His body, growing cold, collapsed uncontrollably. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Sue turned and hurried toward the bedroom.

Pushing open the door, she saw Mia bound hand and foot and tossed on the bed, a tattered rag stuffed in her mouth. The moment Mia saw Sue, she began to struggle violently. "Mmph, mmph!"

’Sue, Sue!! You’re here!’

Mia’s eyes lit up with hope. Sue rushed forward and immediately cast her [Healing Skill] on her. It didn’t matter if the intruder had done more damage—she’d heal her now and figure out the rest later.

The moment Sue pulled out the rag, Mia burst into tears and threw herself at her. "Sue, I was scared to death!"

"Are you okay?"

Sue looked her over from head to toe. Mia shook her head. "I’m fine, really. He just scared the life out of me. My God, a break-in! I can’t believe someone would just break in like that. If you hadn’t shown up, I would’ve been a goner!"

Hearing the strength in her voice, Sue was finally sure she was really okay. As she breathed a sigh of relief, she subconsciously activated her Skill, [Eye of Barrier Breaking], to check Mia’s Abilities.

Most people had a string of text floating over their heads, but Mia only had a single Skill.

It was a single line of brilliant, golden words: [Luck Value: 999+]

Sue was speechless.

She looked down, rubbed her eyes, and looked again.

It was still the same: Luck Value: 999+.

"..."

’What is this? Is she possessed by Lady Luck herself?’

’But in my last life...’

Sue fell silent. She realized she couldn’t rely on her experiences from her past life to analyze the events of this one.

’But... whatever. As long as she’s this lucky now, that’s all that matters. At least it proves that good things really do happen to good people.’

When they stepped out of the bedroom, Mia saw the body on the floor. The color drained from her face. "You killed him?"

Sue watched every flicker of expression on Mia’s face, ready to act instantly if she saw the wrong reaction. "Yes."

"That won’t work. You’ll be arrested. We need to stage the scene."

Mia rushed forward almost instantly. First, she lifted the corpse’s hand and wrapped its fingers around the knife to get his prints on it. Then, with all her might, she heaved the body over the balcony railing.

"He tied me up," Mia declared. "He had a knife and was trying to kill you. This was self-defense!"

In that moment, Mia seemed incredibly sharp-witted, and Sue couldn’t help but let out a small sigh of relief.

’Mia... she’s still the same as she was in my last life.’

The two of them went to the balcony and looked down.

The body plummeted from the sixteenth-floor balcony.

The snow below was over a foot deep, but it did nothing to cushion the fatal drop.

A muffled thud echoed faintly through the glass. The man landed in the snow and was instantly still.

People were still out on the street below, and the commotion of the fall had already drawn their attention. Many were looking up and pointing toward the sixteenth floor, their faces etched with shock.

"I should be the one to make the call," Sue said, pulling out her phone and dialing 911. Her voice was perfectly calm, betraying no emotion. "Hello, XX Residential Complex, Building 3, Unit 1602. Someone fell from a balcony."

As soon as the call connected, she quickly and clearly recounted the events, deliberately omitting any mention of her Superpower. She stated only that the man had broken in to rob them with a knife and that she had acted in self-defense.

"And please, send an ambulance! Someone’s been hurt!"

She glanced at Mia, who, without a second thought, turned and slammed her head hard against the wall, grimacing as a dark bruise began to form.

Sue was at a loss for words.

’Good grief, you really didn’t have to do that.’

"Okay, ma’am, police and an ambulance are on their way. They’ll be there shortly!" came the urgent reply from the other end of the line.

Before long, the wail of police and ambulance sirens grew louder as they approached from the distance. The police and paramedics arrived quickly. Investigating the scene, questioning witnesses, and treating the injured—the entire process unfolded methodically.

Mia was loaded into the ambulance while Sue stayed behind to give her statement. The officer taking notes, Peter Wagner, glanced at her name and then looked up. "Sue Lawrence?"

"Yes," Sue nodded, her eyes still wary.

Peter Wagner set down his pen, his tone laced with admiration. "I heard the Lawrence Group is donating half its assets to the disaster relief and public welfare funds. The affordable vegetables my family managed to snag this morning might have been paid for by your donation."

A warmth spread through Sue’s chest, and his words seemed to wash away some of the fatigue that had built up over the past few days.

The funds hadn’t all been transferred yet, but the Lawrence Family’s resolve was genuine. In these apocalyptic times, being able to do what little they could for others was a comfort in itself.

"You all should be extra careful," Peter continued. "Lately, there’s been a spike in cases of break-ins and home invasions targeting single women..."

Peter Wagner’s gaze was somber. "It’s best for young women not to live alone right now."

’Break-ins? Home invasions?’

’So, the ice disaster did come earlier than I remembered, and these things are happening along with it. People who can’t get food or supplies from the supermarket will naturally start targeting others.’

Peter Wagner stood up and nodded at her. "Alright, we’re done with the statement. You’re free to go. We’ll contact you if we need anything else."

Sue nodded, grabbed Mia’s valuables, and headed straight for the hospital.

Mia was lying on a pristine white hospital bed. Aside from the bruise on her head, she was perfectly fine. But to commit to the act, she put on the appearance of someone deeply traumatized, looking listless and utterly despondent.

"Physically, the patient is fine aside from the contusion on her head," the nurse explained. "But she’s clearly in shock. A family member should stay with her. We’ll keep her for observation for two days, and if there are no other issues, she can be discharged."

Mia was from out of town and had no relatives in Stellaport, so Sue acted as her next of kin, nodding and committing the nurse’s instructions to memory.

The moment the nurse left, Mia—who had been the picture of listlessness just a second ago—shot upright with a grin. "Was I convincing?"

Sue gave her a thumbs-up. With Mia and her 999+ Luck Value on their side, she could only say that things were going almost too smoothly.

"Here, have some water."

Sue poured her a glass of water. "It’s too dangerous for you to live alone. After you’re discharged, you’re coming to stay at my place."

"Deal!"

The incident had left Mia rattled. Staying with Sue was the best and safest option.

"But I have to tell Jason and the others," she added. "I’m not part of their group anymore. I need to get my share of the supplies back..."

"Wait."

A thought suddenly occurred to Sue.

"Did you know Donovan Lawrence was taken into custody?"

Mia froze.

"Huh? He was taken into custody? I had no idea."

Sue nodded. ’Just as I thought. Jason didn’t tell her anything.’

She narrowed her eyes, studying Mia’s expression as she deliberately asked, "Then... did you know that Maeve Walsh is missing?"

Mia was even more bewildered. "Maeve is missing? But Jason said she went somewhere else to stockpile supplies."

Sue slowly shook her head. "Why don’t you try calling her?"

She decided it was time to give a certain someone something to worry about. Can’t have him getting too comfortable, after all.

Mia quickly made the call. As expected, she tried three times in a row, but the calls wouldn’t go through.

Mia’s eyes widened. "She’s really not picking up? What about our supplies? We paid for all of that with our own money!"

Panicked, Mia immediately sent a message to Miles Finch and Adam Zane.

"Can either of you get in touch with Maeve? What are we going to do about our supplies? She wouldn’t just take our stuff and run off, would she?!"