Apocalypse Queen: My Space, My Rules Chapter 196: Midnight Deals

"This is happening too fast. I'm not ready yet." He turned away to refuse.

Mariella grabbed the awkward man's large hand and coaxed him gently. "I'll take responsibility for you."

Chandler was a little tempted, but still held his line. "I don't want something unclear and without status like this."

Mariella asked, "Then what do you want?"

"Announce our relationship to the team yourself." The man clearly knew how to seize the right moment to fight for status.

He didn't want to keep carrying the label of a "favored pet" or "boy toy" under his boss, being pointed at by teammates. He needed her to publicly admit they were a proper couple.

Mariella playfully stepped on his foot and stood on tiptoe to kiss him.

His strong arms tightened slightly and lifted her up.

Mariella leaned into his embrace, breathing in his faint, dangerous scent, her thoughts drifting.

He carried her into the bathroom, turned on the shower, then stepped out and even closed the door for her.

Mariella sighed.

This infuriatingly unyielding man.

...

The two of them swept through all the gas stations in Liraelith and confirmed there were no remaining supplies. Chandler then flew the helicopter toward the neighboring Jaranda.

This time, they didn't just search gas stations, but they also found a medium-sized liquefied gas depot.

After blasting the entrance clean with high-pressure water, the buried sign of the gas depot finally emerged from the mud.

Chandler broke the lock and forced the door open. Mariella followed closely behind.

Inside the warehouse were over a thousand 110 lbs gas cylinders. Once filled, they were weighing around 220 lbs.

Mariella rubbed her hands together in excitement. She had hit it big again.

With this batch of gas cylinders, she wouldn't have to worry about fuel anywhere she went.

Collect, collect, collect... She went into full hoarding mode, storing cylinder after cylinder in her space.

Because they were highly flammable and explosive, she stored them all in the static zone of the storage space.

When she got tired, she leaned against Chandler's chest to rest.

Once recovered, she continued the frantic collection.

After nearly half an hour, all the gas cylinders were finally stored away.

Oxygen supplies ran out, and Chandler pulled her up to the surface.

Mariella retrieved the speedboat from her space, and they climbed aboard.

Dusk was falling, signalling that another day of intense labor was coming to an end.

Chandler quickly removed his diving suit. After finishing, he helped her take hers off as well.

Mariella casually let him do it while she checked the latest updates from the Celestine Ridge homeowner group chat.

"Hmm? Tigre collapsed this fast?"

She sounded disappointed.

Chandler folded their diving gear and organized the oxygen tanks and masks, signaling her to store them away.

"Is Celestine Ridge about to fight again?" he asked.

Mariella put away the supplies from the speedboat and replied, "Tigre held out for two days and two nights, but the Black Bear broke through No. 101 just now. Black Bear will probably spend tonight looting and enjoying the spoils. He won't have time to bother other residents."

Chandler thought for a moment. "Then tonight is the perfect time for us to act."

Mariella's eyes lit up, and she gave him a thumbs-up. "As expected of a retired special forces soldier. Your combat sense and judgment are far beyond those of ordinary people."

Chandler's lips curved slightly again.

Actually, she was a warm and bright person.

Being near her—whether as her employee, teammate, or boyfriend—was unexpectedly a kind of happiness.

"Then we move?"

"Then we move."

...

Black Bear finally took No. 101 and turned Tigre's corpse into a sieve.

Tigre's remaining followers immediately surrendered as well.

Black Bear was best at poaching manpower, and after heavy losses in Celestine Ridge and the raid on the villa estate, he urgently needed new fighters and cannon fodder.

He happily absorbed the surrendered men and also took the women.

Most of the women Tigre had captured were wives of villa owners in Celestine Ridge, along with some young maids.

One of them was Roxanna.

Black Bear slapped her hard and laughed. "Your boyfriend already works for me. From now on, you two will serve me together!"

Mariella was certain that these criminals were like pigs who could never have enough indulgence.

After taking No. 101, their first priority would be pleasure and looting. The night would likely be long and chaotic.

So she and Chandler rested in the first half of the night.

At two in the morning, they woke fully refreshed in the storage space. After washing up and equipping full gear, they left the space and drove the speedboat back toward Celestine Ridge.