"Stella, why'd you sell all the gifts from your family? Are you in some kind of trouble? You can talk to me about it. I have some money; I can lend it to you."
Her friend, Lydia Magnus, called, sounding anxious.
Hearing the familiar, concerned voice, Stella Sterling spaced out for a moment before laughing. "I'm fine. I just figured those things were collecting dust. Better to have the cash!"
'Lydia Magnus was the one who had connected her with the buyer today. She must have heard that I sold everything and called to check on me.'
Lydia Magnus was her friend from college. After Stella was brought back by the Sterling Family, the two had grown even closer, and their relationship had always been good.
"If you're having trouble, you have to tell me, okay? We're friends!" Hearing how relaxed Stella sounded, Lydia Magnus breathed a sigh of relief and added.
Just yesterday, Ethan Cheney had been spreading rumors that Stella was broke. He had supposedly invited her to dinner out of kindness, but she ended up sticking him with a bill for several million.
And now today, Stella had sold all the things the Sterling Family had given her. Lydia was worried she'd gotten into some kind of trouble but was too embarrassed to say anything.
Stella Sterling toyed with the card in her hand, murmuring a few words of agreement.
Lydia Magnus paused on the other end of the line, then asked hesitantly, "Stella, has something unpleasant happened between us recently?"
Usually, whenever she and Stella talked on the phone, they had endless things to say. But this time, she felt Stella's attitude was a little cold.
"Of course not. Don't overthink it, Lydia," Stella said with a smile, the movement of her hands coming to a halt.
Lydia Magnus breathed a sigh of relief on the other end of the line. Thinking of how Lydia was genuinely concerned for her at this moment, Stella Sterling decided to give her a warning.
"The weather has been too strange lately, and disasters are happening more and more frequently. Lydia, just in case, you should probably stock up on some extra food at home—"
'Right now, Lydia Magnus's concern for her was genuine. But she was also the same person who would later sell her out to a gang of thugs for a mouthful of food.'
'It's just that Lydia Magnus had underestimated how vicious those people were. Lydia had sold her out, but she hadn't fared any better, falling into that gang's hands herself.'
'Those people weren't after them for sex, but for human flesh. Both she and Lydia Magnus were just meals in their eyes.'
'She had just been lucky. Before they could eat her, a rival group attacked, and she seized the opportunity to escape during the chaos.'
'Lydia Magnus, however, lacked the stamina and couldn't get away, dying in the second year of the apocalypse.'
Remembering the remorse Lydia had shown toward her before death, Stella Sterling wondered, 'If this time around, she doesn't lack for food, will she still make the same choice she did in our past life?'
"Haha, Stella, have you been reading those posts about the apocalypse lately? Is that why you're worried? Relax! Our country is so advanced now, something like that could never happen. I mean, look—every time some little thing happens, those netizens start screaming about the end of the world. And what happens in the end? Nothing! Those people are just a bunch of fearmongers."
"You're right," Stella Sterling said with a faint smile, pulling herself out of her memories. She said no more on the subject.
'No one knew how long the apocalypse would last. The road ahead was long. No matter how much food a normal person stockpiled, it would only be enough for a while. Eventually, they would still face the problem of running out.'
'When the time comes, faced with the same situation, she will still make the same choice.'
'There are no 'what ifs.''
"But you do have a point," Lydia Magnus giggled. "So I think I'll go buy some stuff soon and fill up my big fridge!"
They exchanged a few more pleasantries, but Stella Sterling's mindset had already changed. After a brief chat, she hastily ended the call.
After a moment's thought, she blocked Lydia Magnus's contact information. There was no need to be in touch anymore.
She couldn't possibly remain friends with her. It was better to be decisive about certain things.
Remembering the online apocalypse posts Lydia had mentioned, Stella Sterling opened her computer. She found that many social media platforms had recently been flooded with posts about the end of the world.
One post in particular, about abnormal celestial phenomena heralding the apocalypse, had the most likes and was being hotly debated online.
Stella Sterling clicked on it. It was an analysis of the strange astronomical events and future trends, written by a user named "Hot-Blooded Youth."
She was shocked to find that the person's analysis perfectly matched some of the events that had occurred at the very beginning of the apocalypse in her past life.
Most of his conclusions were correct.
She scrolled through the comments. Most of them were attacking the poster, and the attacks were vicious.
The latest update was that the poster had been "called in for a talk" a few days ago.
She then read several other posts. Some were complete nonsense—baseless fearmongering.
But a few of them did manage to predict certain things based on events from the past few years.
The online discussions about the apocalypse were fierce, but few people actually believed them.
'That was only normal. In her past life, hadn't she been one of the unbelievers, too?'
Seeing it was getting late, she shut down her computer and prepared for bed. There was still so much to do, and she had to wake up early tomorrow. She needed to get some rest and build up her strength.