Reading-time7

Chapter 1 Return From the Apocalypse "Hiss!" It hurt so much! A searing sting spread across the back of Cheryl Schneider's hand, slowly pulling her hazy consciousness back into focus. She lowered her head and saw a vivid red scratch. Warm sunlight streamed through the massive floor-to-ceiling window to her left, dancing across her palm. Sunlight?! She remembered that after the world plunged into extreme cold, she hadn't seen sunlight that bright in a very long time. Instinctively, Cheryl looked outside the window. Blue sky, lush green grass, and rare blossoms carefully tended by gardeners... Cheryl was completely dumbfounded. Wasn't she dead in that world-shattering apocalypse? So why was she in the former Schneider Villa again? Her heart began pounding wildly. She stared wide-eyed, greedily taking in everything before her—until her gaze landed on the young woman beside her. At that moment, the woman was lifting a vibrant emerald pendant toward her neck. Cheryl's pupils shrank sharply. It's mine! The moment the thought formed, she shot forward and reached out. Smack! She yanked her pendant back from that woman's neck, leaving a glaring red mark across that woman's fair neck. At the same time, a piercing scream rang out. "Ah!" The young woman clutched her neck, her face twisting in pain. "Oh my God, Angela! What's wrong? Let me see!" "William, go get Dr. Zinn now!" A middle-aged couple, sitting nearby and drinking coffee while reading the newspaper, rushed over at the commotion and fussed anxiously over the young woman. Seeing the loving family of three before her, Cheryl let out a cold smile. Angela! Fiona! Gregory! It was her "sweet and adorable" younger sister, her "gentle and kind" stepmother, and her "fair and impartial" father. She never expected they would meet again like that. "Cheryl, what did you do to Angela?!" Gregory Schneider snapped without asking, immediately scolding her. Cheryl replied calmly, "I just took back what belongs to me. What's the problem with that?" Her voice was flat, and her expression was cold. Gregory froze for a moment at her tone of defiance, then grew even angrier. "It's just a damn necklace, not some priceless treasure. If Angela wants it, just give it to her! You're petty like your dead mother. Absolutely embarrassing!" Seeing the bloody mark on Angela Schneider's neck, Fiona Schneider looked distressed, but she still put on a fake peacemaker act. "Hubby, don't be mad. I'm sure Cheryl didn't mean to do it." Then she turned to Cheryl, wearing a look of false tolerance. "Cheryl, did you forget? You promised your father you'd give this to Angela as a birthday gift. If you changed your mind and don't want to give it anymore, you could've told me. Do you really think I'd force you? Snatching it back like that? That's something a robber would do. Look what you did—Angela's neck is bleeding." "Give it back to Angela right now and apologize!" Gregory said with open disgust. "If she doesn't forgive you, then get out of here!" Nestled in Fiona's arms, Angela watched Cheryl with barely concealed glee. She knew that as long as Gregory spoke, Cheryl would obey—no matter how reluctant she was. That emerald pendant she had inexplicably longed for day and night would soon be hers. But the next moment, Cheryl gave a soft laugh. Under their stunned gazes, she turned and walked away. "Stop right there!" Gregory roared. "If you dare walk out that door today, don't ever come back!" Cheryl paused briefly, letting out a mocking chuckle. "As you wish!" With that, she walked straight out without looking back. ... Once outside, standing beneath the blinding sunlight, Cheryl checked the time on her phone. It was August 25, 2040—08:58 a.m. Then she pinched her thigh hard. It hurts! So it's real. Not a dream! I've truly been reborn! She was reborn one month before the apocalypse. On September 25, 2040, fate played a cruel joke on humanity. Relentless torrential rains fell without pause, nearly submerging the entire planet. It marked the beginning of the apocalypse. In that apocalypse, she had struggled desperately and lived in misery. Like a feral dog, she fought countless others just to snatch scraps of food to survive. In sharp contrast, Angela and Fiona had remained polished and well-fed, while Angela always seemed able to produce endless supplies out of thin air. Cheryl had envied them before, but she believed it was simply because Gregory provided everything for them as a high-ranking official in the base. Only before her death, when she saw a chocolate cake appear in Angela's hand out of nowhere, did she learn the truth. Angela's fake, sugary voice echoed endlessly in her mind. "Thank you for giving me such a magical pendant, Cheryl!" The one in Angela's hand had been the emerald pendant left to Cheryl by her maternal grandmother before she passed away. Yet before the apocalypse arrived, Angela had snatched it away under the excuse of a birthday gift. A thought flashed through Cheryl's mind. Without hesitation, she bit her finger and squeezed a drop of blood onto the pendant. The instant the blood touched it, a flash of white light burst before her eyes. When the light faded, the pendant had disappeared, replaced by a small red birthmark in the center of her palm. With a shift of thought, a storage space appeared in her mind. Inside was a foggy, square-shaped, and empty area. But Cheryl was thrilled. It was real. Everything was real. Her rebirth was real. Her storage space was also real! She broke into a wide grin. Slowly, the grin turned into laughter. Then laughter mixed with tears. In her previous life, because she endured every grievance and backed down, she ended up dying without even a proper burial. With this second chance at life, she was determined to make them repay every injustice she had suffered! Ignoring the strange looks from passersby, Cheryl hailed a taxi and returned to the small apartment she once lived in. The moment she closed the door, she eagerly used her mind to open the storage space and began testing it. The space was enormous, about the size of two soccer fields. Thick fog stretched across all sides, sealed off by an invisible barrier. Cheryl silently thought about going