Right then, Hayley realized that outside the tunnel, most of the fence was covered in barbed wire. However, a lot of it had collapsed or was abandoned.

If she repaired the fence and added electricity, her fallout shelter's defenses would get a huge boost.

She decided to get started.

Just then, the voice from the system popped into her head.

Ding! [Super Lord System activated! Please reinforce the original base. Rewards will be given based on the level of reinforcement. Countdown: 15 days!]

Hayley's eyes lit up.

She was just starting to process the new mission when another notification came.

Ding! [Base war dog detected. Reward: War dog's combat power increased 100x! Physical stats increased 100x!]

Hayley watched in amazement as Summer's body started to change. Its muscles doubled in size, its claws grew longer and sharper, and all signs of aging disappeared. In its place was the fierce, commanding presence of a powerful beast.

"Woof, woof!"

Hayley was amazed. "Wow!"

-

At the building supply market…

Hayley had Cynthia's old car, so she could get around easily. It was now time to start reinforcing her base.

She found a barbed wire factory and ordered about 6,500 feet of coiled razor wire. Wrapping the old fence with these steel coils was easy and effective.

The price was 0.43 per foot, so she spent about 2,800 dollars. It was a lot, so the factory sent a big truck to deliver it. Hayley led them to an empty lot near the outskirts and had them drop it there.

"I'll call a truck to haul it later," she said, not wanting to reveal the base's location.

"Okay," the driver agreed.

It was already dark. With Summer keeping watch, Hayley stored everything in her system's space. Her 3,110-cubic-foot space easily held the wire, along with the furniture she had already stored. There was plenty of room to spare.

After Hayley was done, she drove back to the shelter with Summer. On the way, she realized she would need another warehouse.

Half an hour later, she was back at the fallout shelter. She immediately started reinforcing the old, damaged barbed wire along one section. She wound and reinforced it one foot at a time, while Summer brought her tools now and then.

They worked from night until dawn. By morning, the entire 6,500 feet of wire was strengthened.

Hayley was eager to see the reinforcement rewards. As she finished the last bit, the system's notification rang out in her mind.

Ding! [Barbed wire reinforcement detected. Reward: Defense effectiveness increased 100x!]

The wire visibly thickened and became denser, each blade of razor wire gleaming sharply. The previously thin gate had transformed into a steel lift gate.

Hayley pushed on the wire—it didn't budge.

Before, the fence could stop people on foot, but a car or a horde of zombies could break through. Now, even thousands of zombies couldn't tear it down.

Hayley was thrilled. She couldn't wait to buy more materials and keep reinforcing.

However, another problem reminded her immediately.

Gurgle…

"Woof, woof!"

She was hungry. Summer circled her, whining.

"You're hungry too, huh?" Hayley said.

"Woof!" Summer responded with a few whines.

They had only eaten a little yesterday, too busy all day. They hadn't even started proper supply gathering yet.

Right then, Hayley remembered that she had some food in her system.

She thought about the bread she had cleared from the house yesterday. Suddenly, a freshly baked bread appeared in her hand.

It was still warm!

Hayley brought out her fridge to check. Even without power, the contents were still frozen.

"Even without electricity, it keeps everything intact!"

This meant the system's inventory didn't let anything lose heat. Whatever she put in stayed exactly as it was, making it perfect for stockpiling without needing to worry about spoilage. She could hoard food freely.

-

"Rent here is 60 dollars a month, with a one-month deposit," said a man in his late 40s at an empty suburban house.

Inside, Hayley stood with Summer. She had found an old farmhouse along the main road outside her shelter. Many old houses in the suburbs were empty because families had moved to the city. The better-located ones often had "for rent" signs.

She planned to use this farmhouse as a transfer station. Supplies would be stored here and then moved invisibly into her system space, keeping her operations secret while she went shopping.

"I'll pay you 80, no deposit. I just want it for a month as a warehouse," Hayley bargained.

"That won't work," the landlord said.

"Then I'll go elsewhere."

"Alright, fine, 80 dollars it is. Just don't damage anything and leave on time."

"No problem."

Hayley paid and got the keys. She'd move out before the lease ended, anyway. She didn't want to give a deposit because it was too risky. Spending the extra 20 dollars was safer than losing the deposit later.

