Chapter 120: Chapter 120: Luring Free Labor

"Why should we? Because you robbed our homes!"

"Yeah! You beat our people, stole our food, and now you want us to let you leave unscathed? Dream on!"

Before Felix Lawrence could even say a word, the thirty to forty people couldn’t hold back anymore, shouting in fury.

Then, everyone charged forward. Seeing his chance, Felix Lawrence rushed to the front and sent two of them sprawling with a kick.

The look in Finn Shaw and his men’s eyes flickered as they realized something was wrong. They had assumed these forty-plus people had come down from the upper floors and had nothing to do with the people they had robbed downstairs!

It looked like they had miscalculated. No wonder that as they robbed their way up, they had only found the elderly and children, or lone women, in the apartments. The reason was that all the able-bodied men of this building had gathered upstairs.

Both shocked and furious, Finn Shaw quickly moved behind the hostages and pressed his knife against one of them.

"Let us leave! We can leave half the food, and we’ll take the other half. Otherwise, all these people will die—AHH—"

He hadn’t even finished his threat when a large blade came flying at him. He panicked and dodged to the side. Seizing the opportunity, Felix Lawrence lunged forward and subdued him.

Finn Shaw knew a bit of martial arts, but he was no match for Felix Lawrence. His knife skills were only good enough to intimidate ordinary people. Against a trained fighter like Felix, it took only two moves to find an opening and snatch the blade away.

The woman at his side had dropped to her knees to beg for mercy the moment the tables turned. The dozen or so young men he’d brought along were also quickly subdued, being completely outnumbered.

Some of the residents went to untie the hostages. The moment he was free, Quentin Chase began to arrogantly punch and kick one of their captors.

Stella Sterling went forward and picked up the large blade she had thrown earlier.

As she looked at the raiders, now tied up by the people from Building A, a plan flashed through her mind.

"Miss Sterling, thank you for your help just now!"

Felix Lawrence walked over to thank Stella Sterling again.

She waved it off. "It’s nothing. This is everyone’s problem."

Felix Lawrence paused, then smiled. "You’re right. We’re all from the same building; we should face this together."

Stella Sterling just smiled, neither agreeing with him nor arguing against him.

She looked at the bound captives. "You said you didn’t understand what I meant earlier, right? Perhaps you should ask them."

’How did these people get over here in this weather?’ she had been wondering.

’It’s impossible they came across the surface. The hail is so large, anyone trying to cross would be pummeled to death.’

’So, if they couldn’t travel over the surface, there’s only one other possibility. These people had the same idea I did. They must have dug an underground ice tunnel from Building C to Building A.’

The two buildings were not far from each other, both part of the same residential complex. That was why the first tunnel they completed led here, making Building A their first target.

Felix Lawrence nodded, having already reached a similar conclusion. There had to be some way these people got over from their building.

’Now we can use their method to solve our own predicament!’

A short while later, Felix Lawrence stood on the first floor, looking at what had been an incredibly thick wall of packed snow. Now, a tunnel over a meter high had appeared in it.

Even someone as composed as him couldn’t help but gape. "So, that’s how they did it!"

The other residents of Building A also stared at it, looking it up and down in amazement.

Just then, Finn Shaw said smugly, "You morons from Building A just sit around waiting to die. It never occurred to you to use your brains and figure something out!"

Stella Sterling, having also been called a moron, tapped him on the head with the back of her blade and scoffed, "You’re one to talk. For all your cleverness, didn’t you still end up in our hands?"

Finn Shaw looked at Stella Sterling. She was the one who had thrown the blade that startled him and ruined his plan. He shot her a furious glare.

The next moment, a sharp slap landed across his face. He quieted down immediately, his expression dark as he fell silent.

Stella Sterling looked at Felix Lawrence. "This is what I meant earlier. I want to build an underground ice tunnel just like this, so we’ll have a way to get out."

"Okay, this’ll work," Felix Lawrence nodded, his eyes bright.

The others, too, looked as if they had seen a glimmer of hope, their eyes shining with renewed light.

They had been struggling with no way to get outside. Now, if they could just dig this underground tunnel, they could venture out to find food.

Felix Lawrence looked at Stella Sterling, feeling somewhat puzzled. She was clearly capable, yet she had never gotten involved in any of the building’s affairs before.

When he went to invite her today, he had been worried she would refuse. He never expected her to agree so readily, and what’s more, she was now actively trying to solve their problems.

Sensing his stare, Stella Sterling’s expression remained unchanged. She said matter-of-factly, "Don’t find it strange. I need to find food, too. None of us will last long if we’re trapped in this building."

She said nothing more after that.

Felix Lawrence didn’t press the issue. He looked over at Finn Shaw and his gang, his brow furrowed. He didn’t know what to do with them.

’If we just let them go back, they’ll definitely become a huge threat to us.’

’But to kill them...’

’There are over twenty of them,’ Felix thought. ’I’ve never done anything like this before. Besides, many of the people with me are honest, decent folks. If it weren’t for Bell and his thugs pushing them to the brink, they never would have banded together in the first place.’

’Casualties in the middle of a fight are one thing, but killing people after they’ve already been captured... I’m afraid it’s not just me; the others wouldn’t be able to stomach it either.’

Felix felt torn.

He instinctively looked toward Stella Sterling. For some reason, he had a gut feeling she would have a plan.

And Stella Sterling did have an answer for him. "These people already have experience digging ice tunnels. Let’s have them help us dig ours. No point in letting free labor go to waste."

With that, she walked toward the group from Building C and addressed the woman beside Finn Shaw. "You’re going back to get more people. Tell them you’re shorthanded and need reinforcements to help out. Be a good girl and do as you’re told, you hear? Otherwise, your precious Shaw here might die because of you."

As she spoke, she untied the woman’s ropes. Someone tried to stop her, but it was too late.

The woman froze, apparently not expecting to be released. But she quickly nodded. "Shaw, just wait! I’ll go back and get help!"

Before Finn Shaw could object, she scrambled away.

"Stella Sterling, why did you let her go back for reinforcements!"

"What do you think you’re doing?!"

Two men stepped forward, shouting at Stella Sterling in protest.