Cheng Yali might seem carefree, but what mother doesn't care for her child?
No matter what, they were having hotpot tonight. Mom's orders, even Jesus couldn't change that.
"Mom, I love your spirit."
"Get lost! Go rest!" Cheng Yali snapped.
"I'm not tired," Zhou Lin said. "It's just low blood sugar. As long as I replenish it, I'm fine. Didn't you say more goods are arriving soon?"
"Oh, right, I almost forgot. Hurry up and be careful. I'll wait outside." Another truckload of daily necessities was coming. Cheng Yali had found a regional wholesaler with fair prices. Less than 200,000 yuan could supply the family for decades, assuming the items didn't expire.
In the warehouse, Zhou Lin carefully monitored his body's and superpower's experience changes with each batch of goods he stored. Although he couldn't precisely calculate the ratio, storing goods did indeed increase his experience.
Moreover, the physical exhaustion had nothing to do with the goods themselves but with the frequency of use. This might explain why storing the Lifebuoy didn't drain him, but he almost died in the warehouse.
With this understanding, Zhou Lin decided to eat a chocolate bar after using his powers three or four times. Though it could get cloying, it was an effective energy boost.
"I wonder if other superpowered individuals are like me. We should stock up on chocolate bars."
Small, portable, and amusing, these might become valuable currency among superpowered individuals in the future.
Just then, Cheng Yali drove a forklift in, and Zhou Lin mentioned his idea.
"Alright, the wholesaler's warehouse is in the logistics park. I'll go right away."
True to her efficient nature, Cheng Yali had the chocolate bars sorted within an hour, much sooner than Zhou Lin expected.
"One box has fifty bars, one carton has sixty boxes, that's three thousand bars. Wholesale price is 450 yuan per carton. I bought all their stock, 237 cartons."
"Mom, you're amazing!" Zhou Lin gave her a thumbs up. Over ten thousand chocolate bars might seem trivial now, but in the future, one bar could potentially trade for a woman.
"If you say so, I should get more. This logistics park has all kinds of warehouses..."
"Mom, hold on. We're running low on money, right?" Zhou Lin had a sudden thought and stopped her.
"Yes, not much left." Cheng Yali nodded. Since last night, her 5 million yuan was gone, and she had transferred a lot from Zhou Caijun's account.
"Actually, I was thinking..." Zhou Lin whispered his plan, and Cheng Yali nodded repeatedly. "Good idea, but risky..."
"It's not a big deal, just frostbite at worst," Zhou Lin said.
"What if someone tries to rob you? Lily suggested we prepare weapons, but I only bought some knives. Decent long weapons are hard to find."
Except in special areas, where would you find divine weapons in a city? At most, enthusiasts might have some collectibles, but who knows where those are hidden.
Fortunately, Zhou Lin wasn't lacking in weapons. Forget pistols and rifles; he could even get flamethrowers and shoulder-launched missiles.
"Mom, look at this."
"Oh my, where did this come from?" Cheng Yali was stunned by the shiny pistol.
China isn't like the US. Even possessing a few bullets could land you in jail for years. The pistol Zhou Lin produced was clearly high-grade military equipment, exquisitely crafted and brand new.
"Take it, along with three magazines and this holster." At this point, legality didn't matter. As long as it wasn't brandished in public, firing a few shots in secret wouldn't attract the police.
"But I don't know how to use it." Cheng Yali, though bold, understood the special circumstances and didn't mind carrying a gun.
"It's simple!" Zhou Lin explained the key points: safety, loading, changing magazines, and aiming. He had her practice a few times. Without conditions for live ammunition practice, this would have to do. Given Cheng Yali's weight and strength, she should handle the pistol fine.
"This thing is quite handy." As the family's pillar, Cheng Yali quickly adapted and even enjoyed it. Before putting it away, she asked Zhou Lin if there were more.
"There are. Dad has one too. I'll give it to him later."
"Good. But don't give one to your sister yet; she's still young."
If Cheng Yali hadn't insisted, Zhou Lin would have armed Zhou Li. With her intelligence, she wouldn't accidentally shoot herself and might even handle it better than Zhou Caijun and Cheng Yali. Besides, with disasters looming, girls like Zhou Li were the most vulnerable.
After collecting today's ordered supplies, Zhou Lin drove Cheng Yali to Lanshan. She would stay with Zhou Li tonight and continue shopping.
There weren't many supplies left to buy in the city.
Many supermarkets were either closed or severely understocked. No one was truly foolish. Regardless of government reassurances, people would stock up unless they were broke.
Even Cheng Yali faced several refusals today. Some had goods but wouldn't sell, hoarding for higher prices. Hoarding has always existed, regardless of laws or regulations. People will always take risks for profit but avoid losing money.
With the current sky, 4-5 PM looked like midnight.
China's situation was slightly better, but in many freer countries and regions, prolonged darkness bred more crime.
In areas without power or law enforcement, theft, robbery, and arson became common. To survive, people had to choose: join the chaos or band together.
China wasn't immune.
Though large-scale violent crime hadn't erupted, markets were already chaotic. To maintain order, the government and military began joint operations, imposing martial law in major, special, and border cities. Strategic and essential supplies were government-controlled, and large private holdings would be bought at cost with subsidies.
Seeing these online reports, Zhou Lin grew worried.
Jiazhou hadn't imposed martial law yet, but Cheng Yali had bought a lot of supplies, especially sugar, salt, and grain. If the government demanded these supplies, what would they do?
After much thought, Zhou Lin felt uneasy. He called Cheng Yali first thing in the morning, saying they should stop collecting after half a day and abandon the warehouse.
"Even if we stop, people already know. What's the difference?" Cheng Yali asked.
"Burn it!"
Zhou Lin whispered.
"Burn?" Cheng Yali thought she misheard.
"I'll do it. Pile the supplies in the warehouse and set it on fire. If anyone investigates, it's burned. They won't know who did it or how much was there. Maybe most of it was moved before the fire."