I knew all of this because of the screen that suddenly popped up before me.

This screen had suddenly appeared before me just recently, glowing a faint yellow color. Many lines of comments kept appearing on the screen. I could read the words, but I simply couldn't quite understand what was going on.

It took me quite a while to finally get the hang of things and grasp the situation.

As it turned out, I was living in a post-apocalyptic movie titled "Hell on Earth", and Scarlet was its main protagonist.

Scarlet was an absolute saint with a savior complex.

When I was eight years old, Mom and Dad were killed in a road accident. However, Scarlet never sought compensation from the parties involved. Instead, she visited them at the hospital every day.

After handling our parents' funeral arrangements, a number of our relatives offered to take us in, but Scarlet politely declined everyone and brought me to an orphanage instead.

Whenever I was relentlessly bullied by the other kids and told her about it, she would scold me for being petty and drag me to my bullies, forcing me to apologize.

I could predict what would happen that day by reading the comments that kept appearing on the screen. They said that Scarlet would hold me back for a stranger's sake, making me miss the final paper of my SAT.

That was the reason why I had a backup plan. The comments had given me enough time to prepare, and I had secretly arranged for a cab to pick me up if all else failed.

While exploring the screen, I discovered that I had a 4,000-square-foot storage space, free from the constraints of time. I could put things in or take them out at will.

This spatial storage would thus significantly increase my chances of survival in the apocalypse.

Since I was now finally done with my SATs, I had to start preparing for the upcoming apocalypse. The first step was to stockpile as many supplies as I could.

However, I was just a high school student, and I didn't have much money on me.

I had to go to Uncle Adrian's place first to retrieve what once belonged to Mom and Dad, but had been seized by them.

A cool blast of air greeted me as soon as I stepped into the villa.

Uncle Adrian was the one who opened the door for me. He smiled kindly at me and asked, "Vi? What are you doing here?"

His wife, Katie Windsor, appeared right behind him and greeted me, too. She held my hand and welcomed me into the villa, pulling me toward the dining room and handing me a plate.

There was a massive roast dinner laid out on the table, along with many side dishes. It was basically a huge feast.

"Hazel has just finished her SATs today, and we were planning to celebrate it with her," Aunt Katie said as she began to carve the meat for me. "You can eat first, Vi. There's no need to wait for Hazel."

I happened to be hungry then, so I did as I was told and ate first without waiting for my cousin, Hazel Dawson.

"Mom! Dad! How could you all start dinner without me?"

I suddenly heard a sweet voice complaining loudly at the door. It was none other than Hazel.

Uncle Adrian and Aunt Katie immediately greeted her at the door, looking worried about her. "How could you have come back on your own with the heat so unbearable outside? Didn't we tell you that your dad would be coming to drive you home?"

"How did you do in the exams? I believe that you did the best you could, didn't you?"

I watched the loving family before my eyes and suddenly felt my appetite disappear.

"Uncle Adrian, I'm actually here to discuss something with you. I want to reclaim this villa."

The smile on his face vanished at once. "Are you joking with me, Vi?"

"My parents had left me this villa, though the property deed was still in their names. After their passing, I should be the rightful heir.

"I'm already being generous by not charging you rent after all these years of living here for free. However, I'll need you to move out in three days, along with the rest of your belongings."

Uncle Adrian's face turned serious at once. Aunt Katie also looked furious. "Lettie told us that she was giving this villa to us! And we've already lived here for more than a decade! How could you kick us out? Why should we even move out?"

I sneered coldly. Back then, Uncle Adrian had helped with Mom and Dad's funeral, and Scarlet had promised to give them this villa in return.

But she was still young at the time, and she never got around to changing the names on the property deed.

"If you refuse to move out, I'll report you to the police and tell them you've been illegally trespassing and squatting in my house," I said, smiling. I let out a soft chuckle before adding, "If you end up in jail, Uncle Adrian, I'm sure that Hazel's future would be ruined as well."

Uncle Adrian's face darkened, thunder rolling across his expression.

