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Chapter 02
Date de publication:
2026-10-07 21:17:50Ding.
My phone buzzed in my hand. I looked down at the screen. *You have received an incoming wire transfer of USD 2,000,000 to your account ending in 4817.* Two million dollars. Every cent my family had saved for thirty years now sat in my bank account. "There," Dad said. He tucked his checkbook back into his jacket and glared at me across the table at Mr. Pruitt's office. "The money is yours. Now sign the transfer papers." "I can't," I said calmly. "The county recorder's office is closed today. I'll help with the transfer once it opens again." Dad's face twisted. He opened his mouth to argue, but Lorraine touched his arm. "Fine, fine," she said with her fake, sweet smile. "We trust you, Zora. You're family." *Family.* The word made my stomach turn. "I've paid you," Dad said. He stood up and pointed at the door. "Now get back to the apartment and move all your junk out. Trent is bringing his fiancée over this afternoon to look around." Trent leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. "And I want it empty when we get there." "Trent, be nice," Lorraine said softly. She turned to me and patted my hand. "Give her some time. Zora is a sweet girl. Maybe she'll even leave us some money for new furniture." I almost laughed out loud. "Mom, just make her leave now." Trent wrinkled his nose. "And tell her to take that filthy dog out of her room. If it's still there when I get back, I'll kill it." My whole body went cold. *The dog.* "Filthy dog," Trent muttered again. I didn't say a word. I grabbed my bag and walked out of the office. As soon as the door closed behind me, I started running. --- The apartment was quiet when I pushed open the front door. My heart was beating so fast it hurt. "Maple?" My voice shook. "Maple, are you here?" I rushed down the hallway and threw open my bedroom door. A big German Shepherd lifted her head from the rug by my bed. Her ears stood up. Her brown eyes found mine. Then her tail began to wag. "Maple." My knees gave out, and I dropped to the floor. "You're alive." She jumped up and ran to me. I wrapped my arms around her warm neck and buried my face in her fur. She smelled like home. Three... A strange sound echoed in the back of my head, like a soft beep. I ignored it and held Maple tighter. "In my past life, they killed you while I was away," I whispered. Tears ran down my face. "I came home, and you were gone. Trent said you ran away. But I found your collar in the trash." Maple licked my cheek. "This time," I said, pulling back to look into her eyes, "I swear that no one will ever hurt you again." I wiped my tears and stood up. My eyes moved slowly around the room. The white wooden dresser. The soft blue armchair. The little lamp with painted flowers on it. My mother had picked out every piece of this furniture so carefully, before she got sick. She used to say this apartment would be my safe place forever. "I wish I could take it all with me," I said quietly. "But the apocalypse is coming. I won't have time." Ding. A bright blue light flashed in front of my eyes. I jumped back. [Ultimate Leader System activated.] [Mission: Store items within one hour. Earn 10 cubic feet of space for every 100 dollars of the item's original price.] I stared at the floating words. My mouth fell open. "My superpower has woken up?" [Countdown: 59 minutes, 59 seconds remaining.] Maple tilted her head and whined. She couldn't see it. Only I could. My hand trembled as I lifted my phone. *[Phone detected. Original price: 219 dollars. Reward: 20 cubic feet of space.]* "Store," I whispered. The phone vanished from my hand. I gasped. I could feel it somehow, sitting inside a small empty room in my mind. "Release." The phone dropped back into my palm. "It's real," I breathed. "I actually have my own private storage space." I looked down at the phone again. The screen was cracked from when I dropped it last year. Still, the system had counted the full price. It only cares about what I paid at the start. It doesn't care if things are old or broken. A slow smile spread across my face. "This is a gold mine." I rushed to my dresser and pulled open the top drawer. My mother's old jewelry box sat inside. [Gold jewelry detected. Original price: 5,340 dollars. Reward: 530 cubic feet of space.] "Store." The box disappeared. I grabbed the plastic cup from my nightstand next. [Water cup detected. Original price: 42 dollars. Reward: 4 cubic feet of space.] "Store." I ran to the corner of the room where my mother's old table and chairs stood. [Table and chair set detected. Original price: 2,250 dollars. Reward: 220 cubic feet of space.] "Store!" The whole set vanished. The corner was empty now, with only four small marks left on the carpet. My heart was racing with excitement. I hurried into the kitchen and saw the bag of red apples still sitting on top of the trash. [Five pounds of rotten apples detected. Original price: 3 dollars. Reward: 0 cubic feet of space.] I froze. Three dollars. Rotten. I picked up one apple and turned it over. The bottom was brown and soft. A tiny worm crawled out of a hole. "Ugh. How cheap." I dropped it back in the trash bag and laughed bitterly. These shameless people gave me rotten apples and called them imported fruit. Then they tried to steal my two-million-dollar home.
