The day of the tornado’s arrival drew closer and closer. During this time, Melody Summers had been busy exploring The Arcadian Space.

The temperature in The Arcadian Space was automatically regulated. The coop was kept at the perfect temperature for hatching chicks, and when Melody Summers went to check today, she found that a few chicks had already broken out of their shells. She quickly scattered some millet and vegetable leaves for them to eat.

The pregnant ewes and cows were leisurely grazing on the built-in lawns within their enclosures. A few days ago, Melody had bought more corn and soybeans, mixing them with cabbage and sugarcane from her fields to make a large batch of feed. She generously filled the troughs for the cattle and sheep to the brim.

The small pigs had grown another size larger. Their coats were a glossy black without a single patch of another color. Melody decided to let them breed first, planning to slaughter the larger pigs for meat only after the next litter of piglets was born.

The two female rabbits were still huddled in the hay pile. When Melody Summers stroked them, they would make a soft purring sound. ’They’re probably about to give birth,’ Melody mused, marveling at how prolific rabbits were.

Melody Summers would occasionally let the animals out of their enclosures to roam the meadows and woods for a bit. With Albus keeping watch, the animals only stayed on the lawn on the other side of the stream, never venturing into the farmland to destroy the crops.

The sugarcane in the fields was ripe. Melody Summers cut down a stalk; it was incredibly sweet. She transported the mature sugarcane to the processing workshop and successfully produced cane sugar using the sugar-making machine.

In addition, Melody Summers unlocked many other functions in the processing workshop. She chopped down a few trees in the forest and used the wood processing machine to make cardboard boxes. She also took a bag of soybeans from the warehouse and used the soy product processing machine to make tofu and soy milk.

"I’ll look at the tutorials first," she said to Albus, full of confidence, after downloading many recipes she had found online. "Once the peppers are ripe, we can make our own chili sauce."

Her only worry now was how to unlock the other fog-covered areas. She racked her brain but had no idea how she was going to scrape together a hundred million.

*

This morning, just as Melody Summers was about to head out, she saw the renovation crew packing up. "Miss Summers, the renovation on your house is complete. We’ve reinforced the perimeter walls with steel plates—a truck couldn’t break through them now. We’ve also installed the cooling system you requested in the courtyard."

"The sunroom glass is double-layered and explosion-proof. We’ve also prepared the installation site for the solar panels. The wiring is all connected, so you just need to install them when you’re ready."

"As you requested, we added two extra water storage tanks. We’ve dug a reservoir in the back garden, and the underground swimming pool has been converted into a reservoir as well. We installed a dual water purification system for you; it should last for several years without any issues."

Melody Summers said happily, "Thank you, sirs! Let me get the money to settle the bill!"

"The elderly lady of the house has already paid," the lead contractor said with a smile. "We’ll be going now. If you need anything else, feel free to contact me anytime."

Melody Summers froze. ’The elderly lady? Does he mean Grandma? But this renovation cost at least several hundred thousand. Grandma couldn’t possibly have that much money.’

A few years ago, her grandmother had been tricked out of tens of thousands by a damn telecom scam. That was almost her entire life savings. She was heartbroken for a long time after that and refused to keep much money on hand ever since.

’Could it be Miss Lowell?’

Just then, Miss Lowell came down the stairs.

"Melody, I’ve already paid. I can’t just live here for free. Consider this money my rent payment to you."

"Miss Lowell, how could we accept that?" Melody Summers said, surprised. "Please don’t think that way. We’ve always considered you family."

Miss Lowell quietly pulled Melody Summers aside and took a card out of her pocket. "There’s still 800,000 left on this card. It’s money I saved up over the years from my translation work and investments. Take it all and use it. Buy whatever you need."

"No, Miss Lowell. This is your retirement money. I can’t take it," Melody Summers quickly refused.

"I’m old, but I’m not blind. You’ve been running in and out these past few days, buying so many things. Something big must be about to happen. If the world is about to change, currency will definitely lose its value. Just take all this money and use it. Buy whatever you need to buy."

