James Lone carried Lydia Johnson over his shoulder and casually sliced through the air with his finger, creating a blue portal.

He entered subspace and set the portal's target point above the rooftop of Building C.

As long as pinpoint accuracy wasn't required, the portal opened quickly.

The exit was about 7-8 meters above the rooftop.

James Lone switched to a princess carry, leaping down and landing heavily on the ground.

The jolt woke Lydia Johnson.

She looked around in confusion. "Where am I? Where are we going?"

James Lone smiled slightly. "To my place."

Lydia suddenly remembered what had happened earlier.

In a short span, both her mother and brother had died, leaving her with no close relatives in the world.

Her entire demeanor turned somber again.

James watched coldly, understanding her feelings but offering no comfort.

If she could adjust her own mood, she would; if not, she might as well perish.

In the apocalypse, who lived and died daily?

Those unable to handle it mentally wouldn't survive long.

...

Shortly after James Lone left, a man from Lydia Johnson's neighboring apartment cautiously opened the door and poked his head out.

A woman's anxious voice came from inside. "Ralf, don't go out there—it sounds scary!"

The man, Ralf, said softly, "Everyone seems to have left; let me see if I can find some food."

The woman was nearly in tears from fear. "Ralf, the screams were so horrible. Can't we just stay inside?"

Ralf snapped, "We're nearly out of food; staying in means starving! Even if we could endure, the child can't!"

The woman fell silent, pleading, "Please be careful, be very careful."

"I know, I know," Ralf said impatiently, waving her off.

He cautiously observed for a moment.

The Johnson apartment was utterly silent, the door wide open with no lights on, a smell of blood wafting out.

It seemed okay.

Ralf gritted his teeth. "Wait for me at home!"

He grabbed a flashlight and kitchen knife, carefully stepping out and tiptoeing to the Johnson's doorway, peeking inside.

All the bedroom doors were ajar, and several bodies lay sprawled on the floor, blood pooled everywhere.

In the brief time since the attack, flies had begun to circle the corpses.

One particularly grisly sight was a body with a wooden stick impaled through the mouth, pinning it to the floor.

The contorted face and wide-open eyes bore the look of someone who died angrily.

Ralf shivered, taken aback, and then recognized the face—it was Nicky!

"It's Nicky! Nicky's been killed!"

Ecstatic, Ralf thought about how this bastard had moved people into every apartment, including putting elderly strangers in his own.

One old man had been sick, keeping Ralf awake all night with his moaning—something that had infuriated him.

Now, finally!

Nicky was dead!

And it was satisfying!

Ralf, emboldened, kicked the corpse, feeling a rush of relief.

After venting his anger, he wasted no time searching for food.

Soon, he stared wide-eyed at the stash Lydia Johnson had brought back: "Instant noodles! Sausages! Chocolate!"

Ralf beamed with joy.

He didn't notice the shadow creeping silently behind him where a man emerged.

The man quietly raised a stick and smashed it down on the back of Ralf's head.

Bang!

Without a sound, Ralf collapsed, blood spreading across the floor.

The man chuckled darkly, grabbed Ralf's bag, and fled without a second glance.

He was gone mere minutes when several other groups began arriving at the Johnson apartment.

Seeing Nicky's body, they were overjoyed and shamelessly began looting the place.

It wasn't long before fights broke out over the spoils.

...

In apartment 3301 of Building A, four tattoo-covered men sat drinking.

They had no side dishes, just some packs of instant noodles, which they'd crushed and made do with.

Mixed with seasoning, it wasn't too bad.

After a while, a man with a mouthful of gold teeth said, "Why isn't Brother Nicky back yet?"

Another bald man waved a hand dismissively, "What else? Probably screwing that Lydia girl."

"Damn! Old Five and Old Wolf are probably joining in on the fun, too. That Asa Johnson woman isn't bad either, with her soft, tender skin."

"Geez! You have heavy tastes!"

"Every time it's something good, Nicky brings Old Five and Old Wolf along, damn it! When's it our turn?"

Despite their jealousy-laden complaints, none dared truly voice discontent.