Dernier chapitre
My Revenge Begins 14 Days Before Apocalypse Chapter 06
"$1.4m," the bank manager said. He slid a paper across the desk toward me. "That's the highest we can offer for your property, Miss Ashworth." I looked down at the number. *My two-million-dollar apartment, and they'll only give me one point four.* "There's one more thing." He tapped the bottom of the page. "This is a short-term loan. You'll need to pay back one point eight million within seven days. If you don't, the bank will take the property." "Seven days?" I asked. "Seven days." He nodded. "Do you still want to go ahead?" I picked up the pen and signed without even blinking. *Time is short anyway. And I won't pay back a single cent.* "Pleasure doing business with you," the manager said, shaking my hand. As I walked out of the bank, I almost laughed. *In seven days, the bank will come knocking on the apartment door. And who will they find living there? Dad, Lorraine, and Trent. Let them deal with it.* --- That first loan opened the door. For the rest of the day, I went
My Revenge Begins 14 Days Before Apocalypse Chapter 05
"Rent is seven hundred fifty dollars a month," the old woman said. She folded her arms across her chest. "Three months up front. Plus one extra month as a security deposit."I looked past her at the farmhouse. The white paint was peeling. The porch steps were crooked. But behind it stood a huge red barn with wide double doors, big enough to fit two trucks inside.That barn is exactly what I need."Mrs. Garrity," I said politely, "I'll pay you eight hundred fifty. But only for one month, and no deposit."She squinted at me. "One month? What do you need my farm for one month?""I just need it as a temporary warehouse.""No way." She shook her head hard. "Three months or nothing.""Then I'll look somewhere else." I turned and started walking back toward my car. Maple followed close behind me.One step. Two steps. Three steps."All right, all right!" Mrs. Garrity called after me. "Eight fifty it is!"I stopped and turned around with a small smile."Just don't mess up the place," she grumb
My Revenge Begins 14 Days Before Apocalypse Chapter 04
I walked out of the tunnel and blinked in the bright afternoon sun. Maple trotted ahead of me, sniffing the dry grass.Around the entrance stood an old chain-link fence. Most of it was rusty. Some parts leaned sideways, and other parts had fallen flat on the ground.I touched one of the metal posts. It was still solid, buried deep in the dirt."If I rebuild this fence and electrify it," I said slowly, "my defense will shoot through the roof."Maple looked up at me and barked once."You agree?" I smiled. "It's worth a try."Ding.The blue light flashed in front of my eyes again.[System alert. Base Fortification Mission activated.][Rewards depend on defense upgrades.][Apocalypse countdown: 14 days.]My chest tightened. Seeing the number in front of me made it real.Fourteen days. That was all the time I had left to get ready.Ding.[One base guard dog detected.]I froze. My eyes moved down to Maple.[Reward: Combat strength and physical power multiplied by 80.]Before I could say a w
My Revenge Begins 14 Days Before Apocalypse Chapter 03
[Toilet detected. Original price: 315 dollars. Reward: 30 cubic feet of space.]"Store."I pulled hard on the wrench one last time. The bolts snapped loose, and the toilet vanished right in front of me. Only a dark hole in the floor was left behind.I sat back on the bathroom tiles, breathing hard. Sweat ran down my face, and my arms were shaking.In my past life, I could lift a grown man and throw him over a wall. Ten years of fighting zombies made me strong.I looked down at my thin arms and soft hands.My skills came back with me, but this body is still too weak. I need to start training right away.Maple poked her nose through the doorway and sniffed the hole in the floor. She looked up at me like she was asking a question."I know, girl." I wiped my forehead and stood up. "They think they can just walk in here and move in without lifting a finger? Dream on."I grabbed the wrench again."I won't leave them a single screw."[Wash basin detected. Original price: 210 dollars. Reward:
My Revenge Begins 14 Days Before Apocalypse Chapter 02
Ding.My phone buzzed in my hand. I looked down at the screen.*You have received an incoming wire transfer of USD 2,000,000 to your account ending in 4817.*Two million dollars. Every cent my family had saved for thirty years now sat in my bank account."There," Dad said. He tucked his checkbook back into his jacket and glared at me across the table at Mr. Pruitt's office. "The money is yours. Now sign the transfer papers.""I can't," I said calmly. "The county recorder's office is closed today. I'll help with the transfer once it opens again."Dad's face twisted. He opened his mouth to argue, but Lorraine touched his arm."Fine, fine," she said with her fake, sweet smile. "We trust you, Zora. You're family."*Family.* The word made my stomach turn."I've paid you," Dad said. He stood up and pointed at the door. "Now get back to the apartment and move all your junk out. Trent is bringing his fiancée over this afternoon to look around."Trent leaned back in his chair with his arms cro
My Revenge Begins 14 Days Before Apocalypse Chapter 01
"Zora! Are you even listening to me?"The loud voice cut through my head like a knife. I blinked hard. My grandmother stood in front of me, her finger pointed at my face. Her cheeks were red with anger.I looked around. This was my living room, the same gray couch, the same white curtains. My eyes moved to the calendar on the wall.October 3rd.My heart started to pound. Two weeks before the apocalypse. Two weeks before the world ended.I died. I remember it. The zombies tore into me, and the pain was everywhere. How am I back here?"Zora!" Grandma Ashworth slapped the coffee table. "Don't just sit there like a statue!""Mom, calm down." My father, Gordon, rubbed his forehead. "She heard you.""Did she?" Grandma folded her arms. "Your stepmother has treated you like her own daughter for fifteen years. Your brother just got a new job downtown. The whole family is moving to Pittsburgh. This apartment is perfect for us. And you dare to refuse?"My stepmother, Lorraine, moved closer and p
