Leo Zane pushed three carts full of supplies back to his apartment complex.
Along the way, many neighbors noticed and started whispering among themselves.
Leo didn't care about being seen. After all, some neighbors had already spotted him at the supermarket.
Besides, Fang Yuqing and Lin Caining would surely spread the news soon enough.
Hiding was pointless.
He even expected that when doomsday arrived, many would try to break into his home to loot his supplies.
He had lived through it all before.
But this time, he wasn't afraid.
He was preparing in advance.
He intended to let them see but never touch—and leave them furious and helpless in the end.
Leo, Fang Yuqing, and Lin Caining all lived in the same apartment building.
Because Leo managed a warehouse at Walmart, many neighbors often asked him to help buy discounted goods.
So everyone knew Leo.
An older lady with her grandson, seeing the huge amount of food and fresh beef and lamb in the carts, felt tempted.
"Xiao Zhang," she said, "why are you bringing back so much stuff? Is this from your warehouse?"
"You won't even use all this. Why not share some with the neighbors?"
This was Aunt Lin from the homeowners' committee—a woman who liked to boss people around, thinking she was in charge.
She often made Leo help her buy cheap clearance items, always trying to get something for nothing.
In his previous life, she had begged food from him through nagging.
But when the neighbors stormed his home to loot, she not only didn't stop them—she even outdid the younger ones.
Fang Yuqing and Lin Caining didn't want to provoke her and quickly said, "All this stuff was bought by Leo. We're just helping bring it home."
Aunt Lin's eyes immediately landed on Leo, smiling slyly.
"Xiao Zhang, looks like this is your warehouse's stuff. How about sharing some with Aunt Lin?"
As she spoke, her grandson Xiao Hu climbed onto a cart and grabbed a box of chocolates.
Though small, the boy's eyes were sharp. That imported box cost over $30 in the supermarket.
Without hesitation, Leo snatched the box away.
He said coldly, "Sorry, this is for me to eat."
The apocalypse was near; he had no patience for politeness.
Aunt Lin's face darkened. "You…"
Leo's blunt refusal insulted this self-important "leader" of the neighborhood.
Especially since her grandson cried out for the chocolate after being pulled away.
"Kids don't understand. Give him the chocolate. I'll pay you back later," Aunt Lin said sternly.
Leo smirked.
With mobile payments now so easy, "paying back later" was usually an excuse to avoid paying.
"I said it's for me. If he wants some, he can buy it himself," Leo said coldly, then gestured to Fang Yuqing and Lin Caining to leave.
No sooner had they turned to leave than Aunt Lin started yelling insults after them.
Leo ignored it.
Aunt Lin's son and daughter-in-law worked far away; she was left alone with her grandson.
She usually only bought food for one day at a time.
When the apocalypse came, their supplies ran out first.
Leo had helped them out of kindness before, but this time there'd be no more freebies.
It would be a miracle if the grumpy old lady and her mischievous grandson lasted ten days without his help.
Leo wasn't cruel—it was just that when doomsday came, everyone had to look out for themselves first.
Other people's survival came last.
After pushing all three carts home, Leo told the women to leave.
"Don't forget to treat me!" Fang Yuqing playfully winked at him.
But Leo only felt nauseous inside.
He gave a perfunctory reply.
The two women had wanted to stay and look for more proof that Leo was secretly wealthy, but seeing his disinterest, they left.
Once alone, Leo opened his dimensional storage space and put everything inside.
He wanted to observe if the supplies would change over time there.
By then, it was already late.
Instead of resting, Leo took out paper and pen to plan the next month's preparations in detail.
Though normally lazy, when it came to survival, a person could always dig deep for strength.
"To live comfortably in the apocalypse, food is the first priority. That's easy to solve."
"Besides what I normally buy, I can get more from the warehouse. But I need to investigate first."
"And I have to collect it just days before the end, to avoid suspicion. Getting caught means a few days in jail tops."
He wrote "Food" on his notebook and ticked it off.
"Next, heating."
"After the end comes, energy supplies will be scarce. Air conditioners will fail fast."
"So the simplest method is the best. A fireplace is the first choice!"
Fireplaces work like traditional heated brick beds used in Europe's bitter winters.
"That means renovating my apartment with insulation layers."
Thinking of renovating made Leo tense—he remembered his door being broken down in his past life.
"I need to turn my place into an impregnable steel fortress."
"First, the walls must be reinforced, at least to resist normal explosives."
When doomsday hits, people will do anything to survive. Preparation is critical.
He couldn't gamble with his life; he'd tasted death once already and refused to do it again.
Security was also manageable.
Tianhai City had companies specialized in high-end security.
They offered custom safe rooms.
Leo recalled a billionaire who built a fortress that could even withstand small arms fire.
"Next is medicine. I can't afford to fall ill without treatment."
"The Walmart warehouse holds many common medicines for colds, fevers, and minor ailments. But that's far from enough."
"The Cambrian Storm will last decades—I need full preparation."
Luckily, Leo had good contacts in Tianhai City.
As a warehouse manager, he knew some hospital storage staff.
If the price was right, he could get any medicine he needed.
After solving these, Leo tapped his pen on the notebook.
"Finally, the last problem: weapons!"
When the world falls apart, humans lose morality. Fighting for supplies is common.
Life is cheap; to survive, you must have enough firepower.
Leo wasn't a martial arts master, but no matter how skilled, a knife could still kill.
If he had enough weapons, he wouldn't worry.
"Machetes, crowbars, and axes are easy to get."
"Bows, air guns, and compound bows can be sourced."
"But the most powerful is a large number of heat weapons. Those only come from the black market."
Leo stroked his chin. This problem wasn't solved yet.
But he had a month. With enough money, he'd find a way.
After three hours of planning, he finally took a hot shower and fell asleep on his comfortable bed.
The next morning, Leo woke up.
He hadn't slept well—woke from nightmares several times.
Seeing himself still lying in his warm, cozy bed, he sighed in relief.
The apocalypse had deeply scarred his mind.
Determined not to repeat the past, he resolved to prepare fully.
After getting up, he made himself breakfast.
Then he checked his dimensional storage.
To his delight, the meat, fruits, and vegetables stored overnight showed no signs of spoilage.
Meat was less obvious, but fruits and veggies usually went bad fast.
Here, they looked as fresh as the day before.
"My dimensional space exists outside normal time. Maybe time flows slower or even stops in there."
"That's fantastic news!"
"Now I can store all kinds of stuff without worries."
But the fish he stored were dead.
Though lifelike, they weren't spoiled.
Leo figured out more rules about his dimensional space.
"Live creatures can't survive long in there. So living inside isn't practical."
No big deal; his apartment was far more comfortable than a white void.
As long as he could store things safely, that was enough.
Thinking further, he wondered about prepared meals.
Though he could cook, his skills couldn't match professionals.
Eventually, cooking for himself would get old.
He immediately called Tianhai City's biggest five-star hotel.
"Hello, this is the Hongfu Tianxia Grand Hotel. How may I assist you?"
Leo said right away, "I'm hosting guests at home and want to arrange a continuous banquet for three days and nights. I'd like to reserve 500 banquet tables!"
The receptionist was stunned.
500 tables would take forever even for them to prepare.
At a five-star level, each table cost at least $300–400.
That meant a bill of over $150,000.
The receptionist didn't dare decide and said, "Please wait a moment. I will consult with the manager."
After a while, another person answered.
"Hello, sir. I'm Chen Dingfang, manager of Hongfu Grand Hotel. May I ask your name?"