KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

’Strange, why isn’t anyone answering the door? Are they not home?’

A middle-aged woman stood at Stella Sterling’s door, ringing the doorbell and knocking, but no one answered.

She scratched her head, puzzled, and prepared to turn and leave.

"Ms. Larkin, my neighbor across the hall is home. I bet she’s just ignoring you on purpose."

The door to 2809 across the hall opened. Willow Young poked her head out and called to Ms. Larkin, who was about to leave.

"She’s home? Why wouldn’t she answer the door if she’s home?" Ms. Larkin frowned and walked back to Stella Sterling’s door. Willow Young came to her side. "Ms. Larkin, you have no idea how weird she is. She’s definitely not opening the door on purpose. Last time, her own mother fainted right at her doorstep, and she didn’t even care!"

"That’s unacceptable! We all live in the same complex. We can’t have people acting like that. We have to stick together to get through these difficult times. If everyone only thinks about themselves, then what’s the point?"

Ms. Larkin said angrily, slapping her hands together with a loud WHAP, but there was still no response.

In truth, Stella Sterling wasn’t home. She had gone to the second floor, climbed out a hallway window, and left, treading on the snow.

She was bundled up from head to toe. She wore a thick hat, snow boots, and thermal underwear. She had heat packs stuck to her lower back and was wrapped in a long down jacket that reached her ankles.

The snow had temporarily stopped, and the ground was covered in a layer of ice. Stella Sterling moved nimbly along the road, unhindered by the frozen conditions.

After many years in the apocalypse, she was used to moving through such difficult environments and didn’t suffer from symptoms like shortness of breath.

Even at this hour and in these conditions, there were still people on the streets—young couples and groups of friends, playing joyfully in the snow as if celebrating the massive snowfall.

Mirefall rarely saw snow in winter. The children here had only ever seen it online, so this blizzard had them incredibly excited.

Although news reports today said that quite a few people had died because of the snow, now that it had stopped, everyone assumed the worst was over. Since it hadn’t happened to them personally, they didn’t give it much thought, and their playful moods were rekindled.

"Hey, pretty lady, out playing in the snow all by yourself? Wanna join us?"

Being alone, Stella Sterling easily attracted attention. Two men closed in and blocked her path.

Stella Sterling looked up at them. "Play? I like to play with death. Do you?"

In the dead of night, Stella Sterling’s words sent a shiver down the two men’s spines. They stared into her smiling eyes, which now seemed utterly bizarre.

The two were just local punks, lecherous but cowardly. Seeing the situation, any lustful thoughts they had vanished instantly.

"Turns out she’s a psycho! Let’s go, let’s go!"

The two of them tugged at each other and hurried off in another direction without looking back at Stella Sterling.

’Two wimps. Count yourselves lucky.’

Scoffing, Stella Sterling slid the dagger that had been peeking from her sleeve back inside and continued on in a different direction.

Meanwhile, the two punks were still staring after Stella Sterling. "She’s so gorgeous, too bad she’s a psycho!"

"Pfft, why are you such a coward? So what if she’s a psycho? It’s not like we couldn’t have had some fun. Look at you, scared stiff!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Like you weren’t scared! If you weren’t scared, why did you walk away so fast?"

"I was just looking out for you, okay? But seriously, that chick was creepy. Talking about playing with death... I looked into her eyes, and even though she was smiling, it felt like she was going to eat me alive!"

...

Once she reached a deserted area, Stella Sterling pulled a snowmobile out of her space and rode it toward the Sterling Family’s villa. After entering her space, she could move, but only over short distances. This method was decent for ambushes, but it was too slow for travel. A vehicle was much faster.

Over the past few days, she had used her connection with Mr. Cheney to buy plenty of vehicles suited for all kinds of environments.

It was over thirty degrees below zero. As she rode, the wind howled in her ears, making her face ache. Even with a cold-proof face mask, her exposed skin stung sharply.

But Stella Sterling felt no pain. Instead, the smile in her eyes grew more excited, and the snowmobile’s speed increased, as if cheering, as if venting—

’The apocalypse... it’s finally here.’

Stella Sterling had to admit that she had been looking forward to this inevitable apocalypse.

Having grown accustomed to the kill-or-be-killed chaos of the apocalypse, her way of doing things was hard to change. She could no longer be a normal person living in peace. The laws of survival in the end times suited her better.

’I said before that I had a big gift for Yara Sterling, and now, it’s finally time to deliver it.’

She knew that compared to her past self, who had suffered from the very beginning of the apocalypse, Yara Sterling had lived quite comfortably in the initial stages thanks to the Sterling Family.

’In this life, it’s her turn to get a taste of suffering.’

The snowmobile reached the outskirts of the Sterling Family’s villa. She entered her space, vehicle and all. In the security booth, Cole Holden was still dutifully on watch in this weather, shivering as he huddled by a stove.

Stella Sterling slipped into the villa complex undetected, but she could hear the guard’s quiet complaints...

When she snuck into the Sterling villa, most of the Sterling family were already asleep, but Mr. Quinn was still in the study on the phone. She heard him arranging for a shipment of supplies.

Marcus Sterling had been in the business world for many years and was quite sharp. Sensing that this blizzard was unusual, he had already begun to prepare.

Stella Sterling knew Mr. Quinn’s actions were correct. Soon, money and connections would be useless, and it would be impossible to get supplies.

It was precisely that batch of supplies that allowed the Sterling Family to hold out for a long time. The families that reacted more slowly weren’t as lucky.

She shook her head, left the study, and crept toward Yara Sterling’s room, slipping inside without a sound.

Yara Sterling was already asleep. The apocalypse had just begun, and she remained untroubled by it, even smiling in her pleasant dreams.

Stella Sterling moved forward and roughly clamped a cloth soaked in a knockout drug over Yara’s mouth. The dreaming Yara Sterling struggled twice before going still. Stella shoved her into her space. As she was about to leave the room, she noticed a file on the desk.

Her name, Stella Sterling, was on it.

After a moment’s thought, she took the file into her space, planning to examine it more closely later. Once that was done, she left the villa complex the same way she had entered, then got back on her snowmobile and sped toward the outskirts of the city—

’A frozen wasteland, starting your apocalyptic journey of survival all alone. This is my doomsday gift to you. Look forward to it, Yara Sterling!’

’I’m sure she’ll absolutely love the gift I’ve given her!’