This time, my parents believed her completely. Other than the house we were living in, they sold the storefront and the car in a rush, converted everything into cash, and started stockpiling supplies.

They ordered tens of tons of flour, bought several large freezers to store chicken, beef, fish, and pork, and hauled truckloads of daily necessities, clothes, underwear, and bathroom supplies into the house.

"In the late stages of the apocalypse, anti-inflammatory medicine will be the hardest to find. We should stock up now. Later, a single pill could be worth a cow."

Mom bought a large supply of medicine from dealers—anti-inflammatories, cold and flu remedies, painkillers, antibiotics, bandages, disinfectants, thermometers, and more.

I silently reviewed my chemistry formulas for the exam, paying no mind to the ridiculous stockpiling.

Giselle reinforced the doors and windows and even installed solar panels on the balcony. Zombies later would chew through power lines, and the city would experience massive blackouts. Still, idiots would remain as idiots no matter how many times they were reborn.

She never considered how conspicuous such a large solar panel would be in an apocalypse. Its reflective surface would immediately give away her location to other survivors looking for food. Even though my parents had money, they lived in a townhouse, not a mansion.

The townhouse had two units per floor, and the heavy construction added its own problems. In an apocalypse, clean water was the most scarce resource, and it was especially hard to store because it couldn't be compressed.

Giselle hadn't stored much water, likely assuming that rainwater would be enough. She also failed to plan for trash disposal. Leaving garbage in the courtyard would alert other survivors on the first day.

In a world overrun by zombies, the greatest danger came from people's greed and jealousy. I didn't warn her. Instead, I stayed home, quietly going over my worksheets.

In my past life, I went back home a month before the college entrance exam to meet my parents. They claimed Giselle's exam was too important and had me stay elsewhere, overlooking that I was in the same grade and needed to take it too.

After Giselle predicted several extreme weather events, my parents were fully convinced the apocalypse was real. Dad sold the company, Mom quit her job, and Giselle took an extended leave from school. If she hadn't needed to be there in person to withdraw, Giselle might have dropped out completely.

As I worked on the last math problem, Giselle mocked, "Choice matters more than effort. Even if you ace this problem or have the top score nationwide, it won't matter. I wouldn't be surprised if the exam doesn't happen at all."

I feigned surprise, covering my mouth. "Giselle, what are you talking about? The exam is less than a month away. How could it not happen?"

She scoffed coldly, looking at me with a mixture of pity and disdain.

Before her rebirth, Giselle had been an ordinary survivor, and even after being reborn, she hadn't accomplished anything remarkable. Her apocalypse was never going to come.

That weekend, I staked out the entrance of the military academy and successfully found Shawn Decker—the leader of the survivor base in my past life.

Although he had been an ordinary college junior before the apocalypse, he came from a military family. Both his parents were district commanders, and his grandfather was the legendary second-in-command. As a natural leader, he awakened three types of abilities after the apocalypse and built the survivor base with an iron hand.

Before I died, his base had grown to be the largest in the country, sheltering a hundred thousand people and even developing a zombie vaccine. Sadly, I never lived to witness it.

He glared at me and asked, "What do you want from me?"

In my past life, the zombie outbreak happened while I was on my way to take the exam. I hid in a car, surviving two days without food or water, until Shawn rescued me.

Even though Shawn was scared, he had already gathered a small team to search for survivors. I had awakened fire-based abilities, specialized in offense, so I stayed by his side as one of his most trusted allies.

Over time, Giselle grew jealous of my position in the base, my close bond with Shawn, and the respect I had earned from everyone. What she failed to see was that it had all been hard-earned through my own efforts and sacrifices.

Over the years of fighting alongside Shawn, I knew exactly how he thought. I told him straight, "In 13 days, the zombies will appear. The serum from the Westfound lab has leaked, and the world is about to face a crisis."

As expected, Shawn looked at me like I was crazy, but he didn't outright call me insane.

"You're Shawn Decker. Your parents are district commanders, and your grandfather is…"

I raised my finger, pointing to the top. "He's the second-in-command."

Shawn's expression darkened, and he finally met my gaze seriously.

He soon took me to his house, closed the door, and asked, "Where did you hear this?"

I said, "You told me yourself."

Shawn was blunt and slightly stubborn, so I saw no point in lying. I told him about my rebirth openly.

"You don't have to believe me, but I know your deepest secret," I said, meeting his puzzled gaze. "When you were six, you wet the bed and tried to cover it with a lavender essence. When you were ten, you accidentally went into the wrong bathroom…"

Shawn quickly stepped up and covered my mouth. "Okay, stop. I believe you."

In our past life, we weren't just comrades covering each other's backs. We shared a connection that went beyond friendship.

