Once the door was shut, the family gathered around and went straight into meeting mode. Mia Keller sat among them.

"Sue, what do you think?"

Vincent Lawrence looked directly at Sue.

"Dad, I’ve never been in a base, so I don’t know the specifics. But I have heard about doing missions in exchange for food. Right now, the available missions are probably about going out to find and bring back supplies, or scavenging any other usable resources. That leader earlier used the word ’possibly,’ but anything he was willing to tell us is basically a certainty."

Sue hadn’t expected everything to be arranged so quickly and efficiently. ’The apocalypse only started a few days ago, yet this place is already operating under the same system as the base from my past life.’

’Still, this is a good thing. It completely bypasses the initial period of chaos. We probably won’t see the same scale of mass death again.’

"I think it’s best if we send someone to join the missions. It’s not good to just hide out here with so many prying eyes around. Later, when the temperature drops even more, we can pretend to go missing during a mission and head back to our mine."

’If it weren’t for Pamela Sutton’s sudden appearance, they would have been back in their mine long ago. They never would have come here.’

Just as she finished speaking, there was a sudden knock on the door.

The group froze for a moment. Before Mia Rhodes could react, Sue had already pulled her and Vivian Young into the inner room. Vincent and Elliot Lawrence remained outside. Elliot even took off his jacket and tossed it on the bed, making it seem as if he were just relaxing. Then, rolling up his sleeves, he walked over to open the door. "Who is it?"

The door opened to reveal several people standing outside.

It was Jason Sterling and his family, with Tiana Lynch trailing behind them.

"My friend!"

Wyatt Sterling’s face was alight with joy. "I just heard some people outside saying the Lawrence family—the one that donated half their assets—had arrived. I just knew it had to be you, my friend! I came over to see, and I was right!"

As Wyatt Sterling spoke, he subtly sized up the room behind Vincent and Elliot. Jason Sterling and the others were also peering in. Though it was only a small suite, their gazes were filled with envy.

After all, they were second on the public contribution board, having donated two million, but had only been allotted two extra tents for their trouble. The Lawrence Family was the only one to receive an actual room.

But Wyatt Sterling couldn’t get in, because Elliot and Vincent were blocking the doorway, making it obvious they didn’t want to let them inside.

"Haha..."

Wyatt Sterling laughed awkwardly. "No worries, I won’t come in. I just wanted to come and see you, my friend. By the way, the notice board is over in our section, so you’ll have to come find us when you need to check it. But I see our phones still have reception, so just give me a call. We’ve got to help each other out in times like these!"

"Alright. Thank you."

Vincent Lawrence’s curt reply was a clear dismissal. Wyatt Sterling noticed but shamelessly pressed on, "By the way, we have a batch of supplies buried at a transit station thirty kilometers from here. It was one of your company’s logistics stops, my friend. I’d like you to send someone with us to retrieve them. As a reward, I’ll give you half of everything we get."

’Supplies?’

’They really didn’t need any supplies.’

Sue didn’t want to go, and Vincent didn’t either. But before either of them could refuse, Nolan Quinn rushed over with a group of people.

"Mr. Lawrence, a new mission has just come down. We have supplies on a transport vehicle thirty kilometers away. We’ll be sending out ten sleds. If you are willing to help, we will provide at least three days’ worth of A Level meals, which include meat, eggs, and vegetables."

Sue looked from Nolan Quinn to Jason Sterling’s group. At the mention of A Level meals, a greedy glint clearly appeared in their eyes. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Sue fell silent.

’That makes sense,’ she thought. ’I took the vast majority of their supplies, not even leaving the gold in Jason Sterling’s villa. Without Maeve Walsh and her Space Ability, they probably can’t stockpile much. And they can’t access the supplies in the mine, either. Their situation is just as pathetic as it was at the beginning of my last life.’

"Fine, we’ll go," Sue announced clearly. "But there are seven of us, so we’ll need seven portions of A Level meals."

Nolan Quinn nodded. "Rest assured, it will be a share for all seven of you. These supplies are crucial for us. We must retrieve them at all costs."

"Alright, I’ll go."

"I’ll go too."

Elliot Lawrence chimed in immediately after her. He wouldn’t let Sue go alone; he would be too worried.

A delighted expression crossed Wyatt Sterling’s face. "Perfect! Our supplies are also thirty kilometers out. They might even be at the same location. We’ll go together."

’With the Lawrence family and the army involved, this trip is a sure thing!’

Wyatt Sterling was incredibly smug. ’What amazing luck! I’ve got escorts from both sides. This is fantastic.’

"Good. Get ready. We head out tomorrow."

Nolan Quinn departed after giving the orders, and a cheerful Wyatt Sterling left as well.

As he left, Jason Sterling seemed to linger, but it was clear from his expression that he was exhausted.

"Jason, I know the matter with Donovan Lawrence had nothing to do with you," Tiana Lynch said, leaning in, her voice low and sweet. "Someone definitely framed you."

"I’ve already spoken with Miles Finch and the others, so don’t worry, they’ll continue to follow us. As for that Mia Keller... she didn’t even survive the extreme cold of the last apocalypse. You don’t need to worry about her."

She coaxed him with a smile, and just as she’d expected, some color returned to Jason’s face.

"But... it seems everything is different this time," Jason Sterling said with a frown. ’In my past life, I never came to this air-raid shelter. I had no idea everything was already laid out in here. It makes my memories of my past life feel like a dream.’

Tiana Lynch said, "It doesn’t matter. You still have me. And I have a Superpower now. I just used it to spy on Sue Lawrence..."

Jason Sterling snapped his head toward Tiana Lynch. "So? Does she have a Superpower?"

He remembered how, in their last life, a dying Sue had struggled to tell him she had a Superpower.

’So, does she or not?’

Tiana Lynch gave a slight smile and looped her arm through his. "I’m sure she’ll have one eventually. Otherwise, how could she possibly survive this apocalypse?"

Jason’s expression grew visibly complicated.

’If Sue doesn’t have a Superpower, then the ice that suddenly formed on my head at the villa had nothing to do with her.’

’So who was it that attacked me? Was it on purpose? Or was it just an unintentional accident from someone passing by?’

"Whoever it was, they’d better hope I don’t find them. Because if I do, I’ll kill them!"

Jason Sterling gritted his teeth. ’Donovan Lawrence’s disappearance, and me getting framed for it... it must have been the work of this invisible enemy. I had to waste so much effort proving to Miles Finch and Adam Zane that I don’t have a Superpower. If I hadn’t, my starting position this time would be even worse than last time. At least back then, Maeve Walsh and Donovan Lawrence were with me, and they were both completely loyal.’

’But now, the only one who’s completely devoted is Tia Norris. Miles Finch and Adam Zane only came back after Tiana Lynch talked them into it.’

’Damn it!’

"Later, use your Ability to check for other Superpower Users. If you find any, we’ll pull them all over to our side while we still have plenty of supplies to offer."