in, but she remained standing exactly where she was. Only the phone in her hand had vanished, appearing soundlessly inside the storage space. Suppressing the excitement rising in her chest, she continued testing the space by using items from her room. She kept loading things in and pulling them back out, not calming down until she was completely worn out. Chapter 2 The Spatial Portal It was a static space measuring 300 feet in length, width, and height. It couldn't store living creatures, but it preserved freshness. Hot water placed inside stayed boiling, no matter how long it remained stored. When taken out, it was exactly as hot as when it had been put in. "Ding! Smart Q here with a reminder. It's 10:00 a.m. Drakoria time." The sudden voice notification snapped Cheryl out of her excitement of exploring the storage space. Today was August 25, 2040. There was only one month left before the apocalypse would arrive. Time was tight. She couldn't afford to waste a single moment. Cheryl sat at the main desk. As memories of the disasters from her previous life surfaced, she began organizing a list of supplies she would need. First came relentless rain, followed by endless flooding, then extreme heat, extreme cold... Each disaster was something humanity today could barely imagine. In her previous life, with nothing to her name, she had gritted her teeth and survived until the third year of the apocalypse, enduring almost every hardship imaginable. But this time, she would never allow herself to fall into such desperate circumstances again. Food and water were essential. Medicine, too. In the chaotic world of the apocalypse, sometimes a single, insignificant anti-inflammatory pill could save a life. Beyond that, she needed clothing, shoes, cold-weather gear, tents, and sleeping bags for outdoor survival, vehicles and speedboats for emergency escape, and essential materials like candles, matches, emergency lights, batteries, and power supplies. Cheryl wrote down anything that came to mind in her notebook without missing a single item. As she continued writing, she suddenly remembered a bandit gang from her previous life. They had lived in extreme luxury during the apocalypse, surviving through robbery, murder, and looting. Meanwhile, ordinary people with no weapons had struggled just to stay alive. So self-defense weapons were absolutely critical. Too bad firearm regulations here in Drakoria were extremely strict. Ordinary people had no realistic way to obtain guns. The same problem applied to gasoline for cars and speedboats. Without proper permits, it wasn't sold in bulk domestically. The only option was repeatedly driving to gas stations, filling the tank, then siphoning the fuel out afterward. It was a huge hassle, and she wouldn't collect much. If only I could go to Lumoria... She had too little time. The true catastrophic flooding wouldn't arrive until a month later. However, the continuous rain, the early signs of the apocalypse, would begin much sooner. Cheryl remembered that in another ten days, all international flights would be suspended due to worsening weather. Ten days probably wasn't even enough time for a visa to be approved. Just then, a glowing panel suddenly appeared in her mind. "Apocalypse Preparation Portal Activated. Destination: Any location on Earthspire. "Usage Method: Select coordinates from the spatial map to initiate teleportation. "Usage Rules: "1. Portal Availability Period: August 25, 2040, 8:58 a.m. to September 24, 2040, 11:59 p.m. "2. Number of Uses: 10 times. "3. Maximum Stay Duration at Destination: 72 hours. After time expires, automatic return to starting coordinates." Staring at the glowing panel in her mind, Cheryl froze, unable to react for a long time. An apocalypse preparation portal! It could send her anywhere on Earthspire! Didn't that mean she could go to Lumoria and collect gasoline and firearms? The surprise made Cheryl tremble with excitement. Lumoria didn't just have gasoline and weapons. There were also mountains of rice, flour, cooking oil, and milk that were unused and wasted by the ton. As long as she had money, she could buy anything in that country. Thinking about money, Cheryl's overheated mind finally cooled down a little. She glanced at her account balance. There was only 1,746,753 dollars. That was the Schneider Group's dividend. The greedy Schneiders hadn't yet spent every last cent because it had been delayed by a month. If a few more days went by, there might not be a single cent left. Over a million sounded like a lot, but it was nowhere near enough for her to stock up on supplies in Lumoria. After a moment's thought, she picked up her phone and typed quickly into the Schneider Group shareholders' chat, "I'm selling 20% of my shares. The starting price is one billion. Full payment only. First come first served!" Those 20% shares had been left to her by her late mother. In her previous life, Gregory had always tried to buy them at a dirt-cheap price, but her mother's will had prevented her from agreeing. This time, Cheryl knew the apocalypse was coming. All the money and shares would eventually be nothing but scraps of paper. So next, she would sell those shares to stock up on survival supplies for the apocalypse. But she definitely wasn't going to sell them for peanuts! The moment she sent out the message, her phone kept pinging nonstop. The whole group chat practically exploded. Some were asking if it was real; some were placing bids right away. Cheryl ignored them all and went back to reorganizing her inventory list. Since she was heading to Lumoria, some things didn't need to be bought in Drakoria, such as rice, flour, and cooking oil. Even though large-scale food sales weren't illegal in Drakoria, a few hundred to a thousand tons would still attract attention. And unlike Lumoria, Drakoria was crowded with less land, so she wasn't going to fight locals for it. But those Drakoria-exclusive delicacies? Absolutely essential. God knew how much she had missed fondue, barbecue, and spicy noodle soup during the apocalypse. Thinking about it, she just bought it. Opening an online shopping app, she saw all kinds of foods and clicked without hesitation, then started placing orders like