"You…"

Hazel was taken aback by the sudden wickedness in my expression. Her voice shook as she said, "Dad, you can't go to jail. I'll never be able to hold my head up in front of my classmates again after that."

I said, "It's fine if you don't want to move out. You can purchase this villa instead. Based on the current market value, this villa should be worth about ten million dollars."

Aunt Katie immediately flew into a rage. "Ten million dollars? Why don't you just go rob a bank instead?" she exclaimed.

I grinned and said, "Don't be hasty, Aunt Katie. Since we're family, I'll give you a 50% discount and sell it to you for just five million dollars.

"You can transfer the amount to this bank card. If I don't see five million dollars before 8:00 pm tomorrow, I'll go to the police station to make a report then."

It was just five million dollars. Given Uncle Adrian's current financial situation, he could definitely afford it.

As soon as I stepped out of the cool and comfortable air-conditioned villa, I immediately felt the heat engulf me like a thermal blanket I could never get rid of.

The sweat that had just dried quickly returned, drenching my skin, clinging to my clothes, and leaving me feeling sticky and uncomfortable.

I decisively walked into a hair salon and asked the hairdresser, Tony Green, to shave all of my hair off.

Tony immediately had a look of understanding on his face as he tried to gently talk me out of it. "Miss, there are plenty of fish in the sea. You don't have to do this to yourself just because of a man. It's not worth it."

I chuckled and told him the truth. "I can’t help feeling that my long hair is adding to the heat. It's going to be very inconvenient during the apocalypse."

Tony just assumed that I was talking nonsense. Ultimately, he sighed in exasperation before shaving my hair off and giving me a buzz cut.

When I got home, Scarlet was nearly shocked to see that all my hair was gone.

"Vi! What did you do to your hair? Why is it now a buzz cut?"

"It's more convenient that way," I said.

The comments suddenly popped up on the screen.

"As expected of the main character's sister. She's a step ahead of everyone else."

"Exactly! Who would want to waste precious water to wash hair instead of drinking it?"

"Everyone's going to get a buzz cut next time, regardless of their gender!"

After a few days of observation, I realized that I could only see these comments if I was near Scarlet. I guess she really was the movie's main protagonist after all.

Scarlet recovered from her shock and began speaking like a saint once more.

"It's so hot today, and Mrs. Thompson will be staying with us tonight since her house doesn't have air conditioning. Vi, you're cooking for her tonight."

I turned my gaze and saw a dirty old woman suddenly appearing before me, smiling at me with her gaping, unkempt teeth.

Scarlet had a habit of bringing any Tom, Dick, or Harry home with her—including those who couldn't afford food or had no place to stay for the night.

However, this old woman, Betty Gray, or Mrs. Thompson as we all called her, had food and lodging at home and loved freeloading off other people whenever she could.

I had already told Scarlet about it many times, but she refused to listen and instead chided me for being disrespectful to the elderly.

"I don't know how to cook," I replied simply.

Scarlet frowned again. "You've always been the one doing the cooking. How can you say you don't know how? Don't be stubborn, Vi."

I almost couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes at her.

It was one thing for her to be a saint, but another to expect me to be the one doing the brunt of the work.

In the past, I used to feel sorry for her because she worked hard to support my education, and I would automatically assume the household chores as a way to show my gratitude. But after what happened that day, I couldn't find it in myself to pity her anymore.

"You brought her back, so you can cook for her by yourself," I said. "Aren't you the kindest person on earth? Why can't you even cook for Mrs. Thompson then?"

I sneered lightly at Scarlet, and Betty immediately pursed her lips together in a pitiful manner.

"It's fine, Lettie. I know that I'm an old woman, and there aren't many people who like me anymore. Since I can't even get a meal here, I think I'll just leave now."

Despite saying that, she didn't look like she was trying to leave at all.

Still, Scarlet never noticed it and quickly went over to comfort her.

"How could that possibly be, Mrs. Thompson? It's just dinner. I'll cook for you instead.

Scarlet then glared at me before turning to walk toward the kitchen.

I grinned when I heard the pots banging.

Could Scarlet even cook without me?

