She parked the car inside the residential complex. Yan Wantong, who had been watching her closely, appeared right on cue. Her eyes lit up as she stared at Li Yao’s car—it was another new one. She didn’t recognize the model, but it clearly looked expensive.
Li Yao already knew that Yan Wantong and the man surnamed Su were working together.
“Hey, miss, you’re back.” Yan Wantong was dressed up carefully. Li Yao was indeed their target—but she herself still had a bigger fish to catch.
Li Yao nodded. The two brushed past each other. Yan Wantong immediately sent Su Xiao a message: Li Yao had gone home.
Tomorrow would be the last day of world peace. Li Yao decided that after collecting the remaining packages, she would scout nearby office buildings and large supermarkets so she’d know exactly where to go for zero-yuan shopping once the torrential rains arrived.
This kind of “zero-yuan shopping” couldn’t be done alone. Yan Yuansi and Ning Xinyue would have to come along too—she needed them to understand that the apocalypse wasn’t as simple as they imagined.
From the way they talked at the dinner table, she could tell neither of them took what was coming seriously. They didn’t care at all.
No rush. She could train them slowly.
Knock, knock.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Li Yao turned over in bed. She didn’t know anyone here—there was never anything good about a knock at this hour.
Sure enough, after two knocks, it stopped. Li Yao snorted coldly. Other than the man named Su Xiao across the hall, she couldn’t think of anyone else.
She slept through the night without dreams. Checking the logistics updates in the morning, she saw that the last batch of packages she’d ordered had arrived. They weren’t important supplies—just some snacks to eat when bored.
She stored the final batch of fully stocked electronic products into her space.
At 9 a.m., Li Yao went out. In the elevator, she ran into Su Xiao and several of his friends.
Su Xiao smiled at her. “Yesterday was my birthday. I wanted to invite you to have some cake, but you didn’t open the door.”
Li Yao took a step back. “I didn’t hear anything yesterday. You guys go ahead.”
She didn’t like the way Su Xiao and the people behind him were looking at her—their gazes were dirty and disgusting. If a fight broke out in the elevator, it would only be trouble.
Before she’d even been tricked successfully, Su Xiao still acted polite and gentlemanly. But the moment the elevator doors closed, his face darkened.
“So, Su Bro, this is the woman you’ve got your eye on? She’s really pretty—even prettier than Sister Yan.”
“Yeah, rich and beautiful. Su Bro’s really lucky.”
Their chatter didn’t improve Su Xiao’s mood. Li Yao was clearly on guard. It had been over a month, and he hadn’t made any progress at all.
After organizing the last of her deliveries, Li Yao drove around the city.
She spotted two large chain supermarkets—both of them radiated a strong sense of security. Once the torrential rain came, everything inside would be soaked and ruined. Better for her to take it all first.
She wandered around until nightfall before heading back. As soon as she reached the residential complex, that familiar feeling of being watched returned. After a moment’s thought, she drove straight to her rental place instead.
Since someone had already set their sights on her, she couldn’t let them know her real residence. The people in the elevator that morning were almost certainly Su Xiao’s group.
She stood quietly inside her apartment and looked through the peephole. Sure enough, several people lingered at her door, glanced around, then entered the apartment across the hall.
She sent a message to Yan Yuansi and Ning Xinyue, telling them not to go anywhere tomorrow.
Tomorrow was the start of the apocalypse.
The heavy rain didn’t arrive on schedule. It wasn’t until evening that the rain began to fall, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Office workers flooded their social feeds with joy about not having to work the next day. Schools issued emergency notices announcing class cancellations.
The entire city’s workforce was celebrating the unexpected rest brought by the storm.
Li Yao knew they wouldn’t be happy for long. This torrential rain wouldn’t last just a day or two.
In the middle of the night, the rain intensified and the residential complex lost power. The property management chat exploded with complaints. Li Yao quietly slipped out.
Tonight was a perfect opportunity. Not just her complex—if she remembered correctly, the entire city was without power. Electricity would only return in the latter half of the night, once the rain eased slightly.
After getting into her car—soaked from head to toe—she drove straight to the largest supermarket in the city center.
She didn’t take much from the snack shelves. Instead, she swept all the meat and seafood from the fresh food section into her space.
Rice, flour, grains, cooking oil, seasonings—everything from the staples aisle went in as well.
Then came the daily necessities section: toilet paper and all kinds of toiletries. Things she could use herself, she kept. Things she couldn’t, she’d trade later. In the future, rich people would be desperate for these.
At the fruit section, she beamed at the sight of piles of fresh fruit. She’d known this place wouldn’t be lacking—this supermarket used to require a membership card.
Take it all. Take everything.
Food, drinks, daily supplies—everything went. She’d already experienced the joy of stockpiling. Now she was experiencing the joy of zero-yuan shopping.
[This is enough for Li Yao to eat for a lifetime, right? Why does she need so much?]
[Waaah, most of Li Yao’s stuff is food. I can’t even imagine her happiness.]
[This is straight-up stealing, isn’t it? Didn’t expect Li Yao to have such bad character.]
Li Yao couldn’t see the bullet comments, and her conscience was completely unburdened.
Zhou Chengxing stared excitedly at the livestream. The apocalypse had begun. Li Yao was frantically collecting supplies, Bai Shuya was desperately saving her flowers and plants, and the other two groups were already resting.
After more than a month of preparation, Zhou Chengxing said to Jiang Yong, “Arrange the trending topic for tomorrow. This is a hot point. We stayed quiet for so long—all for this day.”
Jiang Yong’s gaze remained fixed on Li Yao, who was still gathering supplies.
Li Yao felt her phone vibrate—it was her alarm. Power was about to be restored. She remembered the timing clearly.
She’d already gained plenty tonight. She didn’t linger greedily over what was left. She needed to live—but others needed to live too. She couldn’t bring herself to take absolutely everything.
She put on her raincoat. The torrential rain pounded against her body, stinging slightly.
After getting into the car, she drove straight to Ning Xinyue’s place.
As soon as she opened the door, something rushed toward her. Li Yao dodged quickly. When she focused, she saw it was a small kitten.
Hearing the noise, Yan Yuansi rushed out immediately. “What’s wrong? Mimi?”
At that moment, the power came back on. Seeing Li Yao drenched from head to toe, he was startled. “Li Yao?”
Li Yao looked at the kitten circling her, then raised her head and said to Yan Yuansi, “The rain is really heavy outside. Be careful when you go out.”
In less than three months, Yan Yuansi and Ning Xinyue would come to her willingly to discuss cooperation.
Li Yao found a clean set of clothes and took a shower before finally relaxing. After turning off the lights, she sat by the window, listening to the rain. She turned on her livestream, fixed the camera angle, and let everyone watch the rain outside.
Four teams. Twelve contestants. Only Li Yao was livestreaming the rain.
She opened the window a crack. Her team had already taken precautions—no matter how heavy the rain got, none would get inside.
Listening to the rain, she lay down and fell asleep. The white noise was deeply soothing.
When Li Yao woke up the next morning, the rain outside had eased compared to the day before. Food delivery riders were still moving through the complex.
She got up and went to the kitchen, lit the stove, and cooked. The aroma of breakfast woke Yan Yuansi and Ning Xinyue.
After two days of good food, they were utterly disgusted by the nutrient solutions they’d brought from the interstellar era.
Li Yao served breakfast for three.
After eating, as she tidied up, Li Yao casually added, “The proposal I mentioned before—you can keep thinking about it.