With the warehouse secured, she started stocking food.

First, pasta. She visited ten stores, buying 4,000 50-pound bags from each, making that 100 tons of pasta.

One hundred tons didn't take much space. A 16-foot cube would hold it, and her system could store it all. The total cost added up to about 80 thousand, and the amount was enough to last her a lifetime.

Next, she stockpiled instant noodles—1,000 cases of every flavor she could find: classic beef and chicken to seafood, spicy chili, creamy Alfredo, and even dry-mix pasta packs. Noodles were a luxury after the apocalypse. They were easy to cook, tasty, and full of oil and salt, with all the seasoning provided.

Price per case ranged from about 10 to 20 dollars. The most common was 24-pack classic beef-flavored noodles for 10 bucks, while the most expensive was truffle and mushroom-flavored, set at 20 dollars per 30 packs. They cost 14 bucks per case on average, so the total for 1,000 cases was 14 thousand dollars.

Hayley didn't stop there—she grabbed 200 cases of black pepper and breakfast sausages and 100 cases of pickled vegetables. The total cost was under 6 thousand dollars.

After buying the basic food supplies, she also stocked self-heating meals and pre-cooked meal packs, as they were extremely easy to prepare—she just needed to heat them before eating.

She went to all the stores that sold them and bought a box each—beef stew, mac and cheese, barbecue pulled pork, chicken Alfredo, cheeseburger pasta, meatloaf with mashed potatoes, spicy buffalo chicken, and chili con carne. They cost on average 1.50 dollars per pack. She bought 20 thousand packs across several stores, costing about 30 thousand dollars.

With this, she would have a lifetime supply—no more worrying about food.

Only then did Hayley feel a bit safe. She could now focus on other things.

By the end of the day, she had spent nearly 140 thousand dollars. She already had 60 thousand dollars saved previously, and the house sale brought in 400 thousand more.

After spending on the basics, she still had 320 thousand dollars—and she hadn't even started buying other supplies yet.

Guess you could never have enough money.

Hayley's gaze hardened. She opened her hand, and a property deed appeared. She found a private finance number online and called.

"Hello, I'd like to use my property as collateral for a loan."

"Sure, come by tomorrow at ten to discuss in person."

Hayley hung up. She was going to mortgage her house again.

Some debts must be repaid—and doubled. She couldn't wait for her family to find out the big surprise she had prepared.

The next afternoon, Hayley walked out of an old office building in the city. By the time she stepped outside, her account had gained another 300 thousand.

These microloan companies were worse than vampires! She sold the house to Philip's family for 400 thousand, but selling it to a loan shark only got her 300 thousand. Plus, the interest was insane.

She had signed a seven-day IOU. Within a week, she would have to pay back 400 thousand to the loan company, or they'd take the house.

It was a bottomless pit, a trap meant only to drain her house away.

No problem. Hayley never planned to pay it back—she didn't even have a house anymore.

The loan was timed perfectly. Just before the apocalypse hit, the company would come knocking on Philip's door. When that happened, the two despicable parties would get into a fight, and chaos would ensue.

Both sides were tough to mess with, but nobody knew who would come out on top. Either way, the house would soon be nothing but rubble.

Hayley stared at the loan money in her account, an idea forming in her head. She went through every lending platform she could find and borrowed from all of them.

She had decided to go all out.

By the end of it, she had another 100 thousand.

Now, Hayley had 720 thousand in hand. Time to stock up on supplies!

First stop, the building supply store. She bought about 50 surveillance cameras, then found a generator seller.

She needed power.

Generators came in wind, water, fire, and diesel. The first three were inconvenient—they were hard to install, slow, and mostly had to be custom-made. Diesel was perfect.

"What size generator do you want?" the shop owner asked.

"What do you have?" she replied.

"We have 35, 50, 200, and up to 800 kW. Anything above 1,000 is expensive."

Hayley checked the specs. A small 30 kW cost about 2,000 to 4,000. Midrange 200 kW ran 10 to 20 thousand. A 300 kW went over 20 thousand. Anything bigger would cost hundreds of thousands. Imported ones were even pricier.

