Sierra Sullivan was just about to put down her phone when it vibrated again.
On the screen, the name "Jayce" was flashing repeatedly.
Sierra Sullivan raised an eyebrow.
'Jayce?'
'Why is he calling me again?'
'This didn't happen in my past life!'
Sierra was so caught up in her confusion that she didn't answer in time, and the screen quickly went dark.
But a moment later, the phone started ringing again.
It was still Jayce.
This time, Sierra didn't hesitate and answered the call.
The cold words and veiled sarcasm she had expected never came.
Instead, Jayce's urgent voice came through the receiver.
"Sierra, don't go out! Don't open the door for anyone! If your cousin and her family are at your place, find a way to get them out of there immediately! I'll get to you as fast as I can!"
Hearing this, Sierra was completely stunned.
'Why would Jayce say that?'
'Does he know something?'
Sierra's heart began to race. Just as she was about to ask Jayce, the line filled with the crackling sound of static.
Jayce's voice came through intermittently, but his urgency was still clear.
"Stay home alone..."
"Don't open the door for anyone!"
"Wait for me to get to you!"
"Wait for me... Sierra, you have to... wait for me!"
As Jayce finished his last sentence, the call disconnected completely.
The signal bars were completely empty.
Sierra gripped her phone tightly, a complex, indescribable feeling welling up inside her.
Both the profound implications of Jayce's words and the sudden loss of signal were completely unexpected.
In her past life, the signal hadn't completely disappeared until three days into the apocalypse.
But now, it had happened so much earlier!
'Could my rebirth be the cause of these changes?'
After thinking for a long while, Sierra finally took a deep breath and suppressed the chaotic emotions swirling in her mind.
'No matter what changes have happened in this life, I have to survive!'
With no signal and no internet, the phone was useless for anything other than telling time.
Sierra casually placed it on the table and went to the bathroom to wash up.
She turned on the faucet, and it started to sputter.
For a good while, it just went PFFT PFFT, spitting out a sinkful of sand instead of much water.
Sierra stared at the now-silent faucet, her gaze deepening.
'The water's out!'
'A full three days earlier than in my past life!'
Sierra immediately went to the kitchen and tried to turn on the gas stove.
The gas was still working.
The electricity was still on.
But they probably wouldn't last much longer.
People could scrape by without electricity or gas.
But once the water was out, panic would set in immediately.
Never mind the world outside; just look at the residents in this building.
No one here was short on money. A fully smart home was the bare minimum.
Standalone water dispensers were considered tacky, so few people used them. Everyone had water purifiers and in-line water systems.
Once the water supply was cut, they wouldn't just be unable to wash up; they wouldn't even have drinking water.
Without water, what good was natural gas?
'This building is about to descend into chaos!'
Sierra's expression darkened.
She had been reborn, but she had only managed to prepare enough supplies and buy some items that could loosely be called melee weapons.
Her physical fitness and strength hadn't changed one bit just because she was reborn.
Sierra had originally planned to use the initial, less chaotic period to work out at home and improve her physical condition.
'Now, it seems I can only take things one step at a time!'
Pushing aside her stray thoughts, Sierra took a barrel of water from her storage space and placed it in the bathroom to wash up.
While washing, Sierra didn't use the sink. Instead, she got an empty bucket and poured the used water into it.
The whole building's water was out now. If the drains suddenly started making a GURGLING sound, it would definitely attract unwanted attention.
'I absolutely can't do anything that brings trouble to my own doorstep!'
The sink was unusable, which meant the toilet was too, of course.
The thought made Sierra want to sigh.
'How are modern people, so used to flush toilets, supposed to live without them?'
Fortunately!
She'd had the foresight!
She had bought a large number of portable toilets designed for RVs, along with biodegradable chemicals.
If she were the only one using them, they would last her into her next life, and the one after that.
Sierra took a brand-new toilet out of her storage space, then took out the biodegradable chemicals and poured them in according to the instructions.
Now she could use the toilet without any worries.
This kind of biodegradable toilet only needed to be emptied once every six months.
Using it was completely worry-free.
Sierra washed her hands, left the bathroom, and finally began to eat her breakfast.
There were steaming hot buns, golden and crispy fried dough sticks, a small bowl of spicy pepper soup, a small bowl of sweet tofu pudding, a syrupy-sweet sugar cake, some crisp and refreshing pickled cucumbers, and two tea eggs.
Just yesterday morning, this was a common breakfast that no one would spare a second glance.
But now, it was a delicacy that others could only dream of eating.
Sierra ate slowly, savoring every single bite.
'Isn't this the exact reason I hoarded so many supplies?'
But this moment of enjoyment didn't last long.
Before Sierra could finish her meal, the doorbell suddenly rang.
Sierra's gaze turned cold in an instant. She stood up and walked slowly toward the door.
She had a video doorbell.
The screen clearly showed the scene outside her door.
Standing outside was a woman in her thirties with exquisite makeup and expensive clothes. Her long, wavy hair cascaded over one shoulder, giving her a languid and alluring air.
This was Mandy Sinclair from the 35th floor, a stay-at-home mother with a son and a daughter.
Sierra had only stayed here occasionally before, so while she had seen Mandy Sinclair a few times, they hadn't interacted much.
In her past life, Mandy Sinclair hadn't shown up until seven days into the apocalypse, offering a bag of rice in exchange for water.
Even though she was the one asking for a favor, Mandy Sinclair had acted high and mighty. After getting the water, she had deliberately dropped the bag of rice, scattering it all over the ground where it mixed with the grit and sand.
After that, Sierra refused to trade any more water with her, so Mandy started standing in the hallway every day, hands on her hips, screaming and cursing.
The gentle and charming socialite from before the apocalypse had turned into a screeching harpy.
Thinking of these past events, Sierra's gaze grew even colder.
She didn't open the door or give any response.
But her silence didn't make Mandy Sinclair leave.
"Sierra, sweetie! I saw you come back last night! I know you're home! Do you have any water in there? Could you give me a few bottles? If you don't want to just give it away, I can pay you for it!"
Even through the screen, Sierra could clearly see the calculating glint in Mandy Sinclair's eyes.
'Mandy Sinclair is clearly full of it.'
'Does she really think I'm some naive little girl who doesn't know any better?'
"Sierra, why aren't you saying anything? We're neighbors, living right here in the same building. We should be helping each other out at a time like this!"