Seeing that Melody Summers was still about to refuse, Miss Lowell forcefully pressed the card into her hand. "It’s not a handout. I’m counting on you to take care of me in my old age! You take this money and spend it all. Otherwise, when money isn’t worth anything anymore and a hundred-dollar bill is only worth a single dollar, I’ll be the one at a huge loss."

Melody Summers was deeply moved. She nodded and accepted the card.

*

The tornado was set to arrive in about a week. Melody Summers still had a balance of 600,000 in her own account. Combined with the 800,000 from Miss Lowell, she had a total of over 1.4 million. Melody began her final round of stockpiling.

Early in the morning, she first drove to an appliance superstore and bought nine large-capacity commercial freezers.

After having the store staff help load the freezers into her truck, Melody Summers headed to the meat market.

The cows, sheep, and pigs in The Arcadian Space weren’t mature yet. She needed to stock up on some meat for the initial phase of the disaster.

She bought a large quantity of beef, lamb, pork belly, chicken wings, beef offal, and shelled shrimp. She had the butcher divide it all into small, vacuum-sealed bags, enough to fill three freezers.

Then, she drove to a frozen food wholesale factory and bought a large amount of frozen dumplings, sweet glutinous rice balls, custard buns, and pizzas—in total, she bought enough to fill three more freezers.

Finally, Melody Summers went to a frozen dessert factory and bought all sorts of ice cream treats in bulk. She moved them box by box, intending to fill the remaining three freezers.

The freezers and frozen goods cost her 150,000 in total. Melody Summers stored everything in the warehouse of The Arcadian Space.

Thanks to the insulated environment of the space’s warehouse, the frozen goods wouldn’t thaw easily. Melody Summers wasn’t in a hurry to get home, so she drove directly to a car dealership.

"Hello, I’d like to buy an SUV and an off-road vehicle. Could you give me some recommendations?"

Following the salesperson’s recommendations, Melody Summers ended up paying for a 300,000-yuan SUV and a 400,000-yuan off-road vehicle.

Although the salesperson repeatedly suggested financing the purchase, Melody Summers decisively paid the full amount at once. They signed the contract and agreed that she would come to pick up the vehicles in two days.

Thinking about how the cars would need fuel, Melody repeated the same procedure as the other day and bought another 600 empty 30-liter fuel drums.

Using the same method as before, she drove to nearly every gas station in the city.

By the time the ordeal was over, it was already evening. Melody Summers was exhausted, but she had no choice. She had calculated after returning home last time that if she relied solely on generators for power 24/7, the annual fuel consumption would be extremely high.

She had 400,000 left. Melody Summers spent another 100,000 on several gasoline and diesel generators of various sizes.

After storing all the generators in the space, Melody Summers reluctantly returned the rental truck that had served her so well for the past several days.

*

With her final 300,000, Melody Summers thought about the extreme heat and abnormally dry weather to come. She went online and ordered more than a dozen humidifiers, having them shipped directly to the villa’s address.

Then, Melody Summers went to the mall to buy some sunscreen and skincare products for her family. During the blizzards and severe cold, dry skin could easily crack and lead to injuries, making skincare products essential.

Melody Summers hadn’t been to a mall in a long time. She remembered how, at the beginning of the extreme heat, many people had flooded into malls to escape the heat and enjoy the air conditioning. Later, as the malls became more crowded and prices soared, incidents of looting and rioting began to occur, forcing them to shut down en masse.

Melody Summers picked out some sunscreens from a few cost-effective counters. She also bought some lotions, serums, and creams suitable for her family’s skin types, making sure to get the freshest expiration dates. She stocked up enough for six people for three years, spending tens of thousands.

The saleswomen at the counters couldn’t stop smiling. They gave her a huge pile of free samples.

Melody Summers was happily shopping when she unexpectedly ran into someone she’d hoped to avoid.

"Sister?"

The familiar tone, the familiar address—Melody Summers shivered and cursed her bad luck internally.

She turned around. Sure enough, it was Sylvia Lancaster.