Chapter 2 Shopping Spree
After paying the deposit, she left the warehouse address and walked out.
Finished
The moment Kiara stepped out of the factory, a warm gust brushed her face, real
and
for it
the first time, everything started to feel
The streets were alive with the evening rush–people hurrying home from work, neon lights flickering on, and the air filled with the smell of fried food from nearby stalls,
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a door and window store and a hardware store.
Pulling over to the curb, she grabbed her shopping list and went inside. “Two of the sturdiest steel security doors you’ve got,” she told the shop owner, “twenty shatterproof glass windows, one electric gate, security grilles, screen windows–and I want the whole property fenced in with heavy–gauge stainless steel. Can you do that?”
From a thick stack of papers, she pulled out a layout of the property and handed it to him.
She’d bought that place years ago in a fit of irritation–after a fight with Hugh, some pushy real estate agent caught her at the moment, bragging about the house being earthquake, hurricane, and even tsunami–proof. Annoyed, and with fresh rent money in her account, she had bought it just to shut him up.
Hugh and Yara had no idea it even existed.
The shop owner had never heard such a strange request. For a moment, he didn’t even know what to say.
Kiara tightened the jacket around her shoulders. Tm paranoid,” she said matter–of–factly.
This world had all kinds, and he’d clearly decided she was one of them. Without asking more, afraid to scare off this jackpot of a customer, he nodded. “We can do it. But I’ll need a deposit. I can bring my crew tomorrow to install everything”
Kiara’s wallet spoke for her. After swapping numbers and setting a time, she went next door and practically cleaned out the hardware store–buying shelves, tools, and anything else she thought she might need. She even ordered custom storage racks.
She practically bought out his inventory. By the time she left, the shop owner’s grin was so wide she was sure his cheeks hurt.
Kiara ignored his glee and headed for the door, only to catch a delivery guy rushing past with a bag of takeout.
The smell hit her like a punch to the gut. Her stomach gave an unashamed growl. She was hungry.
Too lazy to get back in the car, she ducked into a shabby little diner across the street.
The middle–aged owner greeted her with a smile. “What can I get you, hon?”
Kiara flipped through the menu and ticked off more than a dozen dishes.
The woman was shocked. She stared at her fragile frame and sincerely advised, “Sweetheart, our portions are big. Three dishes will fill you up.”
E
“I can finish it,” Kiara replied. She looked her in the eyes, dead serious.
If a customer wanted to spend, who was she to argue? The owner took the order without another word.
Before long, the table was covered edge–to–edge with steaming plates.
Kiara’s hands trembled as she reached for her fork.
How long had it been since she’d eaten a meal that smelled this good?
In the apocalypse, five years of famine and cannibalism had wiped the world clean.
Kiara had clung to her principles, surviving on grass, roots, and mud–only to become food for the family she’d protected all
that time.
Shaking off the memory, she tore into the food like a starving wolf.
407 AM PP.
Chapter 2 Shopping Spree
One plate.
Two plates.
Finished
After the third plate. Kiara felt so stuffed she could barely sit still. She looked around to make sure no one was watching, then quietly loosened her belt a notch and kept eating
By the time she reached the fifth plate, she could barely catch her breath, the food pressing so hard against her stomach that she thought she might puke. Only then did she finally stop, leaving the table full of leftovers
She knew exactly what this meal was a response to the extreme hunger she’d endured in her past life.
Kiara patted her now–rounded stomach and silently promised herself she wouldn’t let it get out of hand next time.
If the apocalypse hadn’t come yet, she’d end up killing herself by overeating, and that would be the most ridiculous second.
chance ever
After paying, she asked the owner for eight takeout boxes and packed up the remaining dishes along with a large portion of
nce.
Back in the car, Kiara rolled up the windows, placed the food on the seat, and muttered under her breath, “Store.”
In a flash, the food vanished from her sight, stored safely in the wooden lodge inside the hidden storage.
Kiara relaxed, knowing it was safe.
Full and satisfied, it was time to do some serious shopping.
She didn’t plan to buy her supplies from the supermarket. It would be a hassle to haul everything into the car; moreover, pushing carts full of goods through the store would definitely attract attention.
