"2-1408 Bella Grant: Oh my god, how did it come to this? I really regret not stocking up a few days ago. Now I can’t buy anything! Forget rice and flour, but how are the dried noodles and instant noodles gone too? I went to the supermarket today and all that was left were some little snacks."

"3-805 Fruit Gummy: Good thing I stockpiled some food. If I’m frugal, I can get by."

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: @2-1408 Bella Grant, are you saying Crystal Mart is out of stock? Why don’t you just go buy from a supermarket outside?"

"12-1803 Lawson - AAA Building Materials: @3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two, you must not have gone out in a long time. All the big malls out there are closed now, and other small supermarkets ran out of goods ages ago. Our area is remote and less populated, which is why we’ve actually had more stock."

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: Oh, I see. Good thing my family stocked up on a ton of food a few days ago. The weather’s been so hot lately and the kids are out of school, so I haven’t left the house in days."

"4-1209 Goofing Off: That’s terrifying. I heard the heatwave this year caused a total crop failure. People aren’t actually going to starve to death, are they? My god, this is the twenty-first century! I’m not going to be the one who starves to death in the new millennium, am I?"

"2-1908 Coco: Don’t panic. The national grain reserve is enough to feed all 1.4 billion of us for a year, eating as much as we want. The government isn’t going to just sit by and watch. Let’s just wait and see."

"..."

’It’s true,’ Melody Summers thought. ’These manufacturers are holding back stock on purpose to profit from the disaster. The government won’t stand for it. They’ll be sending people to take control of the factories’ inventories any day now.’

Melody Summers put down her phone and was chatting with Crystal Lynch when a commotion erupted next door. She glanced out the window just in time to see several security guards rush out of the neighboring shop and sprint toward the residential buildings.

The two exchanged a confused glance. Just then, Winnie Summers walked in, her face etched with worry. "You two stay in the store," she told them. "Don’t go out. Something’s happened."

Melody Summers shot to her feet. "Mom, what’s going on?"

Winnie Summers replied, "I heard there was a home invasion in apartment 805 of Building 3, and someone was killed. The police are stretched thin, so when the security guards heard about it, they rushed over to help."

’Building 3, apartment 805?’ The address sounded familiar to Melody. She picked up her phone, opened the group chat, and scrolled back until she found the message she’d seen earlier:

"3-805 Fruit Gummy: Good thing I stockpiled some food. If I’m frugal, I can get by."

’So the person in 3-805 was the one who said they had supplies.’

’Looks like her comment in the group chat got her into trouble.’

Melody suddenly felt a pang of anxiety. She didn’t want The Metropolis Residences to descend into chaos this quickly. Just then, the group chat lit up with discussions about the incident:

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: Oh my god, someone downstairs keeps screaming about murder! It’s terrifying!"

"6-2702 Holly: God, is it really that bad? What’s happening!?"

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: I heard what sounded like someone demanding the person inside hand over their supplies. Then the apartment went quiet. A little while later, he was shouting about murder again."

"4-1209 Goofing Off: Good heavens, what now? We just had a home invasion in our building a few days ago. Now there’s one in your building too? Is our community getting this unsafe?"

"12-1803 Lawson - AAA Building Materials: Our community is still one of the safe ones. I have a friend in the Garden Community, and they don’t even dare to sleep at night. They’ve already had two murders in a row over there, both from home invasions!"

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: Okay, okay, it’s over. It sounds like the police and property management are here. It should be safe now. That really scared me to death."

"..."

Melody’s heart clenched as she scrolled through the chat. A few hours later, Hollis from property management and a few security guards returned to the neighboring unit. Melody, Winnie Summers, and Crystal Lynch rushed over to ask what had happened.

"Hollis, what was all that about?" Winnie Summers asked, her brow furrowed with anxiety.

Hollis’s expression was grim. "It was a young girl in 805 of Building 3. She accidentally revealed in the residents’ group chat that she had supplies at home, and the old man in 705, the apartment below hers, targeted her."

