The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Eleanor drove a brand-new truck carrying Celine straight to the city's secondhand bicycle market.
Deep inside the market, a shop with the sign "Fang's Bike Shop" was especially busy.
The shop owner was a man in his forties named Fang. He was slightly overweight and always wore a friendly smile, showing both cleverness and straightforwardness.
"Boss Fang, I need a thousand secondhand bikes, mainly mountain bikes, strong and durable ones!" Eleanor said directly.
Fang was explaining a nearly new electric bike to a customer when he heard this and paused, his eyes lighting up.
He handed his work to an employee and warmly came over.
"Whoa! A thousand bikes? Brother, that's a big order!"
He was excited but also a bit worried.
"To be honest, I only have about two hundred bikes in stock, all in good condition, but a thousand…"
Celine spoke calmly, "Boss Fang, we need them urgently. Money is not a problem. As long as the bikes are in good condition and the price is fair. You have wide connections. Can you help us figure this out?"
"All right, no problem!"
Fang saw Celine was serious and steady, so he immediately patted his chest.
"Don't worry, I've been in this business for over ten years here. I know many people in the trade. I'll start contacting them right away!"
He picked up the old landline phone on the counter and started making call after call.
His voice was loud and confident, clearly very well connected.
"Hey, Old Li? It's Fang. Do you have a batch of mountain bikes to sell? Big quantity!"
"Hey, Xiao Wang, how much stock do you have? I have a big client here."
Two or three hours passed. Fang was busy inside his small shop, making call after call, his throat almost hoarse.
Eleanor and Celine were not idle either. They helped inspect and count the bikes already gathered, checking their condition.
To their surprise, thanks to Fang's tireless efforts, by noon they had gathered the full thousand bikes.
And the price was fair. No price hike just because it was a big and urgent order.
Seeing Fang sweating heavily, his shirt soaked at the back, Celine silently approved.
This guy was reliable.
She took out a thick stack of cash from her bag and handed it over.
"Boss Fang, thank you for your hard work. This is your commission for the help."
In both the Qin dynasty and the post-apocalyptic world, bicycles were in high demand. They need no fuel and are easy and quick to use.
Celine thought it was important to build a good, trustworthy supply channel in advance.
"Hey, young lady, what is this for?" Fang hurriedly waved his hand, pushing the money back with a sincere smile.
"We agreed that helping means helping. I cannot accept this money."
"I have already earned enough from this big deal. I will not take any more from you."
He was firm and refused to take it.
Eleanor saw clearly and understood Fang was sincere, not just polite words.
Without a word, she went out of the shop and soon came back holding a brand-new pack of "Hong Liqun" cigarettes, putting it directly into Fang's hands.
"Boss Fang, if you won't take money, at least accept these cigarettes. Otherwise, we will feel bad."
Eleanor's tone was clear and firm, leaving no room for refusal.
Shop Owner Hui looked at the cigarettes in his arms, then at the sincere eyes of Celine and Eleanor. He hesitated for a moment, then laughed heartily and patted Eleanor's shoulder.
"Alright! Since you brothers are so straightforward, I'll take these cigarettes!"
"If you need anything else, just say the word!"
"I won't make promises I can't keep, but around the city and suburbs, if it's about cars, I still know a few things and some people!"
This was exactly what Celine wanted.
She immediately took over the conversation, her smile becoming more genuine.
"That's great! To be honest, Shop Owner Hui, we might need more cars later, possibly all kinds."
"If you can, please keep an eye out and prepare some stock in advance."
"No problem! Consider it done!" Shop Owner Hui agreed at once, feeling interested.
This brother and sister were spending freely, asking for many cars urgently, definitely not for ordinary use—they seemed like big clients!
After settling the details for future pickups, Celine and Eleanor drove the pickup truck, loading the first batch of checked bicycles and heading back.
The vehicle moved along the riverside highway connecting the city and the old house. The afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows, warm and gentle.
Suddenly—
An unexpected change happened!
Not far ahead, a black Hongqi sedan sped wildly like a runaway horse, swaying dangerously at a terrifying speed!
"Screech—!"
The harsh sound of tires scraping echoed as the black Hongqi lost control, smashing through the half-person-high metal guardrail beside the road!
"Bang!"
A loud crash!
Celine and Eleanor stared in horror as the expensive black car plunged like a broken kite into the raging river beside the road!
"Boom—"
A huge splash shot up, the car instantly swallowed by the muddy water, leaving only bubbles rising on the surface and rapidly spreading ripples!
"Brother! Stop the car quickly!" Celine shouted sharply, her heart tightening.
This was river water!
Falling in meant almost certain death!
No time to think!
Eleanor swerved hard, stopping the pickup safely on the roadside.
