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Chapter 4: Stockpiling Supplies
In Gu Ziming's villa, he was also intently watching the winning numbers, feeling a slight stir of excitement.
Although 200 million wasn't a significant amount for him, the important thing was that Lin Fan had not won it. That was a victory in itself.
Gu Ziming wasn't fully aware of Lin Fan's financial situation, but he knew it wasn't much. Lin Fan's wealth certainly didn't exceed 10,000 yuan.
Since Lin Fan's parents had passed away, he had taken out loans to attend college. He had only just begun his career and didn't have much cash. The only asset he had was the house left by his parents.
If the apocalypse were to arrive, Lin Fan, with no substantial funds, would likely resort to online loans. By securing these two pieces of information, Gu Ziming could see that Lin Fan's resources were limited, and without supplies, especially without a safe house, survival would be nearly impossible.
This was merely the beginning of Gu Ziming's financial assault!
Once Lin Fan had no supplies or shelter, even if Gu Ziming did nothing, Lin Fan's chances of survival would be slim!
[Ding, the host intercepted the protagonist Lin Fan's 200 million development funds. Luck +18888!]
Gu Ziming watched as the system rewarded him with gold coins, and he couldn't help but smile. This move had struck right at Lin Fan's core. He eagerly anticipated Lin Fan's expression when he went to claim the prize the next day.
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The Next Day
Lin Fan, still bursting with excitement from the previous night's events, had hardly slept but was nonetheless energized as he got up.
Dressed in a T-shirt emblazoned with a sun explosion pattern and a Pinocchio mask with a long nose, Lin Fan walked into the provincial lottery office to claim his winnings.
"What?"
A roar erupted in the otherwise quiet lottery office.
"Are you saying that I only won one bet for 2,000 yuan?"
Lin Fan's face twisted in confusion, his expression resembling a lion about to pounce on its prey, staring intently at the staff member.
"Yes, sir," the staff member replied cautiously. "The grand prize was split across 100,000 different bets, and you've won approximately 2,000 yuan. Would you like me to assist you in redeeming it?"
The staff, understanding that Lin Fan might be disappointed by not winning the grand prize, tried to comfort him.
"Don't worry, sir, no taxes to pay! If you'd won the entire amount, the tax alone would have been 40 million."
Lin Fan didn't respond to the staff's attempt at humor.
When he heard that there were 100,000 separate bets, Lin Fan's mind went blank.
"How could this happen? How is this possible? This shouldn't be!"
His thoughts raced.
"Is my rebirth just a dream?"
He muttered to himself, his mind in a daze, as he went to claim his winnings. His steps were robotic, as if he were wandering through a haze.
It wasn't until Lin Fan stepped out of the lottery office and felt the blinding sunlight that he snapped back to reality.
No, this wasn't a dream!
The torment of those past six months was all too real, every moment, every second.
The scorching sun on his skin, the pain of being stabbed by rotten meat, the fury of betrayal by his beloved—all of it was too vivid, too painful.
Lin Fan clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and his eyes became filled with resolve once more.
No matter what happened with the lottery, one thing was certain: the apocalypse was coming, and it was all too real.
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Meanwhile, on the Other Side
Gu Ziming wasn't overly concerned. After a brief distraction, he went ahead and collected the grand prize in batches.
The lottery shops in the next city were abuzz because of the grand prize. Every time someone came in, the shop owners couldn't help but brag about how they had witnessed such a grand event.
Once Gu Ziming received his winnings, he returned to his villa and began carefully calculating his assets.
With just 28 days left before the apocalypse, he knew it was time to begin preparations: building a shelter and stockpiling supplies.
The address of his shelter was already decided—his own villa.
The Gu Family Manor, located on Dongshan Mountain in the second ring road of the city, was situated in an upscale villa area. The Gu family occupied the largest portion of the land, with the entire mountainside taken up by their estate.
The manor spanned about 6 mu of land, and the villa itself was over 800 square meters.
Gu Ziming planned to first transform the villa into a safe haven. However, to truly shield himself from high-intensity ultraviolet rays and other dangers, he'd need to build a basement shelter.
Fortunately, this could be done within the villa itself. He could create a shelter that would expand outward over time.
Building this would take about a month, but it was a necessary step.
At the same time, Gu Ziming had to start stockpiling enough supplies.
Although he couldn't store everything in the space like the protagonist, he could build a warehouse on the manor grounds.
Additionally, the manor had a villain space, measuring 20 meters in length, width, and height, which was more than sufficient for storage.
The best part? It could be upgraded!
"System, what are the conditions for upgrading the villain space?"
[1000 luck for every 1000 cubic meters of space, with 1000 luck being the smallest unit.]
Gu Ziming, with his luck at about 20,000, thought for a moment.
Everyday items such as clothes, beds, electrical appliances, and non-perishable weapons could be stored directly in the manor. But for precious goods like meat, food, drinking water, and medicine, those would go into the villain space.
Vegetables, though, could be grown in a soilless cultivation room to provide for himself.
By growing his own vegetables, he could save space for more essential food and meat.
"System, I'd like to exchange for 12,000 cubic meters of space."
With the original 8,000 cubic meters, this would give him 20,000 cubic meters of storage—plenty of room for food and water.
The remaining luck would be saved as backup.
[Ding, exchange successful. Congratulations, the villain space has been upgraded to 20,000 cubic meters.]
With the exchange complete, it was time to start stocking up!
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Back at Lin Fan's Home
Lin Fan lay exhausted on the sofa, his thoughts clouded with worry.
Having money made life easier; not having money, however, made it difficult to survive.
As Gu Ziming had guessed, Lin Fan only had around 6,000 yuan in cash, which was barely enough to get by.
This was his salary from last month.
Lin Fan and Qin Feifei attended different universities. He had been accepted into a second-tier university near Donghai University. His grades before his rebirth had been average, so he hadn't qualified for a top-tier school.
Had he been reborn before the college entrance exam, he would have easily been the top scorer in Donghai.
After graduating, Lin Fan entered the workforce, while Qin Feifei continued her studies for a master's degree.
There was a secret that Lin Fan had kept to himself for a long time.
He believed he had been supporting Qin Feifei's graduate studies because he frequently invited her out for meals.
If she ate his food, didn't that mean she was being supported by him?
This was why Lin Fan had been furious after Qin Feifei's betrayal.
But the reality was different.
Qin Feifei had only agreed to a few meals with him out of politeness, and later, she had often sent small gifts, like vegetables and daily necessities, to repay him.
To Lin Fan, however, this was just a way for Qin Feifei's family to try and get their hands on the house left by his parents.
As Lin Fan got up from the sofa to prepare some instant noodles, his mind was filled with anger.
"I'm reborn! I won't starve!"
"And that rich second-generation scumbag, that vile woman..."
"I swear, I'll make you pay double for everything you've done to me!"
Author: I have already written 100 chapters for this novel. I will publish it all based on the readers response. So lemme know if you want more free chapters.
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