crazy. She stocked up on instant noodles—beef, chicken, sour, spicy—every flavor up to the sellers' stock limit. She also grabbed spicy ramen, beef ramen, spicy noodle soup, beef vermicelli, microwavable meal kits, and frozen rice meals. With staple foods covered, she couldn't skip side dishes and snacks. She ordered ten boxes each of ham sausages—pork, chicken, and fish varieties. When she saw spicy chicken wings, lemon chicken wings, and crispy fried wings, she instantly cleared the entire stock. Seeing the recommended canned foods below, Cheryl's eyes lit up, and she added them to her cart. That was good stuff. Even without the space's preservation effect, it would still stay good for a long time. Along with compressed biscuits, those were hard currency for trading in a supply-short apocalypse. And the taste was way better than compressed biscuits. There were canned ham, canned pork stew, canned sardines, canned mackerel, canned tuna, canned green beans, canned peaches, canned oranges, canned strawberries, and canned mixed vegetables. She added anything the store had. Of course, easy-to-store, filling compressed biscuits couldn't be skipped. It was 48 packs per box, and she picked 100 boxes right away. Then there was energy-storing chocolate—dark and white—999 of each type. The stock limit was 999. Soon, her cart was full. She quickly checked out and paid. The total was 476,484 dollars. Money really burned fast; just a fraction of what she bought ate up a quarter of her savings. Chapter 3 Keep Buying As one order after another went through, confirmations kept popping up from sellers. They were all checking if Cheryl had accidentally clicked the wrong quantity. To avoid any delay in shipping due to their doubts, she quickly replied, "No mistake. Please ship as soon as possible!" After sending that, she was about to move on to the next round when a call interface popped up. Seeing the name on the screen, Cheryl let out a cold snort and answered. The moment she picked up, Gregory's roar came through the phone. "Cheryl! What the hell are you doing? Who allowed you to sell your shares? Get into the group and retract that message right now!" Cheryl held the phone a few inches away. Only after the harsh shouting stopped did she speak calmly, "The shares are mine. So what if I'm selling them? What does it have to do with you?" Gregory fumed, "What do you mean? Those are Schneider Group shares! They belong to the Schneiders—they're mine! How can you sell them to outsiders?" Cheryl sneered. "I can't sell them to outsiders? Want me to sell them to you? Give me one billion then! Since you're my father by blood, I'll set that as the starting price. You have three days. If you transfer one billion to my account, I'll transfer all my shares to you." Gregory took a deep breath, trying to soothe her. "Cheryl, I know you're mad at me, but I'm doing this for your own good. You're my daughter. That means my stuff is yours too." Even though 20% of Schneider Group was worth far more than one billion, Cheryl was his child. So in his opinion, her possessions were his. He didn't want to spend a penny, let alone one billion. "If you need money, just tell me. I won't refuse. You're still young. You can't safely keep a billion in your hands. Maybe I can hold it for you first..." Cheryl didn't bother with his nonsense and cut him off. "You know the value of these shares. If you're not interested, I'm sure others will be. Remember—one billion within three days, or the shares go to someone else. No extensions!" Without waiting for a reply, she hung up. Not long after, the phone rang again. Cheryl ignored it, put it on silent, and went inside to change into a set of workout clothes. Before that billion hit her account, she only had a little over one million left. Every bit needed to be turned into supplies. After all, money would become the least useful thing in the apocalypse. ... Leaving the neighborhood, Cheryl picked a small street-side restaurant to grab a meal. She directly ordered a beef stir-fry with rice and egg drop soup. Tender beef, the heat of chili, the sourness of green beans—all the aromas rising in steam made her mouth water. A big spoonful went in, and her taste buds were overwhelmed by the long-missed flavor, nearly bringing her to tears. How many years had it been since she'd eaten something that good? The simplest comfort foods made Cheryl devour them like a starved wolf. Thinking about how she wouldn't be able to eat food like this anymore after the apocalypse, she grabbed the menu and started rattling off orders. "Spicy sausage stew, fish stew, Cajun-style chicken, beef stir-fry, grilled chicken skewers, rotisserie chicken, seasoned fries, sautéed cabbage..." The more dishes she read, the more the small restaurant owner stared in disbelief. What kind of quirk is this? Reading the menu aloud like she's performing? "Fifty orders of each dish," she said. If not for fear of scaring the owner, she'd have ordered 1,000. After all, time in her storage space was completely frozen. What went in would stay perfectly preserved until she took it out. Hot meals stored now could be eaten later, saving cooking time. In the apocalypse, even lighting a fire for food would be a luxury. Despite her restraint, the owner was still shocked by the almost-cleared-out menu. "F-fifty orders?" Cheryl calmly explained, "Yes, for my staff's meals. I'll pick them up in three batches. Any problem?" "N-no problem. No problem at all!" Doing this deal practically equaled a month's business for his little restaurant. Problem or not, he had to make it work. He would even call his parents or in-laws to help if needed. After scheduling the pickup, Cheryl scanned to pay a deposit of 30,000. Then she dashed to the nearest dealership and spent tens of thousands to buy a small cargo van. The cargo space measured 13.6 ft × 7.5 ft × 7.5 ft. It was perfect for a mobile warehouse. She climbed in and immediately headed to the city's largest outdoor gear mall. The three-story mall was stocked with everything from inflatable boats to alcohol stoves and flint. The first floor was for major outdoor equipment, such as watercraft, mountain bikes, ski gear, and scuba gear. Cheryl didn't