Melody Summers and her group walked into the supermarket. At the checkout counter, Finn Lynch and Shawn Lynch were busy ringing up customers, so Winnie and Colin Summers went over to relieve them.

Crystal Lynch pulled the Lynch father and son aside and briefly explained what had happened at the property management center today:

"Dad, Bro, Manager Grant said the government is requisitioning the supermarket to be a supply distribution point. Since we, along with Uncle Colin and Miss Winnie, are the original operators, we’ll likely be recruited as supply management and distribution staff. We’ll get official government positions and a stipend."

The Lynch father and son didn’t have any objections to begin with. In their eyes, it was Crystal Mart, so Crystal Lynch called the shots. But hearing this news from her now, they were even more pleasantly surprised.

Finn Lynch said excitedly, "So you’re saying all three of us will be working for the government now? This is fantastic news! Our ancestors must be smiling down on us!"

Shawn Lynch also sighed with emotion. "It’s a good thing we didn’t sell the supermarket. Getting a government job these days means passing a mandatory exam, there are tons of restrictions, and the competition is insane. For something this good to just fall into our laps... And speaking of which, we really owe it all to the Summers family for investing. We would have missed this opportunity otherwise."

Hearing this, Finn Lynch nodded and added, "That’s right! It’s all thanks to the Summers family. We would have regretted it otherwise. We have to remember this favor!"

The family of three was ecstatic over this unexpected windfall, and they worked with even more vigor.

Prices had gotten even higher over the past two days, but more people were coming to hoard supplies than before. The rapid price hikes were making everyone panic.

Every day, Finn and Shawn Lynch drove to various suppliers to snap up any remaining stock. Many manufacturers were now unwilling to sell, hoping to hoard their inventory and sell it for an exorbitant price later.

"How did the price of rice get so high again? It’s more than ten times what it was before the tornadoes! Isn’t this just profiting off a national disaster?" a customer in a white T-shirt said angrily.

"If you don’t want it, I do! Give me all the rest of this rice. I’ll take it all," another customer said hurriedly.

"You can’t just take it all for yourself! My family is out of rice too!" The other customers nearby protested.

Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Finn and Shawn Lynch rushed forward to intervene. "Everyone, please don’t fight! There’s more in the warehouse. We promise everyone will be able to buy some!"

The first customer in the white T-shirt saw this and said angrily, "Are you people crazy? You’re just letting these greedy merchants jack up the prices?"

He then turned and yelled at Finn Lynch, "Believe it or not, I’ll trash your crooked shop!"

Melody Summers’s expression turned cold as she quietly reached for the taser in her pocket.

Just then, Hollis walked in with two security guards. He said to the customer in the white T-shirt, "The supermarket’s current prices are set by government directive. If you continue to cause trouble here, we’ll have to ask you to leave, and you will be banned from shopping here in the future."

The customer in the white T-shirt glanced at the two towering security guards beside Hollis, a flicker of panic in his eyes. Still, he pressed on defiantly, "You’re just security guards. What law enforcement authority do you have? What right do you have to order me around? And what right do you have to ban me from buying things?"

Hearing this, Hollis produced a document and said sternly, "This is a document issued by the government. The property management also posted it in the homeowners’ group chat. You can take a look. Our work is authorized by the state."

Seeing this, the customer in the white T-shirt could only leave in defeat.

The other customers in the supermarket saw what happened and began to chatter amongst themselves:

"Look at that, they’re even bringing out government authorizations. Something big is definitely about to happen. We need to stock up on more food, quickly!"

"Yeah, the world is about to fall into chaos. Everyone, hurry up and buy! We might not even be able to buy anything in a few days. I’m going to stock up on a few bags of rice."

"Me too! I’m getting two barrels of cooking oil."

"My family is big, so don’t fight me for it! I have two kids at home. I need to buy 30 cans of powdered milk!"

"..."

Melody Summers also rolled up her sleeves and started helping move goods from the warehouse. At the same time, she thought with relief, ’With the property management’s security guards around, my family won’t have to go through the trouble of standing guard at the supermarket all night.’

*

News that property management security guards were stationed next to Crystal Mart also spread through the community’s homeowner group chat. For the past few days, the group had been buzzing with heated discussions about it:

"4-2009 Nina: Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration? It’s just a supermarket, and they’ve got property management guards surrounding it? Haha, are they afraid someone’s going to rob it?"

"6-702 The Lover: Someone actually did try to rob it. I was there. The guy had a knife, came in and started grabbing food, and even tried to smash the cash register to get money. It was terrifying."

