Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Attending the Gathering, Discussing the Future (Part 1)

The more capable people had already started preparing, using whatever tools they had at home to reinforce their windows.

It might not be very effective, but it was better than nothing. Besides, their minds wouldn’t be at ease if they did nothing at all.

Many people spent that night consumed by worry.

Around seven or eight in the morning, after watching variety shows for a few hours, Stella Sterling’s eyes felt a little dry. She put down her phone and looked out the window.

The hail was still coming down, a relentless THUMPING sound. She just glanced down at the complex below and saw that the snowy ground was now a pockmarked mess.

The snow had been falling for so long that it had long since packed down into thick, solid ice. You could probably jump up and down on it without any problem.

But now, the snowy surface was covered in holes smashed out by the hailstones.

One could only imagine how much it would hurt if one of those hailstones hit a person. If you were unlucky enough to be hit in the head or some other vital spot, you’d be sent straight to meet the King of Hell.

If some people were lucky enough to survive being outside during the previous snowfall of palm-sized flakes, there was absolutely no chance of survival for anyone caught out in this hailstorm with nowhere to hide. A single one to the head and you were gone.

She could already hear cries of anguish from within the complex. Stella Sterling understood their despair.

In this situation, you were fine if you had food at home. But if you didn’t, there was truly no way to survive.

This was enough to drive people to their breaking point. Under these circumstances, even those who previously had a shred of conscience couldn’t guarantee they would remain a good person in the fight for survival.

Surprisingly, however, the people in her building seemed very calm. There hadn’t been any incidents like the recent ones where groups of people robbed other people’s homes.

Moreover, in the past few days, no new bodies had even been dumped outside their building, whereas other buildings had new corpses.

Stella Sterling went out to ask around and learned that this was all thanks to Felix Lawrence from the 4th floor.

No, he didn’t live on the 4th floor anymore. He, his wife, and his child had moved to the 23rd floor long ago, into the apartment of a family that no longer lived in the complex.

He was the one who had stood up and organized everyone to fight against Bell and his men a while back.

After Bell and his group were gone, Felix Lawrence’s faction didn’t disband. He had been leading the building’s residents in trying to solve the food crisis.

He handled matters justly and fairly, and he was intelligent. Many people trusted him, and more and more had joined his side. His prestige in the building was now very high.

This time, it was he who had stepped forward to suppress the restless urges of certain individuals.

He persuaded those people to give up the idea of robbing other owners who had food. Then, he convinced those who did have food to share a portion of it with those who had none, helping them get through this difficult time.

Although those people were reluctant, they eventually agreed under Felix Lawrence’s persuasion.

The reason was simple: they were also afraid that, just as Felix Lawrence said, the people without food would target them once they became completely desperate. If that happened, they wouldn’t come out ahead. Rather than let it come to that, it was better to loosen their grip on their supplies and give others a glimmer of hope, preventing them from becoming dangerously radical.

Felix Lawrence also promised them that, in addition to searching the empty apartments for now, he would lead everyone to find a way out once the situation outside improved.

Because of this, the people in the building had been able to coexist peacefully these past few days. And because of Felix Lawrence, both those with food and those without had come together, gradually forming a new group with him as their leader.

Stella Sterling didn’t even have to dig for this information; she could learn everything clearly just by asking anyone in the building.

And the one who told her all this was her female neighbor from across the hall.

Now, whenever this person saw her, her face was filled with fear. But when Stella asked her about things, she would put on a fawning expression and explain everything in great detail.

’Sometimes, being the villain has its perks.’

And now, the two people across the hall from her had also grown close to Felix Lawrence and his group.

Returning to her room, Stella Sterling sat down, drank a cup of tea, and remarked with a sigh, "To have such a capable person in this building... they’re truly fortunate!"

’This Felix Lawrence is definitely a talented and decisive man. He’s leagues better than Bell’s old crew!’

’Besides, his methods are much more to my liking than Bell’s group. This is the kind of person who’s truly fit to be a leader.’

’Honestly, if I were completely helpless and there was someone like Felix Lawrence in the building, I would absolutely choose to join him and seek his protection!’

"Miss Sterling, Miss Sterling!"

A knock came from the door, accompanied by someone shouting. Stella Sterling wasn’t going to answer, but the person outside continued, "It’s Felix Lawrence. I have something to discuss with you, Miss Sterling. Do you have a moment?" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

After the last incident, he hadn’t come looking for her for quite some time. Stella Sterling had thought he wouldn’t come again.

She never expected that after all this time, he would show up at her door again.

After a moment’s thought, she got up to open the door, her guard up.

The door opened. As if to show he meant no harm, Felix Lawrence automatically took a step back after Stella Sterling opened it, putting about two meters between them. "Great, you’re home."

She had no conflict with this man; in fact, he had shown her kindness before. Because of this, Stella Sterling was relatively polite, nodding courteously. "Yes. What can I do for you?"

Seeing Stella Sterling’s attitude, Felix Lawrence breathed a sigh of relief internally and clearly stated his purpose. "Miss Sterling, I’ve invited everyone in our building to a meeting today to discuss our future path and plan for the days ahead. This concerns every one of us in the building, so I wanted to invite you to participate as well. It’s at 3 PM this afternoon. I was wondering if you’d be available!"

He was very polite and didn’t try to force Stella Sterling to attend the meeting.

"A meeting?"

Felix Lawrence nodded. "That’s right, a meeting for everyone in our building. We’ll be discussing the issue of our survival from here on out. With the situation outside, who knows when things will get better. We can’t just sit around and wait to die. We have to take the initiative and find a way to live."