When the World Ends, She Begins novel Chapter 31

The family sat around the table, putting today's food in front of them. Each person had a dry, crumbly cracker or a piece of stale bread, which they stuffed into their mouths.

One meal a day. Just enough to hit half-full. Barely.

Every crumb was treated like treasure—they ate carefully, then picked up every tiny scrap that had fallen on the table. Not a single bit could be wasted.

Today, for some reason, as they chewed the crackers, it almost smelled like a sizzling plate of lamb.

Oh ... hunger was really playing tricks on them.

Inevitably, their minds drifted to the good old days.

Back then, meals were lavish. Leftovers were thrown away if they couldn't finish. When they went out for all-you-can-eat buffets, there was always meat and vegetables left uneaten by the time they left.

Thinking about it now made their mouths water. They wished they could travel back in time, scold their past selves for wasting food, and eat every last scrap of it.

...

For a long stretch of time, Natalie didn't leave her apartment.

Partly because Lucky was on her period. Partly because she didn't have anything urgent to stockpile.

The supplies piled high in her stash needed to be sorted and organized bit by bit.

Outside, people continued to come and go every day, scavenging for food.

But inside Unit 1402, Natalie and her dog each lay on their own beds with eyes closed.

The difference was, Lucky was truly sleeping, while Natalie was using her mind to organize the items in her storage space.

Using her mind like that was tiring. At first, she would get exhausted and dizzy after only a short session. But now, she could move things around in her storage for long stretches.

Her mental endurance was getting stronger.

Once she had organized everything in her storage, Natalie turned her attention to the meat she hadn't finished processing earlier.

Different livestock needed different handling. Good thing she'd downloaded all kinds of survival guides—she just followed the steps in the kitchen, one cut at a time.

When she got tired, she'd watch the downloaded TV shows and enjoy her meals with her dog.

Life passed in this quiet, harmonious rhythm.

Outside, however, things were getting increasingly tense.

Supermarkets and factories that once had plenty of supplies were now submerged underwater. Only a few high-rises above the surface were left for people to scavenge.

These buildings were mostly offices, offering little to eat—at best, some snacks and instant meals left behind by office workers.

With too many people and too little food, those supplies had already been picked clean.

What remained above water was barely anything; without diving equipment, the underwater stockpiles were unreachable.

Even those few who could free dive couldn't get any food they could actually eat—most of the stuff underwater was spoiled.

People grew hungrier by the day, their despair deepening.

"If we don't eat today, we're really going to starve to death."

"There's nothing left. The office buildings above water have already been scavenged clean."

"My pantry's stripped bare. I've already eaten the dog food."

Owen watched silently for a moment as people complained. When the crowd finally quieted down, he spoke softly. "Have you noticed that the 14th and 15th floors barely ever go out to find food?"

The room fell completely silent.

He was right.

Natalie from the 14th had only gone out once. Her skin was smooth, her face healthy and rosy, and even her hair looked shiny—she clearly had plenty to eat.

The mother and son on the 15th hadn't left their apartment even once.

"Their food storage must be huge! So much that they don't even need to go out!"

"That's insane. We're starving to death, and they've got all that food?"

"We should go take some for ourselves. They're neighbors—how can they hoard it all?"

"But the girl on the 14th ... She's a total psycho killer ... "

At the mention of Natalie, the crowd went quiet for a moment.

Everyone instinctively remembered the blood-soaked stairwell and the Laferty brothers, who had died with their eyes wide open.