think twice and bought the flagship item from every store. In less than half an hour, she had purchased two small speedboats, two jet skis, four inflatable boats, four inflatable rafts, four fat-tire bikes, two snowmobiles, four sets of scuba gear, two paragliders, and two high-powered diesel generators. All of those were indispensable in an apocalypse. Life-saving supplies couldn't be taken lightly, and everything had to be top quality. Although Lumoria might offer more advanced products, Cheryl believed in the principle of better too much than too little, so she decided to buy a full batch domestically first. As for the gasoline and diesel needed for speedboats and jet ski engines, she naturally planned to stockpile those in Lumoria. After finishing the first floor, Cheryl headed straight to the second floor. At a glance, it was filled with mountaineering and rock-climbing gear. Those were also essential equipment for surviving the apocalypse. She bought tents, backpacks, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, air mattresses, fire axes, climbing ropes, rock anchors, climbing harnesses, ascenders, descenders, big and small carabiners, slings, and climbing hammers. Then she bought alcohol lamps, alcohol stoves, solid fuel tablets, portable gas stoves, propane canisters, multi-tool water bottles, reusable straws, water purification bottles, compasses, binoculars, waterproof flashlights, knives, and high-capacity solar chargers. As for entrenching shovels, the must-have outdoor camping tool that could double as both a utility tool and a self-defense weapon, she bought them by the case. Condor BG05 Entrenching Shovel—manganese steel, 3 adjustable positions, 200 units. Gerber D57 Multipurpose Folding Shovel—all-in-one, outdoor essential, 200 units. SOG Emergency Folding Shovel—collapsible for easy storage, 200 units. Fiskars Multifunctional Shovel—convert between shovel and hoe, foldable, 200 units. Estwing 205 Entrenching Shovel—ash wood handle, hardened steel blade, 200 units. Cheryl moved like a gust of wind, sweeping through every corner of the mall. Every store clerk was grinning from ear to ear. Chapter 4 Click, Click, Click "Miss, today is our store's anniversary. For every ten thousand purchases, you get an earthquake emergency kit for free. These are your complimentary gifts. Please take them." Cheryl opened the kit and found a gas mask, a fire blanket, a basic first-aid kit, a hand-crank radio, rescue rope, a multi-function axe hammer, a multi-function folding knife, a multi-function folding shovel, a multi-function flashlight, a bag of emergency rations, a bag of emergency drinking water, cut-resistant gloves, a flint, a water carrier, emergency candles, emergency matches, fever cooling patches, a reflective vest, a raincoat, heat packs, glow sticks, compressed towels, and face masks. The kit was incredibly complete. Cheryl was instantly tempted and asked, "Do you sell these emergency kits?" "Of course!" The clerk quickly added, "Besides the earthquake emergency kits, we also have fire rescue kits and flood emergency kits. Which one would you like?" "I'll take 20 of each!" At that moment, Cheryl was like a wealthy tycoon. The only thought on her mind was buy, buy, and buy. The more supplies she had, the more secure she felt in the apocalypse. Meanwhile, news of a big spender in the mall quickly spread to the store owners. By the time Cheryl reached the third floor, many clerks were approaching her with brochures in hand. "Do you need ski gear? Our store has the most complete selection. Would you like to take a look?" "Miss, do you need cold-weather clothing? We're running a 20% off promotion today, guaranteed quality." Seeing the brochure for cold-weather gear in the other person's hand, Cheryl felt a flicker of curiosity. "Can they withstand temperatures of -76 to -94°F?" The clerks froze for a moment. "Miss, are you going somewhere? We're in the south. You can wear short sleeves in winter here." Cheryl remained calm as she said, "I'm going to the north soon." Realizing she wasn't joking, the clerks immediately contacted the store manager, and they actually had the gear she wanted. "Our store has extreme cold-weather coats and mummy sleeping bags that can handle temperatures down to -103°F. The stock is at our headquarters, but if you'd like, we can ship it to you within three days." Without hesitation, Cheryl ordered ten sets. Then on the fourth floor, she swept through ice axes, crampons, ice screws, snow stakes, trekking poles, snowshoes, down jackets and pants, windproof jackets and pants, wool sweaters and pants, helmets, gloves, mountaineering boots, thermal hats, and windproof goggles. They were all loaded by the case. She spent 780,000 in total. Including her morning purchases on an online shopping platform, she spent over 1.2 million in less than a day. Her bank account now had less than 500,000 remaining. But thinking of all the supplies she had bought, Cheryl felt an indescribable satisfaction. Having experienced the previous apocalypse, she constantly felt intense anxiety. Only seeing her storage space filled with supplies could calm her down. Cheryl refused delivery and loaded everything into her car herself. Whether it was a trick of her mind or not, she felt much stronger than before since her rebirth. For boxes weighing over 100 pounds, she lifted them easily with her bare hands. Once the trunk was full, she drove to a secluded spot to unload into her storage space, then returned for the next load. She repeated that several times until everything was stored. Before leaving, Cheryl's eyes caught a topographic map at the mall entrance. She realized she had forgotten an essential item—maps! After the apocalypse, all cell towers and signals were destroyed, and satellites were no longer calibrated, causing serious deviations. Even with a phone, navigation was impossible. Maps and compasses were the only reliable way to navigate. A thick stack of world maps, Drakoria maps, and city maps all went into her storage space. Her space measured 300 feet in length, width, and height. That meant 27 million cubic feet. At first glance, it looked quite large. Still, Cheryl neatly stacked everything using her