GOURMET VAULT

"Ivy Collins? Well, well... long time no see."

My fingers froze on my glass of soda for a single second before I smoothed my expression into pure, unadulterated confusion. I slowly turned around.

Standing there was Damon Lawson.

Damon looked exactly as he had before the apocalypse destroyed him: arrogantly handsome, wearing expensive branded clothes, with an insufferable smirk plastered across his face.

In my previous life, I had saved this man from being torn apart by zombies after his own rich family abandoned him as bait. I had treated him like a brother, only for him to cheer when Ethan drove a knife into my gut.

Right now, he looked like just another smug, arrogant guy in a leather jacket, staring down at me with a greasy smile.

"Ivy Collins," Damon said, sliding uninvited into the plastic chair opposite me. "What a coincidence running into you here. I heard a rumor today that you and Ethan broke up. Is that true?"

I kept my face completely expressionless, slowly putting down my wooden skewer. "Do I know you? And… What does that have to do with you?" I asked, my voice flat and icy.

"Come on, don't be like that," Damon sneered, leaning across the table, his eyes brazenly scanning my body. "Ethan was an idiot to let a pretty girl like you go. Why don't you hang out with me tonight? I've got money, and I know how to treat a lady right."

My eyes narrowed slightly. So Ethan has already reconnected with Damon. I thought in my mind.

“Ethan Hayes is a cheating piece of trash, and whoever you are, you’re ruining my appetite,” I said, picking up another lamb skewer.

“And for your information, I don’t go around hanging out with strangers I met just one day.”

Damon chuckled, leaning across the table with a predatory glint in his eyes. "You always had a sharp tongue. But listen to me, Ivy. Something massive is going to happen in the next couple of days. The world is going to change. Break up with Ethan, fine—come with me instead. I can protect you."

He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “Or, if you want, we can keep it simple. Spend one night with me, and I’ll make sure you’re safe when everything falls apart. You’ll be my woman. No one will dare touch you.”

For a moment, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

Was he really that stupid? I almost laughed.

This was the same Damon who had betrayed me in my previous life. And now he thought I would willingly give myself to him?

What a joke.

Seeing that I didn’t answer him and only stared at him, Damon apparently took my silence as agreement.

A smug smile appeared on his face.

He reached across the table, his fingers aiming to seize my wrist and pull me closer.

In my past life, I had spent five years ripping mutated beasts apart with my bare hands. My reflexes were forged in pure, blood-soaked survival.

Before his fingers could even graze my sweater, I grabbed the knife that had come with the lamb skewers I ordered, flipped it in my grip, and pressed the sharp metal edge firmly against the side of his neck.

The cold steel pressed firm against his carotid artery. A tiny prick of red formed instant pressure on his skin.

"Touch me," I whispered, my voice dropping to a deathly, lethal pitch that carried no trace of student innocence, "and I will drive this six inches into your windpipe before you can take another breath."

Damon froze dead in his tracks. All the color drained from his face in a fraction of a second.

The sheer, horrifying aura of cold, practiced lethality radiating from my eyes terrified him to his absolute core. This wasn't the fiery reaction of an offended girl; it was the icy stare of an experienced killer who had taken lives before.

"W-Whoa... hey," Damon stammered, raising both hands in sheer panic, his knees visibly shaking. "Take it easy! I was just... I was just joking!"

The surrounding diners gasped, and several people immediately pulled out their phones to record the scene.

"Damon! Ivy! What on earth are you doing?!"

A sharp, familiar voice shrieked from the deli entrance. Clara came rushing over, clad in a designer dress, holding several shopping bags. When she saw me holding a knife to Damon's neck, her eyes widened in shock.

"Ivy?!" Clara gasped, stumbling over her own heels. "Ivy, have you lost your mind?! Why are you threatening people with a knife in public?!"

"Clara?" I feigned utter surprise, slowly lowering the knife just enough to keep up appearances. "Why are you here? You know this creep?"

Clara quickly stepped between us, her eyes flashing with a mix of anxiety and hidden smugness. "Ivy... don't be unreasonable. Damon is a friend of Ethan's. And... and you shouldn't talk about Ethan like that."

"Oh?" I sneered, resting the skewer knife on the table. "And why shouldn't I talk about my ex-boyfriend who was cheating on me?"

Clara stared at me in confusion.

“Ivy, what are you talking about? Why would Ethan cheat on you?”

She quickly stepped closer, her expression filled with concern.

“I got a call that you broke up with him, so I rushed over as soon as I heard. I wanted to check on you. Why would you suddenly break up with Ethan? Did something happen between you two?”

I looked at her quietly. She was pretending so well.

“I don’t understand,” Clara continued. “You two have been together for so long. If there was a misunderstanding, you could have talked to him instead of breaking up with him.”

I stared at her for a few seconds before scoffing.

“Do you really think I don’t know that Ethan has been cheating on me with you?”

Clara’s expression froze. Then, to my surprise, she laughed. “Oh, so you aren’t that stupid anymore.” She said as she crossed her arms, no longer bothering to pretend.

“I’m actually glad you figured it out on time. But unfortunately, it won’t make much of a difference.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Clara’s lips curled into a strange smile. “Why bother? The world is ending soon anyway.”

