Chapter 202: Midnight Date
The clock hands passed midnight.
The southwestern part of the Chaotic Zone was a densely populated residential area, with houses packed tightly together and narrow alleys crisscrossing everywhere.
Lucas and I parked the car in a dim corner, a few hundred yards away from an alley. The windows were half down, the atmosphere quiet, with only the faint sound of the idling engine.
A few months ago, the roads here would be covered in puddles after rain, but now they were paved smooth. Buildings were growing taller with added floors, and the desolate, rundown look was gradually fading as the area moved toward the image of a modern town.
The dim yellow streetlights flickered on and off. The whole street was dead asleep, except for an appliance store at the corner that showed a faint light through its tightly closed doors and windows.
The store was quite large. Besides the original three storefronts that had been connected, two additional rooms had been built on both sides. Whether this construction met regulations was debatable, but it certainly went up fast.
Laying the foundation, building walls, putting on the roof, applying cement, letting it dry—a room could be finished in a week. But the store owner seemed to want to build a tall building. The left, right, and back of the store were constantly surrounded by metal barriers, making it impossible to see the construction progress inside.
Similar projects could be seen everywhere in the Chaotic Zone lately.
Although the territorial disputes in the Chaotic Zone hadn't been settled yet, nothing could stop this place from developing.
I picked up my phone to check the time. Ten minutes had passed since Adrian and Alfred had snuck into the store.
This place was the Thornfield family's secret warehouse that Brenda had mentioned.
From the outside, it was indeed well disguised.
Five more minutes passed before Adrian and Alfred quietly returned and handed Lucas and me each a small camera.
I took out the memory card from the camera, inserted it into a reader, and soon images from inside the store appeared on the computer.
The store looked like a rough shell overall. Dozens of refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners were piled up on the open ground, with barely a path left in the middle. Near the entrance were a few unpacked display models, their plastic wrapping covered in a layer of dust—business didn't look too good.
That was normal. How many ordinary residents in the Chaotic Zone could afford appliances?
Adrian and Alfred walked through the piles of merchandise. The camera followed their steps to a door. Behind it was a corridor less than ten yards long, and at the end was a break room where the voices of guards on duty were heard gambling and drinking.
Since this was a secret infiltration, they couldn't alert the guards.
Adrian asked Alfred what to do. Alfred, being experienced, suggested they search the store first. Then they found an inconspicuous small door next to the bathroom.
Behind the door was a staircase leading down, apparently to a cellar. Adrian used a small device to block the surveillance and temporarily disable the infrared sensors. Then they went down to a space of over three hundred square feet.
Rows of reinforced shelves held various valuable items. Adrian casually opened a cash box—inside was the Thornfield family's logo.
With the intelligence confirmed, Adrian and Alfred left without alerting anyone on guard.
"Brenda didn't lie, and this warehouse isn't a trap," Lucas said in a low voice, a faint smile in his eyes. "Your luck's pretty good."
"I think my luck's pretty good too. But..." My finger tapped lightly on the phone screen. I felt somewhat uneasy about directly seizing this warehouse.
"Let's spread the word," I said. "Wait for others to come grab it, then we'll take advantage of the chaos to get our share."
Lucas nodded, without objections.
I picked up the two gold bars that Adrian and Alfred had brought out from the warehouse. The edges were neat, the bars were quite heavy, and the quality was excellent.
"You can have these. Thanks for your hard work tonight." I gave the gold bars to Adrian and Alfred.
The two happily accepted them. "Thank you!"
"You're such a generous boss!"
Lucas rested his head on one hand, watching me win people over with a slight smile.
We left the Chaotic Zone but didn't go straight home. Instead, we went to a 24-hour movie theater.
The lobby was nearly empty, with only two night-shift staff behind the counter. The sweet smell of popcorn drifted from the snack bar. I ordered one butter-flavored and one sea salt-flavored popcorn, plus two sodas.
The midnight showing had a drama film, a comedy animation, a romance, and two suspense films.
"Which one should we watch?" Lucas asked me.
I glanced up at the posters for all five movies and said hesitantly, "The romance?"
After all, this was our first movie theater date.
Lucas objected. "That's a tragedy. No tragedies."
I nodded. "Then let's watch the comedy."
Lucas still objected. "Animation is too childish."
I ate a piece of butter popcorn and pointed to the drama. "That one then."
Lucas held my finger. "Drama films make you sleepy."
I couldn't help but want to roll my eyes. "Were you this picky when you went on dates with Amelia?"
"I've completely forgotten about Amelia and me," Lucas said with a straight face. "Let's watch the thriller."
I studied his expression and said, "I'm very brave. I won't get scared and hide in your arms."
Lucas's expression stiffened slightly, looking like I'd hit the nail on the head. I laughed a couple times and walked into the screening room.
Besides us, there was actually another couple. Alfred quietly asked, "Mr. Valeri, Mrs. Valeri, do you need me to ask them to leave?"
Lucas looked at me. I shook my head. "No need. Just sit far away, we won't bother each other."
That couple sat in the front left, so we chose seats in the center of the second-to-last row.
The movie hadn't started yet. I saw the couple in front kissing, then turned to ask Lucas, "Have you and Amelia been to a midnight showing before?"
Lucas seemed a bit helpless at my sudden fixation. "You've mentioned her twice in ten minutes."
"What, I can't mention her?" I snorted lightly. "I only mention her because I care. If you want me not to care, then I won't say anything."
Lucas moved the popcorn between us aside, held my hand, and squeezed it gently. "I never watched a midnight movie with her. Every time I met her was during the day. Amelia was just following Michelle's instructions to maintain an ambiguous relationship with me. I only watched movies with her twice."
"Twice isn't much?" I slowly brought up old grievances. "We've never been once."
Lucas laughed bitterly and tried to appease me. "It's my fault. From now on, whether it's watching movies, going to amusement parks, horseback riding, hiking, or camping, I'll go with you."
"Fine, I'll let it go this time." I nodded proudly.
Lucas pulled my hand to his lips and kissed it twice.
The movie started. The first five minutes had a tight pace with suspense building up. I watched carefully, but Lucas kept making small moves, pulling my hand or kissing me from time to time. Unable to stand his harassment, I put the popcorn between us.
Lucas had no choice but to quietly feed me popcorn.
Halfway through the film, I grew confused by the ridiculous plot. "The killer is so obvious. Is the main character blind?"
Lucas chuckled, his shoulders shaking slightly. "Look at that couple in front. They've kissed eleven times."
"Keep your voice down." I quickly signaled him to be quiet. "Why are you counting how many times other people kiss!"
"Because I really want to kiss you," Lucas said "resentfully."
I felt my face getting a bit hot. "Can you just watch the movie properly?"
"No." The light and shadows from the screen flickered across his face. Lucas leaned closer, and I didn't dodge.
It was a tender, lingering kiss.
I gently closed my eyes, letting the intimacy spread in the darkness.