"12-1803 AAA Lawson Construction & Reno: It’s actually still relatively safe around here. There’s been looting and rioting in a lot of other places. You guys know the Garden Community next door, right? There have been four home invasion robberies there in the last few days. They even stabbed a resident. It’s got everyone on edge."

"2-1908 Coco: When unemployment and prices are high, this kind of thing is bound to happen. I said it before, the factory shutdowns are not a good thing; they’ll cause a lot of problems. Our factory’s warehouse was broken into. All that was left inside were a few bags of flavor additives, and even those were stolen."

"2-1408 Bella Grant: Has it really gotten that chaotic? So should we be hoarding supplies or not? I want to, but the prices are just too expensive right now. My husband and I both got laid off, so we really can’t afford to spend recklessly. Even our monthly utility bills are a huge expense now."

"4-1209 Slacking Off: Yeah, it’s way too expensive. The brand of dried noodles my family usually eats used to be 10 yuan a pack, and now it’s over 100. I really regret not buying more food a few days ago."

"4-2009 Nina: With prices this high, is there even any point in hoarding? Besides, the government won’t just stand by and watch. They’ll definitely control prices. If you hoard now, you might just be buying at the peak."

"2-1908 Coco: I still recommend stocking up on some food. There’s only one reason: factories have stopped production, and crops aren’t growing in the fields anymore. Just learn the lesson from the mineral water situation. Buy it while you can!"

"..."

Melody Summers scrolled through her phone as she walked. In the past few days, more and more homeowners had been moving into the villa area.

Her grandmother had also mentioned yesterday that she’d heard moving-in sounds from Lorne’s place, so someone must have moved in. But the two families hadn’t met yet.

Melody Summers was currently at a loss about how to make a hundred million. Although Crystal Mart’s business had been booming recently and the Summers family had received several hundred thousand in dividends, their suppliers kept raising prices. The profit earned from one shipment was immediately poured back into paying for the next one.

At this rate, it seemed almost impossible to earn a hundred million from the supermarket, not to mention that all their goods would be sold out in a few months anyway.

Lately, she had been seeing trucks arrive daily to deliver water and replenish supplies for the wealthy residents in the villa area. They always came and left quickly, quietly and discreetly.

These rich people were spending fortunes every day to buy fresh ingredients and water.

Melody Summers and Albus watched with envy. They had ready-made crops and water in their farm space, and they desperately wanted to earn that money too.

Just as Melody Summers was trying to figure out a plan, she suddenly heard someone call out from behind her:

"Student Summers!"

Melody Summers turned around and saw that a luxury car had pulled up behind her at some point. A young man in his twenties got out. He was dressed casually, was tall and slender, and had a pair of handsome, almond-shaped eyes.

"Melody Summers? It really is you! I can’t believe I’m seeing you here. What a coincidence!" The man walked up to Melody in a few quick steps and greeted her enthusiastically.

Melody Summers looked at him for a moment before calling out uncertainly, "...You’re... Zane Simmons?"

Zane Simmons had been Melody Summers’s desk mate in high school, and he was a rich kid. Their elite high school was very strict—strict about discipline, strict about academics, and strictly forbade dating. But Zane Simmons still had a constant stream of girlfriends, spent his days fooling around, and barely studied at all.

In their final year of high school, Zane’s family saw his grades were terrible and that he had no hope of passing the college entrance exams, so they sent him abroad.

Zane Simmons had pursued Melody Summers once, but she had rejected him decisively. He wasn’t angry after being rejected, and the two of them continued to interact like normal classmates.

"It’s me, it’s me! It’s been years, and you’ve gotten even prettier!" Zane Simmons said with a grin. "Do you live around here too?"

Melody Summers nodded.

"What a coincidence! We actually live in the same complex!" Zane Simmons said with a smile. "I just got back from overseas a couple of days ago. You have no idea how chaotic it is abroad right now. There’s looting and rioting in broad daylight."

Zane Simmons had gone abroad for fun before the tornadoes hit. He then experienced the global tornadoes and heatwaves from his mansion overseas.

He had originally planned to take refuge abroad, but it turned out to be even more chaotic there, with constant shootings. He hid at home every day, too scared to go out. A few days ago, a mob stormed the wealthy neighborhood where he lived to loot it. Even the armed security guards in the area couldn’t stop them. Terrified, he quickly packed his bags and fled back to the country.

"It’s still safer back home," Zane Simmons sighed. "I looked around and found that The Metropolis Residences was the coolest and most peaceful area, so I moved in here."

Just then, another young woman got out of the luxury car. She asked, "Honey, is this your friend?"

The voice was soft and gentle, and it sounded somewhat familiar to Melody Summers. She turned her head and saw someone completely unexpected—

Joanne White!