Chapter 266


    It was not just that he had seen her before. She had even suffered his pettiness back in the auto


    club. He was a real handful, to say the least. If it wasn''t for the sake of capturing video content to


    gain followers, she wouldn''t have put up with him.


    Ste smirked, "Are you trying to hit on me, Bran?"


    Wait, what? That threw Bran off bnce.


    Sure, she was attractive and had a strong personality, standing out like a thorny rose in the dull


    post-apocalyptic world. But let''s get one thing straight: while Bran weed a challenge, he wasn''t


    desperate.


    People saw him as adies'' man, but ever since he had spent 80 million on a pink diamond, he had


    nned to settle down. Unfortunately, his girlfriend had gone missing during the apocalypse.


    Thinking about it, it had been a while since he had been with a woman.


    "Sorry, I''m spoken for," Ste said, holding Jasper''s hand. "And it''s been three years since the


    apocalypse, and your pick-up lines could use some work. I''m not interested in you, so could you


    please keep your distance in the future?"


    A young girl jumped out, her small face flushed with anger. "You''re a bad man. Ste belongs to my


    brother."


    "Woof!" Cooper growled, his eyes filled with fury, ready to tear him apart, his tail standing up in


    anger.


    Surrounded by hostility, Bran was speechless. Who gave them the idea that he was interested in


    her?


    By the time he came to his senses, Ste and her group had already walked away. Wait, were they


    messing with him?


    Turning around, he saw the security team was still there. Bran took a deep breath, suppressing his


    temper, and asked the head of the security team, "Who knows what''s going on with unit 50?"


    Despite being responsible for the security of the entire neighborhood, the head of the security team


    knew who the real boss was. "Samuel, step forward."


    So, Samuel was left behind.


    Bran was satisfied with the head of the security team''s performance and said with a smile, "I''m sorry


    for the inconvenience today. Collect your five pounds of foodter."


    "Thank you, Mr. Bran."


    After the patrol team left, Bran lit up a cigarette. "Do you know the people in Building 50?"


    "Yes."


    "How do you know them?" Bran asked, suddenly interested. "What''s their story?"


    "They moved into Eastwood Eden during the heatwave. I don''t know exactly where they came from,


    but they know martial arts, and they exchanged their skills for the right to live in an independent


    building. Mr. Jasper, other than teaching sses, never interacts with us."


    "Mr. Jasper?" Bran squinted. "Is he a soldier?"


    "I''m not sure, but he has taught us military boxing. We call him our coach. He never answers any


    questions outside of ss, so we stopped asking."


    Bran had been around the block a few times. He could tell that the young man was lying, or at least


    hiding something.


    The people from unit 50 seemed to be more interesting than he had thought.


    Bran didn''t give him a hard time and left with a wave of his hand.


    Samuel sighed in relief. The values of the rich were really something else. He didn''t understand why


    they were so against Ste? Fortunately, Mark had warned him not to mention too much about


    Jasper or Ste''s affairs, especially what they had done to protect Eastwood Eden. It was a secret


    that had to be kept.


    He didn''t understand why heroes didn''t want to be recognized before, but now he knew. The world


    wasplicated.


    Just as Bran was about to leave, a man and a woman in the yard called him over. "Bran, let''s


    continue ying."


    "No thanks, enjoy yourselves," Bran said, leaving with a cigarette in his mouth.


    The party was supposed to be in Bran''s honor, but he wasn''t interested. After what happened with


    Julia, the enthusiasm of the privileged youth waspletely gone. They were deted, like airless


    balls.


    What was the story behind unit 50? Even Bran had to tread carefully around them.


    When she returned home, Ste was lost in thought, the image of Julia unwittingly surfacing in her


    mind, causing her to feel restless.


    Jasper made her a cup of hot tea. "Worried about Bran causing trouble?"


    Ste shook her head. As long as the cars were in Arcadia, no one would know.


    "Is it because of the woman who keeps the alpaca?"


    Ste still shook her head, remaining silent.


    Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Jasper sat down next to her. "Ste, no matter what happens in the future, we won''t start trouble,


    but we won''t avoid it either."


    Ste leaned against his shoulder and closed her eyes to rest. Her hand was a bit cold, and Jasper


    covered it with his own.


    He had a good idea of what was bothering her, but since she didn''t want to talk about it, he didn''t


    ask.


    Austin contacted them through the walkie-talkie. "Ste, are you okay?"


    Sleeping with the curtains drawn would make everything seem like a bad dream when she woke up.


    Ste cheered up. "Thank you for your concern, Austin. I''m fine."


    After today''s incident, they had undoubtedly offended the rich in the neighborhood again, making


    the conflict even more apparent.


    Ste never fought unprepared. "Do you know anything about the family that keeps the alpaca?"


    While there were many people in the neighborhood and Austin didn''t know all of them, the one with


    the alpaca was unforgettable.


    "That''s the Riley family. They made their fortune in the appliance industry. Do you remember the


    fresh water and ice during the heatwave? That was bought by the Rileys for their daughter''s pool


    party."


    A pool party? How could Ste forget? If it wasn''t for the expansion of Arcadia, that deal would


    never have happened. It seemed that the Riley family was quite powerful.


    "They''re on theirst legs," Austin said without hiding anything. "After the apocalypse, the Riley


    family gradually declined. The reason they splurged on a pool party during the heatwave was just to


    show off and find a good match for their daughter."


    To find a match for Julia? Ste thought of Julia''s flirtatious behavior towards Bran. Indeed, Bran


    was a golden bachelor. But it seemed like she hadn''t hooked him yet.


    Ste wanted to ask more about the Riley family, but in the end, she didn''t.


    For the next few days, she didn''t leave the house.


    In Arcadia, the majority of the herbs had established themselves firmly. Those needing grafting were


    diligently grafted, those requiring division were carefully divided, and the ready for harvesting were


    promptly reaped. Ste busied herself, dividing the backyard greenhouse into two sections. One for


    raising chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits, and one for growing vegetables and grains.


    The outside was taken care of by the Jasper and Rosie, with the dog often causing trouble on the


    side. Dn woulde over to help from time to time.


    Sensing his love for small creatures, Ste gifted him a pair of rabbits. "Take good care of them, and


    if you have any questions, ask Rosie," she instructed.


    Dn''s face lit up with joy. "Thanks, Ste," he replied enthusiastically.


    The sshouse on the rooftop served as a herb garden, filled with a variety of nts.


    Ste had ns. Once the nts grew a bit more robust, she would try to move them to the


    backyard, testing their resilience against extreme weather conditions. Then, she wouldpare


    them to the herbs in Arcadia, checking for any signs of mutation.


    While having lunch, a piece of news caught their attention.