"The old man from 705 knew she was home alone and probably figured a little girl would be an easy target. He went upstairs and started kicking her door, demanding she hand over all her supplies. He even threatened to kill her and burn her apartment down if she didn’t comply!"

Crystal Lynch gasped. "Is the girl in 805 okay? That man from 705 is unbelievable! Threatening a little girl with murder and arson!"

"The girl from 805 is fine. The old man from 705 is dead," Hollis said, his expression complex. "The girl was terrified of him pounding on the door and making threats. In her panic, she just snapped. She grabbed a kitchen cleaver, stormed out the door, and swung it at the old man. She hit a vital spot. He died instantly."

Hollis was still visibly shaken. It was the first time in his life he’d seen a dead body. The entire hallway was covered in blood, and the thick, coppery smell had nearly made him faint on the spot.

Melody hadn’t expected this outcome. Surprised, she pressed anxiously, "What did the police say? Did they take the girl from 805 in for questioning?"

Hollis’s expression grew even more complex, now tinged with a strange hint of relief. "The police listened to the girl’s account of what happened and checked the security footage from the hallway. They confirmed her story was true. And get this—the old man was carrying a lighter and a bottle of alcohol! When the girl opened her door, he was in the middle of splashing alcohol on it. If he’d managed to light it, the consequences would have been unthinkable!"

"Then the police checked 805’s household registration and found out the girl had just turned thirteen! After that, not only did the police not press the issue, they spent a long time comforting her. Once they were done with the girl, they just contacted the family of the man from 705 and told them to come handle the arrangements."

With home invasions and lootings becoming frequent, the police weren’t about to waste resources investigating a clear-cut case of self-defense—especially when the one who did the killing was a child not even fourteen years old.

"Thirteen!" Crystal asked in astonishment. "A thirteen-year-old girl can be that strong?"

"Kids these days eat well—nutritious meals, milk, and eggs every day. They develop fast. The girl is tall and solidly built, and pretty strong. The old man from 705 was getting on in years. He probably never imagined the girl would be such a handful. He likely thought all little girls could be easily controlled with a few threats. He was caught off guard and didn’t have time to dodge."

"The old man from 705 lived alone; his son and daughter-in-law are out of town. After we told them what happened, they said we at property management should just handle the final arrangements, as they can’t get back right now."

Hollis sighed and shook his head. "Actually, my coworker went to check 705. The old man still had plenty of supplies at his place—rice, flour, the works. I have no idea why he decided to rob someone."

Melody let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. ’Thank god the girl in 805 is okay. Thank god she didn’t just give up and wait to die, but had the courage to fight back.’ As for the dead man from 705, he got what he deserved. Melody felt no sympathy for him; if anything, she wanted to applaud.

The disaster had only just begun, and he was already eager to commit evil. If he had succeeded, others who were watching would have undoubtedly followed his example. That’s how order collapses.

Once order breaks down and the killing starts, everyone becomes a victim in the end.

Crystal sighed. "There are shortages everywhere. Our market can’t get any more food shipments, so it’s no wonder the residents are panicking. If things keep on like this, I’m afraid this sort of thing will just keep happening."

When people’s lives are on the line, more and more of them will resort to desperate measures.

At this, Hollis chimed in, "I hear the government is already working to get the situation under control. They’ve sent the army to take over a lot of factory warehouses. They’re taking inventory now, and in the future, they’ll distribute supplies based on the population of each residential community."

"Our country has plenty of grain reserves, and they’ll start distributing strategic supplies to different regions soon," Hollis said reassuringly. "I also heard they’ve been trying hard to import food, buying it from other countries at high prices."

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. As long as they could get food, things would be okay.

By now, evening had fallen. Residents started trickling into Crystal Mart, picking through the remaining snacks on the shelves for anything filling while discussing the murder that had occurred in Building 3. Everyone was still deeply shaken by the event.