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!

Aside from that, Hayley's latest batch of seeds had arrived.

She had ordered all the usual crop seeds and saplings. Almost all vegetables could be grown directly from seeds, while things like sweet potatoes needed starter plants. The seeds were super cheap, especially the sweet potato starters.

Hayley had ordered a big pile from the largest seed shop. When she asked the shop owner for some freebies, he ended up tossing in a few extra starter plants for zero charge.

For fruit trees, it was best to buy already-grown saplings that were a bit older. Growing fruit trees from scratch was slow and labor-intensive. Buying a ten-year-old tree was cheap and practical. A top-quality ten-year-old apple sapling cost only about 16 dollars.

Hayley bought a large batch of ten-year-old saplings all at once—apple, blueberry, crab apple, pear, raspberry, cherry, lemon, plum, Euriplan plum, walnut, chestnut, hazelnut, peach, cranberry, persimmon—three of each.

This way, she could guarantee the trees survived and produced fruit year-round. She spent just over 1,200 dollars for more than 100 trees, covering only about half an acre—just the empty space to the right of her fallout shelter.

On the left side, she set up a top-notch plastic greenhouse and racks for vegetables. She planted seeds for greens, cucumbers, eggplants, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, scallions, kale, beans, and many more.

Most vegetables were easy to grow from starters, but Hayley preferred to start from seeds so she could keep planting year after year. Potatoes were simple—just plant the tubers.

Luckily, her land was top-quality. Seeds planted here would thrive without much extra effort.

In just ten days, Hayley's fallout shelter looked completely transformed, inside and out.

Now, it was only three days before the apocalypse.

After planting the last tree, Hayley thought about what else she needed.

For a self-sufficient, hidden life, she needed some chickens, ducks, and fish. Even with all the meal packs she had, nothing beat fresh food.

If she could rear some chickens and fish, she'd be able to have meat anytime she wanted.

She drove straight to the farmers' market, leaving Summer at the warehouse in case there were any more deliveries.

Entering the city again after several days, she immediately noticed the tense atmosphere. Everyone wore masks, their faces anxious.

At a live chicken and duck stall, Hayley scanned the dozen or so birds—both male and female, all healthy-looking.

"Hurry up if you wanna get something. I wanna pack up early and go home," the vendor said impatiently.

"Give me a discount and sell me all of them," she said.

The vendor's eyes lit up. "All of them?"

"Yes."

"I'll do 2 bucks per pound for everything! Normally, my chickens are 3 dollars and ducks are 2.20 per pound."

"Alright."

There were 26 birds in total, averaging about 6 pounds each, costing her just under 380 dollars. She had them delivered to her warehouse, then continued shopping.

At the fish section, she found fresh fish and shrimp, and her eyes brightened.

Her fallout shelter had a water source, so she could dig a small pond. She bought over 30 fish—carp, crucian carp, silver carp, grass carp—and about 40 pounds of fresh shrimp.

She loved prawn dishes—garlic butter prawns, prawn scampi, and Cajun grilled prawns.

She paid extra to get large plastic tanks and oxygen pumps delivered to her warehouse. The fish and shrimp cost over 600 bucks.

Next, she purchased pork and beef. Live pigs and cows weren't available, but with her cold storage and space, she could handle fresh meat.

She ordered 1,000 pounds of pork and 500 pounds of beef, paying extra to have them processed and delivered the same day. This cost over 8,000 dollars, leaving her with just over 320 thousand.

Hayley kept walking through the market, but many stalls were closing. In a corner, she spotted someone selling live baby goats. She bought the last two for 300 bucks.

The seller told her that these goats had been specifically bred for producing goat's milk, but business had been so bad that he started selling them off. The big ones were already gone, and only a few kids were left. By chance, Hayley managed to snag the last two today.

"You should go home after buying these! With the flu outbreak, don't stay out too long," the vendor warned.

Hayley nodded. She always wore a professional medical-grade mask, anyway.

The truth was, the flu had never been the source of the zombie virus. It simply spread so widely and so quickly, lowering people's immunity. When the real virus hit, those with the lowest resistance turned into zombies right away.

That was why everyone blamed the flu, thinking it was the true cause.

It took Hayley ten years of surviving in the apocalypse to figure that much out. Yet, she still had no idea regarding the real origin of the zombie virus.

Some people used to say it was nothing more than a game for the gods, like the Hunger Games. After all, the virus didn't just create zombies. It also changed people in other, stranger ways.

Once Hayley had the vendor deliver her goods to the warehouse, she left the farmer's market without hanging around.

She had less than three days before the apocalypse hit and didn't plan to leave her shelter again. But first, she wanted to spend all her money. She couldn't just let it sit there.

Finding a hidden spot with no cameras, she placed the two goats into her inventory and drove off with Summer. On the way, she stopped at a farm supply store and bought a full set of tools, plus 20 shovels.

Most people didn't realize shovels were serious weapons in survival situations. During conflicts, farmers used them as deadly tools. Even modern military spades evolved from shovels.

In an apocalypse, a melee weapon like this could be more reliable than firearms.

After stocking up on enough shovels, Hayley realized she needed to get baseball bats—another surprisingly effective weapon.