Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

Compared to Yu Tianfeng’s vast fortune, the few points in their family’s account were simply...

A world of difference.

’So, did he rob the base?’

’How else could he have so many points??’

Her maternal uncles went out with the base’s Hunting Team every day, and each trip only earned them sixty points. That was a hundred and twenty for the two of them.

Over five days, they had only earned six hundred points.

That Yu Tianfeng was just too unbelievable.

’Is the pay at the Biomedical Research Institute really that good?’

Xie Ning shared a bewildered look with her mother and aunt. She couldn’t help but feel tempted to go work as a gofer at the institute herself.

The store manager quickly wiped his hands on his clothes and extended them to shake hands repeatedly with a stunned Song You’ai and He Shuping.

”You must be Dr. Yu’s family, right? What would you like to buy today? Please, just say the word, and I’ll have someone fetch it immediately.”

Song You’ai, still dazed, said, ”Pork ribs, chicken wings.”

Xie Ning almost laughed. She looked at the sycophantic manager and asked, ”Do you have a list of today’s supplies?”

”Yes, yes, we do!” The manager hurriedly beckoned for a salesperson to hand the list to Xie Ning.

Xie Ning pointed at the items on the list, circling them. ”Give us five of each of these. This one, this one, and this one too...”

The manager nodded repeatedly, beaming. ”Do you need delivery service? We have a Space Ability User here who can deliver the goods to your home. It’s just an extra two hundred points for the delivery fee.”

”That’s fine,” Xie Ning agreed with a nod.

After all, with such a huge pile of things, she couldn’t just blatantly absorb them into her Space. Carrying them all the way back would be far too conspicuous.

It was better to avoid attracting unnecessary trouble.

The four shopaholics then went to browse the second and third floors, picking up a lot of everyday clothes and daily necessities for Yu Tianfeng.

They also bought several new summer shirts for the two elders. The final bill came to over one hundred fifty-five thousand, six hundred and eighty points.

They rounded it down a bit.

The four of them exchanged glances, each secretly clicking their tongues in amazement.

”Spending over a hundred and fifty thousand points all at once... Isn’t that a bit much?”

Xie Ning remained expressionless. ”Someone comes over to freeload every day. Doesn’t that use up water and electricity? Isn’t there a labor cost? This isn’t like before. It’s not as simple as just adding another person and a pair of chopsticks!”

Song You’ai patted her cheeky daughter. ”Xiao Yu also brings medicine for your grandpa and grandma, and he always asks about our health every time he visits.”

’That’s because he has an ulterior motive: to freeload meals!’

The two mothers were already huddled together, looking at their shopping list and pointing things out. ”This is the toothpaste and toothbrush we bought for Xiao Yu, and the bath towel, body wash, and clothes.”

”That should be about it. We’ll come back for another look when new stock arrives tomorrow.”

Xie Ning was speechless.

Most of the items were for Yu Tianfeng himself. The two elders had probably seen him wearing the same tattered, hole-ridden white lab coat day after day and found it truly pathetic.

Xie Ning had only come today out of curiosity to see what the base’s general store looked like and to get a feel for the prices.

Now that she saw its rustic and unsophisticated appearance, she naturally lost all interest in shopping.

But the other three were full of enthusiasm, gathered around the list discussing what they could come back to buy next time.

As for prices, they had soared compared to five days ago. It was also possible that items simply became more valuable just by being placed in the store.

She remembered that five days ago, fifty points could still buy eleven pounds of rice. Now, the same amount of supplies cost two hundred points.

But this was all to be expected.

In the apocalypse, prices changed daily. Scarce resources like food would only become more and more expensive as time went on.

So, converting points into supplies as quickly as possible was the right move. After all, at the current rate of inflation, the points would be even more worthless in another five days.

The store manager, having finished printing the sales receipt, ran over to them with a warm smile and presented the list. ”Ladies, all the products are itemized on the list. You can check your supplies against it later.”

”The base is preparing to dig air-raid shelters and will be growing some fresh vegetables in greenhouses in the future. Please do come by often to take a look, ladies.”

He Shuping and Song You’ai smiled and nodded.

”The goods will be delivered to your home by our store’s exclusive Space Ability User tomorrow morning between nine and eleven.”

The manager then eagerly handed them something that looked like a promotional flyer. ”This is a list of some of our products for the coming week. If you two ladies are interested, please feel free to come by again.”

He Shuping and Song You’ai accepted it with smiles, nodding repeatedly.

Xie Ning felt the gazes from all around—some envious, some covetous and jealous, some curious—and couldn’t help but frown.

Song Kexin skipped forward. ”Auntie, Aunt, let’s go.”

This place was terribly crowded, and even with large electric fans blowing over blocks of ice, it was still unbearably hot.

The four of them were personally escorted to the door by the store manager, leaving under a barrage of complicated, unreadable stares.

As soon as they stepped out of the store, a wave of heat hit them.

Xie Ning glanced at the several ”little tails” following them, and a cold smirk formed on her lips.

Just as Song You’ai opened her umbrella, a shabbily dressed old woman in rags came flailing and stumbling toward them.

She was shouting, ”He Shuping, you unfilial daughter! You’re living the high life in your villa, eating and drinking well, while you don’t care if your own mother and your brother’s family live or die!”

It was Mrs. He, whom they hadn’t seen for days.

The old woman no longer looked as glamorous as she once had. She was wearing a long-sleeved shirtdress, picked up from who knows where, so dirty its color was unrecognizable.

Song Kexin quickly put her hands on her hips, blocking He Shuping, and glared at Mrs. He. ”What are you doing here again?”

This old woman was like a leech, sucking her eldest daughter dry to feed her second daughter and youngest son. It was like this before the apocalypse, and she had only gotten worse and more unreasonable since it started.

”Oh, woe is me!” As was her custom, Old Mrs. He plopped right down on the ground and started wailing and rolling around. ”Everyone, come and judge for us! Look at this fine daughter I raised! She’s well-fed, well-clothed, and living in a luxury home, completely ignoring the widow and orphans back at home!”

”She threw her poor old mother into the slums while she enjoys a life of luxury in the lakeside villa district! How did I raise such an ungrateful wretch of a daughter! What misfortune for the He family, what misfortune!”

As she spoke, two sturdy-looking little boys rushed to the old woman’s side, crying ”Grandma! Grandma!” as they hugged her and burst into loud sobs.

At this, a crowd of people surged forward, completely surrounding them.

Whether they were just there to watch the show or had other intentions, Xie Ning and her group of four were trapped in the crowd and couldn’t get out for the moment.

Seeing so many people gathering to ”support” her, Old Mrs. He’s confidence swelled. She lifted her head and yelled, ”He Shuping, I’m making it clear right here, right now. If you don’t take your brother and his whole family in, I’ll throw this old life of mine away and bash my head in right in front of you!”

”Then do it now.” He Shuping pulled her little niece, who was standing in front of her, behind her and stared at her wailing mother on the ground with a cold smile.