mind, leaving no space wasted. ... After leaving the outdoor gear mall, it was getting dark. Checking the time, it was already past 5 p.m., and her stomach was growling. Those who had survived the apocalypse could never ignore hunger. Cheryl drove straight to the nearest fast-food restaurant. The suburban fast food restaurant wasn't busy. She ordered a family bucket and chose a corner to eat. While eating, she opened the fast food restaurant app on her phone, chose in-store pickup, and began placing orders. Family buckets, whole chickens with special sauce, chicken nuggets, grilled wings, spicy wings, fries, egg tarts, spicy chicken burgers, crispy chicken burgers, old-style chicken wraps, double beef burgers, crispy chicken rice bowls, strawberry sundaes, chocolate sundaes... She ordered 50 servings of everything on the menu. The staff, used to such bulk orders, began preparing the meals without surprise. Many companies often ordered large quantities for employee meals. After placing the orders, Cheryl opened a delivery app to order more of her favorite foods. She set the delivery address to this fast-food restaurant. There was nothing you couldn't order online. If something wasn't available, there were errand services. From her favorite coffee shop, she ordered 100 espressos, 100 lattes, 100 mochas, 100 Americanos, 100 cappuccinos, 100 mocha frappuccinos, and 100 caramel frappuccinos. From her favorite dessert shop, she ordered 100 tiramisu cakes, 100 macarons, 100 triple dark chocolate cakes, 100 éclairs, 100 baked ham-and-egg sandwiches, 100 slow-roasted ham and cheese ciabattas, 100 tuna paninis, 100 double-cheese ham toasts, and 100 chicken wraps. From her favorite boba shop, she ordered 100 mango smoothies, 100 classic vanilla milkshakes, 100 chocolate milkshakes, 100 coconut milk smoothies, 100 tropical smoothies, 100 caramel milkshakes, 100 jasmine lattes, 100 tropical fruit drinks, 100 iced tea with jellies. From a delicious braised meat shop, she ordered 100 roast ducks, 100 poached chickens, 100 salted chickens, 100 braised beef, 100 pork belly, and 100 pork knuckles. Then, she clicked a restaurant that looked pretty good and ordered 100 barbecue pulled pork sandwiches, 100 shrimp sliders, 100 beef meatballs, 100 buffalo chicken wings, 100 beef potstickers, 100 shrimp cocktail bites, 100 shrimp meatballs, 100 barbecue pulled pork sliders, and 100 seafood soup. From her favorite chicken shop, she ordered 50 pounds of spicy chicken drumettes, chicken wings, chicken carcasses, chicken drumsticks, potato chips, and veggie jerky. Once she started ordering, she simply couldn't stop. Chapter 5 Out of Money Spicy stir-fry bowl, spicy soup with meat, barbecue, pizza, duck noodles, beef noodles, fried rice, mini meat pies, potstickers... Anything she clicked on, Cheryl ordered 100 of each item on the menu. It wasn't until the fast-food restaurant's order-ready bell rang that she reluctantly put away her phone and went to pick up her meals. There were several large bags. When the staff knew her car was parked outside, a few of them helped carry them over. Once Cheryl loaded everything into the trunk, she closed it and transferred all the food into her storage space. Gradually, the rest of her delivery orders began arriving. Because she had ordered so much, the delivery drivers came in waves. Some were on little cargo trikes, some in small vans. They were all heading toward her. She checked off each order as it came, loading everything into the car. If she hadn't secretly stashed some items in her storage space during gaps, this little van could never have fit everything. She worked straight until after 7 p.m. before receiving all the deliveries. From the moment she had been reborn that morning until now, Cheryl hadn't stopped. Feeling a little tired, she decided to head home to rest and continue tomorrow. On the way home, she passed an old, reputable, spicy southern cuisine restaurant and went inside to place an order. She ordered spicy sautéed pork with peppers, spicy fish stews, mixed veggies, pickled pork, beef noodle soups, fish noodle soups, classic fish noodle soups, sweet and sour chickens, braised chickens, spicy duck stews, braised rabbits, stuffed ravioli, preserved veggie steams, sweet dough balls, venison stews, and spicy ginger chickens. All of these were the restaurant's signature dishes. She ordered ten portions of each, plus 100 servings of rice. "Pack it all. I'll pick it up tomorrow at 3 p.m." Cheryl paid half the deposit and left. Following the same method, she repeated the process at a popular numbing spicy western cuisine restaurant she passed. She ordered ten portions of sweet and sour shredded porks, spicy chicken with peanuts, spicy beef chili, spicy beef cold cuts, spicy ravioli, stir-fried pork bellies, spicy chicken wings, crispy beef jerky, spicy chicken salads, Cajun shrimps, buffalo chicken bites, spicy fondues, chicken in creamy sauces, chestnut-braised chickens, buffalo chicken wings, and 100 servings of rice. By now, it was almost 8:30 p.m. The dinner rush had long ended, and most restaurants were likely empty. Cheryl decided to visit all the famous city restaurants. At a famous light eastern cuisine restaurant, she ordered ten portions of sweet and sour fish, braised pork bellies, creamy crab soups, crispy fried egg rolls, steamed porks, vegetable soups, garlic butter shrimps, vegan hams, seafood chowders, baked stuffed fish, veggie salads, glazed baby carrots, seafood stir-fry, crab cakes, fish chowder with pickled veggies, sweet braised chickens, honey-glazed stuffed sweet potatoes, and 50 servings of rice. At a famous fresh southern cuisine restaurant, she ordered ten portions of crispy roast chickens, steamed chickens, roast porks, cornish game hens, stuffed ravioli, sweet and sour porks, steamed fish, stuffed veggie casseroles, beef soups, baked lobsters, and 50 servings of southern pastries. At a famous hearty northern cuisine restaurant, she ordered ten portions of premium ravioli, sweet and sour tunas, braised oyster mushrooms, creamy seafood soups, sweet and sour mackerels, braised sausages, crispy fried chickens, braised seafoods, garlic butter shrimps, spicy fish fillets, steamed