Chapter 3

Fifteen days before the extreme cold.

"Allen! Have you bought everything?" Bill's roar came from the garage.

I carried in my sixth trip of purchased supplies, wearing a servile smile on my face. "Bought it. Twenty bottles of Lafite red wine, eight hundred dollars each."

"Only twenty bottles?" Bill frowned. "Not enough! Buy three hundred more!"

"I've already spent fifty thousand—"

"I don't care!" Bill interrupted me. "The apocalypse will last a year, we need at least one bottle per week! Buy more!"

"Okay."

"And mine!" Susan rushed over. "Only a hundred boxes of Lancôme eye cream? I need five hundred boxes!"

"Five hundred boxes would cost fifty thousand dollars—"

"I don't care! I use it every day, one box only lasts a month!" Susan said righteously.

Kyle jumped up from the sofa. "Brother-in-law, only twenty PS5 games? I need a hundred!"

Britney walked over and threw me a list. "Lululemon athletic wear, ten sets in each color. Complete makeup line."

"All of this exceeds the budget—"

"Then figure it out!" Bill slammed the table. "We must have everything we want!"

I smiled and nodded. "Sorry, I wasn't thorough enough. I'll go now."

Buy away, it's all cheap knockoffs anyway.

Behind me came complaints: "Allen is so incompetent..." "If it wasn't for Britney's kindness, who would want him..."

I left the mansion, got in the car, but didn't go to the mall. Instead, I drove straight to the suburban warehouse district.

An hour later, the car stopped at the warehouse's back door.

A middle-aged man in work clothes walked over. "Allen? The goods are in the warehouse. Cash?"

"Cash." I handed him a hundred thousand dollars.

He led me into the warehouse.

A whole row of shelves appeared: 200 boxes of military MRE rations, 50 boxes of water purification tablets, complete medical kits, 3 military down sleeping bags, 20 barrels of diesel, 5 cold-weather suits, plus tactical flashlights, night vision goggles, walkie-talkies.

I spent an hour loading the vehicle, then drove onto a forest path, continuing for another hour and a half until I reached my private shelter.

An abandoned bunker.

After moving the last box of supplies into the shelter, I opened my laptop to update inventory—

800 MRE military rations (enough for 400 days), 60 barrels of pure water, 200 boxes of water purification tablets, 1000 liters of diesel, 500 liters of gasoline, 5 complete medical kits, 3 military sleeping bags, 5 cold-weather suits, Remington hunting rifle + 500 rounds.

Plus, 24 surveillance cameras installed in my wife's house.

I looked at the list, a smile forming at the corners of my mouth.

Opening the surveillance screen, the feed showed the Crawford family garage filled with game consoles, cosmetics, red wine—all flashy garbage, with only a small amount of food and warm clothing items pushed to the very back of the garage.

Over the next dozen days, I continued purchasing according to their list during the day, while at night I transported truly useful supplies to the shelter.

The day before the apocalypse, the Crawford family decided to hold a feast to bid farewell to friends and show off.

I worked all day, preparing twenty dishes from afternoon until evening.

At six PM, guests began arriving.

Kyle's three drinking buddies—Jack, Mike, and David—didn't even look at me.

Britney's ex-boyfriend Chris—blond hair, blue eyes, suit and tie—also ignored me.

Neighbors and relatives took their seats one by one, no one smiled at me.

After everyone was seated, I was even assigned to the corner, near the kitchen door.

Bill stood up, raising his glass. "Everyone, tomorrow my son Kyle will awaken his ability and lead our Crawford family to new heights! To Kyle!"

"To Kyle!" everyone cheered.

Kyle stood up proudly. "Thank you all! After I awaken tomorrow, I'll definitely take care of everyone!"

Susan's eyes filled with tears. "Good son! Mom's so proud of you!"

Bill changed his tone. "Of course, we should also thank Allen for running errands diligently. Though he's pretty stupid at tasks, his work attitude is acceptable."

Light laughter filled the table.

"Yeah, Allen is pretty good at running errands." Susan chimed in. "After all, he has no other skills, completely dependent on us Crawfords for support."

Neighbor Linda agreed. "Susan, you're really kindhearted."

"Can't help it, he's Britney's husband after all." Susan sighed. "Though we didn't approve of this marriage initially."

Kyle raised his glass. "Brother-in-law, how about after I awaken tomorrow, you divorce my sister and focus on being my bodyguard? I'll protect you!"

The whole table erupted in laughter.

I sat in the corner with a slight smile, saying nothing.

Laugh louder.

By tomorrow, you won't be laughing anymore.