"Don’t move!"

The lead police officer flashed his badge, his tone serious. "We received a report of suspected extortion. You’ll have to come with us."

"I didn’t do it!" Donovan Lawrence struggled wildly, roaring his defense. "She’s the one who hit someone and refused to pay! I was just asking for medical expenses!"

The officer was unmoved, adding coldly, "We’ve already contacted the traffic police and obtained the surveillance footage from that section of the road. The victim has also provided a recording of you extorting them at their home. Cooperate quietly!"

’W-what?! They pulled the footage?!’

Donovan Lawrence froze. His struggles ceased instantly, and he stood dumbstruck, as if struck by lightning.

It was only then that he belatedly realized this wasn’t the apocalypse. Society hadn’t collapsed. There was no lawlessness. There were rules and laws, and every action left a trace!

’That outrageous extortion attempt I just made... this girl actually called the cops on me?!’

’Damn it! How could I have forgotten about that?!’

Donovan Lawrence’s face instantly turned deathly pale. His legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

On the hospital bed, Pamela Sutton, who had been pretending to be unconscious, could no longer keep up the act. She leaped up and lunged forward. "Officer, it’s all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"

Then she turned and started yelling at Sue Lawrence, "He’s your own cousin, Sue Lawrence! How could you be so cruel!"

Sue Lawrence actually laughed. "When you were trying to extort three million from my family, why didn’t you search your conscience and remember we’re cousins then? You remember now? Too late!"

’Don’t be so full of yourself. You think you can have it all your way? In your dreams.’

"You! You have no conscience, you animal! Everyone, come and see! She won’t even spare her own cousin..."

A crowd quickly gathered at the doorway, all pointing and whispering about Sue Lawrence.

"Women really are ruthless!"

"That’s just cold-hearted."

"What kind of person does that!"

To the crowd’s judgment, Sue Lawrence just wanted to say, ’Don’t preach kindness to others if you haven’t experienced their suffering. If you had gone through what I have, you might not be as kind as I am!’

’Donovan Lawrence. In my last life, he was the reason my family was torn apart and ruined, and I was still foolish enough to help him. Heh. You all want to point fingers? Fine. How about you trade places with me, huh?’

She coldly lifted her gaze. Before she could speak, her older brother, Elliot Lawrence, pushed through the crowd, turned, and roared, "Her own cousin? He and his mother came to our house, throwing a fit, insisting we hit her, and trying to fleece us for three million! Would you call the police or not? Would you?!"

Elliot Lawrence bellowed, "Anyone who wouldn’t call the cops, go ahead and give her three million right now! I’d even respect you for it. But if you can’t, then shut your mouths, because you have no right to talk!"

The surroundings instantly fell silent. Not a single person spoke. Elliot Lawrence snorted coldly and took Sue Lawrence’s hand. "Sue, let’s go. We’re going home!"

Sue Lawrence’s eyes reddened. She squeezed her brother’s hand back and followed him through the crowd.

Just before leaving, she glanced one last time at Pamela Sutton’s Superpower. It had actually dropped from B to C.

Ha!

’A two-rank drop? Looks like tonight was worth it!’

She checked her own Superpower. Although it was still B, she believed it had to be at least B+ now.

’Very good. We have plenty of time.’

The commotion was soon left behind them. Sue Lawrence got into the car, and Elliot Lawrence cranked the heat up all the way. On that harsh winter night, the siblings drove home.

The moment they walked through the door, Vivian Young rushed over anxiously. "How did it go? Did anything happen?"

Sue Lawrence beamed. "Everything’s fine. I called the police. As long as we refuse to settle, Donovan Lawrence won’t be getting out before the apocalypse arrives!"

Extortion, even if it’s just an attempt, carries a detention of at least 10 to 15 days! It’s hard to say if he’ll be sentenced, but we don’t need 15 days. The apocalypse is in seven days!!

’Donovan Lawrence won’t be able to do a thing. Once the apocalypse hits and the laws collapse, no one will notice one person simply disappearing.’

"As long as you’re okay. Go get something to eat." Vincent Lawrence was finally relieved, seeing that his daughter was safe.

"Yes, yes, eat something. Look at your little face, why are you so pale?"

Vivian Young turned to get her daughter some food. Sue Lawrence was indeed hungry. This "plunder" had taken a lot of energy, but she’d obtained the Healing Skill—and a B Level one at that. It was worth it!

She devoured an entire plate of pork ribs, a dish of celtuce, and two large bowls of rice all by herself before she finally felt human again.

’Looks like stockpiling more meat was the right call. I use up too much energy, and meat is the best way to replenish it.’

After eating, the family went upstairs to rest. However, Sue Lawrence had no intention of letting the remaining three off the hook. At the very least, it was time to cause some trouble for Jason Sterling.

’Isn’t Maeve Walsh missing? It seems Donovan Lawrence doesn’t know about it.’

’After all, if he knew, he would definitely go and raise hell with Jason Sterling. But Mia Keller hasn’t sent me a single message, which obviously means Jason Sterling is hiding the truth.’

’In that case, I’ll just give them a little push. I should tell everyone about it. I could tell Donovan Lawrence, and also Miles Finch, Tia Norris, Adam Zane... ’

’Heh, just thinking about it makes me happy.’

’However, the news can’t come from me.’

Lying in bed, the more Sue Lawrence thought about it, the more delighted she felt.

’No rush. I’ll deal with it tomorrow.’

She slept soundly through the night.

The snow outside had stopped, but the accumulated snow wasn’t melting. There’s a proverb in the north: "Falling snow isn’t cold; melting snow is." This means the days when snow is on the ground but not falling are the coldest.

Sue Lawrence dug out her thickest thermal pants. She put on her long johns first, then pulled the thermal pants over them, and finally put on her outer pants.

Although she had already stockpiled a lot of supplies, she still planned to go out for another sweep. She wanted to buy more meat and some vitamins. Those would be valuable in the apocalypse; the rich had always prized such things.

So, she drove out alone, first heading to the supermarket to snatch up meat, then to a pharmacy to clear the shelves.

The pharmacy was also quite crowded, but most people were buying cold medicine. The particularly nasty flu virus that had been going around in recent years had caused all the cold-related medications to sell out, even Banlangen granules and Xiao Chai Hu. The traditional Chinese medicine counter was packed with people, too.

Sue Lawrence, on the other hand, turned to clear out the health supplements, vitamins, and seal pills, making the pharmacy staff’s mouths twitch.

’Whatever,’ the staff member thought, looking at Sue Lawrence as if she were a fool. ’I don’t get it, but I support it. Go ahead, buy whatever you want.’

The oblivious Sue Lawrence: ?

"Oh, right. I’ll take all of your traditional Chinese herbs."

She didn’t know how to diagnose illnesses, but she had a feeling that stockpiling a lot of this stuff couldn’t be a mistake.

The staff member: ...

’Definitely not normal,’ she thought. ’Fine, I’ll get them for you.’

Sue bought out all the remaining medicinal herbs. She carried the items back to her car, and once she was sure no one was watching, she stored them in her space before continuing to the next pharmacy to clear out their traditional herbs and supplements.

After hitting seven or eight pharmacies, Sue Lawrence’s phone suddenly rang urgently. The word "Dad" flashed on the screen.

"Dad?" Sue Lawrence quickly answered.

"Sue, get to City Hall immediately!" Vincent Lawrence’s voice was hurried. "The Municipal Disaster Prevention Office is holding an emergency meeting with several of the city’s major corporations. Your brother and I are already on our way. Get over here, it’s important."