Barely twelve hours have passed since he transmigrated to the year 2030 where the Catastrophe was about to happen, but Zhou Qingfeng was already exhausted both mentally and physically. As soon as he threw himself on the bed, he fell soundly asleep.
After dozing for a couple of hours, Zhou Qingfeng suddenly sensed some scuffling beside him. Though he still felt hazy, the anxiety forced him to get up. Then, he was greeted by the sight of Catarina sitting by his bed searching through the contents of the bag that he was carrying.
The bag contained the fifty-seven thousand US dollars he had stolen from the Potaski brothers, as well as his Colt M1911A1 pistol. Catarina tugged on the sleeve a few times and let out a low whistle. She said to Zhou Qingfeng, "Wow, this is a well-made gun. Where did you get it?"
Having been scared out of his sleep, Zhou Qingfeng was still in shock and drenched in cold sweat. Annoyed at Catarina's questioning, he replied uncomfortably, "I stole it."
"Is that so… And I thought you were just some worthless wretch. You actually stole someone's gun?" Catarina dropped the gun and got up. As she walked toward the door, she added, "Get up, it's already ten o'clock in the morning. Your breakfast is long gone but you can wait for your lunch at twelve.
"One more thing, your arm's pretty swollen, you should apply some medicine. For a rookie who almost dislocated his arm just from shooting a small gun like this, you should thank God that you're still alive now."
'Please! I'm only alive now because of my skill! To hell with God!'
When Zhou Qingfeng stretched to heave himself up, he felt an immense soreness and pain in his right arm. Even his shoulder, elbow, and wrist were burning with numbness. It was definitely swollen.
A small bottle of anti-inflammatory spray was placed on the bedside table, which was probably left by Catarina. Zhou Qingfeng gratefully grabbed it and sprayed on the three joints on his right arm, instantly bringing a cooling sensation that soothed the aches and made him feel much better.
The Colt M1911A1 had a 45 caliber full-powered handgun cartridge. A shot to the limbs would mean great suffering; a shot to the torso and you could bid farewell to your body. With its great explosive power, the pistol's recoil kickback would naturally be great as well!
For someone who had never fired a gun like Zhou Qingfeng, it was quite a miracle that he managed to figure out how to fire off a shot. In any case, it was not surprising for him to miss his shot and injure himself in the process.
After applying the anti-inflammatory spray, Zhou Qingfeng's arm felt much better and was ready to resume his daily activities. He finally had the time to check out his surroundings.
The room Catarina had arranged for him was rather plain. There was a wooden bunk bed, a table, and two chairs. The room was about four or five square meters large and it was bare in decorations.
When Zhou Qingfeng walked out of the room, he realized that he was in a four or five-story building. It seemed to have once been a large industrial warehouse, but Catarina had transformed it into a cozy place of residence that was nicely furnished.
The living room had a suspended ceiling that lifted up the entire space. Everything one could possibly need in a living room was there—a sofa, a television, a coffee table, and other furniture. There was even a small bar counter in the corner of the room.
In addition to the living room, there were at least three or four floors upstairs that belonged to Catarina, while the basement was her private parking lot where she probably stored her modified military vehicles.
Judging from the thickness of the walls, Catarina must have specifically chosen this space because it made the ideal fortress.
"Quite a nice place," Zhou Qingfeng noted with admiration. The movie did not include any scenes of Catarina's house but from the perspective of dealing with the Catastrophe, Catarina's house was more suitable to be their home base than David's.
At the moment, Catarina was lying on the sofa with a machinery magazine in hand. She merely rolled her eyes at Zhou Qingfeng's compliment and snorted. At least the boy had good taste.
However, knowing Catarina's financial situation, Zhou Qingfeng felt that she could not have been able to afford this place. She must have seized this building by force after killing a gang leader or something. Well, that certainly sounded like something this fierce lady would do.
As he stood in the living room, Zhou Qingfeng's eyes inevitably fleeted across the room toward Catarina. The long-haired lady was wearing a tightly cropped tank top that only covered her upper torso, leaving her belly exposed.
Waist down, she wore a pair of sporty shorts that revealed much of her long, slender biomechanical legs that were resting on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Those who did not know her backstory would marvel at her straight, well-toned legs, and those with a leg fetish would go nuts over them.
However, Zhou Qingfeng quickly looked away. He knew that Catarina loathed people staring at her legs. It made her incredibly uncomfortable because her real thighs were blasted off during an explosion and the incident nearly drove her to commit suicide.
"Excuse me, do you have a computer I could borrow for a minute?" Zhou Qingfeng asked as he walked toward her.
"No," Catarina replied simply without looking up as she continued flipping through the magazine. She never cared much for other necessities and pleasures in life. Her daily routine consisted only of physical training and nothing else.
Well… Extreme boredom or a sore lack of cash could prompt her to drop by the most dangerous neighborhoods in Brooklyn in the middle of the night to hunt down tyrants. This was perhaps the only hobby of hers that she enjoyed.
"Alright then." Zhou Qingfeng knew that Catarina did not like talking. He paused and scratched his head before he asked, "Can I borrow your phone to buy some supplies online? I can pay you back in cash."
Catarina gave Zhou Qingfeng a short disdainful glance and said snappishly, "What kind of supplies do you want to buy?"
Zhou Qingfeng recalled the list he made last night. "Mainly rice, flour, cooking oil, salt, seasonings, water, some canned food, fuel, an electric generator…
"A solar-powered charging panel, high-energy batteries, alcohol, cigarettes, a water purifier, water purification tablets, a first aid kit, some medicine... Oh, and toilet paper. Lots of toilet paper."
Catarina frowned as she listened to Zhou Qingfeng slowly listing the items one by one. Everything Zhou Qingfeng had listed was basic daily essentials. If he bought everything on his list, he could live independently for a long time. Catarina asked, "How big of a mess did you land yourself in? Are you planning on taking refuge?"
"Uh… Yes!" Zhou Qingfeng said as he commented drily to himself, 'Well, this fierce woman isn't exactly wrong.'
There's no need for you to prepare these things, my basement has enough resources for two people to live for a month. I already have everything you thought and more." With that, Catarina stretched out an arm and said, "Just give me your money and I can split my storage supplies with you."
Zhou Qingfeng curled his lip as he contemplated his options. He knew that Catarina was a former mercenary. The difference between a mercenary and a regular soldier was that a mercenary always lacked logistical support, and that was how this brazen woman developed the habit of preparing for the worst and stocking up on resources.
However, the supplies Catarina had prepared were only sufficient for a small number of people in the short term. After witnessing the endless despair and hopelessness after the Catastrophe, what she had stored simply was not enough.
"I need more of everything. For example, I was planning to buy over five tons of rice and flour, and maybe over ten thousand cans of canned food." Zhou Qingfeng paused for a second to think. If he wanted to truly stock up on supplies and resources, 50 thousand dollars might not even be enough. "Sigh, there's not enough money!"