Chapter 122: Chapter 122: Female Fiend, Breakthrough

「Half a month later.」

Through the combined efforts of the residents from Building A and Building C, an underground ice tunnel was slowly taking shape.

By now, they had no idea how far they had dug, nor where the tunnel was leading. They had no sense of direction and could only keep digging forward.

For the past half a month, most people had been working hard. After all, this concerned every single one of them. They had to work hard to survive!

This was especially true for those who had long since run out of food and had been relying on others for aid. They were more desperate than anyone to break through to a new location.

Because of this, everyone started work early each day and didn’t return until late at night.

Some people simply rested wherever they stopped digging, carrying food in their backpacks to conserve energy.

During this time, Felix Lawrence provided for those without food. As long as they worked, they could get one meal a day. Although it was just broken grains, it was better than starving all day long.

So, if for no other reason, these people would work hard just for a mouthful of food.

Of course, Felix Lawrence’s family alone couldn’t provide so much food. He had gathered supplies from other families in the apartment complex who had larger stockpiles, persuading them to contribute a portion for everyone.

However, people weren’t getting this food for free; it was considered a loan. Once they found more supplies outside, those who had contributed food now would receive a special portion as compensation.

When Felix Lawrence proposed this, no one objected. They all thought it was only natural. Since those people were providing food now, they should obviously get a share first when new supplies were found. The rest could be dealt with later.

With Felix Lawrence’s guarantee, those with food felt more at ease about contributing their supplies.

To ensure the work went smoothly, Stella Sterling also contributed some food.

It wasn’t so much that it would make people think she was abnormally wealthy, but it wasn’t too little either.

But the largest contribution came from the couple living across the hall from her.

The two of them had actually taken out over ten pounds of rice, along with some assorted snacks and dried fruits.

She remembered how, at the very beginning of the apocalypse, her meddlesome female neighbor had bragged in the residents’ group chat about how much food she had stockpiled.

And now it seemed her stockpile was indeed quite large!

’Back then,’ she recalled, ’I thought their high-profile behavior would bring them a fatal disaster once everyone fully realized what the apocalypse meant.’

But so far, the two of them had remained safe and sound. It seemed their luck was pretty good.

What Stella Sterling didn’t know, however, was that the reason no one had bothered the couple across the hall, despite knowing they had food, was because of her.

Her fearsome reputation was widespread, and everyone was wary of the 28th floor. This had spared the couple a great deal of trouble.

This time, with them contributing food and Felix Lawrence keeping things in check, no one held any malicious thoughts toward them. Instead, many people were grateful.

As a result, whenever Willow Young walked among the crowd these days, she practically floated on air.

"Quick, hurry up! The demoness is here!"

"Why didn’t you say so earlier? I was just slacking off for a bit. Hope she didn’t see me!"

"I heard some guy from Building C tried to goof off last time, and she nearly broke his arm! Good heavens, she’s an absolute terror!"

"Stop talking nonsense. It’ll be bad if she hears you. Let’s get back to work."

"What can we do? She’s so vicious, and even Felix Lawrence doesn’t say anything and just lets her be!"

"We can’t win a fight against her, and we can’t even badmouth her. We can only shut up, listen, and work!"

As everyone was working hard, a sudden noise was heard. A few of the lazier people abruptly burst into a flurry of activity, their sudden vigor stunning the others!

Stella Sterling walked up from behind, carrying something. She had heard their hushed discussions.

At this, she smiled with satisfaction.

’It’s good that they’re afraid of me. Fear stops them from slacking off. This way, the work will get done faster!’

How could she not know what these people thought of her?

Over the past few weeks, she had taught quite a few people a lesson—all of them were people who only wanted to scrounge a meal without putting in any effort!

Anyone she caught slacking got a beating!

And so, her ruthless reputation spread among them.

Although the people from Building A had heard rumors before, only a small number had witnessed her actions firsthand; the rest only knew her by hearsay.

But during this period, when she beat people, residents from both Building A and Building C had seen it.

Thus, her reputation as a "demoness" was solidified. Now, people from both buildings would pale at the mere mention of her name, and no one dared to slack off in her presence.

Even Finn Shaw and his group, who had been secretly defiant and looking to cause trouble, were now working obediently after Stella Sterling taught them a lesson.

Even with one of them having a broken leg, they worked diligently, not daring to be the least bit lazy or cunning.

Stella was very satisfied with this. She hadn’t contributed her food just to let people eat without working!

Besides, she wasn’t completely heartless. If someone was genuinely tired from working and took a break, she wouldn’t say anything and would pretend not to see.

But for those who did little work and just lazed about in the crowd, she showed no mercy!

However, many people didn’t know this. In their eyes, Stella Sterling would beat anyone who so much as took a short break.

Though she was misunderstood, it made everyone work even harder. This had an unexpected but positive effect, even better than Stella Sterling had anticipated.

As for them giving her the title of "demoness," she couldn’t care less. ’A fearsome reputation isn’t necessarily a bad thing,’ she thought.

Besides, she knew her reputation in the building wasn’t great to begin with.

"Great news! Great news! We’re through at the front!"

Just then, someone up ahead shouted. He ran back and said to Felix Lawrence, who was also busy working, "Lawrence, we’re through! We’ve dug through!"

"A few of us guys were digging and suddenly broke through into an empty space! It looks like an underground parking garage!"

As the man’s voice rang out, everyone looked over and broke into cheers.

After digging for half a month, constantly moving through the ice, they had finally tunneled their way to a new location.

"Let’s go take a look. I hope it’s not some abandoned place."

As he spoke, Felix Lawrence looked over at Stella Sterling, intending to have her come along. These days, he had grown accustomed to discussing everything with her.

"Let’s go."

Stella Sterling shouldered her pack, picked up her large iron shovel, and walked to the front. A faint excitement grew within her; it had been a long time since she had gathered supplies.

Only supplies could give her a sense of security!