Countdown Day 22, Morning
At the southern edge of the city, near the coastline, the Ocean International Cold Chain Port was already in its busiest hours of the day.
Massive ten-thousand-ton deep-sea fishing vessels docked with roaring horns, while heavy containers rose and fell from giant cranes. The air was thick with the salty scent of seawater mixed with the bone-chilling cold emitted by refrigeration systems.
Lin Qi parked her Porsche Cayenne outside the port perimeter. As she stepped out, the sea breeze made her narrow her eyes slightly.
In her past life, during the second month after the apocalypse began, extreme rain triggered an unprecedented global flood disaster. Back then, seawater mixed with sewage, decaying corpses, and unknown mutated viruses, producing a nauseating stench that still made her stomach churn whenever she recalled it.
But now, this pure salty ocean air felt almost like heaven.
She adjusted her windbreaker collar and walked straight toward the largest white cold-storage building inside the port—“Huihai International Fresh Import Trading Company.”
This was the only company in the province with its own deep-sea fishing fleet and top-tier international cold-chain network. Almost all high-end ingredients for Michelin and Black Pearl restaurants in the city came from here.
She pushed open the office door of the general manager.
A wave of warm air hit her.
The general manager, Jin Daya, was a seasoned sea trader with dark skin and a thick gold chain around his neck. At that moment, he was shouting into the phone, venting about a high-end restaurant delaying payment.
Seeing Lin Qi enter, he frowned.
“Who are you? Wrong place. We don’t hire clerks here. Go buy seafood outside.”
Lin Qi ignored his tone and walked straight to the desk, pulling out a printed list and slapping it down.
“I’m not here to apply for a job or buy retail goods. I’m here to clear out your top-tier cold storage.”
Her voice was calm, but carried undeniable authority.
“I represent a private overseas ultra-luxury club. This deal—if you can take it—is cash, full payment, no delay.”
At the words “cash, full payment,” Jin Daya’s eyes lit up instantly. He grabbed the list.
And the moment he saw it, his gold chain shook as he sucked in a sharp breath.
Order List:
Australian M9 purebred Wagyu beef: 500 boxes (whole cuts)
Russian deep-sea wild king crab: 3,000 (5 jin+ each)
Japan Aomori premium bluefin tuna: 200 (100+ jin each)
Norway chilled salmon: 50 tons
Boston lobsters: 5,000
Iranian Almas white sturgeon caviar: 1,000 jars
“You… are you messing with me?” Jin Daya stammered.
These were true luxury-grade ingredients.
Regular beef was cheap, but M9 Wagyu cost thousands per jin. Bluefin tuna was “sea gold.” A premium cut of tuna belly could fetch millions. And Almas caviar was literally sold by the gram like gold.
“I look like I’m joking?” Lin Qi said coldly. “Can your company handle this? If not, I’ll go to your competitor right next door.”
“WE CAN HANDLE IT!” Jin Daya slammed the table and stood up immediately.
This order alone was worth more than a year of profit from his entire fleet!
“Total price… 1.53 billion yuan.”
After calculation.
Lin Qi didn’t even blink.
“Swipe the card. Round it down. 1.5 billion. One condition: deliver everything to my warehouse by 3 PM today using your highest-grade liquid nitrogen cold-chain and live-water transport.”
Beep—
Payment went through.
Full payment.
Jin Daya almost collapsed.
“Boss Lin! Don’t worry! I’ll supervise personally! King crabs will arrive alive and kicking! Wagyu and tuna will be preserved at minus sixty degrees with zero ice loss!”
3 PM, Abandoned Logistics Park
Fifty specialized cold-chain trucks and live seafood transport vehicles lined up neatly in the yard.
Lin Qi still used the same method: drop-off trailers, drivers leave immediately.
When everything fell silent again, she walked to the first live-water truck.
Inside transparent tanks, thousands of giant Russian king crabs with dark red armored shells clawed violently in oxygenated seawater.
Next were boxes of M9 Wagyu, marbled like exquisite stone patterns under dry ice.
And then… two hundred massive bluefin tuna, each larger than a grown man, frozen in ultra-low-temperature chambers.
In her past life, she once saw someone so starved in the apocalypse that he ate a radioactive mutated rat. He died within ten minutes in agony.
Back then, she couldn’t even vomit—only trembled in despair.
But now—
She had the world’s finest seafood and Wagyu beef at her fingertips.
“Take it.”
With a thought.
WHOOSH—
All fifty trucks vanished instantly.
Lin Qi’s consciousness sank into her infinite storage space.
Inside the “seafood zone” of the static space, a shocking scene unfolded.
The king crabs were still mid-motion—one crab’s claw raised high, water droplets frozen mid-air like suspended crystals.
They were not dead.
Time itself had stopped.
If she took them out in the apocalypse, that claw would continue falling, and the droplets would resume falling as well.
True “live” seafood—frozen in time.
Nearby, the Wagyu beef and salmon remained in perfect condition, requiring no ice or nitrogen. Their peak freshness was permanently locked.
Lin Qi swallowed slightly.
Even she couldn’t resist.
She exited the space and checked her bank balance:
7,780,000,000.00 yuan
Food, meat, seafood—everything was now secured.
Enough to feed thousands for years.
But she was alone.
“Eating and survival are solved. Now… it’s time for real preparation.”
Her gaze sharpened.
Extreme cold, acid rain, freezing temperatures down to minus sixty degrees.
Without proper gear, even surviving a single night would be impossible.
She started the engine of her Porsche.
“Tomorrow… industrial factories and outdoor supply warehouses.”
Extreme cold suits. Ten million heating packs. Endless sanitary supplies.
The true apocalypse preparation… had only just begun.