Chapter 3Don't be merciful in the end.

The change came just over ten minutes later.

My mom's eagerly awaited Dragon Child was barely out of the delivery room before being whisked away to an incubator.

Due to prolonged oxygen deprivation, the baby suffered from respiratory distress and nearly suffocated.

My mom's face was chalk-white as she repeatedly mumbled, "Impossible." She insisted Leo was a true Dragon reincarnated, that his body couldn't possibly have any problems.

But the fact was, because of her outrageous actions, the baby was in an incubator right after birth.

I didn't respond to her. I just said I needed to go home to get toiletries to stay with Sarah, but it was really an excuse to escape.

They all wanted to stay at the hospital, not wanting to lift a finger, which gave me the perfect opportunity to make a break for it.

Back home, I quickly packed my bags.

The blizzard was still half a month away. I had to prepare as quickly as possible.

In my last life, my mom constantly called, complaining she wasn't feeling well and worried she couldn't care for Sarah during her confinement period.

Out of concern for her, I took a month off from work and specially returned to help.

This time, I wouldn't be so foolish.

Since they all believed that child was a true Dragon reincarnated, I was sure he'd protect them.

As for me, I was obviously going to run as far away as possible and prepare for the upcoming blizzard.

I drove for ten hours until I reached a completely unfamiliar city.

The good thing was, no one knew I was here. I could stay without worry, but first, I needed to find a place to live.

I scrolled through many listings on secondhand housing websites. Houses in the city center, though convenient and well-equipped, would be just as useless as a rundown shack in the mountains once the blizzard hit.

Houses in the suburbs, both in price and condition, met my requirements better.

Soon, I contacted a real estate agent and rented a two-story self-built house on the outskirts for a deposit of one month’s rent and three months’ upfront. The house was old, but thankfully, it had everything I needed.

Since it was in a colder region, the house came equipped with a wood-burning stove and a coal furnace, which was a huge relief.

Seventeen days into the last blizzard, the heavy snow had snapped power lines, crippling the city's electricity grid for an entire week. So, neither central heating nor air conditioning would be my first choice.

Things like coal, which were slowly being phased out, could actually be put to good use.

I cleaned the house from top to bottom. By the time I finished, it was completely dark.

My phone had rung over a dozen times. I checked the caller ID before slowly answering.

The moment I picked up, my mom's angry tirade blasted through the phone.

"I told you to go home and get some things! Did you die on the way? Why aren't you here yet?

"Don't you know Sarah just gave birth? Do you expect an old woman like me to take care of her?!"

I used to think my mom had a harsh tongue but a kind heart. Now I know… she was all venom. A viper's tongue, a scorpion's sting, through and through. She had only ever seen me as a compliant tool.

But I really wasn't in the mood to deal with her now.

With less than fourteen days until the blizzard, I had to procure massive amounts of supplies. After all, an extreme blizzard was coming, with no end in sight.

"Mom, you're right. I did die out here. Don't call me again."

I didn't wait for her to continue yelling. I just hung up.

After hanging up, I thought about it and blocked all their numbers, swift and decisive.

I needed to prepare for the impending blizzard, and I couldn't let them distract me.

Even with the heating facilities in the house, I lacked the raw materials. The wood stove needed dry logs, and for the coal furnace, honeycomb briquettes were the best.

Checking the time, it was already past 7 PM.

I drove back to the city, booked a room at a guesthouse, and enjoyed a luxurious hot bath.

In the later stages of the blizzard, forget about showering. The sheets and duvet on the bed would be too cold to even pull off, and with temperatures plummeting below freezing, water would turn to ice instantly. No one would even dream of bathing.

I slept soundly.

The next morning, I drove to the town and bought a massive amount of lumber and honeycomb briquettes, arranging for delivery to my house.

The delivery driver looked puzzled but didn't ask too many questions. I paid an extra hundred dollars to have some of it moved inside, and the rest stacked right next to the window, within easy reach.

In the later stages of the blizzard, temperatures would drop to minus sixty degrees Fahrenheit. Even stepping outside would require extreme mental preparation, as the brutal cold could freeze a person solid in moments. I certainly wanted to avoid that.

Heating was sorted. Next up: stockpiling supplies.

It was still the New Year's season, and most families had plenty of food. But as the blizzard continued, these would quickly run out, and supplies would become scarce. A single head of cabbage could fetch an exorbitant price of five hundred dollars.

In the later stages, even money couldn't buy anything. So, I had to stock up now.

I had saved a considerable amount of money over my years of working.

Originally, I planned to buy a house. After all, I didn't even have my own room at home, sleeping on the couch since childhood. So, I always dreamed of having my own place.

Thanks to that dream, I had been frugal, working multiple jobs a day, accumulating six figures in my bank account.

That money might not be enough to buy a house, but it was more than enough to stockpile supplies.