She Quit Her Family and Found Herself novel Chapter 228

Staring at the device in his hands, Zane felt so ashamed he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

Desmond's face flushed deep red as he recalled slamming his hands on the table and glaring at her that first night. Looking at Hulda now, he felt incredibly small.

"Desmond, these are for your team. I'll hold a training session on how to use them later," she said.

Afterward, Desmond and his team went back to dealing with the displaced residents and relief efforts. Hulda, meanwhile, took her team to train the local personnel while simultaneously scouting locations for the new monitoring stations.

It was a busy morning. After a quick cup of instant noodles at the guesthouse, she went for a walk alone.

Partly to digest her lunch, and partly to survey the town's current state.

Without realizing it, she wandered toward the elementary school. It was the only school in the impoverished town and was currently serving as a makeshift shelter for yesterday's evacuees.

Since it was lunchtime, two massive cauldrons were set up on the dirt playground—one filled with rice, the other with stew. The displaced villagers were lined up orderly to get their food.

Walking into the yard, she spotted Desmond nearby and asked if he needed any help.

He smiled and waved her off. "Nothing major here. The folks who had relatives to stay with already left. The ones here have nowhere else to go. School's out right now anyway, so they're crashing here. We're providing food and shelter, so it's under control."

She looked at him. Though he was smiling, the deep worry in his eyes was impossible to hide. "What about the reconstruction? When does that start?"

Most of these people had lost their homes. As lifelong farmers, without their houses, they practically had nothing left.

She had hit the nail on the head. Desmond's smile faded. "We're just waiting on the funding right now."

"Don't worry. A disaster this size won't be ignored. The money will come through soon."

Once the media picked up a disaster of this scale, it would grab national attention. Charitable donations would quickly pour in from everywhere.

Last night, she had already briefed Dr. Lowe about the situation. He assured her the Institute would organize a massive donation drive to support the town.

She fully intended to dip into her own savings to contribute under the Institute's name as well.

After a brief chat, Desmond received a notification about incoming funds and hurried off, looking ecstatic.

It was the first time she had ever seen a child react with such intense, ingrained combativeness. Her heart twisted. "Don't be scared," she said, her voice softening. "We met yesterday."

The kid said nothing, simply squatting back down to pick at the dirt.

Seeing the child relax a little, Hulda asked, "Where's your grandma?"

Yesterday, this kid hadn't left the old woman's side for a second.

But the child refused to answer.

Just then, a villager walked by. "You're one of the helpers from the city, right? Miss, don't bother with that one. Mean as a snake. That whole family is trash."

At the villager's words, the child's hands froze in the dirt. The muddy face hid any expression, but the tiny mouth clamped tightly shut.

She recalled the kids on the bus yesterday telling everyone to stay away from the one named Kit.