On the seventh day, Jiang Li wore a short-sleeved top with a sun-protective jacket over it. She applied sunscreen, put on a hat and sunglasses, then took a taxi to the airport. It was already mid to late June, and the weather was very hot.
In her previous life, there had actually already been signs of what was to come. Around June and July, it was already extremely hot. By August, outdoor temperatures had reached over 50°C. However, because each year was hotter than the last, people did not pay much attention and simply assumed this year was just slightly warmer. As a result, when September arrived and temperatures suddenly surged to over 70°C, everyone was caught completely off guard. It was also in September that the apocalypse officially began.
A few days earlier, she had already moved all the clothes in the warehouse into her space. She gave each of the warehouse manager, the driver, and the unloading workers a bag of rice and a barrel of oil. She also sent similar packages to each of her former company employees. The amount was not much, but it was better than nothing. Although she could not tell them the apocalypse was coming, even if she did, they would not believe her and it might even cause unnecessary trouble.
After landing, she took a taxi to the hotel she had booked in advance. She had arranged to pick up the goods the next day. Today, she needed to prepare some things first, because she would definitely need to disguise herself when collecting the goods. Unlike in her home country, this place was not nearly as safe. Overseas was very chaotic; incidents could happen suddenly even while walking on the street, so she had to remain vigilant at all times.
The next day, Jiang Li disguised herself as a man. She darkened her skin, wore a wig and a hat, and put on a mask and glasses, making her face almost completely unrecognizable. She also used a voice changer and wore all-black clothing. Jiang Li was 169 cm tall, and with height-increasing insoles she was about 175 cm, so it would be difficult for most people to tell she was a woman.
The transaction took place at a café. The other party was a burly man, and the payment was in cash, which she had exchanged in advance. The deal went smoothly. After the man left, Jiang Li finally let out a breath of relief. She had been wary of being double-crossed, after all, on someone else’s territory, she would not stand a chance if things went wrong.
She purchased a handgun, submachine gun, grenades, smoke bombs, a sniper rifle, a tranquilizer gun, and several hundred rounds of ammunition. While no one was looking, she quietly swapped the items in the bag with other goods, then left with the bag.
Over the next few days, she traveled through various cities abroad collecting gasoline and diesel fuel. Along the way, she unexpectedly found two good Tang swords in a shop. The owner was also Chinese. After staying there for more than half a month, she finally finished most of her preparations and set off back home. By then, she had also nearly spent all her money.
She left on June 22 and returned on July 8. The weather had already become extremely hot. When she got home, it was past 8 p.m. She immediately turned on the air conditioning. Even in the short time it took to get from the car into the house, Jiang Li was already sweating. She then took out two ice machines and started making ice, before quickly going into the bathroom to take a shower.
After washing up, the air conditioner had already cooled the room. She then took out several high-capacity storage cards she had bought earlier and downloaded and saved everything in an organized manner, national maps, TV dramas, variety shows, plant cultivation materials, recipes, and more.
In the next few days, Jiang Li went out and withdrew the remaining tens of thousands of yuan from her bank card. Although it was very hot, it was still possible to go outside, so she only went out in the evenings.
She also visited and familiarized herself with places like car dealerships and pharmacies, as these were the first locations she planned to go to when gathering supplies later.
After becoming familiar with everything, Jiang Li no longer planned to go out for the time being. She stayed at home daily practicing cooking, storing the prepared meals into her space. She also spent one to two hours each day exercising. The ice machines kept running continuously; once the ice was ready, she stored it in her space and continued making more. She placed solar panels on the balcony to charge solar batteries. Each day she either ordered takeout or cooked her own meals.
Just like that, time passed until the end of July.