My mom reached home four hours before the zombie outbreak.

"Oh, my goodness! Sweetheart, this is just one party, right? Why did you buy so much food?" Mom asked in a shocked tone as she stared at the food and water that had already taken over the living room.

I hadn't seen my mother for three long years. In my previous life, I had traversed through half the city just to reach her home, only to see a puddle of blood marring her floors. It was only natural for me to rush over and pull her into a tight hug before planting kisses all over her cheeks.

"Mom, I'll explain everything to you once I come home later, okay? Please take care of Joyce for now. I need to go out again."

Our lives were at stake. I didn't have time to explain to Mom what was going on. These supplies were barely enough to support us.

I could still remember the agony of having to drink water just to curb my hunger for days after my supplies got stolen in my previous life. This time, I needed to make sure that I could stock up on enough supplies for my family's survival.

After entrusting Joyce to Mom, I drove away from home once again. This time, I drove to another supermarket to avoid rousing suspicion from the employees of the previous supermarket.

I kept loading my shopping cart with general supplies like toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, and facial cleansers. Hygiene was equally important in the apocalypse. If we were to fall sick, we wouldn't be able to seek out a doctor at all.

After filling my cart with the basic necessities, I rushed over to the apparel section. Cold-protection supplies like down jackets, blankets, and sleeping bags were on my priority list as well.

In my previous life, it began raining heavily in the second month after the zombie outbreak. In the third month, the temperature had dropped rapidly, paving the way to a three-month blizzard that terrorized the world.

The abnormal weather ended up killing a ton of survivors. If we were to polish off our food supplies during the harsh winter, we'd still have to venture out to look for supplies.

Now that I was done buying the cold-protection supplies, the next thing on my checklist was fuel. Fuel was essential for survival during the harsh winter, seeing as the power supply was already cut off by then.

When I was making my way to the cashier counter to pay for the fuel, I happened to spot the aisle selling portable chargers. Of course, I had to raid the aisle right away. Once the power got cut off, the portable chargers' power could last us for a pretty long time.

After that, I made sure to load the cart with survival essentials like candles, flashlights, and blackout curtains.

Upon reaching home, Mom happened to be arranging the food supplies. When she saw me bringing back more supplies, she grew mad at me.

"Sweetheart, you need to tell me what's going on!"

"Mom, please! We don't have much time left! I'll explain everything to you once Emmett comes back, okay?"

I ran out of the villa once again, my mother's confused questions ringing out in the background. After all, I still had something vital that I had yet to buy, which was medicine.

I bought a ton of medicine, including flu and cold medicine, anti-inflammation medicine, painkillers, digestive medicine, and alcohol wipes. I even included vitamins and a variety of supplements in my shopping cart.

Since there was a medication quota per pharmacy, I had to visit a few more pharmacies in order to check everything off my shopping list.

"That would be 3,000 dollars. Thank you for shopping at our pharmacy!" When the employee saw the amount of medication I just bought, she couldn't help but smile brightly at me.

The sight of her smile made me want to drop a piece of advice to her. "Take care of yourself. You should go home early today."

Under the employee's puzzled gaze, I loaded the medicine into my car and drove to another destination.

I had decided that the anti-intrusion spikes would form the first defensive barrier that would protect my home. I'd be purchasing security cameras, wire mesh, and other defensive equipment.

My villa was located far away from the city, and the number of zombies roaming in the remote suburbs would be a lot less than the ones gathering in the urban zones.

Still, if someone were to bust down my courtyard's walls, that'd mean my family and I had to face the zombies head-on. The glass used on the windows of my villa was extremely fragile before those monsters.

I saw Emmett rushing home three hours before the zombie outbreak. He brought many weapons and equipment with him, which soon cluttered the living room's floors. The ample ammunition and weapons made me relax ever so slightly.

"Honey, now can you please explain why we have to buy this many supplies?" Both Emmett and Mom sat on the couch while waiting for my explanation.

"I know what I'm about to say will sound unbelievable, but I hope that you can listen to me patiently till the end."

I sat across from them before spilling the beans about my rebirth in a few broad strokes.

"In three hours, the zombie outbreak will begin. I hope that we can survive the apocalypse this time as a family."

My voice gradually became choked up. When I remembered the three solitary years I had spent in my previous life, all I could feel was pain and loneliness overwhelming me.

The experience of being bitten to death in my previous life still haunted me. The pain of losing my family almost broke me down during the start of the apocalypse. This time, I would not let them leave me no matter what.

Emmett held me in his arms, making sure to plant a gentle kiss on my forehead. "Honey, I'm so sorry that you suffered a lot. Are we reinforcing the courtyard soon? I'll do it with you."

Meanwhile, my mom wanted to say something, but she didn't stop us from doing what we needed to do. I knew Emmett and Mom doubted my rebirth story, but they chose to fortify our home out of love for me.

