Chapter 37
By the time Suzy arrived at the pre-made meal factory, the sun was high overhead, the air thick with lingering heat.
She had made it clear over the phone that her order would be substantial, so the person receiving her was a mid-level manager. He greeted her politely and personally guided her through the facility.
The factory supplied several well-known convenience store chains.
The rice balls, boxed lunches, desserts—everything sold in those brightly lit stores—were produced here under exclusive contracts.
As they toured the production lines, Suzy observed carefully.
The factory was clean and orderly, nothing like the shady back-alley workshops people often worried about. Workers wore full protective gear, surfaces gleamed under white lights, and ingredients were neatly labeled and stored.
The pre-made boxed lunches looked exactly like the ones displayed in convenience store refrigerators—neatly arranged, vibrant, appetizing.
"Just microwave them for a few minutes," the manager explained with a smile, "and they’re ready to eat."
The aroma samples they offered were surprisingly good.
The more Suzy saw, the more satisfied she became.
This was perfect.
She could simply place a microwave inside her space.
After the upgrade, she had discovered something unexpected: the wooden cabin now had running water and electricity.
There was even a working bathroom.
If she needed to eat, she could just heat up a boxed meal inside the space and enjoy it immediately.
Aside from convenience-store lunches and desserts, the factory also produced ready-to-heat meal pouches, as well as large batches of tea eggs and braised chicken drumsticks—items typically supplied to restaurants for breakfast or quick-service menus.
Suzy sampled everything.
The taste was genuinely good.
She didn’t hesitate.
Every type of boxed meal—five thousand portions each.
Every dessert—five thousand each.
Every flavor of rice ball—five thousand each.
The total was staggering.
For the frozen, long-term storage meal pouches, she ordered ten thousand of each variety.
After paying the deposit, she arranged for delivery.
Since her order was so large, the factory offered her a discounted rate, saving her a significant amount.
Once the pre-made meals were settled, she reviewed her list.
Vegetables.
Fruits.
Medicine.
She contacted a pharmaceutical sales representative.
But the moment the other party heard the list of medications and quantities she wanted, they declined without hesitation.
The order was simply too large.
And many of the drugs were prescription-only.
She tried several other pharmaceutical companies, but every one of them refused.
Suzy frowned.
Buying online would be troublesome. Regulations had tightened recently, and she understood their caution.
An order of that scale required connections—serious ones—to complete in one go.
Buying in small quantities from different pharmacies would be exhausting—and suspicious.
If she went from pharmacy to pharmacy around C City, it would inevitably draw attention.
Maybe... Should she ask Uncle Leonard?
The thought took root instantly.
The apocalypse would have to be revealed to him eventually. He needed to be mentally prepared.
Before, she had held back—because of Monica, and because Leonard had been blinded by love.
But now he was awake.
Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to test the waters.
She decided to observe him for a few more days. If his attitude remained firm, she would tell him everything and ask for his help.
With his network, securing medical supplies would be effortless.
For now, she shifted her focus to vegetables.
She pulled out the number the frozen factory owner had previously given her and dialed.
This time, it was a slaughterhouse.
She stated her needs plainly: fresh pork, beef, chicken, duck.
The order was enormous.
She essentially mirrored her previous frozen-meat quantities:
Fifty tons of pork.
Fifty tons of beef.
Fifty tons of chicken.
And so on.
All processed, portioned, and delivered to her warehouse.
She sent over the address and deposit.
The other party promised delivery within a few days.
Next: vegetables.
She contacted a supplier.
Twenty tons of leafy greens—lettuce, spinach, romaine.
Twenty tons of tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplants, cucumbers.
Thirty tons of potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, radishes, onions, garlic, ginger.
Ten tons of broccoli, cauliflower, Romanesco, garlic scapes.
Ten tons of mushrooms—matsutake, morels, termite mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, shimeji.
...
She bought every vegetable she could think of.
Then came fruit suppliers.
Twenty tons of oranges, mandarins, pomelos, lemons.
Twenty tons of watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, papaya.
Fifty tons of apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, mangoes, avocados, lychees.
Twenty tons of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, grapes.
Twenty tons of bananas, pineapples, durians, mangosteens, rambutans, dragon fruit.
Deposit transferred.
Done.
After that, Suzy visited a seed wholesale market.
Rice, wheat, corn—every kind of seed the shops carried, she stocked up on.
She didn’t buy excessive amounts; seeds were small and easy to store in her vehicle for now.
If needed in the future... she could always "acquire" more for free.
Next, she rented a small cargo truck.
Driving it to a livestock farm, she purchased batches of chicks and ducklings, planning to raise them inside her upgraded space.
Once the order was confirmed, workers loaded the cages into the truck.
She bought feed as well.
After driving away, she stopped in a quiet spot and transferred the chirping little creatures into her space.
With that done, she checked her schedule.
At five o’clock, she would collect the final delivery.
There was plenty of time left.
Since she already had the truck, she decided to maximize it.
She planned to buy as much ready-to-eat food as possible.
Fast food.
Snacks.
Milk tea.
Having lived through lockdown periods before, she had developed a stubborn attachment to such things.
Once the apocalypse came, these would disappear forever.
Even if she learned to recreate them, the taste would never be exactly the same.
While conditions were favorable, she would stock up.
She opened her phone and searched nearby shops. One kilometer away was a bustling commercial street filled with milk tea and snack stores.
And nearby—an antique street.
Her eyes lit up.
She had recently unlocked the "treasure detection" function.
This was the perfect opportunity to test it.
First, she placed large takeout orders through an app—choosing store pickup for everything.
It took half an hour to finalize the orders.
Then she drove toward the antique street.
As she entered within a one-kilometer radius, she activated the treasure function.
Instantly, a small map-like interface appeared in her mind.
On it—
Red dots blinked in various directions.