Chapter 7

With that in mind, Hayley walked into a sports equipment store.

After picking up a few of the best, sturdiest baseball bats, she grabbed a bunch of adventure gear—flashlights, helmets, armor, pads, tents, protective suits, tactical jackets…all of it. Everything she needed for the outdoors. This alone cost her over 4,000.

The store also carried emergency kit accessories—tweezers, pliers, bandages, thermometers, and stuff like that. It reminded Hayley that she still needed to stop by the pharmacy.

She left the outdoor store and went to stock up on common medicines—cold medicine, bandages, fever reducers, vitamins, alcohol, iodine, and other essentials.

She wasn't interested in prescription drugs; she didn't need them, anyway. Anyone who had survived ten years of the apocalypse without dying probably didn't rely on daily meds. A few emergency supplies would do. In an apocalypse, poor health was just a weak spot you couldn't afford.

By the time she left the pharmacy, it was almost evening. The city lights sparkled, neon glowing all around.

Hayley had pretty much gathered everything she could—food, drink, shelter, tools—all the basics covered. Now, she could focus on upgrading daily necessities and a few extra comforts.

She still had about 260 thousand left.

She figured it was time to go on a shopping spree. Before the apocalypse hit, she was going to enjoy the world one last time.

First stop: a Michelin-star hotel she had never treated herself to before.

She ordered a full-on feast—mushroom soup, barbecued ribs, pan-seared cod, roasted chicken, and garlic butter prawns—everything she had never been able to afford before. She even had the kitchen prepare ten extra orders of her favorite garlic butter prawns and filet mignon to take home for Summer.

After that, she booked a suite and headed down to the mall.

The mall was packed with goods, from general stores to tempting food stands. Hayley, used to hard times, hit the food section first—sausages, mini corn dogs, sponge cakes, meat pies, fried skewers, fried chicken, pork cutlets, stew, ice cream, milkshakes, assorted pastries…everything.

She wanted it all, but there wasn't enough time or money to buy everything. Most of it was just luxury for a peaceful world—things that wouldn't matter after the apocalypse.

But right now, she could buy and eat without worry.

Hayley went store by store, quietly and extravagantly telling each clerk, "I want all your snacks."

She paid and had everything delivered to her hotel room upstairs.

At the first bakery, everything went into bags—fresh bread, cheesecake, cream puffs, petit fours, marshmallows, Swiss rolls, custard slices, custard tarts, waffles, palmiers—all packed and sent up.

At a fried chicken shop, she bought every flavor—sweet chili, barbecue, garlic, honey mustard—and every type of chicken: boneless, drumsticks, wings, whole chickens.

She then hit up the smoothie bars and ordered every flavor she could—berry blends, tropical fruit mixes, creamy yogurt smoothies, protein shakes, even frozen slushies—everything on the list!

She basically just paid and gave them a delivery address before leaving, not wanting to attract too much attention.

Just buying these snacks cost over 40 thousand. Each shop's stock usually totaled about 3,000 dollars. Hayley only spent around a few hundred dollars on smaller stalls, like the sausage stall and corn dog stand, ordering one of each flavor.

Still, she basically cleared the snack stores in one sweep.

Next, she went to the basement supermarket.

Now, supermarkets were essential. She pushed two huge carts through the warehouse-style store.

At checkout, her carts were filled with single units of all kinds—one bag of each flavored chips, one pack of every cookie or candy, one bottle of each drink, and every cooked food item she could get—roast turkey slices, rotisserie chicken, baked salmon, deli wraps, stuffed pita pockets, and microwavable pasta meals.

Even partially prepared foods—marinated chicken, pork chops, fish fillets, and steak—were included. Household necessities like toiletries, face cream, sanitary pads, disposable towels, wipes—everything she could need.

And now that she had money, she even bought appliances—a washing machine, a robot vacuum, and a fridge. She wouldn't have considered this before, but now she could.

After checking out her two carts, she spoke to the store manager. She wanted the store's entire stock of everything in her carts, except for appliances.

However, she had underestimated the cost and inventory. By the time she had selected just a third of what she wanted, her account was empty—220 thousand, gone in a flash!

She found herself in an awkward position.

Basic staples had been cheap, but processed goods were several times more expensive. Looking at her account balance hitting zero, Hayley decided this was enough. She could always make these foods herself using the ingredients she had.

She left her delivery address with the manager and confirmed that everything could be delivered that day.

A bit sad to leave the well-stocked store behind, she continued walking. So far, she had only hit the food sections and the large supermarket.

She didn't have money left to shop on the clothing floors.

But even with just 14 dollars on her, she could still window shop.

She bought a 3-dollar iced cocoa at a convenience store and browsed each clothing shop. By the time she finished the third floor, her drink was gone. She spotted a few items she liked.

"How much for this baseball jacket?" she asked.

"It's on sale for half price—400 dollars," the clerk said.

Hayley didn't reply. Even at half price, that was way too expensive.

Still, it was the best mall in town, and everything inside was from big-name brands. She couldn't afford anything in it right now.

After she walked out empty-handed, the manager nudged the sales assistant who had just given Hayley the price. "Why bother with her? She clearly can't afford anything. Look at her empty hands after walking several floors. Learn to read people next time…"

The clerk just pursed her lips and stayed quiet.

Despite hearing the insults, Hayley ignored them, walking on.

She wasn't some naive kid who would throw money around just because someone said something. After years of surviving the apocalypse, she knew better.

In a crisis, she didn't need to teach anyone a lesson—she could just kill them.