Chapter 27: Chapter 27: I’m Going to Kill Her

"The abandoned mine where we were stockpiling supplies—it collapsed! Everything is buried under rock!"

"What?!"

A buzz rang through Jason Sterling’s head as if he’d been struck by a heavy hammer. His vision went black, and he stumbled, grabbing a handrail just to stay upright.

’Maeve Walsh’s body is missing, the Space Ability is down the drain, and now even our most important supply warehouse has collapsed? What kind of shitty luck is this!’

"How could it collapse?! Didn’t you go find the people who sold us the mine?"

"I did! Of course I did!"

Wyatt Sterling’s roar was full of frustration and helplessness. "But they said the sale was finalized long ago and they’re not responsible for any issues that came up after! I found a mining expert, and he said that these kinds of abandoned mines go unmaintained for years. The rock layers have loosened. Between water erosion and ground pressure, they can collapse at any time. The whole place is a high-risk zone!"

’So, it really was just a collapse?’

"Then what about our supplies?!" Jason Sterling’s eyes were bloodshot with anxiety. The hand holding his phone trembled, his voice on the verge of breaking. "That’s our key to surviving the apocalypse, Dad! We have to hire people and dig everything out, now!"

Dead silence fell on the other end of the line. After a long moment, Wyatt Sterling’s voice came through, laced with exhausted resolve. "Forget about digging. The apocalypse is only nine days away. An excavation would require massive manpower and resources, create a huge commotion, and draw unwanted attention. The risk is too high. We’re better off liquidating all the company’s assets, getting the cash back as quickly as possible, and stockpiling all over again!"

Jason Sterling was stunned. ’Liquidate the company?’

’That was his father’s life’s work, and the foundation he wanted to firmly grasp after his rebirth. But at this point, it seemed there were no other options.’

"Luckily, you have someone over there who awakened a Space Ability." Wyatt Sterling’s voice softened slightly, a hint of expectation in it. "Bring her back. I’ll take her to meet with our partners to get the goods directly from the warehouses. It’ll save a lot of time."

"Dad," Jason Sterling’s voice sounded as if it were being squeezed through his teeth, full of endless bitterness and resentment, "the person I had... is missing."

"What do you mean, missing?!" Wyatt Sterling’s furious roar erupted again, making Jason Sterling’s ears ache. "All those supplies! Didn’t you just go to the port for gasoline today? How could she just disappear? Did she run off with our supplies? Damn it! Find her! I’ll kill her!"

Jason Sterling pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a wave of dizziness. He reluctantly revealed the truth. "She jumped into the sea. The ocean is ten degrees below zero right now, and there are riptides. I’m guessing... she’s long dead by now."

Silence descended on the line once more, broken only by heavy breaths filled with utter despair.

After a long time, Wyatt Sterling finally spoke, his voice strained. "Why? Why would she suddenly jump into the sea?"

Jason Sterling opened his mouth, but not a single word came out.

’How would he know? He wanted to know, too! Why, in this new life, had nothing gone smoothly? Why was he so damn unlucky instead?’

"Forget it." Wyatt Sterling’s voice was steeped in profound helplessness. "Don’t dwell on it. We need to start stockpiling again, immediately! I’ll have people work through the night to expand our other backup mine. You start liquidating the company assets right away. Get the cash back as soon as you can—the more, the better!"

"Okay," Jason Sterling replied numbly before hanging up.

Snowflakes landed on his face, bone-chillingly cold, but he felt nothing. His heart was just a barren wasteland.

"Tiana, let’s go." He snapped his head up, forcibly suppressing the despair in his eyes, leaving only a harsh resolve. "We’re going to stockpile supplies again!"

’Only nine days until the apocalypse. We have to be quick!’

He paused, his voice lowering to an undeniable warning. "Keep this from everyone for now. Especially Donovan Lawrence!"

**

Sue Lawrence sped all the way, crossing through two cities without stopping. She finally spotted Jenny Norris in a milk tea shop at the downtown mall, which was glowing with warm yellow lights.

The moment she pushed open the door, her taut nerves suddenly went slack. Sue Lawrence’s legs gave out, and she practically collapsed into a booth seat.

"Sue, here, drink this."

Jenny Norris had already pushed a taro boba tea in front of her. Without a word, Sue Lawrence downed more than half the cup in two large gulps. The warm, sweet drink slid down her throat, finally easing some of her exhaustion.

"Jenny," she said, looking up, a lingering urgency still in her eyes. "Go over to that corner and take a picture of my side profile. Make it look like a candid shot. Don’t show too much of the background."

Jenny Norris grabbed her phone and moved to the corner, her fingers perfectly steady.

The photo came out perfectly. Her profile was taut, and her gaze held a deliberately crafted distance. Sue Lawrence gave it a quick check, and after confirming it was good to go, she used the burner phone known only to her and a private investigator to send the picture and the mall’s location to Jason Sterling.

Sue Lawrence breathed a sigh of relief. ’The loop is closed. Jason Sterling should be completely reassured now. There won’t be any more complications for a while.’

"Jenny, let’s go home."

As soon as she got home, Sue Lawrence scarfed down a few mouthfuls of food, didn’t even bother with a shower, and rushed straight upstairs, falling asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

’Once this rush is over, I have to start working out. Otherwise, this body of mine won’t be able to handle the storms to come...’

As her consciousness blurred, she slowly closed her eyes.

In the middle of the night, Elliot Lawrence and Vincent Lawrence got up as usual to move their supplies. They had a tacit understanding not to wake Sue Lawrence, so the father and son drove carefully through the snowy night, making their deliveries.

The next day, Sue Lawrence slept until ten in the morning.

The cold was what woke her.

Technically, the apocalypse was still eight days away, but the temperature had already dropped to negative ten degrees Celsius, significantly colder than usual for this time of year.

In the north, the central heating would be on, but it was nowhere near that time of year yet. It shouldn’t have started for at least another eight days. Yet, not only had the heat been turned on early, but her room still wasn’t very warm.

She quickly got out of bed, put on some fleece-lined clothes, and wrapped a wool scarf around herself before finally pulling open the curtains.

A thick layer of snow covered everything outside. There was no wind, but she could still feel a faint, cool draft coming from the crack under the door.

Sue Lawrence’s expression darkened.

’The temperature is dropping lower and lower, even though the apocalypse hasn’t started yet.’

’But there was good news, too. That woman, Maeve Walsh’s, Space Ability was finally hers!’

She had been so busy yesterday, her mind stretched taut from scheming, that she was exhausted to the bone. She hadn’t even had the energy to check the space before passing out. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Now, her exhaustion had completely vanished. She felt revitalized, as if brimming with energy. She finally had time to explore this sudden, wonderful surprise.

A smile crept onto Sue Lawrence’s lips, and a fiery light shone in her eyes. Her fingertips trembled slightly as she focused her mind to carefully probe her new ability.

’The Paramount Raider... a whole ship full of gasoline...’

She murmured the names of the two things that interested her most, her heart filled with anticipation.