fish, calamaris, mixed seafood salads, sweet and sour porks, braised shrimps, steamed sardines, honey garlic chickens, creamy vegetable soups, egg drop soups, braised ducks, fish soups, candied sweet potatoes, honey-glazed pears, and 100 large dinner rolls. At a famous balanced eastern cuisine restaurant, she ordered ten portions of roast ducks, fish balls, duck soups, braised meat casseroles, roasted meats, braised lambs, glazed ham hocks, crab and pork meatballs, fancy pork dishes, braised chickens, steamed chickens, salted roast ducks, smoked ducks, sweet pastries, chicken broths, stuffed mushrooms, baked fish, shrimp scampi, braised duck layers, braised pork ribs, and 50 servings of rice. At a famous seafood eastern cuisine restaurant, she ordered ten portions of seafood and chicken stews, clam chowders, baked mixed rice casseroles, garlic butter clams, mashed sweet potatoes, pickled mushrooms, crispy fried chickens, sautéed chicken livers, sweet and sour porks, braised ribs, stuffed fish, lobster tails, baked scallops, chicken soups, fish cakes, seafood stews, fish balls, ravioli, seafood fritters, veggie soups, pickled fish, braised vegetables, poached chicken, chicken breast cubes, and 50 servings of rice. At a famous rustic central cuisine restaurant, she ordered ten portions of braised fish, braised baby carrots, aged cheese substitutes, steamed chickens, mixed meat and veggie dishes, smoked ducks, smoked fish, stir-fried shrimps, roast chickens, hearty meat stews, crispy ducks, baked fish, roast beefs, veggie meatballs, roast ducks, ricotta cheeses, creamy fish, chicken soup, fish stew, and 50 servings of rice. By the time she left the last restaurant, Cheryl was utterly exhausted, but thinking of all the delicious meals she had ordered made her feel it was worth it. At this point, her bank account only had 200,000 left. After paying the remaining balances due tomorrow, she estimated she'd have about 100,000 remaining. A hundred thousand wasn't much, but she had several credit cards with limits over 200,000 each. That was enough to tide her over until the billion dollars hit her account. Back at her apartment, Cheryl enjoyed a relaxing bath, then got into bed to sleep. But she felt restless, her mind racing between supplies she hadn't collected and terrifying visions of the apocalypse. "Ah!" Cheryl shot awake, drenched in sweat. She'd had a nightmare of her previous life. She was being captured by cannibals, her flesh slowly shaved off and cooked. She sent her awareness into the storage space. When she saw the neatly stacked supplies, her panicked heart finally calmed a little. Checking her phone, it was just past 6 a.m., with the sky still dim. She decided not to sleep any longer. Getting up to wash, she picked up her phone and began ordering breakfast. There were sandwiches, doughnuts, flatbreads, breakfast burritos, ravioli, chickpeas, potstickers, tamales, and oatmeal. She ordered enough for more than ten people at once. After receiving the deliveries and finishing breakfast, Cheryl drove straight to the city's largest water plant. After the apocalypse, water wasn't scarce, but clean water was. A person could survive roughly a month on water alone, though some studies suggested up to three months. Without water, survival dropped to five to ten days. Drinking contaminated water from the post-apocalypse world could mean survival of less than three days. The water came in four-gallon barrels. Cheryl immediately requested 5,000 barrels. The water plant manager beamed. "We happen to have exactly 5,000 barrels in stock. Just perfect!" Chapter 6 Money in Hand Cheryl's order was huge. Not only did she not haggle, but she also paid promptly and even put down a deposit in advance for custom water tanks. The person in charge at the water plant readily agreed to have 1,000 tanks made for her, each capable of holding five tons of water. Delivery would be in ten days. Ten days later, there would still be more than half a month before the water supply stopped in the apocalypse. That gave her plenty of time to fill every tank. After leaving the water plant, Cheryl sat in her car, took a boxed meal out of her storage space, and quickly finished lunch. Then she drove without stopping to a warehouse-style wholesale supermarket located on the outskirts of the city. It was a foreign-owned store known for its large bulk packaging and low-profit model, with most products sold in bulk cases or combination packs to reduce costs. Cheryl didn't know whether the prices were actually low. But the bulk packaging would save her a lot of shopping time. Everything there came in large or bundled packaging, making bulk purchasing much more convenient. Unexpectedly, halfway there, she received a call from Gregory. "Cheryl Schneider, are you sure you want to sell your shares?" Gregory didn't bother pretending anymore. He addressed her by full name, his tone icy. "Yes. One billion dollars. Cash for shares. If you think it's too expensive, I can go to Mr. Harrison instead. He's offering 1.2 billion." For a split second, she thought she heard teeth grinding through the phone. "Fine! One billion it is! Come to the company now. I'll transfer the money, and you sign the share transfer agreement!" Gregory said through clenched teeth. His response surprised Cheryl slightly. After all, raising one billion dollars in cash in just one day was extremely difficult—even for Gregory. He had probably taken every fixed asset under his name, along with his company shares, and used them as collateral at the bank. He might have even gone to private lenders. That was likely how he scraped together the money. Thinking of that, Cheryl couldn't help but smile. In her previous life, Gregory had relied on that huge cash flow to stockpile massive amounts of supplies before the apocalypse. He had thrived during the early days. But this time, he had traded all his resources for Schneider Group shares—things that would be worthless once the apocalypse hit. She wondered if he would still be able to live the same powerful, commanding life he once had. Cheryl turned around and headed straight for the Schneider Group. Inside the top-floor conference room, not only were the company shareholders