Chapter 3
As the system's voice faded, the cabin started to tremble beneath me. I could feel an invisible energy rising from deep underground, coursing through the cabin's frame.
The old, peeling paint on the walls began to shed by itself, revealing solid, pristine wood underneath.
The fragile glass windows were suddenly covered by an unseen, transparent layer, turning them unbreakable. The whole cabin was swiftly reinforced and reshaped by a force I couldn't even begin to understand.
In just ten minutes, the upgrade was finished.
[Ding! Sanctuary Ark upgrade complete!]
[Sanctuary Ark Level: Lv.1 (Not yet named)]
[Name: Awaiting input. Please name your Sanctuary Ark.]
[Level: Lv.1]
[Area: 2,150 square feet indoors, 5,400 square feet of outdoor wasteland]
[Energy Core: Small Geothermal Energy Converter - Power Output: 100 kW/h]
[Current Features:
[1. Temperature Control System (Lv.1): Maintains indoor temperature between 59°F and 77°F.
[2. Fortified Shelter (Lv.1): The main structure can withstand blizzards up to level 10 and standard physical impacts.
[3. Land Enhancement (Lv.1): The outdoor plot has been upgraded and is now ready for farming.]
[Storage Space: 350 cubic feet]
[Next Upgrade Requirements: 1000 Energy Points, 10 tons of steel, 1 ton of high-strength composite panels.]
I glanced over the newly upgraded Sanctuary Ark details and gave a satisfied nod.
"Let's call it Hearthhaven," I said.
[Name set. Welcome to Hearthhaven Sanctuary Ark.]
Now that I had a solid start, it was time to start hoarding supplies like crazy.
For the next three days, I was working like a madman, barely stopping to catch my breath.
The real estate agent was lightning fast. By the morning of the third day, the apartment was off my hands.
The moment the 1.5 million dollars landed in my account, I dove headfirst into my shopping spree.
I called up the manager at a bulk warehouse supermarket and placed a massive order.
I ordered twenty tons of grains, flour, and every other staple they had in stock.
For easy-to-store foods like compressed biscuits, canned goods, instant meals, and dehydrated veggies, I told them to load me up with everything they could supply.
For salt, sugar, and all kinds of seasonings, stuff that would be worth more than gold in the apocalypse, I basically cleaned out half their warehouse.
The supermarket manager looked at me like I was out of my mind.
But with that kind of cash on the table, he rallied his whole crew and every truck he could find, packed everything up, and delivered it straight to my cabin on the outskirts.
To keep things low-key, I had them unload the goods about half a mile away from the cabin.
Once they were gone, I quietly hauled the mountain of supplies into the system's 350-cubic-foot storage space, bit by bit.
It was exhausting, but honestly, I enjoyed every second. Each time I loaded supplies into the system's storage space, I felt my sense of security tick up another notch.
Once the food was sorted, I moved on to medicine.
Cold meds, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, painkillers, and vitamins, I raided every pharmacy in town and wiped out their stock of all the common meds.
In my previous life, at Sanctuary Ark, one tiny antibiotic pill was enough to trade for a night with a woman.
When survival was at stake, people showed their true colors—no shame, no limits.
Next up were clothes and household supplies.
I bought over a hundred sets of premium windbreakers, down jackets, and thermal underwear.
Then I bought coal, charcoal, diesel, and gasoline. I rented a temporary warehouse and packed it full, stacking everything to the ceiling.
Generators, solar panels, batteries in every size, these were absolute lifesavers for keeping the power running.
I also ordered tons of steel and high-strength composite panels, all essential for upgrading the Sanctuary Ark.
My wild buying spree obviously caught my family's attention.
The day after I sold the apartment, my parents and Samantha stormed over, absolutely furious.
I was right in the middle of bossing the truck drivers around, sweat pouring down my face.
"Jennifer! Are you out of your mind?" My mom shrieked as soon as she saw me. "Who told you to sell the apartment? You spent all that money on all these random supplies? What on earth are you thinking?"
Samantha followed close behind, her face full of disbelief. She pointed at the mountain of goods and demanded, "Jennifer, what are you even doing?
"Even if you don't want to go to Sanctuary Ark, you don't have to act so reckless, right? Are you seriously planning to spend the rest of your life here surrounded by all this stuff?"
I looked at them, honestly finding it both ridiculous and sad.
They had no clue.
They had no idea just how terrifying the apocalypse was going to be, or that their precious Sanctuary Ark would eventually turn into nothing but a frozen grave.
"This is my house and my money. How I spend it is none of your business," I said flatly, wiping sweat from my brow.
"Your freedom? You're destroying yourself!" my dad yelled, trembling with anger. "We fought to get you a family spot at Sanctuary Ark. You're coming home with me right now and returning all this stuff!"
Family spot?
Yeah, right.
In my previous life, they said the exact same thing.
And what happened? Sanctuary Ark had strict rationing, and with my so-called family quota, I was basically at the bottom of the barrel.
Each day, I got a chunk of black bread and a bowl of tasteless mush, forced to do the toughest jobs. If you slipped up, they'd dock your food without a second thought.
Meanwhile, as technical staff at Sanctuary Ark, they enjoyed privileges I could only dream of.
They never bothered to ask if I was okay. To them, just bringing me into Sanctuary Ark was the biggest favor in the world.
"I'm not going," I replied, crisp and firm. "I appreciate your concern, but you can go on your own."