The comments appeared just then.

"Are my eyes deceiving me? Why do I feel as though Violet's changed as a person?"

"Good job, Violet! That's how you cure someone with a savior complex like your sister!"

An hour later, Scarlet emerged from the kitchen with the charred remains of what should have been dinner, just as I had expected.

Betty held her breath and took a small bite of the food. Then, she immediately spat it out and demanded that Scarlet order DoorDash for her instead.

After taking care of Betty's dinner, Scarlet then told me to give up my room for her.

Betty was a very dirty and filthy person. I didn't know how long she'd gone without showering. Anyone could smell her from a mile away. There was no way I would ever let her sleep in my bed!

"I sleepwalk at night. What if I end up accidentally kicking Mrs. Thompson in my sleep? She might die when she falls off the bed," I said with a look of feigned worry on my face.

Hearing that, Betty's expression immediately changed. She turned and looped her arm around Scarlet's instead, saying, "I want to sleep with you tonight, Lettie."

I was sure that Scarlet could also smell the stench coming from Betty, but since she was a saint, she couldn't possibly reject her now, could she? Ultimately, Scarlet just nodded, holding her breath as she gritted through her teeth, "Okay."

The comments appeared once again.

"See that? Even the female lead's face turned green when the old lady said that! Hahaha!"

"She brought this on herself. She deserved it."

"Good job, Violet!"

"I love Violet. I swear that I'm rooting for her now onward!"

The next morning, Scarlet looked completely green in the face, and the dark circles under her eyes were so bad that I thought she looked more like a panda instead.

Scarlet quickly ushered Betty out of the house, not even offering her breakfast.

When she returned, she quickly ran into her bedroom, tore off the bedsheets, and threw them all into the trash. Then, she rushed into the shower and scrubbed herself from head to toe until her skin went bright red from being rubbed raw.

I chuckled to myself.

So, even saints like Scarlet weren't immune to Betty's horrible scent attack!

…

After breakfast, I walked out of the house, planning to check out the nearby supermarkets first. But the moment I stepped outside, a warm blast of dry air hit me. The scorching heat intensified by the second, making the entire city feel like one enormous sauna.

Yesterday's heat was nothing compared to that day's.

I turned on my phone and saw that the heatwave was even trending on social media, with popular searches like "extreme high heat" making it to the top.

Many middle and high schools had already closed due to the extreme weather, and some outdoor workers had also stopped working in the sun.

The comments popped up once again.

"Why is the extreme heatwave happening so quickly?"

"I think the plot changed. Did the director film a sequel?"

I felt my heart sink into my stomach as I read the comments flashing across the screen.

"At this rate, I bet that the temperature is going to reach levels of hell within a week."

"That's what you call 'Hell on Earth'!"

"I kind of want to throw an egg on the ground to see if it'll cook immediately."

The comments erupted with jokes and banter, but I couldn't laugh with them. I frowned in frustration and repeatedly tapped the banking app on my phone.

I only had a few thousand dollars to my name. These were all my savings from the few part-time and odd jobs I had taken up over the years.

The five million dollars I had demanded from Uncle Adrian hadn't arrived yet either.

After staying just under a minute in a place without air-conditioning like this, I was already drenched in sweat. The hot weather was also making my temper flare.

The streets were deserted, with only the roar of overworked air-conditioning units breaking the silence.

Judging from that sound, I guessed that every single household in the city had turned on its air-conditioning at home.

There wasn't even the slightest breeze, and the air couldn't circulate, so it kept accumulating and feeding the fire of scorching, sweltering heat.

Things were getting critical now. The heatwave had struck too quickly, and I couldn't afford to waste another second anymore.

Yet, I didn't have enough money in my bank account!

I inhaled deeply and turned around to go back home.

I had to think of another way, and fast. I couldn't afford to put all my eggs in one basket and wait for Uncle Adrian anymore.

…

I got home and heard Scarlet's boyfriend, Marcus Crosby, talking to her on the phone.

"Lettie, my mom injured her leg, and I can't leave work at this moment. Could you please help me check on her?"