When Ms. Carol heard that James wanted to buy a house and get married, her eyes lit up with excitement. She thought to herself, "The kid has finally wised up. If he wants to buy a house, it seems he's serious about that girl Old Wang introduced him to."
With that thought, Ms. Carol couldn't help but feel overjoyed. She waved her hand decisively and said, "Don't worry about the down payment. Your dad and I will give you $20,000 now, and we'll figure out how to come up with another $20,000 in a few days."
In society, Mom is tough but few words.
In the afternoon, Ms. Carol handed James a bank card with $20,000. James took the card and, without a word, went downstairs, mounted his little van, and headed straight to the grocery store.
At the grocery store, James checked his list and bought a large amount of rice, wheat, corn, millet, and other staples, as well as seasonings like oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. Then, he hurriedly went to the farmer's market and bought a large quantity of vegetables like green leafy veggies, cabbage, cilantro, green onions, and garlic.
Oh, and fruits. James had almost forgotten the taste of fruit. Just thinking about biting into a crisp, sweet apple or having a glass of fresh orange juice made him feel immensely happy.
After a big shopping spree, James had spent over $2,000 from his card.
"This kid... buying so much rice, is he preparing for the apocalypse or stocking up for the winter?" The grocery store owner looked at James with a strange expression as he left the store in his little van.
"Rice and seasonings," James thought to himself with a sense of satisfaction.
Without experiencing the apocalypse, how could one appreciate the sweetness of rice or the value of seasonings?
The last challenge was gasoline. Since James didn't have a car, the gas stations wouldn't allow him to fill up without one. After thinking it over, he decided to use his dad's car to get the gasoline in the evening. Once he had the fuel, he could transfer it to the mysterious space and visit a few more gas stations. That way, he could gather a few hundred kilograms of gasoline. He figured he'd manage to find more once the apocalypse arrived.
Since James couldn't buy gasoline just yet, he bought a few large barrels to put into the mysterious space. These would primarily be used for water and gasoline. Then, he immediately set off to buy seeds—a crucial task that required meticulous attention.
Despite asking many people in the area, James couldn't find anyone who sold seeds.
People in the city don't farm, do they? In five days, you'll understand just how terrifying it is to not be prepared for farming. It could cost lives.
Fortunately, there was still the X-Degree map. James pulled out his phone, did a quick search, and soon found a seed store not too far away—just over seven kilometers. He immediately started his shopping spree.
By late afternoon, James returned to the neighborhood with over 200 pounds of seeds, including rice, wheat, buckwheat, vegetables like greens, cabbage, chili peppers, and Sichuan peppercorns…
James bought every type of seed he could think of. Watching the money flow out of his account was incredibly satisfying. This money, if not used now, would become worthless once the apocalypse hit.
Just thinking about having delicious rice in the apocalypse, fresh vegetables, especially that tangy and spicy cabbage, oil-braised eggplant, and a spoonful of chili oil made James's mouth water.
When James, dusty and disheveled, returned home, his parents had already prepared dinner.
As he was about to ask his dad to borrow the car, James suddenly had a bright idea and said, "Dad, I hurt my hand today. I need to buy some bandages and ointment. Can you give me the health insurance card?"
James managed to get Mr. Ming's health insurance card after dinner. He then asked his dad to borrow the car, claiming he needed to pick up a friend, and subtly hinted that it was a female friend. Mr. Ming and Ms. Carol were overjoyed and readily agreed to lend him the car.
With the insurance card and car keys in hand, James slipped out and headed to the pharmacy to buy some medical supplies.
In the apocalypse, with the societal system on the brink of collapse and the world in utter chaos, the value of medicine could even surpass that of food.
James checked the balance on the insurance card at the pharmacy and was pleasantly surprised to find over $2,000 remaining. He felt much better knowing there was a decent amount available. The only regret was not having tricked Ms. Carol's insurance card as well.
He made a mental note to buy plenty of antihypertensives. In his previous life, his grandparents had died shortly after the apocalypse began due to the lack of available medication. He was determined to keep them safe this time around.
James cleared out several pharmacies, purchasing alcohol, anti-inflammatory drugs, detoxification powders, antihypertensives, bandages, and more. With the "help" of the pharmacy staff, he used up the entire balance on the insurance card and spent an additional $2,000 in cash on a large quantity of medicine. He then drove to the gas station and spent nearly nine o'clock working tirelessly to get everything done before returning home, exhausted.
"I'm so tired today," James said as he collapsed onto his bed, barely able to move. But when he saw the generators, refrigerators, freezers, and three large barrels of gasoline neatly arranged in the mysterious space, he felt a deep sense of accomplishment.
Looking at his remaining balance, which was just over $14,000, James noted that most of the money had been spent on the generators and stabilizers. He had bought the best generators available, getting two sets for alternating use. Even though machines aren't human, he figured they need rest too.
After a brief rest, James took out his phone and checked the dozens of pending orders from emazon and a-bay. He felt a mix of satisfaction and anticipation. After making his list earlier in the day, he had ordered over a dozen sets of seasonal clothing online, spending over $2,000.
With modern logistics being so efficient, James estimated that all his purchases would arrive in the next day or two, ensuring he'd be prepared before the apocalypse hit.
"Clothing, food, and housing are all taken care of. The current multi-story apartments aren't very convenient. Besides, with all the supplies I've bought, I need a storage point. If I put everything in the mysterious space, it will be hard to explain the sudden appearance of food to my parents." James was determined to keep the mysterious space a secret. He knew well that there are no impenetrable walls, and the saying "a common man has nothing to fear but being a possessor of a treasure" was something he understood all too well.
"I'll first rent a warehouse in the suburbs and move the supplies there once the apocalypse begins. I'll just tell my parents that I've partnered with the company to handle logistics and storage, and that we ended up with a large stockpile of unsold goods." James quickly made up his mind.
"Let's settle the housing issue this way. Next is the transportation problem," James thought, analyzing quickly.
Transportation was even more crucial than housing. In his previous life, after becoming an evolved being, James had to put in a tremendous amount of effort to acquire a large pickup truck. Before getting the truck, his transportation relied entirely on his own two legs. When being chased by mutated beasts, he had endured countless hardships. If he hadn't been faster than the others, he would have long become a snack for the mutated beasts. This time, he needed to be well-prepared in advance!