Chapter 18: Chapter 18: An Effortless Gain

She immediately sent a message back to Mia Keller, also using a burner account.

[Walnut Cake]: I’ve sent you a few gifts. They’ve already arrived at your doorstep. Trust me, move to my family’s villa as soon as possible. That’s the only safe place.

After replying to Mia Keller, she tucked her phone into her pocket.

Mia Keller was one of the few people who had been good to her in her past life. In this life, she would help her however she could.

Besides Mia Keller, the delivery notifications showed that the other gifts she sent had been delivered and signed for.

Even though she had died a miserable death in her past life, she still held onto the hope that all good people would survive the coming apocalypse.

Back home, she seized the opportunity to rest. She had things to do that night—namely, help her family move supplies to the mine for storage.

When the alarm went off, Sue Lawrence quickly scrambled out of bed and met up with her father and older brother.

Her older brother, Elliot Lawrence, and her dad each drove a truck, transporting the mountain-like pile of prepared meals, rice, flour, oil, and medicine from the backyard to the mine. They moved undetected under the cover of night.

This was the first time she had officially set foot in the mine her father had renovated. The moment she entered, she was stunned.

Vincent Lawrence had dug thirty meters deeper into the abandoned mine, carving out an entire "underground fortress." Three layers of thick, solid blast-proof doors stood guard. An independent oxygen-generation system hummed away. The underground water source had been purified, and a climate-control system kept the temperature inside at a constant 64°F. He had even cleared out separate areas for cultivation and animal husbandry, complete with nutrient-rich soil and grow lights. The excavated earth wasn’t wasted, either; it was piled in more fragile sections of the old mine to provide support.

The only thing it lacked was the finishing touches on the interior.

"Dad, you work incredibly fast!" Sue Lawrence praised him from the heart.

Vincent Lawrence wiped sweat from his brow, his tone growing serious. "We used to work around the clock, 24/7. I didn’t have any Superpowers back then, so I never noticed. But after I gained Perception, I discovered that two other nearby mines are also being renovated. To avoid attracting attention, we can only work in the dead of night. Progress from here on out will only be slower."

’Two other mines nearby?’

A chill went down Sue Lawrence’s spine, and she immediately activated her Perception.

Sure enough, she picked up clear vibrations from a diagonal direction—the tremors of footsteps and the sound of shoe soles scraping against stone. She could vaguely sense the presence of numerous people, who were gradually leaving the mine and moving away into the distance.

Once she was certain everyone on both sides was gone, Sue Lawrence made a snap decision. "Let’s go check it out!"

Vincent Lawrence grabbed a chisel and a shovel, leading the siblings, Sue and Elliot, to the end of the mine tunnel, which terminated in a wall of raw rock.

"It’s right above us. There are a lot of people, with vehicles coming and going every day," Vincent Lawrence said grimly.

Sue Lawrence took the chisel, tucked it into her belt, and activated her Gecko’s Climbing Ability. Like an agile lizard, she scaled the rock wall in one breath, reaching the ceiling over thirty feet high.

With the power of her Golden Left Hand combined with the strength of a boxer in her right, the force she generated was astonishing. She swung the chisel and struck hard, sending a shower of rock fragments raining down.

Half an hour later, she had chiseled out a small, fist-sized hole. Sue Lawrence leaned in to look and instantly held her breath.

On the other side of the hole was a huge air-raid shelter. It was filled with supplies, all neatly stacked and covered with camouflage tarps. Scattered around were military-issue handcarts, first-aid kits, and standard-issue tools. The faint smell of machine oil hung in the air.

’A military air-raid shelter!’

Sue Lawrence instantly put it all together. Stellaport already had military reserve facilities, so it wasn’t surprising that an air-raid shelter would be adjacent to an abandoned mine. These supplies were likely the government’s emergency reserves for the apocalypse.

Any thought of looting the place vanished without a trace.

When the apocalypse came, the soldiers would be the first to rush to the front lines and save people. These supplies were a lifeline for countless lives. She might be willing to rob the entire Sterling Group blind, but she would never touch a single thing here.

She climbed back down the rock face, her tone firm. "Dad, we need to blast this passage shut. We can never have any contact with them. We can’t risk being exposed."

Vincent Lawrence nodded thoughtfully, having clearly guessed the other party’s identity as well.

"Let’s go check the other side!" Elliot Lawrence couldn’t contain his curiosity.

The three of them hurried to the end of the other diagonal tunnel. Sue Lawrence repeated her trick, chiseling a small hole in the ceiling. This time, when she saw what was inside, her eyes instantly lit up.

It was another mine, also filled with supplies, but these were strewn about chaotically. Wooden crates were left open, their contents spilling out. A dozen brand-new snowmobiles were propped against a wall. Piles of full skiing sets—sleds, ski poles, goggles, and more—lay on the ground. There were also boxes of hot water bottles, hand warmers, and hand-crank generators, along with massive quantities of compressed biscuits, dried fish, dried fruit, and dehydrated vegetables. There were even a few bags of grain and vegetable seeds. In one corner were several muzzled sled dogs, two sturdy horses, and a few cages of chirping chicks.

’All essentials for the apocalypse!’

And the words "Sterling Group" printed on a tool cart made Sue Lawrence laugh out loud.

Jason Sterling!

’Talk about an unexpected windfall! I searched high and low for him, and now his stash falls right into my lap.’

She jumped down from the ceiling, her excitement palpable. Her cricket’s jumping power allowed her to land steadily, without the slightest jolt.

"Dad, Elliot, go get the mine carts ready! The more, the better!" Sue Lawrence’s eyes gleamed, her voice thick with irrepressible excitement. "Those are Jason Sterling’s hoarded supplies next door! And there’s no one guarding them right now. We’re going to clear the place out. Leave nothing behind!"

The name "Jason Sterling" made Elliot and Vincent’s faces darken instantly.

The man who had stood by and watched as Sue was drugged in that bar... This so-called "ex-fiancé" was nothing but a despicable scoundrel!

"Loot it! He deserves to be looted!" Elliot Lawrence snarled, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Not so fast," Sue said. "Let’s finish moving our own supplies first." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

’Can’t lose a watermelon over a sesame seed. The top priority right now was to use the cover of darkness to get all their family’s things into the mine. As for the Sterling Family’s hoard, they didn’t even dare to leave someone to guard it, terrified that the location would be discovered. Didn’t that mean she and her family could come and loot it whenever they pleased?’

"We’ll move our own stuff first!"

"Right!"

The three of them picked up the pace.

It was still early. Sue Lawrence and her older brother, Elliot, drove the mine’s carts, making trip after trip to move supplies into the newly built, sealed warehouse. Once the heavy alloy door was shut, no one could possibly guess that it concealed the family’s entire nest egg—enough to see them through the apocalypse. The rest of the mine’s renovation could proceed as planned, providing the perfect cover.

The three of them worked until dawn. When they got home, Sue Lawrence instructed everyone to twist that day’s quota of spider silk—three strands per person—and give it all to Vivian Young to wind into a ball. Only then did she go upstairs, take a quick shower to wash off the sweat, and dive into bed.

Her extreme fatigue sent her into a fitful sleep filled with dreams—dreams of the apocalypse, of the past, and of the bar where she’d been drugged. In the haze, she thought she saw the tall figure of a man gently squeezing her wrist.

’Who is it? Why can’t I see his face?’

Sue Lawrence struggled in her sleep, and the motion jolted her awake. She sat up abruptly, realizing it was already afternoon.

’No, no, I can’t sleep any longer,’ she thought. ’Time is running out. There are only eleven days left until the apocalypse.’