An hour later, the car drove away from the bustling Manhattan, crossed the congested bridge, and entered Queens.
The streets here became noticeably narrower and more crowded, and the buildings on both sides of the road changed from skyscrapers to old-fashioned row-house red brick apartments.
The walls were covered in colorful graffiti, and garbage bags that hadn't been cleared away piled up on the roadside.
A ragged homeless man pushed a supermarket cart full of his belongings, staring blankly at the traffic.
At the entrance of the pharmacy on the corner, several gaunt addicts stood in a strange, anti-joint posture, like zombies that had been pressed on the pause button.
"Roll up the window."
Aunt Sarah said suddenly and coldly.
"Don't stare at them. In Queens, eye contact sometimes means looking for trouble."
Alice obediently rolled up the window, cutting off the complex scent of marijuana, urine, and fried food outside.
Sarah slammed on the brakes, avoiding a drunkard crossing the street.
"We're here."
Sarah parked the car in front of a slightly dilapidated six-story apartment building.
Forest Hills.
The name sounded like a middle-class bourgeois community, but that was ancient history from decades ago.
Now, it was like a piece of moldy cheese; on the surface, it still maintained the decency of red-brick buildings, but inside, it was already riddled with holes.
Sarah pulled out her keys and pointed upstairs: "We live on the sixth floor. There's no elevator. I hope you developed some good stamina on that deserted island."
Alice followed Sarah up the dim and narrow stairs.
"Watch your step. Sometimes addicts hide in the stairwell to sleep. Don't step on any needles."
The sensor lights in the hallway were hit-or-miss, occasionally mixed with the sounds of neighbors arguing and babies crying.
"Hi, Sarah, night shift again tonight?"
A plump black woman on the third floor opened her door to take out the trash and greeted her warmly, then looked at Alice with curiosity.
"Is this that... the one from the news?"
"Yes, that's the unlucky one." Sarah replied crossly, dragging Alice quickly upstairs, clearly not wanting to face the neighbors' gossip.
Finally, they reached the sixth floor.
Sarah opened the paint-chipped dark green security door.
"Come in."
It was a standard two-bedroom apartment, and although old, it was kept very clean.
The living room was small, piled with various medical books and miscellaneous daily items, and a few unwashed Nurse uniforms were draped over the sofa.
"The room on the left is mine. Don't go in there."
Sarah pointed to a narrow wooden ladder at the end of the living room, which led to the attic.
"Your room is up there. It used to be a storage room. I moved the clutter. Although it's as hot as an oven in the summer and as cold as an ice cellar in the winter, at least it's a private space. And there's a skylight there; you can see the sky. If you're not afraid of heights, you can even climb onto the roof to get some air."
Alice climbed up the shaky wooden ladder to the attic.
The space was indeed very cramped, and the triangular roof pressed down very low, so anyone slightly taller couldn't stand straight.
Other than a cot, an old wardrobe, and a few cardboard boxes, there was nothing else in the room.
But as Sarah said, that palm-sized skylight faced the direction of Manhattan.
Through the dusty glass, one could see the Stark Tower standing in the center of the city from afar, and the huge STARK logo on it flickered with neon lights symbolizing wealth and technology in the night.
"The quilt is in the closet. It's a bit musty, so take it out and air it yourself."
Sarah's voice came from downstairs.
"There's leftover spaghetti in the fridge. Microwave it for two minutes and you can eat. I'm going to my night shift and won't be back until tomorrow morning. Remember to lock the door; the neighborhood isn't safe."
Immediately after, there was a bang of the door closing.
The apartment went quiet instantly.
Alice stood in the center of the narrow attic, looking at this simple new home.
"Phew..."
She let out a long breath. She didn't feel depressed; instead, she felt a sense of relief from being grounded.
"At least I don't have to worry about skeleton crawlers crawling out from under the bed in the middle of the night."
She took off her S.H.I.E.L.D. tracksuit jacket and hung it on the hanger, then threw herself heavily onto the hard cot.
The bed frame groaned in protest.
"System."
She whispered in her mind.
A translucent blue light screen that only she could see instantly appeared before her eyes.
[Host: Alice Mason]
[Cards Held: Kato Megumi, Mikasa Ackerman]
[System Credits: 0]
[Real-World Assets: 0]
Looking at those two zeros, Alice couldn't help but sigh.
Outside the window, there seemed to be some thugs arguing downstairs, and the sound of sirens could be faintly heard in the distance.
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