Chapter 11


    They didn’t have keys to room 1803. Ste considered prying the door open with a tool. However,


    Lukas surprised her by pulling a strangely shaped pick out of his pocket. A few minutes of fiddling


    with the lock and - vo - the door was open.


    Ste was taken aback. Suddenly, she felt that the two doors to her home were not safe at all.


    Ang chuckled, "He has been messing around with this for a couple of days."


    1803 was a spacious three-bedroom, two-bath apartment. The furniture was covered with cloths,


    under which were some top-notch pieces. It seemed like the owners were quite well-off, hence not


    renting it out.


    Intruding into someone else''s home is illegal, and Ang felt uneasy. She suggested to Lukas,


    "We''re only staying temporarily, so let''s try not to touch their belongings and restore everything to its


    original state when we leave."


    They selected a room with less furniture and started cleaning up. Ste pitched in. The apartment


    was nice, except for the balcony, which was not enclosed by ss but cordoned off with invisible


    steel wires, causing water to spread everywhere.


    Ste noticed there was about a sack and a half of rice left, enough tost until the storm ended. So


    she dismissed the idea of giving them more food.


    She prepared a batch for Lukas and another for Cody. To avoid suspicion, she only gave them the


    necessary essentials. How far they could go depended on them.


    After cleaning up, seeing that the two were exhausted, Ste bid them goodnight. Being neighbors,


    they were bound to visit each other. Ste hid everything that should not be seen and had a hearty


    lunch. Chicken soup, BBQ ribs, stir-fried spinach, and a slice of watermelon.


    When she woke up from her nap, the inte was down. With the inte out, she feltpletely


    cut off from the world, a wave of loneliness hitting her.


    Feeling gloomy, Ste started to exercise. She was physically fit, having joined several clubs in


    college - taekwondo, self-defense, and boxing, which she learned from Ang. She wasn''t an


    expert in any of them, but she had a good understanding of them all.


    After two hours of vigorous training, she was dripping sweat but felt a sense of satisfaction she


    couldn''t describe. If she wanted to survive, and survive well, she had to keep improving herself.


    Ste made a n to spend two hours every day exercising, three hours studying medicine, and


    another two hours learning basic surgical knowledge.


    Arcadia had hundreds of books, all stolen from the school library. Over the years, she could slowly


    study them.


    She also had psychology books that she nned to start studying soon. Besides natural disasters


    and deaths, those who survived till the end of the world were not normal - somemitted suicide,


    some harmed themselves, and some took revenge on society.


    Ste was no exception. She was irritable, anxious, and depressed. So she had stocked up on


    plenty of anti-depressants, hoping she would never have to use them.


    The ss was tightly sealed, but the room was still damp. Ste had bought manyrge


    compression bags to store unused clothes and quilts, and hung wet clothes on Arcadia''s balcony to


    dry.


    The ck soil was mysterious. Even though it was synchronized with the outside world, the


    vegetables grew much better than those outside. The potato tubers in the nting pots had


    sprouted, and the grapevines showed signs of budding.


    After exiting Arcadia, Ste found several thick stic boards to cover the drains and then ced


    stones on top. During rainy days, roaches were rampant, especially in theter stages when they


    were endless and could easily crawl up from the drains.


    During floods, flushing toilets was extremelyborious. Those living on the upper floors were


    rtively better off. Those living on the second and third floors had already begun toin in the


    chat group before the inte was cut off, asking those above to have some decency and stop


    flushing things down.


    However, even those living on the upper floors were notfortable. Although they could manage


    to flush, the disgusting smell kept wafting up, making it unbearable.


    Just in case, Ste had prepared many ck stic bags for physiological needs. However,


    thinking about throwing them downstairs, she held back and nned to take care of them in


    Arcadia.


    Just as she was about to cook, Ang knocked on the door from outside. The two had slept all day


    and were much more energetic.


    Ang came over with a block of alcohol, surprised to see Ste''s well-stocked home,plete


    with a vegetable garden and rabbits on the balcony. "Ste, no wonder Lukas said you could


    survive even if thrown into a desert alone."


    She had always loved hoarding and gardening, and there was nothing to hide about it. But many


    things needed an exnation.


    "I was just lucky. A few days before the storm, I was running errands for Cody. He had a customer


    who’s a rich kid obsessed with end-of-the-world games. He asked me to prepare a lot of medicine


    for him and gave me a survival package when I delivered the goods."


    She listed several items, including a rubber boat and an earthquake emergency kit.


    Ang and Lukas were stunned. "Now that you mention it, it feels like the end of the world is really


    coming."


    Not only them, but many people felt the same way when the storm first hit, and the posts on the


    inte exploded. Living for almost twenty years, they had never experienced such a huge disaster.


    Moreover, not only the southern coastal areas were affected, but there was also no rescue news to


    date. Who wouldn''t be scared?


    Lukas wondered if the rich kid had received news in advance, otherwise, how could it be such a


    coincidence? In his building, there was a single young man who suffered from depression. A few


    days after running out of food, he had a mental breakdown, jumped from the building, and drowned.


    What was the difference between the current situation and the end of the world?


    Lukas suddenly asked, "Have you been in contact with Cody?"


    N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.


    Ste shook her head. She had converted hermission from buying medicine into supplies,


    ordered anonymously online, and had them delivered. As for what happened next, it was up to him.


    Cody was quite generous, spending money generously when hanging out. As a friend, there was


    nothing toin about. But he was too deprived of love, always dating older women. No one


    could persuade him. Later, Ste gave up on him.


    "He has a new girlfriend." Lukas forced a smile, "She''s more than a decade older than him, divorced


    with two kids, a ten-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son. She''s obviously from the slums,


    just looking for a meal ticket."


    Ste was speechless, "Is he looking for a girlfriend or a mother?"


    "Who knows." Lukas looked tired and sighed softly, "Coming out of an orphanage, who doesn''t have


    some issues?"


    He was no exception, often mocked for being a gigolo living off a woman.


    This wasn''t the first time Cody had made a mistake, but he was always uining and


    determined. Ste didn''t feel qualified to judge. After all, hadn''t she also been foolishly adoring


    Hector? Everyone had a choice. As long as they were happy, that was what mattered.


    In her previous life, Ste never saw Cody again. She didn''t know if he had survived the harsh end


    of the world.


    As the two were chatting in the living room, Ang suddenly shouted from the balcony, "Quick,


    quick, quick, a tornado."


    Ste walked out to see Ang looking shocked and panicked, her eyes as wide as saucers, even


    forgetting to breathe. Following her pointing finger, Ste saw a huge tornado in the gloomy sky.


    No, it was two tornadoes.