Over the weekend, Xie Lingruo spent time chatting with Papa Xie, mainly to improve his impression of the original host.This would make it easier for her to carry out her plans later on.
Of course, she didn't forget about her hoarding mission—she continued buying clothes and socks online, in all sizes for all ages.
She especially focused on off-season clothing, which could be bought cheaply in bulk online. She made sure to buy clothes for every season and in various sizes, to be prepared for other worlds she might travel to in the future.
Naturally, she didn't neglect her fitness routine either. She even pulled in her father and the housekeeper to train with her.With just half a month left until the apocalypse, she wanted her family to improve their fitness, so they wouldn't become zombies due to poor physical condition.
Papa Xie didn't object—he actually liked exercising, but his busy schedule managing the company didn't allow much time for it.
Speaking of which, the Xie family owned a leading supermarket chain in the city.That's why Xie Lingruo hadn't asked her father to start hoarding supplies in advance.
She already had a plan: a few days before the apocalypse, when there was a holiday, she would persuade her father to give all employees time off.The excuse? Her late mother appeared in a dream, saying this was the only way their family would remain safe and healthy.
It was manipulative, but effective.Using her deceased mother as a pretext was the best way to influence Papa Xie.
But that would come later.This weekend was a rare break she gave herself, since she'd soon be running around nonstop like a spinning top again.
The weekend flew by.With only 13 days left before the apocalypse, Xie Lingruo still lacked medicine, weapons, and gasoline.
Since she couldn't hoard these items in large quantities, she had to collect them bit by bit.
Every morning, she drove her van around the city in disguise, wearing a face mask.She stopped at pharmacies to pick up meds like cold medicine, cough syrup, and antihypertensives.
If she passed a gas station, she would fill up with cash, then drive off to a quieter spot and use a pump to siphon the fuel into storage barrels.
It was tedious work, but highly effective.She had already gathered several tons of gasoline, which would be priceless when the apocalypse hit and "zero-dollar shopping" began.
As for weapons, she could only get baseball bats and boning knives—lethal firearms were out of the question.
Every afternoon, she kept going to her training gym.She was no longer the delicate girl who used to be out of breath after running 800 meters. Now, she could run 2,000 meters on the treadmill without issue.
Her coach, Instructor Yu, focused her training on speed and agility.Being fast would help her escape danger, and agility was essential whether she needed to kill zombies or defend against malicious people.
The system had already told her: the crystals in zombies' brains could be exchanged for system points.
And her current storage space could be upgraded into a mid-tier space capable of growing crops.If she did well, she might even unlock a high-tier space.
The system's grand promises made her even more motivated, and she added an extra hour of training each night.
She also updated her hoarding list to include seeds and young fruit trees.Unfortunately, her current storage space wasn't high enough to store live animals.
So she went to a slaughterhouse and bought freshly butchered pork, lamb, beef, and poultry, having them slaughtered on the spot for freshness.
Putting frozen meat in storage wouldn't taste as good later.Since she had the means, she wanted to treat herself better.
To support this, she rented a walk-in freezer.
Thinking of frozen goods, she also bought bulk items like ice cream bars, hotpot ingredients, ice blocks, and frozen meat rolls from various wholesalers.
At night, she slept in whichever warehouse she happened to be working in.She would store goods in one, then rest there for the night.
Before bed, if the night market was still open, she would swing by to grab some of her favorite snacks to store.After all, when the apocalypse came, it'd be hard to get her hands on such treats again.
Xie Lingruo had always loved street food—cheap and delicious, even if not the cleanest.She still liked it anyway.
With all her hard work, there were now only three days left until the apocalypse.She returned the warehouse rentals and took a week off from Instructor Yu's training program.
Now, she rushed back home—it was time to pull off her act with Papa Xie.