Both pushed open the doors almost at the same time, glanced at the sinking car, and without hesitation—
"Plop!"
"Plop!"
Two figures leapt like arrows into the cold, rushing river!
They were going to save the person!
The summer river water was still icy cold, making Eleanor and Celine shiver.
The six siblings, except for the youngest Minoo, grew up by the river and all were excellent swimmers.
But this river was at the brink of flood season, with strong, rushing currents and hidden undertows. Even they dared not be careless.
Almost at the same moment, both sensed something was wrong!
The expected heaviness and water resistance seemed much lighter. Their bodies felt as if freed from some binding, becoming unusually light!
Splash!
Eleanor broke the surface like a fish and dove straight toward the sinking car.
He was surprised to find that every stroke and kick in the water gave him explosive strength. Swimming felt effortless!
For a moment, he felt like a river dolphin riding the waves, naturally controlling the currents!
Celine followed closely, feeling the same clearly.
She noticed not only her swimming speed was far faster than usual, but strangely, holding her breath underwater for a long time didn't make her chest tight or short of air. It felt as if her lung capacity had suddenly increased many times!
Was it just an illusion?
Or was her body changing because of the crystal core?
No time to think!
Eleanor reached the sinking red flag car first.
Half the car was already submerged in the murky water. The cold river water was pouring in through the broken windows, and the water level inside was rising fast, about to completely engulf the unconscious figures trapped inside!
The situation was critical!
Holding his breath, Eleanor grabbed the driver's door handle, muscles tense, and pulled hard—
"Hm?"
Unexpectedly, the solid car door didn't budge. Instead, the extremely heavy red flag car itself was dragged through the water by his force!
Eleanor's eyes widened.
The water's resistance... had not weakened his strength?!
At that moment, Celine swam up.
Seeing Eleanor's action and the car moving slightly underwater, she immediately understood.
That familiar lightness and power from deep in the soul was just like the feeling when moving supplies in the space!
Eleanor gave up trying to open the door and grabbed the front bumper, signaling with his eyes.
No need for words! The silent understanding formed between the two after years as siblings showed perfectly now!
Celine quickly swam to the rear and grabbed the back bumper tightly.
"One, two, three, pull!" Eleanor counted silently.
They both exerted force at the same time!
The extraordinary strength in the water gathered and exploded beyond normal human limits!
An incredible scene unfolded!
That red flag car weighing at least one and a half tons, under their combined pull, actually moved little by little like a large toy, pushed against the rushing current, dragging toward the shallow riverbank!
This would have sounded like pure nonsense on a normal day.
Soon, the soaked front of the car was pulled onto the shallow bank covered in pebbles.
Splash.
Eleanor didn't hesitate. He used all his strength to pull open the car door, which had already been bent out of shape.
A rush of dirty river water poured out, carrying a strong smell of gasoline.
He quickly leaned inside and pulled out the people inside, one by one. They were all unconscious from swallowing water. He dragged them onto the grass by the riverbank where it was safer.
There were three people in total, two men and one woman, all around forty or fifty years old.
When Celine saw what they were wearing, her eyes narrowed.
All of them were dressed in neatly ironed dark gray uniforms. Even though the clothes were soaked, the clean cuts and collars still showed their identities.
What stood out even more was that one of the middle-aged men had a bright red party badge pinned above his chest pocket. Even after being washed by the river, it was still clearly visible.
"Government people?" Celine whispered to herself.
Just as the thought crossed her mind
Beep. Beep beep beep.
Suddenly, loud and urgent honking came from the highway in the distance.
And it wasn't just one car.
The sound came closer quickly, filled with an urgent, powerful roar of engines moving at high speed. They were heading straight in their direction.
Celine and Eleanor looked at each other. In that moment, they both saw the same alertness and seriousness in each other's eyes.
This was not a simple situation.
Government officials, a strange crash in an area without surveillance, and now this sudden arrival of an unknown group of fast-moving vehicles
Everything gave off a strong feeling of danger and conspiracy.
"Eleanor. Quick. Get them into our truck," Celine said urgently, lowering her voice.
"Understood."
Eleanor moved fast. His strong body made him quick and steady.
He bent down and lifted the middle-aged man with the party badge. With a few large steps, he carried him back to their parked truck and gently placed him in the back.
While he was doing that, Celine didn't waste a second. Her sharp eyes locked onto the black sedan still half-soaked in the water.
With a thought, she made the black car vanish into her secret space.
She had to remove the most obvious evidence.
Whether it was the lessons from her past life or the strange events of this one, Celine and her brother both felt it deeply
This mess was not something they could get involved in yet.
At least not before they understood what was really going on.
And definitely not while they were still exposed out in the open.