During an apocalypse, canned goods were the most shelf-stable and convenient food. Melody Summers went to a canned goods wholesaler, where the shelves were lined with a dazzling array of every imaginable kind of can.

First up was canned meat.

Canned beef, Spam, five-spice yellow croaker, pig’s trotters, curry chicken... There were all sorts of flavors and varieties. Melody Summers picked and chose, buying 200 cases in total.

There was also canned fruit. Even though the Arcadian Space produced its own fruit, it was better to be safe than sorry. Besides, canned fruit would be hard currency in the apocalypse.

Melody Summers remembered how, in the third year of the apocalypse, Simon Lancaster had spent over eight thousand dollars on a single can of bayberries just to cheer Sylvia Lancaster up. Melody had been so envious back then.

This time around, she would make sure her family could eat whatever they wanted.

Melody Summers bought 10 cases of every type of canned fruit in the store.

After buying the canned goods, Melody saw the store also had various compressed biscuits, self-heating rice, and self-heating hot pots. She picked out the flavors she liked and bought 200 cases in total.

After having the owner and staff help load everything onto the truck, Melody Summers secretly moved it all into her space and continued on her way with an empty vehicle.

Melody Summers arrived at a farmers’ market and began buying various dried goods in bulk.

Dried vegetables, dried fruit, jerky—these were all highly shelf-stable. Melody Summers selected some of each, adding up to over a thousand pounds in total.

Melody Summers had the owner divide everything into smaller, sealed portions, box them up by category, and finally load them onto her truck.

By the time she finished buying the dried goods, it was already noon. Melody Summers didn’t have time to go out for a meal, so she quietly slipped into her space to open a few cans for a simple lunch.

Melody Summers went to the Arcadian Warehouse and saw that the supplies she had just collected were already neatly organized. Cases of food and water were sorted by category and stacked tidily in compartments and on shelves, creating a satisfyingly orderly sight.

Melody Summers opened a case of canned goods and a case of self-heating meals. The savory yellow croaker was fragrant, crispy, and delicious. She added it to her self-heating rice and enjoyed a wonderfully satisfying meal.

After her meal, Melody Summers opened a can of yellow peaches. The cool fruit melted in her mouth, filling it with sweet juice.

Melody Summers patted her stomach contentedly.

*

After lunch, Melody Summers went to the grain and oil market.

Peanut oil, canola oil, corn oil... Melody Summers bought many drums of each, adding up to over a thousand pounds in total. This would be enough to last her family for several years during the apocalypse.

After buying the oil, Melody went to buy several thousand pounds of rice, flour, and corn. These were staple foods that could also be used as animal feed. She had the owner divide them into ten-pound, vacuum-sealed bags and load them onto the truck.

As for other grains and legumes, Melody Summers bought soybeans, oats, mung beans, adzuki beans, black beans, purple rice, peanuts, lotus seeds, and almonds... These also added up to several thousand pounds. She had the owner pack them into five-pound bags and load them onto the truck.

After moving all the rice, flour, grains, and oil from the truck into the Arcadian Warehouse, Melody Summers went to a nearby spice wholesaler. She bought salt, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper, curry paste, chili sauce, soybean paste, various other savory sauces, and braising packets... purchasing 200 cases in total.

For her final stop, Melody Summers went to a wholesale snack market.

Using the excuse that she was opening a supermarket, Melody Summers went from one end of the market to the other, buying everything in sight.

All kinds of sliced bread, jam-filled pastries, cake rolls, cookies, calcium-fortified crackers...

All kinds of instant noodles, sausage links, rice vermicelli, rice noodles, and glass noodles...

All kinds of dried tofu snacks, spicy gluten strips, fruit jellies, chocolate, candied fruit, potato chips...

All kinds of drinks: Sprite, Coke, milk, yogurt, sparkling water, fruit juice...

Melody Summers bought 10 cases of every single item. For whole milk alone, she bought over a hundred cases from various brands.

The staff made trip after trip carrying the goods to her truck. If Melody Summers hadn’t been secretly transferring everything into her space, the truck would have been filled to overflowing.