They had been reborn too? I was shocked, but I quickly masked it with a cold smile.

"Nonsense! Anyways, I sincerely wish you two the best. I hope you and Ethan stay together forever."

Because when the apocalypse hits, it will be so much easier to destroy you both together.

"Hey! What's going on here?"

A booming, authoritative voice rang out from the front entrance of the deli. A tall, broad-shouldered young man in a dark suede jacket walked in, flanked by two imposing security staff from the commercial plaza.

It was Reid Hale.

Reid was my stepfather Daniel Hale's eldest son—my hot-tempered stepbrother who had always treated me with cold distance because he resented my mother marrying his father. In my past life, he had perished during the first chaotic week of the acid rainstorm.

"Reid?" I muttered, surprised to see him in this specific district.

Reid marched down the aisle, shoving Damon back with a heavy palm against his chest. "Lawson? Are you bothering my step-sister?"

Damon stumbled back against the display glass, recognizing Reid Hale immediately. The Hale family held massive weight in Guangdong's shipping and logistics sectors—far above Damon's father's property business.

"Hale..." Damon muttered, holding his neck where the red mark still showed. "Mind your own business. She's the one who pulled a weapon!"

"She's a college student, you idiot," Reid growled, stepping in front of me and cracking his knuckles menacingly. "You think I don't know your reputation for harassing girls? Back off before I have my dad freeze your family's transit permits."

Clara, seeing the situation turn completely against them, frantically tugged at Damon's arm. "Damon, let's go! We have to meet Ethan at the warehouse! Don't waste time here!"

Damon glared at me with pure, unadulterated venom, but he didn't dare pick a fight with Reid's crew. "This isn't over," he spat through grit teeth before turning and hurrying out of the food stall with Clara behind him.

I watched them disappear through the glass doors, my expression ice-cold. No, Damon. It’s definitely not over.

Reid turned around to face me, looking distinctly awkward as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You alright? What the hell are you doing out here buying wholesale meat alone at night?"

"I'm fine," I said, my voice softening just a fraction. "Thanks for stepping in, Reid."

Reid blinked, looking genuinely stunned that I had actually thanked him without our usual sarcastic banter. He cleared his throat and looked away, adjusting his jacket. "Don't stay out too late. The weather feels weird tonight."

He turned and walked toward the manager's office to finish his own business. I looked after him, surprised by his brief display of brotherly protection. In my past life, I had never given him a chance to be family. I resolved right then that if I could save him and my mother from the upcoming disaster, I would.

Ten minutes later, the head butcher delivered five massive, industrial thermal crates packed with prime cuts of pork, barbeque, beef, lamb, spicy grilled fish, cured sausages and fried rice that I had ordered earlier for pickup.

I paid the balance, drove my heavy SUV around to a secluded loading dock behind the plaza, locked the doors, and mentally willed all five thermal crates into my dimensional storage.

Swish!

Ding!

[Special Condition Triggered!]

[Large volume of freshly processed, high-tier gourmet meats detected.]

[Achievement Unlocked: "Doomsday Gourmet"!]

[Reward Issued: 1 Dedicated Temperature-Controlled Food Storage Compartment (1,000 Slots)!]

A brilliant new sub-space opened within my mental vault interface. Organized into glowing digital shelves, it automatically categorized food by type—Fresh Meats, Gourmet Cooked Meals, Soups, Dim Sum, Pastries, and Beverages.

Any hot dish placed inside would stay boiling hot forever. Any raw ingredient or cold drink would stay perfectly fresh or ice-cold indefinitely.

A dark, satisfied smile spread across my face.

For the rest of the night, I drove through every major district of Guangzhou, buying everything I could possibly need for the days ahead.I stocked up on more food, drinks, canned goods, cooking supplies, medicine, and other necessities. I also bought weapons and protective equipment, including bows, arrows, swords, and other items that could help me defend myself.

I knew Damon, Ethan, and their group wouldn’t simply leave me alone. If they had been reborn too, then I couldn’t afford to underestimate them.

By sunrise on September 21st, two days before the end, my Doomsday Gourmet Vault contained over 2,500 individual freshly cooked meals and tons of premium fresh produce.

I drove back to the old red-brick compound in the suburban district, stepped inside the living room, and called up the system interface.

"System," I commanded in my mind. "Deploy Level 3 Safe House."

Ding!

[Deploying Safe House...]

A soft blue light enveloped the brick compound. The interior walls of the old house subtly shifted, reinforcing themselves with thick, blast-resistant alloy composites hidden behind the brick facade. The windows transformed into bulletproof, acid-resistant reinforced glass.

[Safe House Activated!]

[Current Level: Level 3 (Red-Brick Fortress)]

[Defensive Rating: 30 (Withstands heavy assault from up to 200 low-tier mutated entities)]

[Special Properties: Conceals host biological signature within a 3-kilometer radius for 3 hours daily. Fully customizable layout.]

[Upgradable: Requires Crystal Cores/Materials.]

I sank onto the soft sofa inside my fortified stronghold, letting out a long, relieved breath. I was safe. Armed with a system, millions in supplies, thousands of hot meals, and a fortified fortress, I was ready.

Now, it was time for the final phase of my preparations.