They'd been following Nicky even before the apocalypse and were accustomed to his orders.

To be fair, Nicky had treated them well, never letting them go without food or drink, except when it came to sharing women.

These thoughts of dissatisfaction were minor.

After all, who wanted to share their women with other men?

Suddenly, a scream echoed.

The four reacted instantly, grabbing weapons and glancing around.

"Seems like it's from downstairs!"

"Damn, could someone have taken out Brother Nicky?"

"No way! Would anyone in Building A dare take on Brother Nicky?"

"Doesn't sound like him or Old Five or Old Wolf."

"Damn! When did we start rambling? Let's go down and see for ourselves!"

"Right! I could use a workout. With someone stirring up trouble at night, keeping order should be fine?"

"Hehe! Someone's in for a surprise tonight, thinking they can do as they please."

The men laughed menacingly and set off downward with their weapons.

As they reached the 29th floor, the smell of blood hit them hard.

Angry shouts and screams were clearly audible.

Sinking into their shoulders, they continued until the 25th floor, where the sight stunned them.

Survivors were in a full-blown brawl, and the hall was in absolute chaos.

The four men hesitated, unwilling to wade into the fray.

Gold Teeth shouted in a panic, "Where's Brother Nicky? Brother Nicky!"

A usually mild-mannered, glasses-wearing man raised his bloody head after killing someone and laughed madly, "Nicky's dead! Hahaha..."

Bang! The man with glasses took a blow to the throat, collapsing.

The bald man and his two companions, hearing Nicky was dead, panicked and forced their way through the crowd toward the Johnson apartment.

Meanwhile, Gold Teeth had a realization.

With everything in such chaos, Nicky was likely dead!

All the supplies they'd collected were at Nicky's place.

With Nicky dead, who got to keep everything?

Oh, and then there were those two women!

As images of their bodies flashed through Gold Teeth's mind, he felt a surge of heat, turning quickly toward the stairs.

Everything was his now!

Eventually, the bald man and his friends fought their way into the Johnson apartment, confronted by Nicky's corpse.

It was disfigured beyond recognition, but they could tell from the clothing and watch it was him.

Old Five and Old Wolf were dead nearby.

The entire Johnson apartment was littered with bodies.

"Damn it! Brother Nicky is really dead!"

"Hey, where's that Gold Teeth guy? Why didn't he come? Is he stuck outside?"

"I was the last one; he never came with us."

Quickly piecing it together, they realized Gold Teeth must've raced back to steal Nicky's supplies!

"Damn it! I always knew that guy was no good!"

"Hurry upstairs! We need to get back!"

Cursing, the three ran after Gold Teeth, although each one had their own thoughts.

Arriving at Nicky's apartment, they found the door locked from the inside with no response.

Their patience snapped.

"Kill Gold Teeth!"

"That bastard's always plotting! I never liked him!"

"That damn fool! The food inside belongs to all of us, and he's going to hog it!? How do we get in?"

"Climb from the roof! We can get in from the 33rd floor. Didn't Brother Nicky want window bars?"

...

While Nicky lived, he barely managed to enforce order.

With Nicky dead, Building A fell into chaos.

With the four men escalating things further, others targeted Nicky's stockpile, and the violence spread rapidly.

Throughout the night, the screams from Building A persisted.

Survivors in the other two buildings of Sunshine Garden Towers trembled in fear, clueless about what was happening.

James Lone, however, kept tabs through his perception of the events unfolding across the floors of Building A.

The carnage played out continuously.

James Lone observed it all coolly, snacking on enlightenment fruits at random.

It didn't matter what fruit—a snack was a snack.

Pleased and relaxed, Byakuga lay sprawled out, taking up a large area as it slept soundly.

The women sat tense and silent around James Lone, too scared to rest.

"Master, what's happening?"

James Lone replied calmly, "I killed the boss of Building A, so it's in chaos. They're fighting over food, women, and apartments. Quite exciting, really."

Just then, a notification sounded for James Lone: [Ding! Subspace Transference upgraded to 9-Star (Max Level, cannot upgrade further)!]

His teleportation skill had leveled up!

James Lone's lips curled with satisfaction.