In the group chat, the discussion about the situation was still raging. Everyone was agitated, cursing this damn weather.

But if one looked closely, they would notice that a few families who were usually active had gone silent. Stella Sterling stood by the window, binoculars in hand, watching the figures leaving the complex in the dead of night. She raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Starting today, the main gate is sealed shut. If anyone dares to force their way in, things will get interesting!"

She chuckled, her steps light as she returned inside. She wasn’t anxious at all; in fact, she felt a little excited.

That night, many were destined for a sleepless night.

Many people, slow on the uptake, rushed to the supermarket overnight, hoping to buy more supplies. As a result, the group chat fell quiet again.

That night, many people went out, and the residential complex fell into silence. Meanwhile, the snow continued to fall furiously, showing signs of getting even heavier.

The blizzard was so fierce, it felt like it could knock a person right off their feet. A single step would bury one’s leg up to the shin, making every movement an immense struggle.

Under normal circumstances, no one would venture out in such conditions. But today, everyone except the elderly and children was heading outside.

No matter how bad the blizzard was today, there was still a chance of buying something. If they waited any longer, they wouldn’t be able to buy anything at all.

Who knew when this snow would stop, or when the supermarkets would operate normally again?

Stella Sterling went to bed without a worry. When she woke up the next day, she noticed that the people who had left the complex last night hadn’t returned. It wasn’t until almost noon that a group finally came back.

Looking through her binoculars, she could clearly see their faces were dark and bruised from the cold, and their hands were completely empty.

Those people entered the complex, climbing in through a third-floor window. After a moment of silence, someone let out a wail, "It’s all gone! There’s nothing left! We don’t have anything stored at home! What are we going to do now!"

Everyone who went out returned empty-handed. Their faces were grim. Before, no matter how bad it got, they could still buy a few things. Now, there was nothing, as if all hope had been extinguished.

WAAAAH!

Suddenly, someone started to cry, their sobs filled with heartbroken despair. Everyone had been worried about not getting any supplies, but this person’s cries stunned them into silence.

Someone comforted the weeping woman, "Hey, don’t cry. So we didn’t get anything. We all have at least a little something in our fridges. Life will be tough, but we can hold on. In a situation like this, the government won’t abandon us. You don’t have to worry too much!"

One by one, they all tried to comfort her, but the woman only cried even more sorrowfully.

Finally, through her broken sobs, they pieced together why she was crying so hysterically.

When her husband went out last night, he suddenly collapsed. The emergency line wouldn’t connect. She tried to carry him to the hospital on her own, but she could barely walk herself. After just a few steps with him on her back, she collapsed too. She had to watch her own husband die, and she couldn’t even bring his body back.

The only reason she made it back at all was by stumbling and falling the entire way. Now she was soaked to the bone, looking utterly wretched.

After hearing her story, everyone fell silent, not knowing how to comfort her.

A panic was now spreading through their hearts. Venturing out in such a huge blizzard was always risky, but they’d been lulled into a false sense of security since the last few times had been uneventful. Now that someone had died, they were afraid, worried that if they went out, they might not come back.

As things stood, no one was selling anything outside anymore. The last supermarket had finally given up and closed its doors. No one was going to risk going out again.

Now, all they could do was rely on their stored food and wait for the snow to stop.

With heavy hearts, everyone returned to their own homes.

Stella Sterling hadn’t witnessed any of this firsthand; River Larkin had told her everything.

Stella Sterling remained silent. ’The beginning of the apocalypse is destined to be the beginning of one tragedy after another. I’m powerless to stop it; I can only seek to protect myself.’

The Sterling Family didn’t call again. It wasn’t because they had given up, but because she had blocked their number again.

She looked at the monitor in her hand. A few days ago, Yara Sterling’s location had still been moving slowly toward Mirefall. But today, her position hadn’t moved at all.

’Could she really be that useless? Did she just freeze to death?’

A question formed in her mind. ’If she died just like that, it would be letting Yara Sterling off way too easily. And a waste of the little something I left for her.’

’Right now, I desperately hope she’s still alive. After all, you have to be alive to keep suffering.’

It wasn’t until evening that she saw the black dot representing Yara Sterling start moving again, which put her somewhat at ease. But just then, her vision suddenly went dark. The living room light went out, and at the same time, the temperature in the room began to drop. Stella Sterling felt a chill.

’The power’s out!’ 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Her heart skipped a beat, but then she calmly accepted it. She quickly grabbed her coat and put it on, then took out the expensive, silent generator she had bought. A moment later, the power in her apartment was restored, and the air conditioner kicked back on.

Stella Sterling kept the lights on in her room, but the curtains were drawn tightly, not letting a single sliver of light escape.

Her apartment had been modified. As long as she wanted, it was impossible for anyone outside to know what was going on inside. So, she could use her electricity without any worries.

The WeChat group started buzzing again. She lay down in bed, pulled the covers up, and read the messages.

2809: "We lost power! Is it just my apartment’s circuit, or is everyone’s power out?"

2708: "My power’s out too!"

2408: "Looks like everyone’s out. What’s going on? A power outage in this weather? This is going to kill people!"

2809: "@Property Management, you need to fix this now! We can’t run the heat without electricity! We’re literally going to freeze to death!"

All the homeowners started tagging the property management. Ms. Larkin replied in the group: "Everyone, please don’t panic. We’re sending someone to check on the situation right away!"

The group chat once again filled with complaints, with everyone talking about how cold it was.

In temperatures of more than thirty degrees below zero, having no heat was no joke. Every moment was agonizing. Everyone in the group chat kept pressuring the property management.

Stella Sterling saw someone post a picture of themselves at home, buried under several layers of blankets. Others were exercising, and some were huddling together for warmth. Everyone was trying to find ways to fight off the cold. As people started copying these ideas, the atmosphere in the chat slowly eased a little.

Until, property management sent out a notice in the group: "Dear residents, the cause of the power outage has been preliminarily identified as an external issue, not a problem with our complex’s wiring. As far as we know, other areas have also lost power. It will likely take until tomorrow to be fixed. For tonight, please everyone try to find ways to stay warm. The power should be repaired by tomorrow!"

The moment this message was posted, the group chat went silent for two seconds. Two seconds later, messages began to flood in, all of them curses and insults.