Evelyn Ford woke with a hangover. It took her a long while to come to her senses. She had been reborn—reborn three months before the apocalypse.
Evelyn Ford's hands trembled as she recalled her past life. On April 1st, a torrential rainstorm had swept the globe. With water and power cut off, countless people lost their lives and homes. The downpour continued for two months, causing landslides, dam breaches, flooded cities, and collapsed buildings...
The downpour finally ended after two months, but what followed was the true cataclysm: massive floods, black acid rain, extreme heat, and animal mutations caused by water pollution. The most terrifying was the corrosive acid rain. It fell for a week, and any drop that touched human skin caused it to instantly fester and rot.
In her past life, Evelyn Ford had only made it as far as the insect plague, five years after the apocalypse began.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down and stop thinking about her past life. Her heart ached as she looked around the familiar room and thought of her parents.
Evelyn Ford had been an abandoned baby, thrown into a dumpster right after birth, her umbilical cord still attached.
Her adoptive parents were both doctors. Due to health issues, her mother couldn't conceive. Then, at the age of forty-three, she found a barely breathing Evelyn Ford in a dumpster.
When Evelyn Ford was seventeen, her mother passed away from stomach cancer.
Two years later, her father passed away as well. Evelyn was filled with sorrow and guilt, thinking about how she never had a chance to provide for them.
Evelyn Ford wiped away her tears. Her heart began to pound wildly as she looked at the time on her phone.
Today was January 1st. She had three months to prepare. After her father's sudden death, a devastated Evelyn Ford had taken a leave of absence from her university. She still hadn't moved her belongings back from her dorm room, so it looked like she would have to make a trip back to campus.
Stepping into her room, Evelyn Ford looked at all the familiar sights, her eyes welling up. After surviving for five years in the apocalypse, she had become cold and hard-hearted, but her parents remained the softest spot in her heart.
On the dressing table sat the heirloom her mother had prepared for her: a bracelet made entirely of green jade. Evelyn Ford picked it up and put it on her wrist. Just then, a sudden, searing pain shot through her arm. When she looked down, the bracelet had vanished, leaving only a thin red mark in its place.
And in her mind, a massive storage space had appeared.
Evelyn Ford's heart raced. She lifted her hand and bit down hard. Only when she saw the teeth marks on her wrist did she finally believe she wasn't dreaming.
Evelyn Ford picked up a comb and thought, 'Store.' The comb instantly vanished from her hand and appeared inside the space.
She continued, storing more items—a watch, a thermos of hot water, and more. Evelyn was finally certain she could store and retrieve things at will, just by thinking. Moreover, time inside the space was frozen. At this realization, she gathered all the bank passbooks and cards in the house and began to take stock of her assets.
In her last life, the disasters had struck so suddenly, catching everyone off guard. Dazed by her father's death, Evelyn hadn't stockpiled much food at home. Remembering her past life of barely scraping by, Evelyn touched her wrist and made a silent vow. 'This time, I will live longer. I will live better.'
Her parents had been frugal their whole lives. The apartment they lived in was in an old complex built twenty years ago, and the deed had already been transferred to Evelyn Ford's name.
The savings in the various bank cards and passbooks totaled eighteen million.
Evelyn Ford took out a pen and paper and started drafting a rough plan.
First, she had to find contractors to fortify the apartment. The front door was a priority; she needed to install two additional security doors. The balcony and windows also had to be sealed. The memory of looters breaking down her door in her past life haunted her.
Evelyn Ford had no intention of going to a survivor base. She didn't trust anyone. Her apartment building was only twelve stories high, and her unit was on the tenth floor. In her previous life, the torrential rains had flooded everything up to the eighth floor, making her apartment a safe zone. That meant she had to fortify it at all costs.
Beyond that, she needed to stock up on all kinds of supplies, which required careful planning: food, clothing, medicine, protective gear, self-defense weapons, household equipment, and so on.
As Evelyn Ford wrote down the list of supplies she needed, her hand wouldn't stop shaking. Every penny had to be spent where it mattered most. She needed to plan meticulously.
If she bought massive quantities of supplies all at once, she would definitely attract unwanted attention. She couldn't make all her bulk purchases in one city.
After creating a simple spreadsheet, Evelyn Ford grabbed a pair of scissors from under the coffee table and went into the bathroom. Looking at her reflection, she forced a stiff smile that was even uglier than a grimace.
For five years in the apocalypse, she had survived by being constantly on edge, her nerves stretched taut. Seeing her own vibrant, living reflection now felt so unreal, as if she were still dreaming.
With a single snip, her long hair fell away, neatly severed at the nape of her neck. Staring at her new, practical short haircut in the mirror, Evelyn Ford let out a deep sigh.
Evelyn Ford picked up her phone and rented a storage warehouse online. She threw on a down jacket, grabbed her phone and car keys, and headed out the door.
"Ford, you're home?"
In the hallway, her neighbors from across the hall, David Collins and his wife Frances Yates, were just returning with groceries. All the residents in this complex knew each other. David Collins was a chef at a five-star hotel, and his wife, Frances Yates, was a workshop supervisor at a clothing factory.
Evelyn Ford froze for a second before giving them a slight nod.
"Ford, my condolences."
Evelyn Ford looked at David Collins but said nothing. She was no longer used to interacting with people.
"Where are you heading? It's almost lunchtime. Why don't you join us?"
"No, thank you. I have some errands to run. I have to go," Evelyn Ford said, walking away quickly.
Faintly, she could still hear Frances Yates muttering under her breath.
"An orphan all over again. Still, she's really not a likable kid, always moping around. And with a face like a little vixen."
"Alright, that's enough."
"What, I can't even talk about it? Everyone in the complex knows Evelyn Ford was adopted. She's a jinx, brought ruin to her parents. I heard Director Ford and Director Sterling made around a hundred thousand a month combined, and that's not even counting bonuses. How much do you think they saved up over the years? It must be nice to be so educated, making that much money a month. It's just not fair."
"Don't say things like that. Someone might hear you."
...
Evelyn Ford stood on the stairwell landing, listening to the indignant muttering from upstairs. A sarcastic smirk touched her lips.
In the parking lot, her father's modest sedan was still parked in its usual spot. Evelyn Ford opened the door and slid inside. Her eyes grew moist as she looked at the Peaceful Fortune charm hanging from the rearview mirror.
"Mom, Dad, I'll live a good life. You can rest easy."
She drove away and headed straight for the storage facility. The owner was already waiting by the entrance. When he heard Evelyn Ford wanted to rent it for three months, he eagerly signed the contract with her.
Evelyn Ford took the keys and left immediately. She had more important things to do—namely, go to the wholesale market.
After arriving at the wholesale market, Evelyn Ford bought an order of soup dumplings, ate them quickly, and then began shopping around to compare prices.
She checked a few vendors, but their prices were all similar. Evelyn decided to focus on wholesalers with the most abundant stock.
"The wholesale price for rice is 4.3 per kilogram, but that's for orders by the ton. How much do you need, little lady?"
"Ten tons. Do you have that in stock?"
The owner grinned, nodding. "Of course. This is the biggest wholesale depot in all of Corinth."