Chapter 3

Money really was unstoppable.

When one had got cash to burn, even a job that should've taken three days got wrapped up in just two.

Staring at my fortress of a house, I couldn't help but feel a little proud.

Inside, there were a bunch of air conditioners, fridges, stoves, and ventilation systems. There were even a dozen silent generators.

I couldn't be happier.

I paid the final balance and the bonus without a second thought.

After wrapping up the security company's work, I headed to the wholesale market.

Buying a ton of supplies and food at a regular supermarket would definitely draw attention.

So I found a wholesale distributor and told him I was planning to open a grocery store in my neighborhood, and needed to load up on a ton of supplies, mostly food.

I gave him three days to get everything ready, and just like before, I promised a 30-thousand-dollar bonus for every day he finished early.

The distributor was over the moon with my generosity and basically became my personal shopper, handling all the orders for me.

In less than two days, they had everything prepped and dropped it off in my basement late at night.

The basement was pretty much deserted most of the time, so no one had a clue.

Once the distributor left, I checked over my haul. Nothing was missing, not even a single item.

Since I placed such a massive order, the distributor even tossed in a bunch of freebies.

There were over a hundred pounds of flour, olive oil, and other supplies, several hundred pounds of vegetables, and hundreds of pounds of meat, including beef, lamb, chicken, duck, and fish.

With all those fridges in place, I had zero worries about keeping my stash fresh when the world turned into a giant freezer.

To make sure I'd stay warm after everything iced over, I grabbed a bunch of gas canisters, along with plush blankets and comfy linens.

I also stocked up on a dozen sets of space-grade protective suits and down jackets, all tough enough to handle -148°F.

With the world covered in ice and snow, water wasn't really a concern, but I still filled half the room with bottled water and grabbed a water purifier just in case.

On top of that, I picked up a bunch of frozen foods, sandwiches, and seafood stew ingredients.

The colder it got, the better it felt to have something hot in one's belly.

I also stocked up on all kinds of snacks like cakes, chocolate, and all sorts of desserts.

Spending over a month holed up in an insulated shelter meant I needed more than just food, clothes, and a place to crash.

I also stocked up on several boxes of feminine products, plus toys and a gaming console to help pass the time.

I also hit up the mall and grabbed some high-end makeup, along with pretty jewelry and stylish clothes.

Even when the world was frozen over, I was still gonna be a glam girl.

Once I had everything else squared away, I made a trip to the pharmacy and loaded up on all the regular meds.

After the apocalypse, tons of people would end up injured. Even if they didn't freeze to death, frostbite would be everywhere. Everyone would need loads of meds.

That way, I'd be able to help out when the time came.

Honestly, with all the stuff I'd hoarded, forget three months, even if I spent a whole year or two here, there was no way I'd run out.

While secretly building my safehouse, I had to put up with the Anderson family.

On the third day, the temperature suddenly dropped from over 90°F to the 50s; it was like summer just flipped to fall overnight.

At first, nobody paid much attention, but by the fourth day, the sky turned dark even during the day, and the temperature crashed to almost freezing.

Then, it actually started snowing a little.

Snowing in June was totally unheard of. Everyone was losing their minds.

The weather bureau couldn't figure out what was going on, and prices started skyrocketing.

Every time I went out to buy groceries, I either came back empty-handed or with just the cheapest cabbage and bread, barely enough for them to eat one meal.

Julian, Vera, and Nathan were all pissed off.

Vera snapped, "Even if you were feeding dogs, you wouldn't give them this little. Do you want us to go hungry?"

I said, sounding all wronged, "The temperature just crashed, and prices are insane. A single cabbage costs 30 dollars now. That's enough for a bunch of lottery tickets. If I spent it all on veggies, what a waste."

Nathan's eyes lit up. "Exactly. You buy a cabbage, and it's gone, but a lottery ticket could turn everything around if you hit the jackpot."

He sent me another 30 dollars and said, "Buy me a few more lottery tickets tomorrow."

I gladly accepted the money.

Vera and Julian had no choice but to start eating through my old stash, making do with cabbage and soup.

I used to be a total hoarder, always counting every penny, so my fridge was stuffed to the brim.

But now, I purposely stopped buying new groceries, so they could only work through my stockpile.

Sure enough, after just two days, the fridge that was once overflowing was already looking bare.

Food in the refrigerator was easy to use up, but replenishing it had become extremely difficult.

On the fourth day, the snow finally stopped, but the temperature plunged to well below freezing.

That night, a heavy rainstorm hit, and by morning, the rain had turned everything into solid ice.

The whole city was encased in ice, like streets, sidewalks, and even the outer walls of apartment buildings.

People started freaking out. With traffic completely frozen, all the essentials were running out fast.

By the fifth day, the temperature had dropped to around -58°F, and prices were ten times higher than before.

Anything essential, like food, water, and clothes, was now costing a hundred times what it used to.

The community cranked up the heat early, but the heating bills were through the roof. Our savings didn't even come close.

It used to be just a few hundred bucks, but now it was thousands.

If one couldn't afford the heat, one would freeze to death.

All our savings were locked up in fixed-term accounts, so there was no way to get to the money right now.

Julian and Nathan both shot Vera a look.

With no other options, Vera ended up pawning all her jewelry just to cover the heating costs.

She was dying inside.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg. There were still plenty of huge expenses coming our way as the cold settled in.