But it had only been a few hours, and her mother had ended up like this.

Yana Larkin couldn’t believe that the person before her—face twisted in agony, hair a tangled, blood-stained mess—could possibly be the same mother who was always so impeccably put-together.

’It’s not real. None of this is real. It has to be a nightmare. Once I wake up, everything will be normal again—’

"You two, try not to be too heartbroken. Bury your mother, then go back and try to live on. The world’s different now. The law can’t protect us anymore. From now on, you have to be careful!"

Uncle Lawrence walked over to the two of them, patting Woody Larkin’s back as he tried to comfort them.

Yana Larkin cradled Ms. Larkin’s body, sobbing as she tried to wipe away the blood, completely unresponsive to Uncle Lawrence’s words.

Uncle Lawrence sighed. There was nothing he could do. In the past, he could have called the police for the siblings, but that was useless now. The perpetrators knew it, too, which was why they could act with such impunity.

’He’d heard that someone in Building A had killed a person, and nothing had happened to them. No police came to investigate. Everyone probably knew by now.’

’This really is the apocalypse!’

He was about to turn and leave when the silent Woody Larkin suddenly shouted, "Uncle Lawrence!"

The voice was filled with furious rage. Startled, Uncle Lawrence turned back to see Woody Larkin’s bruised face full of hatred, his bloodshot eyes glaring at him.

Uncle Lawrence was so scared he stumbled back two steps, then clutched at his chest. "You scared me to death, kid! I didn’t kill your mother! It had nothing to do with me!"

That look in the boy’s eyes... anyone who didn’t know better would think Woody was about to try and kill him. He rushed to explain.

"It was them, wasn’t it? The animals who broke into our house, they did it, right? They killed my mom, didn’t they?"

Woody Larkin growled, his body trembling violently—trembling with rage.

’Why would those people break into our house for no reason? There must be a reason.’

’And Mom was murdered!’

’It must have been the same group of people. They killed Mom, and then they robbed our house.’

’Actually, he had already guessed most of it, but he was unwilling to admit it. He needed to find out the truth. He wanted revenge.’

Uncle Lawrence’s eyes flickered. He didn’t want to offend those people, nor did he want to say anything more.

But for some reason, under the pressure of the boy’s intense gaze, he felt a jolt of fear. In the end, he quietly gave a brief summary of what had happened.

After he finished, he patted Woody Larkin’s shoulder again. "There’s no point in pursuing this now. What’s done is done. You two need to live on. If you run into any real trouble... you’ll just have to rely on yourselves!"

In the end, he just couldn’t bring himself to say the words, "If you have any trouble, come find me."

’Right now, I can barely protect myself. How could I possibly help anyone else?’

After hearing this, Woody Larkin’s body trembled even more violently. Not from the cold, nor from fear. From hatred.

He was shaking so hard that he collapsed weakly to his knees. Uncle Lawrence started to help him up but was frightened off by the look on his face.

He took two steps back, shot a look at Woody Larkin, then glanced at Yana Larkin, who still refused to accept reality. With a sigh, he left them to it and turned to leave.

"Why?! They killed someone! They should pay with their lives! They deserve to die!"

’What did Mom do wrong to be killed by those people?’

THUMP—

He slammed his fist into the snow, his eyes bloodshot. He didn’t know why the world had suddenly changed like this. All he knew was that he was filled with hate... so much hate!

"I’m going to kill them!"

He roared as he got to his feet and staggered forward. Yana Larkin snapped out of her daze and quickly grabbed him. "Get a grip! Revenge? How are you going to get revenge? There are so many of them!"

She just hadn’t wanted to believe it, but she had heard every word clearly. She hated them too, but she also understood that the two of them could do nothing on their own.

"They deserve to die! I’ll take down one of them, then another—I’ll kill as many as I can!"

"You can’t even kill one of them right now! Brother, calm down! We have to survive! If something happens to you too, what am I supposed to do all by myself?!"

Yana Larkin cried, holding him tightly to stop him. At this moment, she had to stay rational. Nothing could happen to her brother!

"So we just let them get away with it?!"

"First, we survive. As long as we’re alive, there’s always a chance," Yana Larkin murmured.

Woody Larkin let out a cry of rage before collapsing weakly to the ground, sobbing.

After a while, Yana Larkin composed herself, called to her brother, and prepared to bury their mother.

’I have to accept it, even if I don’t want to. It’s so cold out here. Our bodies won’t be able to take it if we stay any longer.’

’Our bodies can’t afford to break down now. It’s hard enough to survive in this new world, let alone get revenge on those people later.’

"So, it’s them."

On the 28th floor, Stella Sterling held a pair of binoculars, getting a clear view of the siblings.

She had taken a short afternoon nap and had just woken up to a commotion downstairs, so she came over to take a look.

The more she watched, the more familiar the siblings looked. After a moment, she finally remembered why: she had met them in her previous life.

In the sixth year of the apocalypse, she had crossed paths with them while fighting over a supply cache. At the time, the brother was a minor leader in some small faction, and the sister was rumored to be the faction leader’s lover.

Their goals had been different, so she never had a direct conflict with them.

But they had still left an impression on her.

’That woman was vicious and ruthless when she schemed; every one of her plans was a venomous plot.’

’And the boy was a skilled fighter who acted with a fierce resolve. He was a handful.’

’They look like their younger selves from six years ago. No wonder I didn’t recognize them at first.’

’To think they’re in the same residential complex as me.’

Suddenly, her eyes narrowed.

Below, the siblings were digging in the snow, trying to bury Ms. Larkin, when three men approached them. It started with taunts, but then they started getting physical. One man, with a greasy smile, reached out to touch Yana Larkin but was shoved away by Woody Larkin.

But the next moment, another man punched Woody to the ground. Two of them pinned him down, immobilizing him.

The first man started groping Yana Larkin again. She struggled, but what was a young woman’s strength against that of a grown man?

The same went for Woody Larkin. He was already injured, and now two grown men were holding him down. All he could do was roar at them, unable to break free.

Watching this scene unfold, Stella Sterling’s eyes narrowed. Her fingers tapped unconsciously against the glass window. Then, she turned around—

’I have to save them!’