Chapter 81: Group Moral Blackmail

She glanced around the empty living room. Just a moment ago, it had been a mess of her own making, but now it was tidy and spotless.

On the table sat a spread of fruit, red wine, and some roasted seeds, while her phone played one of her favorite shows nearby.

Living like this, who could imagine this was the apocalypse? Even before the world ended, most people couldn’t live such a carefree life.

Back then, everyone had to work and earn a living. Who had the time to simply enjoy life?

As the sky gradually darkened, the unlit room slowly dissolved into shadow. The only sound in the profound quiet was the audio from her phone.

Suddenly, she sighed, a pang of regret for her poor planning. ’I should have gotten a pet before the apocalypse,’ she thought. ’That way, when I get really bored, at least I’d have a living thing to talk to!’

It was so boring now. She was even getting tired of watching TV.

’I’m just being ungrateful,’ she thought. ’This stable life is infinitely better than my past life, where I could have died at any moment.’

’And how long has it been? Yet I’m already getting bored!’

The red wine in her glass was gone. Stella Sterling swirled the empty goblet, then let her hand go slack. The glass fell to the floor, shattering into countless pieces with a crisp CRACK.

Hearing the sound, however, she let out a strange giggle, her mood instantly lifting.

After a moment, she crouched down and swept up the broken glass. Noticing the sky outside was now completely dark, she murmured, "Time for dinner. Hmm, what should I have tonight?"

Ever since everyone in the complex ran out of cooking gas, no one cooked anymore. Stella Sterling didn’t want to attract trouble, so she hadn’t lit a fire either. For a while now, she had simply been taking ready-to-eat meals directly out of her space.

With a single thought, Stella Sterling entered her personal space. It had grown a bit larger than before, and everything was neatly organized, making it much more pleasant to look at.

She walked over to the prepared-foods section and scanned the rows of dishes on the shelves, choosing her meal with care.

"Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce."

"Braised Prawns."

"Spicy Diced Chicken."

"Sweet and Sour Pork."

"Pork Rib and Corn Soup."

"Mmm, yes, these will do for tonight. I should add a vegetable dish. Can’t forget the veggies. What kind of greens should I have today!"

Stella picked through her options, trying not to repeat any dishes from the last couple of days. As soon as she saw something she craved, she took it out.

Finally, she arrived at the vegetable section. "You’ll do," she decided. "Stir-fried celtuce!"

"Four meat dishes, one vegetable, and one soup. That makes six dishes for today. It’s a shame, though. I kind of miss my own cooking!" Stella Sterling shook her head, grabbed a pot of rice, and finally exited her space.

She set everything out neatly and began to eat, already thinking, ’I should have hot pot next time.’

’Hot pot on a snowy day is the perfect combination. Who says you need company for it? This is pretty great on its own.’

As she ate, several screams and desperate pleas for mercy rang out from the complex, but Stella Sterling’s meal continued without a pause.

Screams like that had become a common occurrence in the complex these past few days. She was already used to it, completely unfazed.

And she wasn’t the only one. Nowadays, no matter what happened, no one came out to gawk or get involved.

’As long as it’s not happening to me, it’s fine,’ was the prevailing attitude.

For the most part, this was the mentality of those who still had food stockpiled. The starving, on the other hand, had to resort to desperate measures for a single bite, while those with dwindling supplies were forced to start scheming.

Only those with a stockpile of food could afford to stay locked in their homes, ignoring the chaos outside.

They knew how chaotic it was out there, and that knowledge made them bolt their doors even tighter. After all, they had food. They didn’t need to venture out and take risks.

’As long as we don’t go out, nothing will happen to us,’ they thought.

What they didn’t realize was that the situation in the complex had already been turned upside down. They had no idea that by staying cooped up at home all day, they had already become fat sheep in the eyes of others—prey waiting to be hunted.

And that included Stella Sterling.

However, Stella Sterling already had a formidable reputation in the building. Everyone knew she was mentally unstable, and her actions were often bizarre. She seemed like someone you didn’t want to mess with.

Furthermore, for over a month now, strange noises had frequently emanated from her apartment. Sometimes, laughter could be heard in the middle of the night. She had frightened more than a few of her neighbors, and everyone felt there was something deeply unsettling about her.

As a result, many people in her building were wary of Stella Sterling. For the time being, no one had dared to make a move on her.

Stella, for her part, was actually a little disappointed by this.

’It’s been too long since I’ve gotten my hands dirty,’ she thought. ’I’m getting an itch. I almost wish someone would try something, just to liven things up a bit.’

As if her wish had been granted, a knock suddenly sounded at the door—a door that had been silent for a very long time. From the chaotic noise, it sounded like more than one person was out there.

Stella Sterling had just finished her dinner. Looking at the six empty plates and the empty pot before her, she let out a satisfied burp and patted her stomach. After giving the dishes a quick rinse, she stored them away in her space and stood up.

The knocking outside hadn’t stopped; in fact, it was growing louder and more insistent. It seemed their lack of an answer was making someone impatient.

Stella poured herself a cup of tea and watched the live feed from her security camera, an eyebrow raised in amusement.

People had knocked on her door to beg for food before, but she had always ignored them. They eventually learned she was heartless, and for a long time now, no one had bothered her.

But now, after a period of peace, it seemed their methods had been upgraded.

The beggars were no longer coming alone; they were coming in groups.

Right now, six people were gathered at her door: four men and two women. One was an elderly man in his sixties or seventies; the rest were young adults.

Three of the men were pounding on the door, while the old man wailed, "Young lady, please open up! We know you’re in there, don’t pretend you can’t hear us! Our group hasn’t eaten in days! This is a matter of life and death! Please, just spare a little for us!"

"There are several lives at stake here! If you don’t give us food, we’ll all starve to death right on your doorstep! When that happens, you’ll be a murderer who killed all of us! Could you live with that?"

While some pounded on the door, the others chimed in one by one, some playing the victim, others issuing threats.

But they all had one thing in common: the underlying message was that if they starved to death, it would be Stella Sterling’s fault.

Stella took a sip of her tea and raised a mocking eyebrow. "So, a single person can’t guilt-trip me," she murmured, "now they’re trying it as a group?"