Kiara wanted to stockpile quietly, without drawing too much notice.
When she finally got home, she found two unexpected visitors were standing at her doorstep.
As soon as she saw their faces, Kiara’s expression darkened.
She hadn’t even gotten around to dealing with them, but the duo were actually delivering themselves at her doorstep.
Hugh and Yara. In her past life, they had literally carved her up and eaten her alive–starting with her legs–just so they could extend her life for a little longer.
It had taken nearly a month of unimaginable pain and desperation before she finally died.
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm the storm raging inside her.
Hugh saw her then and strode over, his face hard. “You idiot! Who told you to sell those buildings? Fine, what’s done is done. But Yara’s got her eye on a Lamborghini; go buy it for her. I’m short on cash too, and while you’re at it, transfer me a billion.
If Yara hadn’t overheard a friend mention the sale, Hugh would still be in the dark,
The entitlement in his tone made Kiara’s stomach turn. She couldn’t understand why she was eager to beg for his affection in the past, especially when his favoritism toward Yara was so obvious.
She turned away, her voice cold as she barked, “Get lost.”
Not a single penny for them this time..
Her expression was full of disdain. Hugh, taken aback, didn’t know how to handle her sudden defiance.
He was used to her passivity. Hearing her words, he raised his hand, about to slap her. “How dare you speak rudely to your elder?”
But his hand never reached her. Kiara’s swift kick crashing to the ground with a thud.
sent him
Her grandmother had always thought Hugh was unreliable, so she enrolled Kiara in kickboxing classes when she was young. and she hadn’t stopped training since. It was that very skill that helped her survive the end of the world.
4:07 AM P P ·
Chapter 2 Shopping Spree
Finished
Thanks to her apocalypse experience, Kiara’s moves were lethal. With one powerful kick, she sent Hugh crashing to the ground, his teeth smashing into the pavement, two of them shattered
He let out a grunt of pain and passed out
“Dad”
Yara rushed over in a panic, screaming, “Da
She yanked on Hugh’s arm and then glared fiercely at Kiara. “You heartless witch! How could you lay a hand on Dad? You sold those buildings for 20 billion and couldn’t even spare him a single billion? You’re unbelievably ungrateful! No wonder your mother died young–it’s fitting for someone like you!
Kiara’s eyes narrowed. “With that filthy mouth of yours, no wonder your mom ended up with late–stage lung cancer.” She sneered, grabbed Yara by the arm, slammed her into the wall, then slapped her face several times, left and right.
1
Yara staggered back, disoriented, and Kiara shoved her away. “You two better stay the hell away from me, or I might just kill you both!”
If the world had already collapsed, she would’ve killed them both to relieve her fury.
But she didn’t want to face the apocalypse locked in a prison cell, so she forced herself to hold back.
Not bothering with their well–being, Kiara slammed the door shut behind her, flopped onto the couch, and pulled out her phone.
She downloaded a bulk–order app and started shopping for supplies.
Bottled water, soda, iced black tea and green tea, potato chips, ice cream, spicy beef jerky, pistachios, chicken wings, chocolate, coffee, ramen noodle cups, spaghetti, seasoning blends, bread, milk, instant mushroom soup, seasoning packets, canned stew, frozen meals, canned bean soup, cookies, candy, cake, and coffee beans.
Then there were appliances: hairdryers, fans, air conditioners, fridges, washing machines, heaters, light bulbs, TVs, USB drives, game consoles, treadmills, punching gloves, punching bags, solar panels, diesel generators, and water purifiers.
And personal care: tissues, sanitary pads, soap, shampoo, body wash, skin creams, face masks, wet wipes, toilet paper, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, disinfectant, hand warmers, electric blankets, and camp stoves.
Everything she could find, she ordered. She filled the shipping address with the warehouse she’d just rented
She spent a staggering 80 million dollars in one sitting.
By 3 am, Kiara was still scrolling through the app, eyes bloodshot from exhaustion.
Buy. Buy. Buy.
She kept ordering, her obsession with stocking up so intense that even in her dreams, she was still fiercely adding to her cart.
