Stella Sterling ignored all of it. Since that day, she hadn’t once opened her door; the world outside was no longer her concern.
However, even cooped up at ho, she could hear the constant argunts from within the building. There hadn’t been a mont of peace for days.
River Larkin hadn’t shown up at her door in days. Stella didn’t need to check; she knew he was likely being watched by the three Bell brothers and was too afraid to leave his apartnt.
The mont he stepped outside, the three Bell brothers would corner him and give him a vicious beating.
Thanks to that, she’d had a few days of peace and quiet.
anwhile, significant changes were taking place within Orilon Complex. Aside from the feuding families, most other residents, much like Stella Sterling, had started to keep to themselves and stay behind closed doors.
They no longer dropped in on their neighbors out of boredom as they had before.
The events of that night had ultimately been a wake-up call, making everyone realize that the world was different now. Even if you killed soone, no one would co to investigate.
A few days later, the sound of a drone broadcast once again echoed over the complex, telling everyone to go to Solara Plaza to collect supplies.
The mont the announcent sounded, it broke the ice of the tense atmosphere that had gripped the complex for days. People cheered and scread, and a simultaneous roar erupted from several buildings, the sound carrying far into the distance.
This was the second relief supply drop, and everyone was even more excited than the first ti. Over the past few days, many people’s food supplies had started running low again. They had been anxiously wondering if the authorities would distribute more supplies, and now they were counting on this batch to survive!
This news was the reassurance everyone desperately needed.
Whether it was the feuding families like Quinn Chase’s or the three Bell brothers who had spent the last few days stalking River Larkin, everyone temporarily set aside their grudges, hurriedly dressed, grabbed their things, and prepared to leave.
As Stella Sterling headed downstairs, the stairwell was already crowded with people ready to leave, their steps hurried and their faces alight with joy.
The few people she passed who had seen her before instinctively gave her a wide berth, which Stella Sterling found rather amusing.
When she reached the fifth floor, she saw the fourth-floor hallway was packed with people, and even the stairwell was jamd.
The window was so small that only one person could get through at a ti. Everyone was cramd together, creating a bottleneck.
Stella Sterling heard soone shouting impatiently, "Hurry up! We’re all waiting to get food! If you keep dawdling and make us miss out, are you going to take responsibility?"
"Yeah, look how many people are waiting!"
"Oh, I can’t help it! I’m old, and this windowsill is high. Please, just be patient!"
"If you’re going to be that slow, get to the back! Let go first!"
"Ah! W-w-what do you think you’re doing—"
Stella Sterling watched the line descend into chaos and shook her head.
Then she noticed sothing interesting: this ti, in addition to their anti-cold and anti-slip gear, many people were carrying weapons at their waists.
There was a whole assortnt of weapons, from clubs to kitchen cleavers.
’Looks like everyone is finally aware of the situation,’ she thought. ’They’re not going out defenseless anymore.’
After all, during the last supply run, there had been quite a few incidents of won being robbed while alone.
She turned around and went straight back up to the fifth floor.
In this building, the height between floors was less than three ters. The drop from the fifth floor to the ground was about five ters. It was a bit high, but for Stella Sterling, it wasn’t a major issue.
She climbed onto the windowsill, scanned her surroundings, and then quickly started climbing down. When she was about two ters from the ground, she let go and dropped.
Just then, soone erged from the fourth-floor window and jumped in fright at the sight of Stella Sterling landing. "AHH! You scared the life out of ! You just jumped from that high up? Do you have a death wish?!"
"I do value my life. I’m just hard to kill."
Stella Sterling smiled, then turned to leave. She saw that not far away, in the complex’s garden, the residents who had erged from the various buildings hadn’t left. Instead, they were gathered together, as if soone was organizing them into a line.
Stella Sterling saw Ms. Larkin holding a large bullhorn and shouting to the people erging from each building, "Residents of Orilon Complex, over here! Line up! We’ll all head to Solara Plaza together so we can watch out for each other!"
Hearing this, the people just erging from the building all headed toward her. Being part of a large group was better than going alone.
Everyone was happy with the arrangent, so it was easy to get them organized.
Stella Sterling considered it for a mont but didn’t head toward the line.
’There are pros and cons to this,’ she thought. ’A large group ans no one would dare to ss with you. Just the sight of you is a deterrent.’
’But a disorganized mob with no one strong enough to lead it is just asking for trouble.’
’Besides, moving with a group would slow down considerably.’
After so thought, Stella Sterling decided against it. ’For now, it’s much more convenient for to act alone.’
But who would have thought that while Stella Sterling had no intention of joining the group, others had different ideas.
Ms. Larkin was already walking in her direction, bullhorn in hand. "Hey, young lady! You’re the one from Building 28, right? Everyone’s lining up over there. Why aren’t you joining them?"
So people glanced over at Stella Sterling. Those who didn’t recognize her were rely curious. ’Wouldn’t a young woman on her own be the first to want to stick with the group?’
But those from Stella Sterling’s own building, the ones who had heard the stories about her, had a change in expression. They seed hesitant, almost resistant to the idea of having her join them.
"No, thank you. I’m in a hurry."
Stella Sterling declined. She glanced at the crowd still waiting. The weather was already unbearably cold, yet they were standing around in line, waiting for everyone else to assemble. Who knew how long that would take.
’In the ti it takes them to stand around freezing, I could probably get my supplies and be on my way back.’
Ms. Larkin looked like she wanted to say more, but Stella Sterling cut her off. "I don’t like being in big groups. I’m used to doing things on my own."
After saying her piece, she gave a polite nod and glided away on her ice skates. ’If it weren’t so conspicuous to ride a snowmobile in broad daylight, I’d just take that and go,’ she thought.
The others’ eyes lit up when they saw her ice skates. The heavy snow had buried many cars, and the ones in the parking garage were impossible to get out. Even if they could, the roads were undrivable.
The ice skates, on the other hand, were an excellent tool—much faster than trudging along at a snail’s pace.
You’d have to deal with the biting wind, but if you bundled up properly like she had, that was a small price to pay.
Unfortunately, most of them didn’t own a pair.
The wind howled in her ears. Only her eyes were exposed, but she could still feel the biting cold on her face. She kept her hands stuffed in her pockets. Before leaving, she had stuck several disposable heat packs to her base layer of clothing, placing them on her back and the soles of her feet. As they began to warm up, the heat finally started to drive away the deep chill in her body.
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