Chapter 284: Chapter 284: Wiping
But that wasn’t going to happen. The staircase was short, and he soon reached the second floor. Two kittens rushed over and started biting at his pant legs.
Frost Shaw ignored them and continued forward, still carrying Lily Hart. He lifted her comforter, gently placed her on the bed, and then carefully took off her shoes and socks.
He stood by the bed for a long time before finally turning and heading to the bathroom.
He hesitated in front of three towels for a long while before finally pulling out a face cloth. He wet it with warm water, intending to wipe her face and hands.
He returned to the bedside and saw that she had rolled over, her back now facing him. She was curled into a small ball under the covers, looking inexplicably cute.
He knelt, one knee on the floor, and gently turned her to face him. His movements were exceptionally gentle as he wiped her face and hands with the warm, damp cloth.
But Lily Hart still felt the discomfort. It felt like something damp was rubbing against her face. She tried to push it away with a weak hand, letting out a kitten-like whimper. "Don’t..."
Frost Shaw effortlessly caught both of her wrists with one hand. With the other, he used the face cloth to wipe her ears, neck, eyes, mouth, and nose.
He then got a fresh cloth, wet it with warm water, and carefully wiped her down again. After repeating this two or three times, Frost Shaw was finally satisfied.
Her face and hands were finally clean.
He tucked the restless Lily Hart back under the covers, then squatted by the bed, his hands folded over his knees. He watched her quietly for a moment, but the kittens at his feet were also getting restless, meowing incessantly.
With no other choice, Frost Shaw reluctantly headed downstairs.
He found that everyone else had left; only Roman Rowe remained. Outside, the sky was growing dark, and the rain was still falling. It was as if the sky had torn open and couldn’t stop.
"You haven’t left yet?" Frost Shaw asked, taking a seat beside him.
"What took you so long to come down?" Roman Rowe countered with a question of his own.
Frost Shaw fell silent. ’How am I supposed to answer that?’ he thought. ’I can’t just say I was washing Lily Hart’s face and hands. It would sound like I was taking advantage of her.’
Roman Rowe let out a soft chuckle. A strange silence fell between them. It was as if they both knew what the other was thinking, but neither wanted to be the one to say it out loud.
"Let’s go. Time to head back," Frost Shaw said nonchalantly, changing the subject. Roman Rowe didn’t press the issue. He followed Frost Shaw out of the RV, closing the door behind them.
The rain continued well into the evening. Fortunately, the RV was parked on high ground, and being on wheels, it wasn’t greatly affected.
The convenience store, bathhouse, factory, and hotel, however, were on the verge of flooding.
Lily Hart had preemptively bought a large pile of waterproof sandbags from the Mall and had the people there put them up around their own entrances.
That problem was easily solved, but the situation at Central Command was another matter entirely.
Elder Shaw had just returned from the residential area, fuming. The injured survivors had all been settled.
There was no time to deal with the collapsed houses yet; the survivors from that area had all been relocated.
Over the course of the day, several buildings had collapsed one after another—and they were all newly constructed just last year.
The other leaders acted as if nothing had happened, merely sending their assistants or trusted subordinates to offer a few words of consolation.
Elder Shaw had been running around all by himself—arranging for the injured, relocating survivors, digging the dead out from the rubble, and having the bodies carted off for cremation.
After all that, there were still the houses to repair. It was a mountain of work, and the more he did, the angrier he became—and the more signs of corruption he uncovered.
He immediately called a meeting, and the heads of every department, large and small, attended.
The other leaders sauntered in late, and their lazy, nonchalant attitude irritated him.
Elder Shaw slammed his hand on the table in a fit of rage. "Rainy days are perfect for a good nap, aren’t they?" he sneered. "Or are you all just pretending not to know about the disaster that happened today?!"
Chad Yates responded dismissively, "What’s done is done. What’s the point of playing the blame game now?"
Steven Gibbs added with contempt, "It was just a few ordinary survivors. They’re dead, so what?"
Brian Booker and Lena Corbin said nothing, but their expressions said it all: they couldn’t be bothered.
It was a callous way to think, but it was the truth. No one in power actually cared about the lives of ordinary survivors.
Looking at their lazy, indifferent faces, Elder Shaw suddenly felt a wave of despair.
’A few survivors?’ he thought. ’That was over a hundred human lives!’
’Every single one of them is less sensible than my own grandson! At least Fred knew to come and save me when I was kidnapped!’
’This is completely pointless,’ Elder Shaw thought.
Logan Holland dared to mediate. "I don’t think this rain is going to stop anytime soon. We need to take some protective measures. We should be using waterproof sandbags and the like."
Yael Lowell added, "He’s right. The rain is constant and the temperature is dropping. A flu outbreak is inevitable. We also need to dispose of the bodies quickly, or we’ll risk a viral outbreak."
Another department head spoke up. "We also need to watch the river that runs through the command center. We have to prevent the water level from getting too high and flooding the surrounding buildings."
These three were at least making some sense. Elder Shaw nodded. "Fine. You’re in charge of it."
Just then, Brian Booker spoke up. "And how do you propose to handle it? You’ll need medicine, won’t you? We don’t have enough for you to just squander it! As for waterproof sandbags, there aren’t many in the warehouse. Once they’re gone, they’re gone."
Chad Yates chimed in, "If you ask me, we should just quarantine them and call it a day."
Logan Holland and Yael Lowell were speechless.
’So they finally speak up when their own interests are on the line,’ they thought. ’Funny how they were all mute before.’
Elder Shaw ignored the two women. Behind them were the O’Malley Family and the White Family, both of whom were suppliers of medicine to Central Command.
Not that they provided it for free, of course. Central Command had to purchase it all with Crystal Cores.
He addressed Logan Holland and Yael Lowell directly. "You two take some people to the warehouse. Register whatever you need."
Conveniently, Yael Lowell was the head of the logistics department, which simplified matters.
Chad Yates shot to his feet. "I already told you! Just quarantine them! Why waste so many resources trying to save them?"
Brian Booker sneered. "You can’t just use supplies whenever you feel like it. You have to submit a written request, and it requires the approval of all five leaders."
"..." Elder Shaw’s hands trembled with rage. He was rendered speechless by their utter shamelessness.
He dropped the subject for a moment and turned his attention to Brian Booker. "I seem to recall approving a very large budget last year for the construction of housing in the residential area. How is it that they collapsed so easily?"
Brian Booker’s smile froze. A murderous glint flashed in her eyes before she instantly composed herself.
She shrugged. "With that measly budget? What did you expect?" she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You want quality construction, but you don’t want to pay for it. Where do you think you’re going to find a deal like that?"
At first glance, her argument seemed to have no flaws.
But Elder Shaw clearly remembered that the budget hadn’t been small at all. It was at least one hundred thousand Crystal Cores, and what’s more, the bricks had been ready-made and brought in from the outside.
He couldn’t be bothered to argue about it anymore. He just said, "Logan Holland and Yael Lowell, you are responsible for handling the residential aftermath. Peter Sharp, you’re in charge of the sandbags."
"I don’t want to hear any more reports of casualties or collapsed buildings," Elder Shaw stated, then turned and walked straight out of the room.
Brian Booker stomped her foot in fury. She knew that once Elder Shaw set his mind to something, he would see it through—and as for needing the leaders’ signed approval, he would definitely bypass that step entirely!
Logan Holland and Yael Lowell exchanged a look. They both decided to follow Elder Shaw’s orders. Calling over Peter Sharp, they left the conference room together to begin their work in earnest.
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