The past two days flew by. In the blink of an eye, it was almost the New Year, and the government’s New Year supplies for The Metropolis Residences had all arrived.

The supplies were escorted by armed soldiers and military police and stored in the warehouse of Crystal Mart.

For the past few days, the property management staff and security guards had been practically sleeping in the commercial area, determined not to give any criminals an opportunity to strike.

First thing in the morning, property management sent out a notice informing the residents of The Metropolis Residences that they could start lining up to purchase New Year supplies at 6:00 PM tonight.

Each resident could purchase about a pound of pork, 200 milliliters of cooking oil, three pounds of flour, and three pounds of rice. The prices were several times higher than before the cataclysm, but compared to the post-apocalypse prices, this was a complete steal.

The moment the notice went out, the community’s group chat exploded with activity:

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: This is great! The prices are so cheap. We can finally let the kids eat something good. They’ve gotten so tired of sand vine cakes they’ve lost their appetites."

"4-1209 Just Slacking: AHHHHH! I was starting to think there was no point in living anymore, but now that I see we can buy pork, I feel like I can go on!"

"5-1107 Azure: I don’t know why, but I kind of want to cry. We can finally have a proper New Year. I just wonder when these days will ever end."

"6-702 The Lover: Yeah, I remember the tornadoes started last April, then came the extreme heat. Now it’s already February. It’s been almost a whole year."

"2-1408 Bella Grant: So the government still has reserves. That’s incredible. We’ve had a whole year with no harvests, right?"

"2-1908 Coco: The national grain reserve is enough for the entire country to eat their fill for at least a year. Plus, our country imported a lot of food in the very beginning. If they control the supply, it should be enough to last another six months."

"7-901 Adventurous Lawson: But can things really go back to normal in six months? Will the temperature drop in the new year? I don’t know how much longer I can hold on if this continues."

"4-1209 Just Slacking: Who cares! Let’s just eat these supplies first! Even if I die, I’ll die a well-fed ghost!"

"2-1408 Bella Grant: Don’t talk about dying during the New Year. We all have to keep living."

"..."

Winnie Summers and Colin Summers went to Crystal Mart early in the morning to prepare for the evening’s supply distribution.

Melody Summers wasn’t idle, either. She went to the farm in the Arcadian Space with a hemp rope to tie up the miniature pigs.

The miniature pigs bred quickly. They ate a lot of feed every day, and by now, more than twenty were ready for slaughter. With all the piglets running around on top of that, the entire enclosure felt a bit crowded.

Melody Summers kept a few for breeding and sent the other dozen or so miniature pigs to the processing workshop to be slaughtered. They were de-haired, deboned, and gutted, then ground into a mince that was thirty percent fat and seventy percent lean.

Looking at the freshly made mince, Melody Summers nodded in satisfaction. ’This filling will make incredibly delicious dumplings.’

She mixed the meat with vegetables she had grown earlier—chives, fennel, green onions, shepherd’s purse, eggplant, and more—to create a "New Year Dumpling Filling Gift Box." She listed it on the Arcadia Store, priced at 50,000 per box.

The moment Melody Summers listed the item, thousands of the gift boxes were instantly sold out.

As Melody Summers diligently packed and shipped the orders, she recalled the timeline from her past life. ’If everything happens as it did before, this heatwave should end in about two more months.’

Starting in April, multiple volcanoes around the world would begin to erupt one after another. The volcanic ash from the eruptions would be sent high into the atmosphere, blanketing the sky and plunging the entire globe into a long, dark night.

Sunlight would be unable to penetrate the clouds, and the surface temperature would continually drop, ushering in an era of cold nights and snowfall.

Melody Summers remembered that the heavy snows in the later period would fall intermittently for more than two months, freezing countless people to death.

Many people didn’t make it, finding their eternal rest that year.

After finishing the shipments, Melody Summers left the space and went downstairs, where her grandmother and Miss Lowell were busy in the front yard’s vegetable patch.

The chives and fennel in the garden were growing vigorously. While watering them, her grandmother muttered that in a few days, they could use these vegetables to make dumplings for the New Year.

Grace Sutton was in the backyard, practicing with a crossbow aimed at a target. Melody Summers had given everyone in the Summers family a crossbow a few days ago and taught them how to use it. The whole family was practicing hard, even her grandmother and Miss Lowell.

