Chapter 118: If the Top Is Blocked, Go Below

It wasn’t just him; several others around him also stood up. They followed Felix Lawrence and sincerely thanked Stella Sterling.

If not for Stella Sterling’s timely warning that afternoon, their injuries would have been far worse. Felix Lawrence, for one, had his back to the floor-to-ceiling window; if he’d been even a moment slower, he would have been killed.

As far as Felix Lawrence was concerned, Stella Sterling had saved his life.

This sudden gesture from Felix Lawrence and the others made the expressions on the faces of the others in the room shift. Some scoffed dismissively, while others, though they remained seated, looked at Stella Sterling with a trace of gratitude.

"You’re too kind."

Stella Sterling raised an eyebrow. Although she offered a polite phrase, her posture showed she accepted their thanks without hesitation.

She walked over to them. ’Even if it was just a casual warning on my part, it did save their lives. I’ve earned their gratitude.’

Just then, Felix Lawrence’s wife, Jane Pence, approached Stella Sterling with a bright smile. She wasn’t overly familiar, yet her warmth was undeniable. "Dear, thank you for saving my husband. If you ever need anything, just say the word. Come on, let’s go sit over here!"

She led Stella Sterling to a seat. To prevent a repeat of that morning’s incident, everyone was gathered in the hallway, well away from the windows.

Stella Sterling’s seat was in a central spot, right by the doorway to Felix Lawrence’s apartment.

Beside Felix Lawrence, a boy of about ten was quietly studying her.

It was the same group from the morning. Aside from the few who were injured and resting in their homes, everyone was present.

After Stella Sterling sat down, Jane Pence brought her a cup of water. As Stella took it, her hand brushed against the cup, and she froze for an instant. It was actually hot.

She glanced at Jane but said nothing more than a quiet, "Thank you."

’Looks like this building has more than a few hidden talents,’ she mused. ’Being able to get hot water right now is no simple feat.’

Felix Lawrence first checked on everyone, offering a few words of comfort before getting to the point. "You all saw what happened today. The situation is deteriorating. We can’t keep hoping things will go back to normal and wait for a rescue from the authorities. There’s no telling when this snow will stop, and it’s highly likely even greater dangers are waiting for us!"

"We have to find a way to save ourselves. We have to solve the immediate crisis of people running out of food, and we have to plan for the future. If we don’t, none of us will survive. The problem right now is that we can’t leave the complex. But if we stay trapped here, everyone’s food will eventually run out. It’ll be too late to look for an escape route when we’re truly desperate. We have to find a new way out now, while we still have options and aren’t at a complete dead end!"

"Lawrence, we all get it," someone said, "but the reality is we can’t go outside. Look at that hail! We’re lucky the developers didn’t cut corners, or all our windows would be smashed by now. But our bodies can’t take a beating like that."

"He’s right, Lawrence."

As soon as Felix Lawrence finished speaking, someone spoke up in frustration. They had already discussed this in the morning and were now right back where they started!

"Hey, what’s with you all? If there’s no solution, we find one! Isn’t that why we’re all here? To brainstorm a plan together?"

Seeing their dejected attitudes, someone else grew displeased.

"But there is no way, is there? Unless you’ve got something we can wear to protect us from the hail, we can’t risk going out to search. The problem is, nothing like that exists. And even if it did, who would dare be the first to test it?"

Many of them fell silent.

Felix Lawrence held up a hand to quiet the room. "All right, let’s not get so discouraged. It’s true we can’t go out right now. But we don’t have to go out this very second. We can wait for conditions to improve slightly before we make our move. For now, we’re just formulating a plan and making preparations.

Based on my observations these past two or three months, the weather outside changes every so often. We can wait for the next shift."

Stella Sterling stared at him. ’Normally, his theory about a pattern would make sense,’ she thought. ’But from what I know, this hailstorm hasn’t let up once since it began.’

So she spoke up. "That’s just a guess. What if it never stops? Then we’d just be wasting precious time."

Hearing Stella Sterling challenge Felix Lawrence, a few of his more loyal supporters looked ready to argue, but Felix stopped them with a look.

Stella Sterling saw the subtle undercurrent as clear as day. She gave a soft chuckle, paying it no mind, and kept her gaze fixed on Felix Lawrence.

Felix Lawrence met her gaze, unbothered by her tone, and nodded. "You’re right. That’s just the worst-case scenario. We need to focus on other strategies. If we can find another way out, that would be ideal!"

Stella Sterling fell into thought, her fingers tapping lightly on her lap. After a moment of contemplation, she said, "If the way above is blocked... maybe we can go below."

’She had already decided on this before coming to the meeting. She would use the collective power of the people in this building to forge a path to the outside.’

’This blizzard would last for nearly two more years. Although she had enough supplies, she couldn’t stay cooped up in her apartment forever. It was still the early phase of the blizzard, and she knew there were massive amounts of food stranded in various places, unable to be transported. In this frozen weather, it was all perfectly preserved. But once the blizzard ended and the torrential rains and extreme heat arrived, all that food would rot. It would be a terrible waste.’

’If she had the chance, Stella Sterling wanted to collect all that food in her space.’

’Besides, it wasn’t just about food. She also needed to gather the special materials required by her space.’

’Having experienced the benefits of the space firsthand, she knew it still had many hidden potentials for her to uncover.’

’The more items she threw into the space’s ’exchange zone,’ the more the space itself would change. And each change always brought her some kind of new benefit.’

’For that reason alone, she had to find a way out.’

’She had a plan long ago: to dig an underground ice tunnel leading elsewhere. But she knew she couldn’t possibly accomplish that on her own.’

"Go below?"

Felix Lawrence repeated the two words, not quite grasping their meaning. "Miss Sterling, what do you mean by that?"

"This is what I mean..." Stella Sterling began to explain, but a sudden commotion from elsewhere in the building cut her off. Her brow furrowed as she strained to listen.