"Larkin, stop playing dead in there! I know you’re home! If you had the guts to snitch on me, then have the balls to come out and fight! What kind of man hides away like that?!"

Outside, Bell was roaring furiously, pounding and kicking the door. One could only imagine how brutal he would be if River Larkin himself appeared before him.

River Larkin had grown used to this over the past few days. He knew they couldn’t get the door open, so he wasn’t too worried. He didn’t respond to the people outside; anyone who didn’t know better would have thought he wasn’t even home.

Even Bell outside was starting to think so. ’Did that Larkin guy run off when we left earlier? Is he too scared to come back?’

Inside his apartment, River Larkin was lost in thought. The commotion outside made it impossible for him to calm down, but he knew he had to figure something out. And right now, he was pinning all his hopes on Stella Sterling.

Just then, his gaze happened to land on the balcony window of the apartment across the hall—

That afternoon, Stella Sterling had nothing much to do. Tired of watching shows, she went to the window, took out a pair of binoculars, and looked toward Solara Plaza.

Amidst a vast expanse of white, countless, densely packed dark figures dotted the landscape. Unlike its previous desolation, the area was now filled with people bundled up to their eyeballs.

At that moment, she saw someone who had just collected their supplies standing rooted to the spot. It looked like they had started a conflict with the woman handing out the provisions, and the two were now arguing.

As they argued, the man started making trouble. He shoved the woman aside, snatched a pile of red bags, and turned to run. But the next moment, he was shot in the leg by Ethan Young and fell into the snow.

It wasn’t a fatal wound, but he was incapacitated.

This display terrified everyone else. They all fell in line, not daring to utter a single complaint.

Stella Sterling shifted her gaze, looking elsewhere. She could see supplies being distributed at three or four other locations within Mirefall, and the situation was more or less the same as at Solara Plaza.

Normally, Mirefall was like a dead city, a silent kingdom of ice and snow. But today, human figures could be seen everywhere.

Different farces were playing out in different places, but one change was obvious: more and more people were causing trouble and committing robberies. This wasn’t a good sign. It meant that a growing number of people were beginning to ignore the restraints of the law and act with impunity.

She lowered the binoculars, rubbed her eyes, and turned to sit back down on the sofa.

The phone on the table was still playing a show, but Stella Sterling couldn’t bring herself to watch it now. She simply turned it off.

KNOCK KNOCK

A knock sounded from outside. Stella Sterling didn’t go to the door, nor did she pay it any mind, letting the person outside continue to knock.

The knocking from outside continued for a while before stopping. Stella Sterling assumed the person had given up and didn’t think much of it.

More and more people had been coming to knock on her door recently. It wasn’t River Larkin, nor was it her nosy neighbor from across the hall, but other residents from the building.

They were people coming to beg for food. There had been a lot of them these past few days.

If no one answered after a bit of knocking, they would leave on their own.

But this time, it seemed she was wrong. After a moment of silence, a voice called out, "Miss Stella! Miss Stella, it’s me, Mrs. Ward!"

The voice was very weak, but it still reached Stella Sterling’s ears clearly.

She rubbed her ears, wondering for a moment if she’d misheard.

The only person who would address her that way and call herself Mrs. Ward could only be the Sterling family’s live-in housekeeper.

’But in this frozen wasteland, how could she possibly be at my door?’

’Setting aside how she even got here, I’m more curious why she would come under these circumstances.’

The voice outside continued, "Miss Stella, please open the door! Let me in for a cup of hot water, I’m freezing to death!"

Now, Stella Sterling was sure she hadn’t misheard. It was indeed Mrs. Ward’s voice. She had lived with the Sterling family for some time and could recognize it.

She walked to the door and looked through the peephole. A woman covered in what looked like white fur stood trembling at her door. Looking closer, she saw it wasn’t fur, but ice. The woman was coated in a layer of it from head to toe, as if she’d been frozen solid.

She opened the door. The moment it opened, Mrs. Ward’s face lit up, and she tried to rush inside, but Stella Sterling blocked her path.

"Miss Stella, what are you doing? I came to find you on the Master and Madam’s orders! Aren’t you going to let me come in and sit down?"

The woman looked up at Stella Sterling in anger, revealing a face completely drained of color.

When she opened her mouth to speak, a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of her lips, though she herself didn’t seem to notice.

Staring at the woman, a flicker passed through Stella Sterling’s eyes.

Seeing that Stella Sterling wouldn’t let her pass, Mrs. Ward said haughtily, "Miss Stella, the Master and Madam said that you are their child. Under these circumstances, they aren’t at ease with you being out here alone. Therefore, as long as you find Miss Sterling and bring her back, you can return to the Sterling family home with her!" 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

’So they still haven’t given up on finding Yara Sterling?’

’What’s even more ridiculous is that they’d send their housekeeper to find me to go find Yara Sterling, but not have the housekeeper look for her directly. How absurd.’

She stared at Mrs. Ward. "I have no interest in returning to the Sterling family home. Please leave!"

With that, she moved to close the door, but Mrs. Ward grew frantic. "How can you do this? I walked for days to find this place! You have to come with me to find Miss Sterling!"

’The Master and Madam said that if I don’t complete this task, I won’t be allowed to return to the Sterling family home.’

’At the Sterling home, there was food to eat and water to drink. Life was no different than it was before the apocalypse, with no need to worry about suffering or starvation. Not being able to return to the Sterling home... how could that be acceptable?’

Clinging to this one conviction, no matter how cold it was or how much her heart ached, she had walked for days to finally get here. But Stella Sterling refused to cooperate. How could she possibly accept that?

"No wonder..." Stella Sterling shook her head, watching the woman with cold eyes. Agitated, Mrs. Ward took two steps forward, only to spit out a large mouthful of blood and collapse.

Stella Sterling closed the door, unsurprised by this turn of events. ’Her internal organs must have ruptured from the cold. She’s still breathing, but she won’t last much longer.’

’To still be following orders and risking her life to come find me at a time like this...’ Stella Sterling didn’t know what to think of the woman.

’In this weather, it’s unbearably cold just being outside for a moment. How could anyone’s body withstand being frozen out there for days like she was!’

’Even the homeless knew to find shelter and warmth. For her to just endure the freezing cold and end up like this... one could only feel a sense of pity.’

Mrs. Ward was still breathing. Terrified by her own condition and seeing that Stella Sterling wouldn’t open the door, she slowly dragged her body toward the stairs.

At that moment, she had only one thought in her mind: ’I can’t die. I have to get to a hospital—’

RUMBLE RUMBLE

Reaching the top of the stairs, she had no strength left and tumbled all the way down, landing on the 27th floor. She fell right in front of the man from a family of three who was just returning home with their supplies—

"AHHH!!!"