BANG!

Just as Stella Sterling finished her move, a hailstone smashed a huge crater right where the old man had been standing.

Stella Sterling shot to her feet, grabbed one person in each hand, and ran into the ice tunnel. Several other agile young people scrambled in at the same time.

It wasn’t safe here, either, so no one dared to linger. Everyone scrambled deeper into the ice tunnel, feeling the entrance connected to the office building rapidly collapsing behind them.

They ran for what felt like an eternity before the noise behind them finally subsided, but no one dared to let down their guard.

Only after running a great deal farther, when the commotion behind them had completely ceased and the BANGING from above had stopped, did they finally breathe a sigh of relief. They collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

Stella Sterling set the elderly couple down and stood to one side, her expression grim.

’This is the most danger I’ve been in since my rebirth.’

"Thank you, young lady, thank you! If it wasn’t for you, my wife and I would both be dead!"

The old couple knelt to thank Stella Sterling, but she dodged to the side. "Don’t thank me," she said, her voice cold. "Your own past kindness is what saved you. But from now on, don’t be so quick to show compassion to just anyone. After all, not everyone will save you. And for me, this was a one-time thing."

’If I hadn’t been certain I could pull it off, I never would have intervened.’

’It just goes to show you can’t be carelessly kind. When I was saving them, I must have scraped my leg on something. I can feel my calf bleeding.’

The old couple fell silent, their thoughts turning to the boy who had pushed them. For days, they had treated his family like their own, and that boy like their own grandson. They never imagined he would turn on them at the critical moment.

Out of more than twenty people, only eighteen or nineteen had made it back. Four or five were left behind in the office building.

The others had also sustained injuries, some from the fight with the previous group, others from being hit by debris falling from the building.

Everyone now sat on the ground, a dazed look on their faces.

The joy from their earlier haul of supplies was completely gone.

Right before their eyes, people had either been killed by the hailstones or crushed by falling debris because they couldn’t escape in time.

Whether it was digging the ice tunnel or searching the office building, everything had gone so smoothly that they’d completely forgotten about the hidden dangers.

"Thank you, Stella Sterling! Thank you!"

Just then, another person walked up to Stella Sterling. It was the man who had previously clashed with her.

Stella had thrown him out earlier to distract that greasy man and his cronies. She hadn’t paid him any mind since and was surprised to see he’d made it back alive.

The man’s wife and child stood beside him, also looking at her with gratitude.

A moment ago, it was Stella Sterling’s timely warning that had allowed them to get into the ice tunnel. Otherwise, most of them probably wouldn’t have survived.

"What are you thanking her for? If she hadn’t made us dig here in the first place, would any of this have happened? It’s her! She’s the one who got people killed!"

An agitated man began yelling at Stella Sterling, his face contorted with rage.

His face was stained with blood, his hair a disheveled mess.

He had been with his wife. He had escaped, but she had been struck by debris and left behind.

He was filled with hatred and rage, convinced that Stella Sterling was to blame for everything. He directed the full force of his fury at her.

The person beside him tugged on his arm, trying to get him to calm down. "Get a grip! It was a freak accident. No one could have predicted this. It has nothing to do with her!"

He also shot the man a meaningful look. ’That’s Stella Sterling you’re yelling at,’ the look seemed to say. ’Have you lost your mind?’

But the man was too consumed by rage to understand his friend’s good intentions. He spun around and roared, "Calm down? How can you tell me to calm down?! My wife is dead! She died right in front of me! What the hell is your problem? You’re my friend! If you’re not going to back me up, fine, but now you’re defending this woman?"

His friend’s face soured. When he saw Stella Sterling walking toward them, he went pale. He wanted to say something in the man’s defense, but the words wouldn’t come out.

"You’re saying I got your wife killed?"

Stella Sterling’s tone was laced with scorn. "But I seem to recall you had a chance to save your wife. Why didn’t you? Were you too scared?"

Stella Sterling’s words instantly silenced the man. His eyes grew red with anguish.

’It was true. He’d had a chance. His wife had been struck by a piece of debris and had fallen, but it wasn’t a life-threatening injury. If he had just pulled her up, they could have escaped together!’

’But he was afraid. Afraid that if he stopped to help her, he’d be hit, too. The hailstones could have rained down at any second!’

’Fear had made him run. He hadn’t dared to stop, only flee to safety. By the time he looked back, his wife had been obliterated by another falling chunk of ice.’

Stella Sterling’s words tore open the wound in his heart. He clutched his head and screamed in agony.

Stella Sterling watched him, her face a mask of indifference. "Scavenging outside comes with both risks and rewards. The moment you decide to go out, you have to be prepared for the danger. You can’t blame this on me."

Her words were meant for the grieving man, but also for everyone else.

She looked down at the man, who was now just a miserable heap on the ground. "I understand your grief. But if you ever try to pin something like this on me again, I won’t hesitate to make you die by my hand for real."

"As for what happened to your wife, you shouldn’t be blaming me. You should be blaming yourself."

With those final, cutting words, Stella Sterling turned away from him. She swept her gaze over the others, and some of them lowered their heads in shame.

She let out a soft, dark chuckle and, without another word, continued on her way.

This time, the group just watched her leave. No one dared to say another word.

The old couple looked at Stella Sterling’s retreating form, then at the others, and sighed. "Everything’s changed. Everyone... they’re not who they used to be."

"That young lady seems so cold, but she has a soft heart, really."

The couple exchanged a look and, supporting one another, began the walk back as well.

By the time she got home, it was already nighttime. Stella Sterling opened her medical kit to check the wound on her calf, only to find that while her leg was stained with blood, there was no wound at all.

The blood was already dry, proof that she had indeed been injured. But now, the wound itself was gone.