A shop that sells water gear and rescue supplies was nearby. Lu Nanzhi checked it and bought 200 life jackets, 50 ring buoys, 100 sets of cold-proof full-body raincoats, 100 complete sets of best-quality scuba diving equipment with anti-cold properties, which includes breathing apparatuses, 200 waterproof rechargeable flashlights, and 200 waterproof bags.
50 scuba refillable oxygen cylinders, 4 oxygen refilling machines, 20 sets of underwater communication SEACOMU 1, 50 pairs of walkie-talkies with a maximum range of 15 kilometers, 1000 sets of batteries, 20 pairs of satellite phones for long distance, 10 radios, 20 sets of fire safety gear, including safety helmets, and 50 fire extinguishers for emergencies.
For the snowmobile, she looked for a motorsports supplier with good ratings and bought 5 snowmobiles, 5 snow shovels to push the snow off the balcony during the snowstorm, 10 pairs of lightweight boots, 5 pairs of ice skating shoes, and another 5 pairs that had a mini sled attached to the bottom.
Recalling Lin Yicheng and his uncle, Lu Nanzhi decided to buy 10 sets for men and children.
Knowing the system, it might issue missions during the disasters. If there is a minimal risk, she can choose to accept it.
Warm clothes and house insulation are not enough for the severe cold. The face of the little dumpling came to her mind again.
She bought 60 stoves, 40 hand stoves, 40 electric and non-electric hot and water bottles, and 4 tons of smokeless briquettes.
(Coals emit extreme heat and are smokeless, but they're consumed faster.)
To acquire coal, which will be used in the last days of the harsh winter, she searched for metal shops that provided forging services, and through them she was able to find several coal suppliers.
This trip comes with good fortune because some of the metal forging shops not only sell automotive parts, drill bits, hand tools, cooking utensils, and construction materials, but she also came across those selling customized melee weapons.
They were the real deal, on par with the military melee weapons she had seen the big teams use—lightweight, sharp, and forged with durable high-carbon steel.
Nanzhi made a short stop and bought 200 sets of 30-inch bolo machetes with a handguard, 100 sets of tactical bowie knives, 100 tomahawks, and 10 sharpening stones for 80, 000 yuan.
Two bowyers were also working in one of these metal forging shops, and through them, she paid 50, 000 yuan for 30 flatline small crossbows, 20 large crossbows, and 5, 000 steel bolts.
When she is done with stockpiling, she will practice with them to build her arm strength and stamina.
Melee weapons don't need reloading and don't create loud noises.
Certainly yes, but based on her experience, they expend more energy than firearms, and within just dozens of swings, a non-physically fit individual would be exhausted.
It was the same with operating crossbows.
It was still out of the question whether she could get her hands on hot weapons. These are her only current assurances.
Resuming her plans, Lu Nanzhi spent two days driving to neighboring cities before she gathered 10 tons of coal for 90,000 yuan.
On the way, she also collected 20, 000 cylinders of LPG 35 kg for 10, 000 cylinders of LPG 15 kg and 20, 000 butane gas canisters, 50 portable camping cassette stoves, 50 double burner gas stoves, and 50 complete sets of cookware for 4.9 million yuan.
She found an agriculture machinery shop and bought a fully automatic commercial rice milling machine, 5 semi-automatic rice mills that can be assembled in her apartment, and 5 manually operated milling machines that can serve her arm workout, plus 5 manual and motor oil presses, 2 rotary sifters, 2 flour mills, 5 portable multifunctional wet and dry grinders, 5 heavy-duty vacuum sealing machines, and 1000 boxes of vacuum sealer storage pouches in various sizes.
The machines that could not fit the cargo truck were shipped to the warehouse.
.....
Without connections and purchasing restrictions because of legal sanctions about greenhouse gas emissions, buying diesel and gasoline is a lot harder.
So far, she only accumulated 100 gallons of diesel and 145 gallons of gasoline from different gas stations through traveling non-stop, which is far from her goal.
That amount won't even be able to sustain the generators for future use!
This led her to use other means or go to an illegal route.
Her plan required her to go abroad, but before that, she drove back to Pearl City to collect the things in the warehouse.
When she got there, the warehouse was almost full; there was so little space to squeeze more things.
Lu Nanzhi made sure to shut down the CCTVs and there were no prying eyes in the vicinity before storing the sacks of rice, wheat, oil, boxes of goods, water storage tanks, bottled waters, mattresses, and all types of clothes and things she paid for before.
Since it will be a rather arduous trip, Lu Nanzi decided to check in with the supervisor about the ventilation system.
During the drought, there was an insect plague. At that time, she blocked all possible entries with furniture and kept the locust at bay, but tiny mosquitoes were able to access the vents, making a feast of her blood.
The feeling was still vivid in her memory, and it raised the hairs on her skin.
"Miss Lin, thank goodness you've called. While you were gone, there were people visiting your unit. One of them is from the Homeowner's Association. They wanted to complain about the loud noises."
Homeowner's association?
Just these two words brought a surge of bad memories.