"You can take domestic," the owner said. "The local stuff is just as good, more durable, and works better for most needs. Imported stuff is picky about diesel. You opening a restaurant or something?"

"Yes," Hayley said casually. She needed power to run the fallout shelter's lighting, so restaurant-grade equipment would do the job.

But of course, she bought the biggest, most powerful one. Her system gave rewards based on the level of equipment, so she went all in.

"I want the best. No shortcuts!" she said, flashing her "rich girl" vibe, and bought the generator for 240 thousand.

The owner was grinning ear to ear.

Hayley also had him throw in extra small items—soundproof mats, tool kits, and little accessories. He didn't hesitate and even gave her the last ten gallons of diesel for free.

Hayley's eyes lit up. "Do you know anyone who I can get diesel for cheaper?"

Diesel wasn't easy to buy. Gas stations required ID, limited how much you could buy, and often wouldn't sell loose fuel.

But people who sold generators usually knew a few back channels.

Fuel like that often ended up on the black market. Shady little workshops stole oil from big fields or bought up abandoned offshore batches, then refined it themselves and sold it under the table.

That was what they called black-market fuel.

Sure enough, as soon as she said this, the shop owner's face took on a secretive look. He leaned in and slid her a business card.

"Call this number and say I sent you. You'll get 20% off—cheaper than retail."

"Thanks," Hayley said.

It turned out her guess was correct.

She was about to head out when the shop owner muttered, "With the flu breaking out lately, business has been terrible."

"Yeah," Hayley replied casually, striding away.

She didn't say anything else.

That flu outbreak was actually the first sign of the apocalypse. Half a month after the virus hit, people started dying, only to "come back to life" before their family could even grieve them properly.

Unfortunately, they didn't come back as normal people—they had turned into zombies.

Last time, Hayley had been busy with Philip's wedding. Sue had just found out she was pregnant, and Hayley was helping with furniture, renovations, and hospital visits.

On the day the apocalypse started, she was at the hospital with Sue when screams erupted. She saw a patient, already declared dead, suddenly sit up and bite their loved ones.

Some tried to stop the patient, but in five minutes, the man who was first bitten began mutating. He convulsed for a while before standing up, his skin pale and his eyes gray, like in the movies.

He no longer had pupils, all signs of life lost as he appeared hungry for blood. He opened his mouth gruesomely and started biting the people who were trying to hold the patient down.

The entire hospital erupted into chaos. Scenes like this were happening in every corner of the building. Everyone who was bitten turned within five minutes and joined in, tearing into others.

Hayley had been scared, but to protect the pregnant Sue, she stayed calm. She grabbed a weapon and fought the attacking zombies, guiding them both out safely.

Because she had handled it so well, the Reids immediately relied on her for everything—scavenging supplies, protecting everyone.

Hayley was always the first in the fight.

She had always felt satisfied helping her family. But this time? She wasn't going to blindly protect a bunch of monsters.

Hayley arranged for the equipment to be delivered to the warehouse and called about the diesel. The supplier could deliver the next day.

She bought everything they had in stock—totaling 200 thousand—and got a 25% discount. After one trip, she had already spent over 400 thousand.

After unloading all the supplies at the warehouse, Hayley moved the big generator into her inventory.

Luckily, she had plenty of space in her inventory.

Not long after, she returned to her base. She placed the generator in the innermost storage room of the fallout shelter.

Ding! [One thousand-kW generator detected. Reward: Indestructible, lowest-energy-consumption generator!]

Hayley's jaw dropped.

She stared at the generator, now looking like it was coated in silver. Its strength and durability were immediately way beyond what they had been. And the best part? It was indestructible!

Normally, generators needed maintenance to last long, and Hayley had only been hoping to make it last. However, the system had upgraded it automatically.

Amazing!

She moved on and installed the surveillance cameras on the wire fences she had set up yesterday.

Her tunnel hideout was in a perfect spot. Trees circled it, the main road was about a mile away, and a side road wound into the forest after about 500 yards. No one would ever notice a tunnel covered in wire here.

It wasn't noticeable at all.

The cameras covered every corner inside. Once she connected them to the generator, she could monitor any intruder—human or otherwise.

