After leaving the city center, Stella Sterling found a spot under a bridge and put Yara Sterling down.

Many homeless people usually gathered here, but with the heavy snow, they were nowhere to be seen.

She put Yara Sterling down, thought for a moment, and then, out of a twisted sense of "kindness," found a ragged cloth to cover her. She also left her two steamed buns. She wanted to keep this person alive to suffer slowly. ’It wouldn’t be any fun if she died so quickly.’

After doing all this, Stella Sterling planted a tracking device on her. Only then did she get on her vehicle and head back toward Mirefall.

The snow started falling again along the way. By the time Stella Sterling got back to her residential community, a thin layer of ice had formed on her clothes, and her face was almost purple from the cold. She was shivering uncontrollably when she finally made it home.

It was freezing. Even though she was bundled up from head to toe, the chill from pushing forward against the wind and snow was still unbearable.

After this trip, she had no plans to go out again anytime soon. She decided to hole up at home, work out, and begin her life as a shut-in.

She had hoarded so many supplies precisely so she could now stay home with peace of mind, without having to risk her life for food.

After being so busy these past few days, she could finally relax and enjoy herself at home.

After getting home and washing up, Stella Sterling went straight to bed and fell asleep.

Perhaps it was because she’d gotten so cold earlier, or maybe because the uncertainties that had been plaguing her were finally resolved. Whatever the reason, she slept more deeply than she had in a long time.

She dreamed of many things. One moment, she was back in the apocalypse, reliving her years of bitter struggle. The next, she was dreaming of when she first returned to the Sterling Family.

When she woke up, she was covered in a cold sweat.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

An urgent knocking sounded from outside again. She shot up in bed, her irritation rising with every rap on the door. Jumping out of bed, she stormed over and yelled, "Knock, knock, knock! What’s with all the knocking? Don’t you people sleep this early in the morning?"

Her tone was aggressive, her eyes were bloodshot, and her hair was a mess.

The person at the door was startled and flinched. For a moment, they completely forgot what they had been about to say. Seeing Stella Sterling’s fierce expression, they didn’t dare continue. She just shook her head. "N-nothing. Sorry to bother you!"

SLAM—

Before she could even finish her sentence, the door was slammed shut. The person outside jumped again, suddenly glad she hadn’t said what she’d come to say.

’That young woman has a terrible temper. She’s clearly not someone to mess with.’

’Oh well. There are plenty of other people in the community; we don’t need her. I’ll just go ask someone else.’

With that thought, Ms. Larkin gave up on Stella Sterling and went to knock on the door across the hall.

Back inside, Stella Sterling tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t. Giving up, she got out of bed and went to wash up.

Her breakfast was simple: a piece of pan-fried bread and a boiled egg.

The internet was still flooded with news about the snowstorm. The snow had only paused for a short while yesterday before starting up again, causing serious disruptions to everyone’s lives.

People were still unable to leave their homes. Those who hadn’t stockpiled any food were starting to panic and were posting pleas for help online.

In the homeowners’ group chat, several households were also asking other residents for help.

The property management office had tagged her several times between last night and this morning, but she hadn’t responded. ’No wonder they came knocking just now.’

Just a moment ago, Ms. Larkin from property management had again asked all residents who were home to report their status in the group chat. She even asked how much food each household had stored, requesting they share some to help those who had none.

In the chat, residents were reporting their status and chiming in. Almost everyone living in the community had responded. She was the only one who hadn’t made a peep, which was why Ms. Larkin had come to her door personally.

Stella Sterling ignored it. She lived in this community, but she had no intention of getting involved with her neighbors, let alone "weathering the storm together."

’This so-called "mutual aid" is useless. When the food and power truly run out, these very same "neighbors" will be the first to turn on you.’

Therefore, she had no intention of participating in any collective action.

As for her neighbors, it would be best if they could coexist peacefully. If not, that was fine too. She was more than willing to be the villain.

At this thought, Stella Sterling stopped reading the messages and didn’t reply to the ones tagging her.

However, she didn’t leave the homeowners’ group chat. Although she was keeping a low profile, she was still closely monitoring everyone else’s messages to stay on top of the latest developments.

After breakfast, she took out a medical book and began to read. She had studied finance in college and had no medical background. But in her past life, she’d been injured countless times during the apocalypse. With no doctors available, she had to rely on herself, treating her own wounds and slowly picking up some basic knowledge of pharmacology.

In this life, while stockpiling supplies, she had bought numerous medical books and downloaded a great deal of medical information online, planning to teach herself.

’No matter how capable you are, you’re bound to get injured. Fights will be unavoidable, medical resources will be scarce, and doctors will be a luxury most people can’t afford. Rather than having to beg for help later, I’d better learn it myself now while I have the time.’

She didn’t need to become a brilliant doctor. It would be enough if she could just treat basic wounds, fevers, and colds.

For now, she started with basic medical theory. Once she had a solid grasp of that, she would practice giving injections on a medical mannequin.

She had already prepared all the necessary supplies when she first decided to study medicine.

Time flew, and the morning was soon over. She stood up to take a break and looked out the window.

Outside, a blanket of white covered everything. The snow was still falling. Amidst the blizzard, she could make out a few small, dark figures moving about. Stella Sterling grabbed her binoculars to get a closer look.

A few middle-aged men in ski gear were trudging through the snow, heading out of the community. Others without proper equipment were bundled up from head to toe. She watched as they all headed toward the nearby supermarket, likely hoping to buy some food.

With the snow falling this heavily, many people had already realized something was wrong and were starting to worry about food. The supermarket was still open, and though the journey was difficult, they could still manage to get some food back if they endured the hardship.

Who knew how much longer this snow would last? If it continued, going out would only become more difficult. Worse, if the snow got too heavy, the supermarkets would close down. That’s when things would get truly troublesome.

Stella Sterling lowered her binoculars. There weren’t many people outside, which meant few had thought this far ahead. Most of them either still had food stored away or were naively holding out hope that everything would go back to normal once the snow stopped, seeing no need to take such a risk.

’As expected, not enough people have a sense of crisis. But a sense of crisis alone isn’t enough. In the apocalypse, you also need the ability to protect yourself.’