present, but Fiona and Angela were there as well. Fiona looked worried. "Cheryl, where have you been these past couple of days? You didn't even call. Do you know how worried your dad has been?" "Hmph. Now that she thinks she's independent, she doesn't give a damn about me anymore!" Gregory snorted. Looking at their fake concern, Cheryl felt nothing but impatience. "Weren't you the one who told me to come transfer the shares? Where's the money? Don't tell me this was just a trick." She then turned to the other shareholders in the room and said casually, "Since my dad doesn't want them, then perhaps you all—" Before she could finish, Gregory shouted angrily, "Fiona, transfer the money to her now!" Once Cheryl confirmed that one billion dollars had arrived in her account, she signed the transfer agreement without hesitation. Even though he had obtained the shares, Gregory still felt the sting of losing that billion dollars. He cursed at Cheryl, "From this moment on, I don't have a daughter like you!" If she ever wanted to become the Schneiders' heiress again, she would have to return that billion dollars. Cheryl didn't even spare him a glance. She turned and walked away without looking back. But before she could leave the lobby, Fiona and Angela rushed forward and blocked her path. Cheryl crossed her arms and said coldly, "What do you want?" Angela said, "Where's that pendant? Name your price. I'll buy it!" Her tone sounded like an order, leaving no room for negotiation. "Give me one billion, and I'll sell it to you," Cheryl said with a teasing smile. Angela looked shocked. "One billion? For some lousy pendant? Why don't you just rob a bank?!" Cheryl shrugged. "Can't afford it? Then move aside. Don't block my way!" Angela was furious and wanted to snatch it, but she had no idea where Cheryl had hidden the pendant. Fiona gently patted Angela to calm her down. Then she took out an elegantly wrapped box and said to Cheryl, "Your dad bought this at an auction last month. Cheryl, take a look and see if you like it." She opened the velvet box to reveal a diamond necklace worth a small fortune. Cheryl stared at the necklace, calculating how much it might sell for and how many supplies it could buy. Seeing Cheryl staring intently, Fiona smiled with satisfaction and continued, "You like it, don't you? How about this? Angela really likes your emerald pendant. I'll trade this diamond necklace for it. What do you think?" "Not interested." Cheryl raised her eyes and sneered at Fiona. "Anything that belongs to you disgusts me. You should save it for your precious daughter." With that, she strode away, completely ignoring the curses shouted behind her. ... After getting the money, Cheryl went straight back to her apartment to pack her things for Lumoria. There really wasn't much to pack—just her passport with a Lumoria visa printed inside. In Lumoria, renting cars and making card payments required a passport and a visa registration. But with so little time, there was no way she could apply for a visa normally. Still, money could make anything happen. Yesterday, she had paid a high price to get someone to make a fake passport with a visa inside for her. Before leaving, she put on makeup to slightly disguise her appearance, then began entering coordinates into the glowing panel in her mind. The place she wanted to go was Jurelith, a state in Lumoria. It was Lumoria's top state for agricultural production and exports. Cheryl had studied at a university in Jurelith for two years in the past, so she knew there was an abandoned building near the campus. Just to be safe, she had even looked it up online to confirm that the building still existed. After confirming it, she entered the coordinates of the building. With a flicker of thought, a flash of white light filled her vision. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a run-down building covered in ivy. The walls were plastered with advertisements written in Lumorian. Cheryl had studied in Lumoria for several years when she was younger and was fluent in the language. Seeing the advertisement-covered walls full of foreign flavor made her heart race with excitement. She had really teleported to Lumoria! Her storage space ability was unbelievably powerful. She looked around carefully. After confirming that no one was nearby, she finally relaxed. She hurried downstairs and took a taxi to a nearby rental market. As Cheryl watched the staff member flip through her passport again and again, she couldn't help feeling nervous. Fortunately, the 50,000-dollar fee she had paid for the forged documents wasn't wasted. After registering her passport information, the staff member signaled for her to make the payment. Chapter 7 A Shopping Spree Somewhere New Cheryl rented a pickup with a covered bed and a warehouse for one month. The total came to 1,000 Lumorian dollars, and her account automatically converted the amount and deducted 5,000 Drakorian dollars based on the exchange rate. By 2040, the Drakorian dollar had long since become the world's second major international currency, after the Lumorian dollar. It could be used directly in transactions almost anywhere without any need for exchange. After picking up the truck, Cheryl stopped by the warehouse first to make sure everything was in order. Once she confirmed there were no issues, she headed straight for her real destination. She was going to the largest farms in Jurelith. She'd done all her research before leaving. The first farm she visited belonged to David Weston. It was huge, covering a full 400 acres. That entire stretch of land was planted with paddy. To get products to market faster and more efficiently, Lumorian farms handled every stage of production on-site, from planting and harvesting to processing and finished goods. Rice was milled into packaged grain as soon as it was harvested. Wheat became flour. Peanuts and soybeans were processed directly into cooking oil. The average price at Lumoria's rice farms was around 10.50 dollars per hundred pounds. At that rate, each pound came out to about seven cents, less than half what it cost back home. Grain wasn't just for eating. In the apocalypse, it could serve as currency too. The more, the