Chapter 57: Chapter 57: The Apocalypse Descends

Although the supplies were divided, this was only what a few people had hoarded together. The Sterling Group alone had stockpiled much more than this.

Jason Sterling glanced at the gold he had hoarded, then turned and walked away, making a phone call as he left.

"Hello? Send the family doctor over. Yes, and another thing..."

’He originally wanted to call the police and sue Miles Finch and the others for assault, but he decided against it. The apocalypse was only three days away; it was better to avoid trouble. He’d just have to endure it until then.’

With that thought, he walked out of the basement, went into the bedroom, grabbed his jacket, and left, locking the door behind him.

Once she was sure all was quiet, Sue pulled out her phone. Her B Level Network Technology allowed her to control the villa’s cameras. After confirming the house was empty, she leisurely strolled into the basement, making her way step by step toward the hidden compartment.

Following her memory of Jason Sterling’s movements, she pressed the wall sconce. A secret door swung open, revealing the glittering gold inside.

’Heh, now all this gold was hers!’

Sue instantly stored the gold in her dimensional space, then turned and quickly left the villa.

She had just gotten back to her car when she received a call from Mia Keller.

"Hello? Sue? I’m at your house. I put all my stuff here. From now on, these are our supplies. We’ll use them together. Oh, right, where are you?"

Sue was stunned. She hadn’t expected Mia Keller to trust her so much—enough to put the two hundred thousand’s worth of supplies she had just gotten back into Sue’s own home.

"I’m just walking around the neighborhood. I’ll head back to you now."

"No, don’t worry about it," Mia Keller said. "I’ll wait for you at the neighborhood gate. I feel fine now. Let’s go to the hospital and get me discharged. We can come back and face the apocalypse together."

"Deal!"

Sue turned, got in her car, and drove straight to the neighborhood gate. Just as expected, Mia Keller was there.

Once she was settled in the passenger seat, Mia Keller whispered, "Did you hear? I think Jason Sterling killed Donovan Lawrence!"

Sue...

Mia Keller’s expression turned grim. "I know I’ve read apocalypse novels, and that humanity basically disappears once the end comes, but I never thought Jason Sterling would actually kill someone. And Donovan Lawrence, of all people... Weren’t we... weren’t we supposed to be friends?"

"Mia, you need to remember this: in the apocalypse, there are no friends."

’There are no friends in the apocalypse, only allies of convenience and enemies.’

’Even though she had given so much for everyone in her past life, it was useless. The moment she was no longer of value, she was the first one they all abandoned.’

Mia Keller fell silent, then took a deep breath. "Sue, you’re my best friend. I will never betray you. Even if I starve or get eaten by zombies, I will always protect you first."

Sue was quiet for a moment before speaking slowly, "I believe you."

’She did believe her. In her past life, Mia had died from a zombie’s bite while protecting her. But that wouldn’t happen this time. This time, she would choose her family and her true friends. They would build a base and face the apocalypse together.’

Soon, the car pulled up to the hospital.

Sue took Mia to get discharged, but it was too late; they couldn’t process the paperwork. They would have to wait until the next morning.

Mia had no choice but to take Sue back to her hospital room to wait.

’But since she planned on having Mia stick with her, she decided to share some of her Abilities.’

"Mia, I got my hands on some rare Skill Candies. If you eat them, you’ll get a Superpower. There’s no telling what kind of Ability or what level it will be. Do you want them?"

’She stared at Mia. Two hundred thousand in supplies, absolute trust, and taking a zombie bite for her in a past life... that was more than enough to trade for a few Skills she didn’t need.’

Mia was stunned for a second, then her face lit up with joy. "Really? That’s amazing! But I can’t just take these Abilities for free. Sue, from now on, I’ll do whatever you say. I’ll be at your beck and call!"

’Of that, Sue was absolutely certain.’

She reached into her pocket, pretending to rummage around, while actually pulling four milk-flavored candies from her dimensional space.

"Here, take them. These are all I have left."

"There are only four left? Then... we should split them."

Mia was still thinking of Sue. Seeing this, Sue shook her head. "It’s fine. My whole family has already had some. These four are extras, so just eat them."

Only then did Mia nod. "Okay!"

She took the candies, tore open the wrapper of the first one, and ate it.

It was just an ordinary milk candy with no Superpower whatsoever, but Sue used the opportunity to activate Skill 3.

[I can do whatever I want with my things.]

The Skill transferred without the slightest resistance, a one-hundred-percent acceptance rate, confirming Mia Keller’s irreplaceable place in her heart.

As Mia ate the milk candies one by one, the Skills were transferred over, one after another.

The four Skills—[B Level Disguise Technique], [C Level Weapon Threat], [B Level Thick Skin Resistance], and [Perception]—were transferred to Mia Keller without reservation.

’Sue had already confirmed it with her Eye of Barrier Breaking. [C Level Weapon Threat] would allow Mia to proficiently use common items like kitchen knives and clubs. While it didn’t grant advanced fighting techniques, it was enough to handle the chaos of the early apocalypse. [Perception] would allow her to keenly sense surrounding danger. Combined with the self-preservation of [B Level Thick Skin Resistance] and the risk-avoidance of the [B Level Disguise Technique], it would be enough for Mia to protect herself even in the most desperate situations.’

The moment she finished transferring the Superpowers to Mia, the sky outside suddenly darkened, and the blizzard intensified.

At the same time, a cold, emotionless, mechanical voice rang out in Sue’s mind, like a proclamation from the abyss:

[The apocalypse has been advanced by four days, one hour, thirty-three minutes, and twenty-six seconds.]

[BEEP! The Extreme Cold Cataclysm has arrived.]

’The Extreme Cold Cataclysm came four and a half days early?! It’s already here?!’

Sue’s heart seized, and the blood in her veins felt as if it had frozen solid. She practically lunged to the hospital room window to look outside.

The entire world had been swallowed by a darkness so thick it felt tangible, as if an eternal, unchanging night had crashed down upon the mortal realm without warning.

What should have been the faint light of dusk was now a pitch-blackness so complete you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. One by one, windows in the surrounding buildings flickered on with a ghastly white light, and street lamps struggled to emit a faint, jaundiced halo. But it was these very points of light that illuminated the increasingly bizarre weather outside, making it all the more terrifying.

The placid sky looked as if it had been viciously ripped apart by an invisible, giant hand. A gale of at least Force 10 roared to life without warning, sweeping in with horrifying power.

The snow piled on the outer windowsills was violently ripped away. The half-foot-thick layer on the ground was whipped up into the air, the particles colliding and twisting together. They formed countless sharp blades of snow that careened about with a piercing whistle, threatening to shred everything in sight.

The hospital’s already loose window frames rattled violently in the gale, sounding as if they might be torn from their moorings at any second. Icy wind forced its way through the cracks, letting out a sharp, piercing shriek. It didn’t sound like a natural wind, but like the wail of a vengeful spirit in the dead of night—a truly terrifying noise that made your scalp prickle and the hairs on your arms stand on end.

CRASH—!