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When James and Ms. Carol returned home, Noah and Ms. Carol carried fruit upstairs and downstairs to thank the neighbors. Then they both returned home with serious expressions, looking quite dejected.
The reason was simple: the entire family was banned from buying supplies for five days. Now that all information was interconnected, even entering a supermarket required an ID card, making it nearly impossible to sneak around.
James thought for a moment and said, "Mom, Dad, don't worry about food and drink. I had previously partnered with a friend to set up a logistics warehouse, but we ended up losing money. However, the stuff in the warehouse is still there, and since my friend didn't want it, he gave it all to me. How about we move there today? I've rented that warehouse for several years."
Noah and Ms. Carol's eyes lit up at this suggestion, but they hesitated slightly. The old-fashioned thinking of moving was deeply rooted in them, making it difficult to change.
James quickly added, "I talked to the people from the end-of-world club today, and Eric Liu will likely not give up easily. It's better if we move."
Hearing this, Noah and Ms. Carol agreed, quickly packed their things, and as they went downstairs, they were surprised to see James's Ford truck parked below.
James jumped out of the truck and smiled, "It's the company's vehicle. I don't have time to return it right now."
"You should return it soon. Borrowing the company's car too often might upset the boss," Ms. Carol reminded.
"Got it, got it," James replied with a smile, and with a press of the gas pedal, the truck roared to life, heading straight west.
The streets were filled with law enforcement personnel, and the people stayed indoors out of fear. Despite the heavy fog, driving was convenient, and they soon arrived at the warehouse.
"Finally moving into this warehouse means we won't have to hide things anymore," James said, feeling great.
As they entered the warehouse, Noah and Ms. Carol were astonished. The warehouse had three large freezers neatly arranged on one floor, filled with various meats, and four double-door refrigerators stocked with fresh vegetables and fruits.
In one corner, there were two brand-new generators standing tall.
The warehouse seemed like a refuge tailor-made for an end-of-world scenario.
James hadn't told his parents that he had also bought a water purification device and hidden it in a secret space for later use when the tap water became contaminated.
What further delighted Noah and Ms. Carol was that the second and third floors of the warehouse had been renovated into living spaces. James had specially hired someone to clean it, making it look brand new and pleasing.
"Mom and Dad, we've just moved in today, so let's prepare a few small dishes," James said with a smile, taking out beef, pork, chicken, and some eggplants and cabbage from the secret space.
"Today you both rest, I'll cook," James said, rolling up his sleeves and heading to the kitchen.
He started with a chicken soup, using high-quality ingredients that only needed simple cooking methods. James prepared a clear chicken soup by adding water to a clay pot, adding chicken pieces, a little ginger, cooking wine, and a bit of well water, then began to cook it.
While the chicken soup was simmering, James stir-fried the beef and cabbage, adding some small chili peppers from the secret space. The dish turned out to be aromatic and spicy, making one's mouth water.
For the pork, James made a simple braised pork, cooking it to a glossy, chewy, and tender perfection. He tasted it and was more satisfied with his cooking skills.
Finally, for the eggplants, James steamed them and used garlic and oil to create a fragrant garlic sauce with some small chili peppers and oyster sauce, then poured it over the eggplants, garnishing with scallions from the secret space. The dish was filled with a delightful aroma.
After working for an hour or so, when James brought the rice to the table, Noah and Ms. Carol, smelling the delicious food, were amazed and said, "James, where did you learn to cook like this? It smells so good."
Ms. Carol put a piece of braised pork in her mouth, and Noah had a sip of the chicken soup. Both were delighted, especially with the chicken soup. The addition of the secret well water not only made it nourishing but also extremely delicious.
"My goodness, I've never had such delicious chicken soup," Noah exclaimed, finishing a large bowl in one go.
The meal was enjoyed with warmth and happiness, sweeping away their earlier gloom. Noah even opened a bottle of old wine, enjoying it with a flushed face.
James cherished these peaceful and warm moments with his parents even more.
"Should I go out tonight and deal with Eric ?" James suddenly thought, feeling a bit annoyed by Eric constant harassment.
With James's current strength and the battle experience accumulated from his past life, it wouldn't be too difficult to quietly deal with Eric family under the cover of night and fog.
After thinking for a moment, James decided to let Eric go. It wasn't out of leniency but because James felt that Eric would no longer pose a threat in this life. Moreover, if history followed its normal course, Eric should be bitten by a mutated beast in the second year of the apocalypse.
"Never mind, time to sleep." James turned and went back to his room, soon falling into a deep sleep.
The next morning, the gunshots outside were noticeably more frequent. James knew that the law enforcement team had started their operation to purge the mutated beasts from the city.
James, having lived two lives, knew that this purge would anger the entire city's mutated beasts, leading to the emergence of the first mutated beast with basic intelligence in the city—an armored pig. This beast had tough skin and flesh, causing significant casualties to the law enforcement team at the time.
"Let's go out and find a way to deal with this armored pig. It's a good opportunity to slightly suppress the evolution speed of the mutated beasts in the city," James said after breakfast, instructing his parents not to go out, then heading out himself.
Before leaving, James retrieved the weapons he had prepared from the secret space, including a thick-walled steel pipe about a meter long.
In addition, he prepared some long steel bars with extremely sharp ends that could be thrown.
The streets were deserted, as the authorities had issued a notice prohibiting people from going out and closing the supermarkets. The law enforcement team was clearing the mutated beasts from the city. Given the dense fog, if people went out freely, it could lead to accidental injuries.
James walked down the street with his steel pipe and soon encountered the law enforcement team, including the "Dragon Flame Goddess" Emma.
When the law enforcement team saw James, the leading middle-aged man immediately shouted, "Don't you know you're not supposed to be outside today? Go back!"
James shrugged and said, "I'm just too hungry and came out looking for something to eat. I got lost because of the heavy fog."
The team leader frowned. He didn't want to waste time dealing with James but couldn't just let him wander around and scare people. He said, "Stay with us, and don't fall behind!"
James was delighted to hear this, grabbing his steel pipe and running over.
"Oh, you've got a weapon too." A young law enforcement officer laughed when he saw James with the steel pipe, patting his gun and saying, "That pipe might be more useful for dancing. Don't get too worked up."
The mention of "steel pipe dance" made the other officers laugh as well.
"Stop laughing and be quiet," Emma said sharply.
Emma seemed to hold a high position in the team. As soon as she spoke, the others stopped their complaints and quieted down.
Emma glanced at James and said coldly, "If there's danger later, just stick close to us and stay within five meters of me."
"Got it," James replied with a smile, agreeing readily.
"Amao, Emma seems to care about this guy. She even said more than usual. When has our ice queen ever said that much to anyone?" A young officer whispered.
"Hmm, now that you mention it, it does seem like that."
"Something's fishy," another person said with a grin.
"Damn, could you all stop talking? If Emma hears you, we'll have to practice more," a team member said, feeling uneasy about the continuous chatter.
The team advanced and encountered several waves of mutated beast attacks along the way. However, with their advanced firearms, they easily killed dozens of beasts.
The officers were relaxed, chatting and bragging among themselves. However, James became increasingly cautious, gripping his steel pipe more tightly.
He knew that the team had entered the territory of the armored pig.