جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

"What's going on?"She had such a sprawling estate, such an exquisite, master-crafted alchemical cauldron! How did she end up in this cramped box of a room after a dizzy spell?And look at all these bizarre, unfamiliar objects. Was there actually a tiny human figure moving inside that flat square box? And it was talking? Was this a scrying mirror crafted by some high-tier archmage?And this bed... it was undeniably soft. She felt zero inclination to get up. Willow Vance was completely captivated by the memory-foam mattress.Fine. She would contact her coven leader first to ask what on earth was happening.Willow reluctantly slid out of the embrace of the soft bed, her right hand instinctively forming a channeling seal while she muttered an incantation under her breath.Nothing happened.Willow blinked.…What was going on?She tried again. Still nothing! She was utterly dumbfounded.After dozens of failed attempts, she finally gave up and accepted the cold, hard reality. Her magic

Willow paused for a moment, her gaze sharpening as she instantly recognized the girl standing in front of her.Chloe Taylor. Her descendant's supposed "best friend," closest confidante, and apartment roommate.The two of them had grown up together through the foster care system, sharing an exceptionally deep bond on paper. But after the apocalypse hit in the original timeline, Chloe had shamelessly leeched off Willow, eating through her stored rations, demanding protection, and even trying to manipulate Willow into selling her body to local gangs just to secure extra supplies when things got desperate.What an absolute viper. Willow sneered inwardly.She had returned to the apartment quietly, yet Chloe had immediately noticed her driving a commercial box truck; she must have been watching her movements for a while.Willow said coldly, "I picked up a gig driving freight. Twelve grand a month. I'm just trying to bank some cash before graduation."Chloe’s eyes flickered, her expression

Willow exchanged twelve million dollars at the historic apothecary and cautiously slipped out the back exit, her instincts warning her that she was being watched.It seemed her second major liquidation had drawn unwanted attention. After all, unloading multiple pristine, five-hundred-year-old wild reishi mushrooms in the modern era was bound to raise eyebrows and attract opportunistic eyes.However, she wasn't panicked. Maintaining her middle-aged male disguise, she kept her head down and navigated the bustling city grid until she successfully shook her tail.Swinging back to her secure commercial storage bay, she stowed her disguise kit and hopped back into her box truck.Next stop, a sprawling wilderness expedition and tactical surplus center, stocked to the brim with hardcore outdoor survival gear."Afternoon, what can I help you find today?"The floor associate didn't grovel, greeting her with a straightforward, professional retail smile.Using her glamour-shifted posture, Willow

Finally, left with no other choice, Willow had to liquidate a few more Reishi mushrooms.She had severely underestimated modern asset tracking and vehicle financing restrictions. Thinking a couple of wild reishi roots would cover everything, she ended up cycling through several distinct regional apothecaries and changing her glamour disguises across multiple states before safely banking another twenty million dollars.With the cash cleared, Willow finalized the purchase of the overland expedition RV and tactical SUV she had test-driven. Of course, she didn't drop the full lump sum; she put down a healthy five-million-dollar cash down payment, financing the remainder through a corporate commercial loan.With barely two months left before global civilization collapsed into ash, she had zero intention of ever paying off those monthly installments.After taking delivery of the heavily armored vehicles, Willow inspected every square inch of their chassis and interior fit-outs, nodding wit

Another half month rolled by, and Willow diligently reinforced her bunker's defensive perimeters daily until everything met her exacting standards of absolute security.During this period, ambient surface temperatures climbed steadily. Glancing at the digital thermometer mounted in her bedroom, she saw it had already pushed past 40°C. Across the internet, public forums were flooded with frantic complaints, terror, and mounting panic regarding severe municipal water rationing and utility failures.Zipping up her tactical climate-regulating suit and grabbing a heavy-duty UV-blocking sun umbrella, Willow stepped out of the bunker.With only one month left before the global apocalypse officially triggered, she wanted to take the opportunity to sample as many local culinary specialties as possible, knowing she wouldn't have another chance once the world burned.She hadn't neglected her physical conditioning either. Every morning, she ran a grueling twenty-kilometer circuit across the open