Sierra Sullivan simply watched Mandy Sinclair outside, her expression calm. She didn't say a word, nor did she have any intention of opening the door.
Mandy Sinclair was not a patient person.
After speaking for some time without a response, she began to grow impatient.
"Sierra Sullivan! Don't be so shameless! You're a parentless orphan, and the day will come when you'll be on your knees begging me!"
Mandy Sinclair cursed viciously, but it wasn't enough to vent her anger. She lifted her foot and kicked the door hard.
But this door had cost a fortune; it was on par with the security door of a bank vault.
Her kick didn't so much as scratch the door, which barely made a sound.
But the impact sent a sharp, jolting pain through her foot.
She let out a pained cry and crumpled over.
Mandy Sinclair stayed bent over, whimpering for a good while.
Still hearing no movement from inside, she finally gave up.
Her shouts went unanswered and her kicks were useless, so all she could do was limp away, muttering curses under her breath.
After watching her go downstairs, Sierra Sullivan returned to the table to finish her breakfast.
Sierra Sullivan knew that Mandy Sinclair's visit was just the beginning.
The situation this time around was even more severe than in her previous life.
In her last life, people at least had some time to react. During the few days before the water was shut off, they used every container they could find to store as much of it as possible.
But this time, there had been no warning. People woke up one morning to find the water gone.
Those who had bottled or barreled drinking water at home could hold out for a little while.
But there were bound to be people who didn't have a single bottle of water in their homes.
These people weren't going to just sit around and wait to die.
Going out to borrow or buy water from their neighbors would be the first thing they'd think of.
And a young, parentless girl living alone like her was undoubtedly a juicy target in many people's eyes.
Even if she told them she had no water, they would never believe her.
For now, her only option was to keep the door shut.
She would take it one day at a time. For now, she would use these first few days to build up her physical strength.
Having made her decision, Sierra quickly finished breakfast. After clearing the table, she used her pocket dimension to move the living room table and sofa, clearing a large open space in the center of the room.
The little fitness equipment Sierra had bought didn't require electricity and was relatively quiet to use.
She had also downloaded videos to her tablet for strength and speed training, as well as tutorials for various fighting styles.
Sierra spent the entire morning working out, drenched in sweat.
Fortunately, she had been a regular at the gym before, so her life hadn't been all fun and games. She had some stamina and strength to begin with.
Even though she'd eaten a large breakfast, she had burned it all off after a full morning of high-intensity training.
Sierra didn't shower.
'I have water, but I can't be wasteful.'
She was going to train again in the afternoon, so there was no point. She just washed her hands and face, then sat on the floor and began to eat.
After an hour's rest, she trained for the entire afternoon.
Sierra didn't stop until the sky was completely dark.
She didn't turn on the lights, feeling her way to the bathroom in the dark before entering her pocket dimension.
Inside the dimension, it was as bright as day—a stark contrast to the inky blackness outside.
The shipping container homes inside the dimension weren't all used for storage.
Sierra had furnished one of them, setting up a proper home for herself within the dimension.
She had used curtains to partition the long, open-plan container into different zones.
A kitchen, a bathroom, a living room, and a bedroom.
After taking a bath in the tub, Sierra felt completely relaxed. Dressed in comfortable pajamas, she flopped onto the sofa.
She hadn't wasted a single minute all day, pushing herself until she couldn't even lift a finger.
After resting for half an hour, Sierra finally regained some strength and felt her energy return. She got up to eat.
She didn't leave the dimension after her meal. Instead, her gaze fell upon the patch of earth within it.
She had never farmed before, but she could tell the soil was incredibly fertile.
Anything planted here would surely thrive.
In her past life, she hadn't stockpiled supplies or seeds, so she'd never had the chance to test it.
'Now that I have the time and the seeds, I can't let this prime soil go to waste.'
Sierra found the seeds for several types of leafy greens, marked out a few patches, and casually scattered them before giving them a little water.
For a novice like Sierra, that was the best she could do.
'It would be great if they grew.'
'If they don't... well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.'
After lingering in the dimension for a little while longer, Sierra changed her clothes and went back out.
'I have to be ready for anything out there, so pajamas are a no-go.'
Sierra came out of the bathroom and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window to look outside.
The sandstorm was still raging outside.
She couldn't see a thing.
In that moment, it felt as if she were the only person left in the world.
The only sound was the wind and sand lashing against the glass; everything else was silent.
Her gaze was deep as she stared, unblinking, into the storm.
'A whole day has passed,' she thought. 'I wonder how Autumn Lynch and her family are doing.'
'They must be... pretty miserable, right?'
...
"Autumn, can you get a call through?" Claire Winters asked, her voice fraught with anxiety.
Dehydration had left her lips pale and cracked.
She couldn't help but lick them every time she spoke.
But the more she did so, the worse they cracked.
A moment after she licked them, they felt even drier than before.
Autumn Lynch slammed her phone down in frustration. "All you do is ask me! Why don't you try calling yourself! There's no signal at all, how am I supposed to get through?!"
Hearing this, Claire grew even more irritated.
"That damned Sierra! Where the hell did she run off to?!"
Desmond Lynch slowly looked up at the mother and daughter. "Do you think... she might be doing this on purpose?"
"On purpose?" Autumn Lynch looked at Desmond Lynch, confused. "Dad, what do you mean? What on purpose?"
"Don't you find her a little strange? We've never seen her fast on the anniversary of her parents' death before. So why this year, all of a sudden?
What if she knew something in advance? What if she deliberately tricked us into starving here while she secretly ran off?
Otherwise, why can't we find a single scrap of food or a single bottle of water in this entire villa?"
At first, it was just a guess on Desmond Lynch's part.
But the more he spoke, the more sense his own theory made.
Claire Winters and Autumn Lynch exchanged a look of disbelief.
That fool Sierra... they'd had her wrapped around their little fingers for so long. How could she suddenly become so clever?
Claire spoke hesitantly. "That's... probably not it, right? Sierra isn't that smart! It was probably just a coincidence!"
But Desmond Lynch shook his head. "How can there be that many coincidences? Even if everything before was a coincidence, what about this morning? We called her, she promised she'd come back, and now a whole day has passed. So where is she?"