When the World Ends, She Begins novel Chapter 20

Tiffany's eyes burned with jealousy. Why? Why does she still look fresh-faced and healthy while I'm pale and skinny from barely scraping by?

Braxton thought for a moment. "She must have a huge stash of food at home ... "

The two shared a glance, greed flickering in their eyes.

Natalie, meanwhile, didn't care what anyone thought. She paddled her dinghy out of the complex, leaving them behind.

Outside, the water teemed with movement. Most people moved in small groups, breaking into high-rise buildings the second they spotted them.

Natalie steered clear of the crowds, heading toward quieter areas.

She didn't need food—her hidden stockpile could feed her for life.

She had a different goal: emerald.

If her storage space could be upgraded, she wanted it maxed out. The size was fine for now, but she had a feeling its true potential was far from tapped.

With the malls underwater, searching every jewelry counter for emerald pieces was too time-consuming.

She had scuba gear but no formal training—and repeated dives could only put her at a disadvantage.

So she had a better plan—hit one spot with a big haul all at once.

Earlier that year, Broadview District had hosted an Emerald Gambling Expo—buying uncut stones and hoping for a valuable emerald inside.

Natalie headed straight for Sunshine Square in Broadview District.

It was a long trip, slowed by floating debris, and it took her hours to reach the area.

Broadview District sat on low ground. The area was full of six-story old buildings from the city's early days, now completely underwater.

No one bothered coming here to scavenge—too hard to get to, and too empty. The water was still, eerily quiet.

Natalie found the plaza's rough location, left Lucky on the dinghy, suited up, and slipped under.

She realized the plaza was still a block away underwater and quickly swam toward it.

On the east side was the expo site, complete with a ticket gate and turnstiles.

She swam right over and into the display area.

Natalie didn't know much about emeralds. The rough stones just looked like ordinary rocks to her—no way to tell good from bad by sight.

So she didn't even try guessing. She just stored them in her storage space one by one.

When a stone held a high-quality emerald, the storage space expanded noticeably. Poor-quality emerald barely made a difference.

Some had no emeralds at all—and the storage space refused to absorb them.

She smirked. Yep ... gambling on emerald is a gamble for a reason.

Did I hit the limit? No matter how much more emerald I take, it won't expand?

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