Soon, Mom replaced the curtains with the blackout curtains so that no one could peek into the windows of the villa. At the same time, Emmett and I worked together to install the anti-intrusion spikes. This way, we could prevent survivors from infiltrating our courtyard during the zombie outbreak.

"Why are you two fortifying your courtyard all of a sudden?" the young woman from next door asked me at that moment.

She might be smiling at the moment, but I could easily envision her twisted visage when she had pushed me out of the car in my previous life.

I did my best to suppress my rage as I replied, "We're taking Joyce on an overseas vacation soon. Since there will be no one at home, we need to fortify our courtyard."

A few neighbors living in the villa across from us noticed our antics as well. They walked away shortly after hearing my explanation.

Emmett and I picked up the pace afterward. The fact that we were noticed by others put us in a dangerous spot. After all, humans were the real threat in a zombie outbreak.

In this life, I planned on shedding my kindness so that my family and I could survive in the apocalyptic era.

After the security cameras were fully charged, they could function for at least a month. Thanks to the portable chargers, we didn't have to worry about supplying the cameras with extra power for the next year or so.

I installed the security cameras in every corner of the courtyard as well as the spots near the gate and the front door. If anyone were to successfully breach the anti-intrusion spikes, we'd have to be prepared for combat at any time.

The wire mesh was installed in front of the windows of the villa, shaping a secondary defense mechanism for the villa.

I walked to a window and gazed out. If I had more time, I'd be able to fortify the courtyard even more and make it safer for us.

Unfortunately, there was only an hour left.

The countdown of the final hour had begun.

Emmett and I did a quick check on the supplies at home to see if we were missing out on anything. After that, we filled up all the buckets and basins with water to ensure that we had enough water to tough out the apocalypse.

In the end, we drove to the nearest supermarket.

"Although fresh fruits and vegetables rot easily, we still have to make sure that our nutrient intake is sufficient and balanced during the early stage of the outbreak. We can't just rely on vitamins," Emmett said to me while loading our shopping cart with fruits.

"It's my fault. I was in a rush just now."

Having survived three years in the apocalypse, my mindset was already fixated on ensuring everyone's survival when I was buying supplies earlier. In doing so, I had completely forgotten about the quality of the supplies.

Emmett stroked my head, his heart aching for me. "You worked really hard. This time, we'll work hard together. We'll definitely survive the apocalypse."

Tears welled up in my eyes once again. I thought my heart had already gone numb from seeing too much death happening around me throughout the three hellish years. But it seemed that Emmett's comforting words could still evoke strong emotions within me.

After placing everything at home, we closed the gate and the front door properly.

Mom had already prepared dinner by then. After dinner, we took baths and cleaned the whole villa. We also used the time to make all preparations for the upcoming outbreak.

In the final minute before the zombie outbreak, I closed the windows and drew the curtains after putting Joyce to bed.

Clouds gathered together, soon blocking out the sun. A shrill scream penetrated the atmosphere in the residential area, followed by a second and third scream.

Someone could be heard running for their life in the area. But they were quickly tackled after that. Humanoid figures could be seen tearing apart the victim beneath them with their mouths, as though they were rabid beasts.

The security guards, who were patrolling the residential area, pulled out their pistols while wearing looks of horror. But the next thing they knew, they were instantly overwhelmed and mauled to death by the zombie horde.

As expected, the zombie outbreak was here right on the dot.

Screams of terror could be heard coming from various spots in the residential area. Soon, the air was permeated with the heavy stench of rot and copper.

"Oh, God!"

When Mom witnessed the harrowing scene taking place outside the villa, she let out a scream before collapsing into a dead faint. Despite knowing that the apocalypse would descend upon the world soon, she was still terrified the moment she saw it happening before her eyes.

Emmett hugged me from behind. He murmured to me, "Honey, you really suffered a lot in your previous life."

I could feel my eyes burning as I turned around to hug him back. If I were fated to die from the zombie virus, at the very least, I'd still be able to spend my final moments with my family.

Half an hour after the zombie outbreak, the television channels began broadcasting live updates on the apocalypse. The military was quickly dispatched to take out the zombies. Meanwhile, the news anchors reminded everyone to stay at home and not leave their homes no matter what.

At the same time, we could hear gunshots ringing out occasionally. The police forces patrolling the nearby streets could be heard firing at the zombies in an attempt to kill them. But I knew that their current firepower wasn't enough to keep the horde under control.

The thing was, there was supposed to be an explosion occurring in a faraway research lab that caused the leakage of an unidentified substance. How was it possible for the zombie virus to be spread across the entire world at the same time?

No one knew what the leaked substance was, nor did they know about the virus' origins and how it was spread across the globe simultaneously. Those questions remained unanswered on the day I was bitten to death in my previous life.

During the early stage of the outbreak, someone claimed that this was a punishment handed down by God to mankind.