As evening approached, Melody Summers went to Crystal Mart. It was still too hot outside, so there weren’t many people in the supermarket yet.

The people in the supermarket had already finished portioning out the supplies and were now resting and enjoying the air conditioning.

The supermarket shelves were full, and piles of pork, rice, flour, and cooking oil were stacked on the floor. The scene was quite spectacular.

To prevent residents from rushing and the situation from getting out of control, Officer Sean Pierce and Officer Tristan Tanner, along with property security, had set up a checkpoint twenty meters from the supermarket. All residents coming to buy supplies had to pass through in orderly lines and would be let through in batches.

Crystal Lynch whispered to Melody Summers, "I heard that people from the city police department and the military police are also patrolling the supply points in every residential complex, just in case something happens. They should get to our complex around six. Some of the property guards and the resident patrol team are already positioned near the entrances of each apartment building to make sure no one gets robbed on their way back."

Hearing Crystal Lynch’s description, Melody Summers felt reassured.

Just then, a man’s shout suddenly came from outside the supermarket—

"Winnie! Wife! Just give me one more chance! Please, come out and see me!"

Then came Officer Tristan Tanner’s sharp rebuke: "What are you doing? Put the child down!"

Inside the supermarket, everyone looked at each other, baffled.

Winnie Summers’s brow furrowed. ’That voice... It’s Adam Lawson again!’

Melody Summers quickly walked out of the supermarket to check on the situation.

A few security guards were standing in front of the supermarket, trying to block two people from entering.

Melody Summers peeked over and saw that the two people were indeed Adam Lawson and Joel Lawson.

Adam Lawson had Joel Lawson trapped in his arms. He held Joel with his left arm while his right hand held a kitchen knife to Joel’s neck, threatening the security guards to keep them from approaching.

Melody Summers frowned at the two, one tall and one short... Suddenly, she realized something and pointed at the father and son. "You two were the ones who took advantage of the chaos the other day to come to our house and break the security camera!?"

Seeing Melody Summers, Adam Lawson quickly shouted, "Daughter, Dad just wanted to see you all so badly. Daughter, help me convince your mom. Tell her to remarry Dad! Don’t you want a complete family?!"

As he shouted, Adam Lawson used Joel Lawson in his arms to threaten Officer Sean Pierce, who was trying to approach and subdue him.

He gestured with the knife at Joel Lawson’s neck and threatened loudly, "Don’t come any closer! One more step and I’ll kill him! Aren’t you police? Aren’t you supposed to protect the hostage’s safety?!"

Winnie Summers stood at the supermarket entrance, looking at the scene in disbelief. She frowned at Adam Lawson and said, "Adam Lawson, have you lost your mind? You’re using your own child to threaten people? That’s your son!"

Adam Lawson was overjoyed to see Winnie Summers come out. He immediately shouted to her, "Wife, let’s get back together! Listen to me, I know you couldn’t accept Noelle Quillan, but I already made her and that money-losing brat get lost! Now you can accept me, right? Let’s remarry, and I promise I’ll live a good life with you from now on!"

Melody Summers couldn’t help but frown at his words. ’What’s gotten into Adam Lawson?’

’Yesterday, Grace Sutton said the two kids might not even be his, and he defended Noelle Quillan back then. Why the sudden change of heart today? What on earth happened to his family these past few days?’

Hearing this, Colin Summers quickly pulled Winnie Summers behind him and shouted at Adam Lawson, "Adam Lawson, are you dreaming?! Why don’t you take a good look at yourself in the mirror! My sister is never getting back together with you, so get lost!"

Adam Lawson glanced at Colin Summers and continued shouting, "Wife, your brother just can’t stand to see you happy. They don’t want you to remarry me because they want to tie you to their family for life, to have you slave away for them! Wife, I’m the only one who’s truly good to you! Only I can give you a complete family! You have to believe me this time!"

Colin Summers was furious. He started to push through the crowd to grab Adam Lawson.

’He didn’t believe it for a second. Would Adam Lawson really harm Joel Lawson in his arms? That’s his precious son, the one he went through so much trouble to have.’

Seeing Colin Summers getting closer, Adam Lawson suddenly yelled in a hoarse voice, "Stay back! Don’t force my hand!"

Veins bulged on his forehead, his eyes bloodshot with fury. He actually moved the kitchen knife and sliced a wound across Joel Lawson’s neck—

Blood immediately gushed from Joel Lawson’s neck!