better. After estimating how much space she had and how much room the grain would take up, Cheryl opened her mouth and ordered 100 tons. David lit up at once, his smile widening as his whole attitude turned warmer. It had been a bumper year, and he'd been worrying about how to move that much rice. Then this young girl showed up and took a full fifth of his inventory in one shot. And she was even paying retail. That was far better than selling to distributors. Of course Cheryl knew that. She just didn't want to waste time haggling with local operators. Once the apocalypse came, money wouldn't mean anything anyway. They signed the contract, she paid the deposit, and the two of them agreed on a delivery date and drop-off location. Then Cheryl prepared to head to the next farm. "Hey, ma'am. Are you going to Olando Farm for flour?" David asked suddenly. Cheryl nodded, then said as if thinking it over, "Yes. Besides flour, I also want oats, potatoes, olive oil, peanut oil, and soybean oil. If there's still time, I'd like to buy some vegetables and fruit too, plus milk and pork, beef, and lamb." David's eyes grew brighter with every word. Then he slapped his thigh. "Oh, sweetheart, why go all the way to Olando for that? We've got it right here. Just tell me how much you want, and I'll have people start getting it ready." Cheryl put on a puzzled look. "Doesn't your farm only grow rice? Where would the rest come from?" David scratched at his thick beard and laughed heartily. "I don't have it, but my wife's family does. So do my brothers and sisters. They all run farms of their own. We can absolutely fill your order." With David leading the way, Cheryl spent the rest of the day buying supplies from nearby farms. Once she confirmed the quality was good, she placed her orders on the spot. She ordered ten tons each of bread flour, cake flour, cornmeal, and whole kernel corn, along with 2,500 pounds each of potatoes, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes. For oils, she took 100 10-liter barrels each of peanut, soybean, corn, and olive oil. She skipped the vegetables entirely. They were too expensive, more than double the price back home. After asking around, she learned why. Lumorian farms were fully mechanized, but vegetable farming required a wider range of equipment, took up more land, and still demanded higher labor costs at harvest. Very few people grew them, which drove the price up even further. Cheryl wasn't too disappointed. She simply added vegetables to her domestic stockpiling list in her head. As for fruit, only bananas and cherries had a real price advantage, so she bought 250 pounds of each. After making the rounds at the surrounding farms, Cheryl followed David to a ranch a few yards away and bought five tons of milk. It came in large sterilized containers, clean and ready to drink. If you wanted some, all you had to do was open the tap on the barrel. Their final stop was David's older brother's livestock farm. The moment Cheryl saw the scale of the place, her eyes lit up. This was all meat. Pigs on the left, cattle on the right, sheep up ahead, chickens below. Row after row of animals stood neatly penned behind fences, stretching so far she couldn't even see the end. The slaughterhouse and processing plant sat right in the middle. Any pig, cow, or sheep that met the size requirements would be sent onto the conveyor belt and carried into the facility. In less than 15 minutes, it would come out as neatly cut portions of meat, vacuum-sealed and packed into boxes. "So, Cheryl, how much meat do you want? Just say the word and I'll have my brother give you a discount." "I'll start with 1,000 head each of cattle, pigs, and sheep, 5,000 chickens, and 10,000 eggs." She'd already worked out the numbers ahead of time, so the order came out without a second thought. Then she added, "Keep everything except the inedible organs." After all, they didn't eat things like pig trotters or chicken feet here. If those got thrown away, she'd cry. By the time she finished the whole circuit, Cheryl had spent a considerable amount of money and collected a thick stack of order contracts. "David, here's the warehouse address. Deliver everything there according to schedule, and call me in advance before each shipment." David laughed loudly. "Pleasure doing business!" "Likewise." By then, the sky was already growing dark. Cheryl turned down David's offer to stay the night and drove straight back toward the city. On the way, she stopped at gas stations to buy gasoline and diesel. There were no purchase limits on fuel in Lumoria, but the problem was that each station kept only a small supply on hand. Even after stopping at three stations in a row, she'd only managed to buy about 141 gallons of fuel. Looks like stocking enough gas and diesel wouldn't be easy in Lumoria either. Not without connections. And harder than fuel was guns. They were common enough for Lumorians, since anyone with a legal firearms permit could buy them. But Cheryl didn't have one. That didn't mean it was impossible. This was Lumoria, after all. She walked straight into an outdoor sporting goods store called Cahebla and pointed out every restricted blade in the shop. Standard daggers, triangular bayonets, single-edged blades, double-edged knives, spike daggers, Army knives. There were also the H8 multipurpose bayonet used by Lumorian troops, the jungle machete, the TP0 TNTXO tactical fixed blade, and the Buck 177 tactical knife. Then there were Rovenian long blades similar to Drakorian tang sabers, including naginatas, wakizashis, and katanas. "Five of each," Cheryl said flatly, looking at the owner, who was busy playing on his phone. The man looked up, stared at her in disbelief, and said, "You sure?" The knives didn't look flashy, but every single one was frighteningly sharp. A few of the military blades were the kind you could carry straight onto a battlefield. Naturally, they were expensive too. Cheryl set her card on the counter and motioned for him to run it. After paying, she didn't leave right away. Instead, she looked at the owner and said, "I also want to buy a ZEV OZ9 pistol." For more exciting content, please download the "JoyRead" app to continue reading.