Chapter 28: Courting Death

Overnight, the entire city was blanketed in white snow. The world seemed transformed.

Stella Sterling opened the window a crack. The cold wind howled in, scraping painfully against her face. She could feel the temperature had dropped significantly since yesterday.

She immediately shut the window, sealing it tight, and pulled the curtains down as well.

Moving away from the window, she turned on her phone, and a flood of messages immediately started pouring in, pinging nonstop. The homeowners’ group chat for her residential complex had exploded. Stella tapped into it and glanced through the messages.

At first, someone in the group had mentioned how strange the snow was, and a few people discussed it. Then the group went quiet for a while. But in the dead of night, it lit up again. It turned out a resident was causing a commotion—someone had frozen to death last night.

It was supposed to be May. Although it had snowed during the day yesterday, it hadn’t lasted long, so not many people paid it much mind. Most had gone to sleep in short sleeves, so when the temperature plummeted last night, disaster struck.

Those with weak immune systems, as well as some of the elderly, had frozen to death in their sleep. There were several such cases in her building alone.

The person causing the scene was the resident from the 14th floor. An elderly person in their family had noticed something was wrong in time and immediately turned on the heat. Although the elder had passed out from the cold, they were still breathing. They had also called for an ambulance right away.

But the snow last night was too heavy, and the roads were buried. The ambulance couldn’t get through. The family tried to take the elder to the hospital themselves, but they were trapped in the complex by the snow. In the end, the elder still died.

So the 14th-floor resident started raising hell with the property management. A few other homeowners who had also lost family members to the cold were grieving and similarly started making a fuss in the group chat. The chat had erupted into a heated argument.

Of course, by the time Stella saw the messages, things had calmed down. Only a few people were left discussing the snow, which was still falling.

Online, rumors of the apocalypse were spreading like wildfire.

The snow last night was intense, even heavier than during the day. It had been falling all night without stopping. It wasn’t just their complex where people had frozen to death; there were reports from all over. In the countryside, some old, dilapidated houses had collapsed under the weight of the snow, trapping many people underneath. Although rescue teams had been dispatched, a significant number were already dead. Others hadn’t been dug out yet, but in this weather, their chances were slim.

This event seemed different from ordinary disasters. Overnight, there were reports of several hundred people freezing to death, and who knows how many more went unreported. Adding those crushed by collapsed buildings and those still awaiting rescue, it was impossible to know how many would die this time.

People were finally realizing that something was seriously wrong.

Stella made herself a bowl of beef noodles and steamed a plate of crab. She scrolled through the news online while enjoying her meal.

She had been a little worried before, but now that the apocalypse was truly here, she felt surprisingly calm.

’I know everyone is still clinging to hope, thinking the snow will stop soon and everything will go back to normal,’ she thought. ’But I also know this snow will last for two years. Countless people will die in it. This is only the beginning.’

After a while, her eyes grew tired. Stella logged off and focused on her food. While others were consumed with worry, she savored every bite. ’The apocalypse is here,’ she mused. ’Peaceful days like this will be rare from now on. Even with ingredients, it won’t be easy to cook. I have to cherish the life I have right now.’

Lydia Magnus called several times, but Stella didn’t answer. It wasn’t just her calls; she ignored everyone else’s too. She read the messages she received but didn’t reply, maintaining a completely invisible state.

Her apartment had been specially modified. Despite the freezing temperatures outside, the temperature inside remained a few degrees above zero. With the heat on and the windows shut, Stella didn’t feel cold; it was almost like any other day.

After lunch, she took a pleasant afternoon nap. When she woke up, it was three in the afternoon, and the snow still hadn’t stopped.

She glanced out the window. By her estimate, the snow was a couple of inches deeper than it had been that morning. The complex was completely snowed in; there was no way out, and not a single person was in sight.

After a moment’s thought, she went back inside to grab a thermometer. She reached her hand out the window. The exposed skin felt the biting cold, and snowflakes landed on her palm. She pulled her hand back in an instant, but it was already frozen red.

Stella paid it no mind and looked at the thermometer—

-30 degrees Celsius!!!

Weather that could freeze a person to death. Even in winter, when people were prepared, a temperature like that could be lethal, let alone when it struck so unexpectedly.

In the afternoon, "school closures" started trending online. Most companies had also declared a holiday. Those who could work from home did, while those who couldn’t were given time off.

For some people who didn’t want to go to work, this was fantastic news. The joy from this announcement even dispelled some of the anxiety caused by the blizzard. Some people even made the absurd comment that they hoped the snow would last a little longer.

Seeing comments like that, Stella let out a cold laugh. ’Just you wait,’ she thought. ’You’ll all be crying soon enough!’

A special notification tone from her phone sounded. She glanced at it; it was the property management in the group chat, tagging everyone. They were asking all residents who were at home to respond so they could do a headcount.

Several people in the group had already checked in, but she just looked at it and put her phone down, with no intention of replying.

The snow continued to fall until it finally stopped at eight in the evening. By then, the snow on the ground had turned to ice, and the drifts were level with the first floor. The moment the snow stopped, cheers could be heard from within the complex.

"It stopped! It finally stopped!"

"Thank God! If it kept snowing, I was afraid it would collapse the building!"

"We don’t really keep extra food in the house. I had to turn the place upside down just to find something to eat today. If the snow hadn’t stopped, we would’ve had nothing left for tomorrow."

"Haha, my house is a different story! I’ve got tons of supplies. I learned my lesson, so now my big freezer at home is always packed to the brim."

Everyone in the group was ecstatic. They all assumed that since the snow had stopped, it wouldn’t start again. They believed that by tomorrow, the snow would start to melt and everything would return to normal. So everyone began to relax, chatting about their home supplies. One person even posted pictures of a fully stuffed refrigerator and a guest room piled high with snacks, drawing a chorus of envious replies.

"Haha, can I come over to your place and bum some food and drinks?"

Someone tagged the person who posted the photos, adding an emoji with sparkling eyes.

The resident of 2809 immediately replied, "You’re welcome to be my guest anytime!"

"Moron!"

Stella chuckled and turned off her phone. She found her brainless neighbor ridiculous and began to say a little prayer for them.

’There’s something wrong with that person’s head,’ she thought. ’An act like that, right now... It won’t be long before it brings about their own doom.’