By the time she finished, the sky had grown dark. She had spent several hundred thousand in total that day, with snacks being the biggest expense. Melody now had just over two million left.

*

That evening, Melody Summers drove home to find that Winnie Summers and the others were already back.

Miss Lowell had already told the Summers family about Melody selling their apartment in the desirable school district and buying a new house. They were all shocked.

They couldn’t believe that in the few days they had been away, Melody had quietly accomplished so much.

Melody then explained, "A tornado is going to hit early next month. This neighborhood is in the direct path of the disaster zone, so it will be extremely dangerous. We can’t stay here."

"Is... is that true? How could we get a tornado here? The weather forecast hasn’t said anything," Winnie Summers asked, confused.

Melody’s recent behavior was just too strange—selling the mountain and now the apartment. Although Winnie trusted her daughter, she couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.

"Mom, a friend of mine at the weather bureau tipped me off. The government will issue a warning at the end of the month. If you don’t believe me, just wait and see," Melody replied with a serious expression.

Grace Sutton also chimed in, "Winnie, Melody predicted the mudslide before, so she’s probably right about this, too. It’s better to believe her and be prepared than to ignore it. We need to get ready."

Although Winnie Summers was hesitant, she still nodded.

Her uncle and grandmother didn’t say anything either. Ever since Melody had correctly predicted the mudslide, they had found themselves implicitly trusting her judgment.

That night, the family gathered for a hearty dinner. Over the meal, her aunt and uncle told Melody about their visit to see Ian Summers.

"Your cousin was thrilled to see the cured pork belly and sausages. He said he’d been craving some of our home-cured meat for days."

"He also said to thank you for the toiletries and supplies you bought. He said they were all very useful things to have in the dorm."

"Your cousin also said he misses you and will come home as soon as he gets an extended break."

Melody felt a sense of comfort as she listened. She strengthened her resolve. ’This time, I’m going to make sure my family and I live a good life.’

*

That night, as they were getting ready for bed, Winnie Summers pulled Melody aside. "Melody, what’s really been going on with you lately?"

Melody hugged her mother and said reassuringly, "Mom, a lot has happened, and it’s hard to explain in a moment. I’ll tell you everything after we move tomorrow."

Winnie knew Melody had always been resolute, so she didn’t press the issue. After a moment of silence, she said, "I heard from Miss Lowell... Adam Lawson contacted you?"

Melody couldn’t help but scoff at the mention of his name. She recounted her conversation with Adam Lawson for her mother, especially the part about transferring the apartment to Joel Lawson and then paying him rent.

Winnie’s face turned ashen as she listened.

When Winnie Summers and Adam Lawson first got married, the Lawson family was dirt poor. Adam was a spineless man who couldn’t make a living, so Winnie had to support the family by selling packed lunches.

Under Winnie’s care, the Lawson family’s fortunes improved, and they even bought a house in the county seat—the first family from their village to do so.

After they bought the house in town, Adam Lawson started frequently asking Winnie for money, claiming he was starting a business. In reality, he was using it to support his mistress, Noelle Quillan.

Within two years, Noelle gave Adam a daughter. He named her Joelle—a name chosen to represent his undying love for Noelle.

Two years after that, Adam and Noelle’s son, Joel Lawson, was born. His paternal grandparents were overjoyed and immediately had Adam bring Noelle home.

And all those years, Winnie had been kept completely in the dark by the entire family.

For years after the divorce, Winnie didn’t dare remarry. She changed Melody’s surname to her own and went to live with her brother and sister-in-law, raising Melody there.

To think that so many years after the divorce, Adam Lawson and his family were still scheming to get their hands on her apartment—Winnie was so furious she wanted to tear them to shreds.

"Don’t worry, Mom. Adam Lawson and Noelle Quillan won’t be living the good life for long," Melody said, gently hugging her mother again.

Melody remembered that the house where Adam Lawson and Noelle Quillan currently lived was in a designated flood zone. Even if they managed to survive the initial heatwaves and extreme cold, they would inevitably be left homeless when the floods came. The house Adam had schemed to take from Winnie was a house he was destined to lose.

With these thoughts, the mother and daughter drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms.