Thus, when night fell, the water’s surface would grow calm, as no one dared to linger.

In the past, some stubborn people had tried their luck, hoping to catch more while everyone else was heading back.

But in the end? They were struck by lightning until they were like charcoal, their bodies charred black, dying a gruesome death.

Others who couldn’t make it home in time were struck by lightning and instantly obliterated, leaving not even bones behind.

The power of the lightning had served as a warning, paid for with countless lives. No one dared to gamble with their own.

Everyone did their best to rush home before dark. Even if they couldn’t make it, they’d find a safe piece of land to take shelter, refusing to remain on the water.

"Please, give me a ride!"

"Some bastard punctured my inflatable raft! I’m not a good swimmer, I can’t make it back. I’ll die if I stay out here!"

A man blocked their speedboat. He was in his forties, and the small inflatable raft beneath him was in tatters. It was taking on so much water that it was barely afloat and beginning to sink.

The man looked at Stephen Lawrence and Stella Sterling with a pleading, anxious expression.

Stephen Lawrence looked to Stella Sterling, waiting for her to make the call. He wasn’t in a position to decide something like this. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Still, he shot the man a sympathetic glance. ’Knowing Stella,’ he thought, ’she’s no bleeding heart. This guy is probably going to be disappointed.’

Sure enough, Stella Sterling’s reply was completely unsurprising. "No. Get out of the way."

"Young lady, you’re so pretty. How can your heart be so cruel? Can’t you just give me a lift? I can even pay you. Here, I just caught these two fish. Take them as payment for the ride. Please, have a heart!"

Hearing this, Stella Sterling finally looked at him properly. She chuckled, her tone unreadable. "There’s a place to land right nearby. If you were really worried about getting back, you could have gone there. And yet you’re offering me the fish you worked so hard to catch. How generous of you!"

At her words, the man’s eyes flickered. Then he sighed with a pained expression. "I have no choice. I have a young daughter at home who needs me, so I have to go back!"

"Please, girl, have a heart!"

People nearby glanced over, but most didn’t want to get involved.

Some were just drifting in wooden tubs, which were slow and hard to steer. With the sky about to darken, they didn’t dare linger outside. They were in no mood to watch a show and just wanted to hurry home.

"Oh, really? And what does that have to do with me?"

Stella Sterling shot him a sardonic look. Seeing his expression darken as he was about to erupt in anger, she started walking toward him.

At this, a flash of glee crossed the man’s eyes, and the hand behind his back twitched.

As she drew near, Stella Sterling spoke. "Besides, you’re the one who punctured your own raft. If you really can’t get back, you deserve it."

The man’s face fell. He never imagined she had seen what he’d done.

A vicious resolve took hold of him. He whipped out the kitchen knife hidden behind his back and swung it at Stella Sterling, his eyes wild.

The next moment, he felt a cold slash across his neck.

He reached up and felt a handful of blood. The kitchen knife dropped from his grasp. His body pitched forward, plunging into the water with a loud SPLASH that sent up a spray of water.

Stella Sterling lifted the few buckets off the inflatable raft and set them on her own boat. ’A freebie,’ she thought. ’Waste not, want not.’

She turned and gave Stephen Lawrence a displeased look. "In the future, you handle this kind of thing."

Stephen Lawrence lowered his head in terror. "Yes, yes..."

Not far away, a few others who had also been eyeing Stella Sterling’s speedboat watched with wide eyes. "Damn, that woman is ruthless. Not an ounce of compassion."

"Who isn’t ruthless these days? You think it’s still like the old days?"

"I’d say the guy was just sloppy. He gave himself away and got caught. Serves him right for dying."

They muttered amongst themselves, but no one sympathized with the dead man. They quickly suppressed any similar ideas they might have had.

After Stella Sterling left, several people swarmed the spot. They snatched up the kitchen knife, not even leaving the tattered inflatable raft behind.

「Orilon Complex」

From a distance, she could see other people on the water within the complex.

They were gathered in small groups. Some were on inflatable rafts, some on wooden planks, and others were sprawled in wooden tubs.

Stella Sterling even saw a person swimming in the water, desperately paddling toward the buildings.

Those people were all acquaintances, all from Building A.

Hearing the commotion on the water, people looked over, both curious and wary.

When they saw it was Stella Sterling, they relaxed. Felix Lawrence’s wife, Jane Pence, was on an inflatable raft with her son. Judging by the several buckets they had with them, their haul had been pretty good.

She smiled and greeted Stella Sterling, "Miss Sterling, you went out today, too. How was the catch?"

The others looked at Stella Sterling. Though there was no hostility in their eyes, there was a great deal of envy and surprise.

’A speedboat? Where in the world did she get something like that?’

Stella Sterling nodded to Jane Pence and pointed to the buckets she had just acquired. "Just caught a few. Luck wasn’t on my side."

"A few is still good. That’s a decent meal, and if you cure them, they’ll last a long time!"

Jane Pence said comfortingly.

Everyone was out scavenging on the water during the day now, but a haul was never guaranteed.

"That’s true, but with food so scarce, it’s always better to get a little more whenever you can."

Stella Sterling replied casually, not wanting to chat further, and piloted the boat to Building A.

By now, the floodwaters reached halfway up the building. They entered the lobby and then worked together to haul the speedboat inside.

Even inside the building, water was everywhere, reaching up to Stella Sterling’s waist.

The situation only improved once they went upstairs, but even there, the floors were soaking wet. The lower floors, of course, were completely uninhabitable.

The windows in many of their apartments had been shattered by the earlier hailstorm, and those already broken frames offered no resistance when the floodwaters came.

The apartments on the lower floors were completely submerged.

However, there weren’t many people left alive in their building anyway, and most had already moved to the upper floors.

"It’s hell on earth out there."

After they got back, Stephen Lawrence sighed. For the past two years, he hadn’t once left the building. He knew the flood had submerged the entire city, but without seeing it for himself, he had never realized just how bad things had gotten.