「Day twenty-three of the great snow.」

The temperature outside was dropping lower and lower. Even though Stella Sterling’s house had been reinforced with plenty of insulation, she could still feel the indoor temperature steadily falling.

The air conditioner was running. Stella sat at her heated table, curled up on the sofa, and read a medical textbook.

Perhaps it was from regularly drinking the water from her space, but her health was excellent and her memory kept improving. In the past few days, Stella had already finished several medical books, committing the theoretical knowledge to heart. The only problem was that she had nothing to practice on, so she had no idea how skilled she actually was. All she could do was continue absorbing knowledge from the books.

Her plan was to finish the Western medical theory, understand it thoroughly, and then move on to books about traditional Chinese medicine. She wanted to use this time to learn as much as possible. It was still the beginning of the apocalypse; as long as you had food and drink and didn’t have to go outside, you were relatively safe. The longer this went on, the more dangerous it would become.

This was the only free time she would have to read. Opportunities like this would be rare later on.

Warming herself by the heater, sipping juice, and reading her book—life was lazy and comfortable. Before long, Stella dozed off.

Meanwhile, for a few families outside, the last of their food supplies had run out in the past two days.

No matter how much they scrimped and saved, they only had so much food at home. The day it would run out was inevitable.

The snow had been falling for so many days, and the power and internet had been out for just as long. In an era where no one was in the habit of stockpiling food, it was a small miracle they had lasted this long.

From yesterday to today, two families hadn’t eaten a single grain of rice. Their children were wailing from hunger.

Forget the children—even the adults were ashen-faced. With the snow showing no sign of stopping, going out to find food was impossible. Left with no other choice, they could only go door-to-door, begging for something to eat.

In the past, among neighbors, a little food was nothing precious. People would have readily agreed and even given a little extra.

But now, the world was different. When you couldn’t buy food, it was more important than anything. Asking for food was like asking for someone’s life.

So, not only did the two families get nothing, they received a torrent of curses instead.

However, they didn’t give up. They went from door to door, hoping to find someone soft-hearted enough to spare them something.

Soon, they arrived at the home that had taken in Lily Pence. The residents were an elderly couple. Years ago, their only son had died in a car accident without leaving any children, leaving the two of them to depend on each other.

The couple had a good reputation in the community and were very kind-hearted. It was precisely because of this that Lily Pence had managed to persuade them with just a few words to take in her entire family.

Hearing the miserable pleas from outside, the couple couldn’t bear it. Grandma Lawrence said to her husband, "Dear, we still have some instant noodles from before. We don’t eat them anyway, so let’s give them some. There are children out there, it’s just too pitiful to watch!"

"Alright, alright, I’ll go get them right now!"

"No!" Lily Pence suddenly cried out, stopping them. "Grandma Lawrence, we don’t have much food left either! If you give some away every time someone comes begging, we won’t have enough for ourselves!"

After a few days, she had gotten a good sense of the household’s situation. The couple was old and not in the best of health, so they liked to buy and store many things whenever they went out. They had stockpiled a considerable amount of long-lasting foods like potatoes, cabbage, and sweet potatoes.

There were also several bags of rice, as well as some dry rations and flour-based goods. She never expected the family that took her in to have so many good things, which had made her ecstatic for a long time.

If they were frugal, this food could last them a very long time—maybe even long enough to see the snow stop.

But if the old couple kept giving things away to others, no amount of food could withstand them squandering it like this.

"But... those are people’s lives out there. That child will die if they don’t eat soon!" Grandpa Lawrence said, his voice trembling. Having lived for so long, he knew the current situation all too well. It was just that seeing those little children reminded him of his own son’s childhood, and he couldn’t bear to see them suffer.

"Grandpa Lawrence, no matter how pitiful they are, it’s none of our business! If we give them our food, we’ll be the ones with nothing. We’ll be the ones going hungry! These past few days, Danny and Timmy have come to see you as their own grandparents. Can you really bear to watch them suffer and starve later on?"

Lily Pence cried, pulling her two children in front of her. The two kids looked pitifully at the old couple.

At this point, she had long since started treating everything in the house as her own, completely forgetting that she herself was just someone they had taken in.

The old Lawrence couple looked at the two children, feeling conflicted. In the end, they insisted on just giving a piece of bread to the child outside. This was their final decision, and Lily Pence could only agree.

But as she watched them hand the bread out and heard the sounds of gratitude from outside, her eyes were filled with hatred as she stared at the old couple’s backs.

But when they turned around, her expression was once again pitiful and submissive...

"Residents of Avelon Road, please proceed to Solara Plaza to collect survival supplies. Each resident may only claim one share. For the elderly, children, or individuals with special needs who have difficulty moving, a family member may collect on their behalf with an ID card."

"Residents of Avelon Road..."

In her sleep, Stella Sterling heard the broadcast. She opened her eyes and listened carefully again. After confirming she hadn’t misheard, she hurried to the window. A drone with a loudspeaker was repeating the same message over and over.

Stella saw many people poking their heads out of their homes, looking up at the sky with joyful expressions.

Someone even shouted toward the drone, "We’re out of food! Give us some!"

But the drone gave no reply. It simply hovered over the residential area for a while, repeating the message to ensure everyone living there could hear it, before heading off in another direction.

The drone was gone, but everyone had heard the message: they were to go to Solara Plaza to collect survival supplies.

The government was finally making a move! The thought flashed through everyone’s minds, and a wave of excitement washed over them. Without a second thought, they grabbed their gear and headed outside. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Stella Sterling put down her binoculars and thought for a moment. She also put on her coat and hat, closed the door to her home, and prepared to go have a look.

’Even though I don’t lack supplies, I should still go check it out. Otherwise, people will easily figure out that I’m not short on anything, and I’ll become a target.’

’Going out will help me blend in, and I can also gather some information about the situation outside. If I get the chance, I can even search for some supplies nearby.’