Immediately, the cameras and electrified fences powered up. Her computer screen filled with tiny surveillance feeds, one for every angle.

Then, the system chimed.

Ding! [Monitoring and electrical grid system detected. Reward: Monitoring system upgraded! Coverage of the surveillance cameras increased 10x and can automatically detect all living and non-living entities! Electrical grid system upgraded. Maximum shock output: 10 thousand volts!]

Hayley stared at her screen, astonished.

She zoomed in on one camera. The pixel clarity was ten times better than before. Her 300-foot range camera now stretched a full mile, letting her see the road through gaps in the trees.

A bird tried to land on the fence. It hovered and chose a spot—and with a loud zap, dropped straight down.

Hayley's eyes glinted. Perfect!

This defense was lethal. Anyone trying to break in? Instant death.

"Summer, stay away from the fences, okay?" she warned.

"Woof!"

Upgraded Summer had grown bigger and smarter, more intuitive than before. Hayley ruffled its head, then pulled out the stuff from her old fridge from her inventory. They ate together.

After the meal, she got back to organizing her base. Even cleaning the fallout shelter earned rewards.

She cleared the water well and trimmed overgrown weeds.

Ding! [Water well upgraded. Reward: Independent mountain-range clean water source!]

Ding! [Weed coverage reduced. Reward: High-quality soil! Crop yield increased 100x! Growth speed increased 10x!]

Hayley grinned. She now had clean water and rich soil.

Her base was getting stronger and better every day. Soon, she could grow her own fresh fruits and vegetables and be self-sufficient. She made a mental note to buy seeds next.

Ten days passed. The apocalypse was less than three days away.

For the past seven days, Hayley ran six miles around the shelter every morning. Her stamina skyrocketed, and she learned the terrain perfectly.

Her tunnel hideout sat deep inside the mountain. She had strung barbed wire from the middle of the slope all the way around, like a crown of steel.

On one side, the wire ended where the cliffs dropped off so sharply that no one in their right mind would try to cross. And if somebody thought about coming in from the far side of the mountain? Forget it—that climb was even worse!

Behind the bunker, the ground rose steeper than the front, choked with bushes and trees that made it nearly impossible to push through.

The only real threat was fire.

Wildfires were always a big deal, and the only real way to stop one was to chop down a whole stretch of trees for a firebreak.

But if Hayley cleared that many trees, her location would be exposed.

After thinking it over, she decided against it and started sweeping away the dry leaves and fallen branches around her bunker instead. Cutting trees was off the table—it was too risky. In the apocalypse, people were scarier than fire. A stranger showing up was way worse than any disaster nature might throw at her.

She had to remember what mattered most.

And honestly, forest fires didn't just spring up out of nowhere. The ground was damp, and clearing the brush lowered the risk enough.

So Hayley worked her way outward, carving a clean path around her bunker. That was when a voice chimed in her head.

Ding! [Fire hazard reduced. Reward: Nothing inside the cleared zone will ever burn!]

Hayley couldn't help smiling, impressed by how awesome the perks were. Her shelter's safety was leveling up big time.

Now that the biggest threat was eliminated, she immediately threw herself into other work.

Every inch she cleaned and every fence she reinforced improved the defenses of her base, making it stronger and stronger.

Meanwhile, her deliveries kept coming. During the day, she worked in the shelter. At night, she went to the warehouse to pick up packages.

She had installed massive cameras at the warehouse entrance, and Summer helped guard the place. It was peaceful now, so people wouldn't dare steal with a huge dog watching.

The delivery guys always unloaded truck after truck, then left as soon as they were done.

At night, Hayley would go over everything and pull them into her inventory, then carry them back to her base.

Ding! [Warehouse full.]

All 100 tons of pasta, 1,000 boxes of instant noodles, 200 boxes of sausage, 100 boxes of pickled vegetables, and over 20 thousand meal packs were neatly stored in the innermost warehouse.

Ding! [Reward: Super warehouse! Food remains permanently fresh!]

The massive metal doors now looked like something from a bank vault. Not even professional explosives could open them—only Hayley's iris could.

Inside, all items were sorted and stored. And the best part? Permanent freshness and no spoilage!