscles taut as he steadied himself.

His other arm had instinctively wrapped loosely around her to keep her from falling.

Even Suzy could tell their position was far too intimate.

"You two alright?!" Leonard shouted, turning around suddenly.

The moment he saw their posture, he whipped his head back and forth just as fast.

With a third person present, Suzy felt too embarrassed to stay like that. She quickly pulled away.

"Thanks."

Thomas cleared his throat softly. "No problem."

He bent down, retrieved her fallen phone, and handed it to her. "Your phone."

Suzy accepted it with a smile. "Thanks."

Then she turned toward the front seat. "Uncle, what happened?"

At the mention of it, Leonard immediately grew irritated. "Some idiot just darted out of nowhere without even looking!"

He hated drivers who behaved like the road was their personal living room. If he hadn’t reacted quickly, they would have crashed.

After venting for a moment, Leonard started the car again.

The car entered the main road.

As they passed a corner and merged into the traffic lane, Leonard suddenly spotted a familiar vehicle.

"Damn it—that thing again!" he said with a disbelieving laugh.

Talk about bad luck.

"Where?" Suzy asked.

"Up ahead. That pink electric scooter."

The little scooter crawled slowly along the middle of the road without even moving to the side.

Leonard accelerated and overtook it.

From Suzy’s window, she could clearly see the rider.

"It’s her!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Who?" Leonard asked. "You know the rider?"

"What a coincidence," Suzy said with a faint laugh. "It’s the same woman we just ran into."

Leonard’s mouth twitched.

Of course.

Running into that woman never meant anything good.

After another turn, traffic began increasing.

More cars appeared on the road, along with scattered pedestrians.

Most of them were probably like Suzy—people who had heard the news about the supermarket reopening and had come out to buy supplies.

As they passed one residential complex, Suzy suddenly remembered that Derek Martin lived there.

She had dropped him off once before and vaguely remembered the location.

Suzy pulled out her phone and sent him a message.

[Suzy: You live uptown, right? Between Gilbert and 47?]

Derek didn’t reply immediately. He was probably busy.

The two of them had stayed in contact recently, checking on each other’s safety.

But Derek clearly had his own matters to deal with, so their conversations were usually brief.

Suzy noticed that the entire residential complex was pitch dark.

It looked like the power had already been cut.

She didn’t know when it had happened.

Derek never mentioned it.

Soon, the car pulled into a parking spot near the supermarket.