At first, I was too scared to fight zombies. Even after I forced myself to fight, I was still terrified. Shawn was always by my side, quietly encouraging me.

He told me that when he first saw me, his heart had stirred. This time, I was counting on him falling for me again the instant he saw me.

As he placed his full trust in me, I held up a small vial of serum. "This is the antidote we worked on in my past life."

The Westfound lab was top secret, unknown even to his parents. When he mentioned it to his grandfather, a team was dispatched right away. As I had predicted, the serum was real and it prevented a major lab accident.

Of course, that was all later.

After my rebirth, I didn't go to find Shawn right away. Partly, I needed time to prepare the antidote, and partly, he was at the military academy, which was off-limits to outsiders.

Shawn asked me a few questions about my past life before sending me home.

At the entrance to my neighborhood, I ran into Giselle.

Her eyes narrowed with malice when she saw me with Shawn. "Selena, why are you with him?"

Giselle had met Shawn before. In our past life, she had been captivated by his looks and influence, even going so far as to strip in an attempt to seduce him. Unfortunately for her, Shawn had thrown her out, and several people had witnessed it.

"You're not…"

Her gaze burned with resentment as she looked at both of us.

I quickly said, "I was just out buying books today when someone tried to steal my bag. He helped me catch the thief."

Giselle visibly relaxed and smiled brightly at Shawn. "Mr. Charming, you probably don't know, my sister here has never told the truth since she was little. Maybe that thief was part of her plan to get your attention."

Such a clumsy attempt at stirring trouble was perfectly in character for her idiotic persona.

Shawn looked at me in confusion. I pursed my lips and shook my head. He didn't press the question.

After giving me a few quick reminders, he turned to leave.

Suddenly, Giselle let out a soft cry. She pretended to twist her ankle and leaned straight toward Shawn. He quickly stepped back, dodging her, and she landed stiffly on the concrete.

Apparently, she hadn't given up on trying to get his attention. I decided I needed to give her something else to focus on so she wouldn't spend all her energy obsessing over Shawn.

The next day, I stayed home watching apocalypse movies, making sure it lined up with when Giselle returned. I muttered to myself, "This guy is brilliant. He even bought a countryside house. When the apocalypse arrives, he can live off the land, raising chickens, cows, fish, and pigs, and growing vegetables. This is exactly the kind of laid-back life I want."

Giselle's eyes lit up, and she sank into thought. I knew she had taken the bait. Unfortunately for her, she had already spent all her savings on supplies and reinforcing the house. Mom and Dad had no money left to buy a rural property.

I scattered countless flyers for small loan companies outside the front door. Among them were some infamous local loan sharks that offered the highest amounts.

Once the apocalypse arrived and the social system collapsed, no one would need to repay those loans. The three of them went on a borrowing frenzy. I ignored it all and went back to my chemistry assignments.

Giselle sneered. "You'll never be better than me."

I bit my lip and asked timidly, "Giselle, is the family running low on money? I still have a few dozen dollars saved up. You can take it."

She slapped my hand away, scattering the bills on the floor. "I don't take money from a poor loser like you."

I didn't argue.

"But we're family…" I murmured.

"Who are you calling fam—"

She stopped mid-sentence, then a sly light appeared in her eyes. "Right. We still have relatives."

Without missing a beat, she began pressuring Mom and Dad to borrow from extended family. Most relatives assumed something urgent had happened and sent tens of thousands, but it barely made a difference.

Giselle called Mom's eldest sister, Aunt Ella Stone. "Aunt Ella, I heard Ronnie got more than a million in wedding gifts. Don't be stingy. One day, you'll need me. Send me a million dollars now, and maybe I'll look out for you."

On the other end, Aunt Ella erupted into a string of curses before hanging up.

Giselle gritted her teeth and hurled a string of insults. "When the apocalypse comes, the zombies will bite you to death," she snarled.

Furious, Aunt Ella called my parents back. Dad explained the whole zombie apocalypse story to her.

"Giselle's lost it, and so have you! I can't believe you're taking this seriously. Don't ever call me again!"

Although Mom and Dad hesitated, they ultimately trusted the daughter they had raised. Through a series of loans, they pulled together nearly eight million dollars, bought a self-built house in a secluded rural area, and set about fortifying it.

Eight million dollars sounded like a lot, but for a house that big, it barely went far. Time was tight, supplies were needed in massive quantities, and the money burned through quickly. They even managed to secure a gun.

With everything in place, Giselle's mood lifted noticeably. She mocked me every day, taunting that I wouldn't even know how I'd die and insisting I could never match her.

When Shawn's message arrived confirming the zombie lab had been destroyed and I was safe, I gave a small, knowing smile at the ridiculous Giselle in front of me.

"Yeah, Giselle," I said softly. "Maybe one day, you won't even know how you die."