Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Searching the Office Building

Stella Sterling was much faster than most of the others.

The others had been working for a long time, and without enough to eat each day, they were all more or less weakened.

Though they were anxious to press on, their bodies simply wouldn’t cooperate. There was nothing to be done.

They watched Stella Sterling stride quickly ahead, a flicker of admiration in their eyes. They had all done the same work, but now they were on the verge of collapse, drenched in sweat. Some even had to lean on each other just to keep moving. They couldn’t understand how Stella’s stamina was so incredible; she seemed completely unaffected.

Even Felix Lawrence, who exercised regularly, didn’t seem to have such great physical conditioning.

Gradually, Stella Sterling pulled away, leaving them behind.

As she exited that section of the ice cave, her vision was plunged into darkness. Stella Sterling pulled out her flashlight and shone it ahead, discovering that the tunnel they’d dug led directly into an underground garage.

The garage was half-filled with snow that had been forced inside. She emerged from the ice tunnel right in the middle of it.

Several cars were buried under the snow, only their top halves exposed.

A dozen or so other cars were parked elsewhere in the garage. They were likely left behind when the blizzard hit, their owners never getting the chance to drive them away again.

She looked at the cars, then glanced back at the people catching up behind her. She immediately dismissed the idea of siphoning all the gasoline into her dimension.

’There are too many people,’ she thought. ’It’s not convenient to act now.’

She decided she would find another opportunity to get the fuel into her dimension later.

A moment later, the others arrived. The sight of the cars made their eyes light up. A surge of energy revitalized them, and they rushed forward.

"The owners might have left snacks or something in the cars! Let’s search!"

Someone shouted. Grabbing the tools they carried, they began smashing car windows and rummaging through the vehicles.

Soon, the dozen or so cars were surrounded by people.

The rest had to head for the upper floors. Felix Lawrence paid the others no mind, leading his own wife and child to start searching the building.

Stella Sterling considered for a moment, decided to forgo the few snacks that might be in the cars, and headed for the stairwell.

Once upstairs, Stella Sterling found they were in an office building.

The building seemed to be rented out to various small companies.

Offices were everywhere. Some weren’t even finished, just empty, vacant spaces.

Many of the building’s windows had been shattered and a lot of things were smashed. Wind WHOOSHED in from all directions.

Occasionally, the wind would whip hailstones inside, making it look quite dangerous.

Everyone tried to avoid the dangerous spots, sticking to safer areas to conduct their search.

Stella Sterling pulled her jacket tighter and found an office to search on her own.

She had felt a pang of disappointment upon realizing it was an office building. Even if there was food, it would likely be nothing more than some snacks left behind by former employees. There wouldn’t be any major finds.

Of course, that was just her perspective. For people who had been starving for a long time, everything here represented hope. Besides, scavenging an entire building like this would yield a lot of supplies when all was said and done.

This time, she wasn’t particularly thorough in her search for food, just packing up whatever she happened to see.

Even this was mostly for show, to blend in. She would leave the rest for the others to find.

Her real objective was focused on other things. She started collecting office computers and other equipment.

’These things are useless now,’ she thought, ’but they’ll be invaluable when society reboots or when it’s time to rebuild.’

Her personal dimension was huge now, anyway. She could just store them there for the time being.

She collected all the desks and chairs as well. They could be used as firewood later on.

Stella Sterling also swept up any iron or metal items she could find, stowing them all in her dimension.

By the end of it, it seemed she hadn’t found much of immediate use. Instead, a corner of her dimension was now piled high with miscellaneous junk, looking like a scrapyard.

"I don’t know what building this is, but it doesn’t seem like it was very busy. A lot of the offices are empty, there’s nothing in them!"

Many who had found nothing were already starting to head back downstairs.

They were puzzled by the number of empty offices.

Hearing their comments, Stella Sterling walked past them without a change in her expression.

She was carrying two large bags, which she had just filled.

They were filled with about ten cups of instant noodles, some assorted bread and crackers, and a dozen or so packs of spicy strips she had also grabbed.

She had also found some cigarettes in a few desk drawers, which she hadn’t passed up.

All the odds and ends added up, surprisingly filling two large bags as well as the backpack she wore.

The others had also found their own hauls, big or small, and their sallow, emaciated faces were brimming with smiles.

When those people saw the two bags in Stella Sterling’s hands, practically bursting at the seams, their eyes flashed with envy.

Someone saw Stella and, fighting back their fear, took the initiative to approach her. "Stella Sterling, looks like you made out pretty well."

"We all searched the same places. How did you find so much?"

"Why am I so unlucky? All I found were some diet pills and coffee. How is that supposed to fill your stomach!"

Others looked on with long faces.

Even though they were afraid of Stella Sterling, seeing her bountiful haul made some of them unable to resist muttering and complaining.

Some of them meant no real harm; they just couldn’t help but feel a little resentful.

Stella Sterling glanced down at her bags. She hadn’t searched with any real focus, but because she had covered more offices, she’d naturally ended up with more snacks.

She shot them a look, and they immediately took a step back, too scared to say anything more.

Stella Sterling paid them no mind, picked up her pace, and left.

Back in the garage, many had already returned with their findings. They gathered together, unable to conceal their excitement.

Finally, Felix Lawrence gave the order. "Our hard work has paid off! This will be enough to sustain us for a long time. Let’s haul this back. To avoid any unexpected trouble, we need to leave as soon as possible. We’ll divide everything up once we’re back."

Seeing what they had found gave everyone a new burst of motivation. They were all eager to get back and divide the spoils.

Soon, the group of a hundred or so people departed in a great rush, entering the ice tunnel that led back toward their community.

Before she left, Stella Sterling glanced back at the cars.

This time, she deliberately lagged behind the others. After the last of them had disappeared from view, she went back to the cars and siphoned all of their gasoline into her dimension.

Everyone else had been focused only on finding food; no one had given a thought to the gasoline. Now, it was all hers for the taking.