Chapter 4 Ordering Food from a Five-Star Hotel
Steven and his two companions pushed three shopping carts full of supplies back to their neighborhood.
Along the way, many neighbors saw this scene and couldn't help but start talking about it.
Steven no longer cared about being discovered hoarding supplies.
After all, once those two scheming people knew about his shopping, it was impossible to keep it a secret.
If he only wanted to protect his own life, he could sell all his assets and build an impenetrable fortress in a deserted place.
But if he did that, he wouldn't be able to take revenge on the neighbors who had brutally dismembered him in his previous life.
Without killing those people, Steven's mental anguish would never disappear.
So one of his apocalypse plans was to stay in this neighborhood and take revenge on everyone who had cruelly wronged him!
Of course, this plan's prerequisite was that the security company could build him an impenetrable shelter. Otherwise, he would have to go with his backup plan, which was to build an underground shelter in a deserted place.
Steven looked at the surrounding neighbors, who were smiling and discussing the purpose of him buying so many supplies.
He could already see the scene during the apocalypse when these neighbors would try to break into his house to steal things.
He had experienced all of this firsthand.
But he wasn't afraid because this time, he would be prepared in advance.
He wanted those people to see but not get anything, leaving them only to rage at their own uselessness.
Steven and Alice lived in an apartment building.
Because Steven managed the warehouse at Walmart, neighbors often asked him to help buy discounted items.
So everyone knew Steven.
Seeing Steven and his companions bringing back so many things, an old lady who was out playing with her grandson walked over.
She looked at the food in the carts, including fresh beef and lamb, and was immediately tempted.
"Steven, why did you bring back so many things? Are they about to expire in the warehouse?" the old lady asked, then suggested, "You can't possibly use all of this. Why don't you share some with the neighbors?"
This was Clara, who worked at the neighborhood committee. She often bossed the neighbors around, considering herself a leader because of her a little bit of power.
In the past, she frequently asked Steven to buy cheap discounted goods for her, as she loved to take advantage of others.
In the previous life, she had also pestered and coaxed Steven into giving her some food.
But when all the neighbors rushed to rob Steven's house, she not only didn't stop them but was even more aggressive than the younger people.
Alice and Ivy didn't want to provoke this woman, so they quickly said, "These things were bought by Steven. We're just helping him bring them back."
Clara immediately looked at Steven with a smile and said, "Steven, it looks like these are from your warehouse. How about sharing some with me?"
As she spoke, her grandson, Jack Phillips, had already climbed onto one of the shopping carts and grabbed a box of chocolates.
Despite his young age, he had a keen eye; the box of imported chocolates sold for over thirty dollars in the supermarket.
Steven said nothing and immediately snatched the item back.
Then he coldly said to Clara, "Sorry, but I'm keeping these for myself!"
Since the apocalypse was imminent, he couldn't even be bothered with basic social etiquette anymore.
Clara's expression fell, "You!"
Steven's blatant disrespect made her furious.
Especially since her grandson, Jack, started crying and throwing a tantrum after Steven took the chocolate away from him.
Jack even pointed at Steven, angrily shouting, "You bad guy, give me back the chocolate! Or I'll knock you out!"
Steven looked at him coldly and said in a deep voice, "Say one more word and I'll slap you!"
Jack was scared by Steven and suddenly started crying loudly, rolling on the ground.
Clara hurried to comfort her grandson, then angrily scolded Steven, "You're an adult; how can you argue with a child?"
"It's just a box of chocolate; what's the harm in giving it to the kid?" Clara insisted, "Why don't you just give him a box of chocolate? I'll pay you back later. I'm not trying to take advantage of you!"
Steven just sneered.
She said she'd pay later, but it was clear she intended to renege on the debt.
"I said, this is for me. If he wants some, go buy it yourself!" Steven let out a cold laugh, then called Alice and Ivy to leave.
As soon as they walked away, they could hear Clara cursing loudly behind them.
Steven pretended not to hear.
Clara's son and daughter-in-law worked outside, leaving her alone to take care of Jack.
Clara usually only bought groceries for one day at a time.
So when the apocalypse came, their supplies were the first to run out.
Back then, Steven had softened and helped them.
But in this life, without Steven's help, that immoral old biddy and her mischievous grandson would even be lucky to survive ten days.
Steven didn't want to argue with corpses.
It wasn't that he was heartless, but when that day came, everyone would struggle just to take care of themselves.
Other people's lives and deaths naturally wouldn't concern him.
After they pushed all the supplies back home, Steven let the women leave.
"Steven, don't forget you're treating us!" Alice playfully winked at Steven.
But seeing it only made Steven feel nauseous.
He brushed it off.
The two women originally planned to stay and look for clues that Steven was a rich scion.
But seeing that Steven had no intention of entertaining them, they had to leave.
After they left, Steven opened his extradimensional space and stored everything inside.
He wanted to observe if there would be any changes to the supplies in the space.
After doing all this, it was already late.
Steven didn't rush to rest but took out paper and pen to meticulously plan his preparations for the next month.
Although he was usually lazy, the will to survive could unleash enough potential in anyone.
"To live comfortably in the apocalypse, the first thing to solve is the food problem, which is easy," Steven muttered to himself.
"Besides my daily purchases, I can take other things from the warehouse. But I can't rush this; I need to investigate first."
"And I need to collect everything just a few days before the apocalypse to avoid drawing attention. If I get caught, I definitely won't last long in prison."
Steven wrote "Food" in his notebook and checked it off.
"Next is heating."
"After the apocalypse, energy supplies will be extremely scarce, and air conditioning will soon be unusable."
"So, I'll have to use the simplest method. A fireplace is the best choice!"
A fireplace used a primitive method for heating.
In Europe, where winter temperatures were particularly low, this method was commonly used to survive long, cold winters.
"In that case, I'll need to renovate the house, preferably adding insulation layers."
Thinking about renovations, Steven remembered how his home was broken into in his previous life, and his heart tightened.
"I also need to turn my house into an impenetrable fortress."
"First, I need to install thick steel plates or alloy materials all around. At the very least, the house should be able to withstand general explosions."
After the apocalypse, people would do anything to survive, so he had to be fully prepared.
He couldn't take any chances with his safety. Steven had already tasted death once and had no desire to experience it again.
The issue of a safe house was also solvable.
Starlight City had security companies that specialized in providing services for the wealthy, including building safe rooms.
Steven remembered seeing news in his previous life about a top billionaire abroad who had built a super fortress that could even withstand small nuclear attacks.
"Next, medicine. I must prevent myself from getting sick without a cure."
"Walmart's warehouse has many common medications for treating colds, fevers, and other minor illnesses. But that's far from enough."
"The cold storm will last for at least several decades, so I need to be fully prepared."
Fortunately, Steven had good connections in Starlight City.
As a warehouse manager, he knew some hospital storage staff.
As long as he could offer enough money, he could get any medication he needed.
After solving these issues, Steven tapped his notebook with his pen.
"Next, there's one last problem to solve."
His gaze became sharp.
"Weapons!"
When the apocalypse came, humanity would lose its morals, and fights over resources would be everywhere.
Human life would have no value, and to survive, he had to have enough firepower.
Though Steven wasn't a combat expert, even the toughest person would fear a sharp blade.
So, as long as Steven was prepared with strong enough weapons, he wouldn’t have to worry about such issues.
"Machetes, crowbars, and axes are easy to get."
"Bows, crossbows, and air rifles also have purchase channels."
"But the most powerful, of course, are guns. In this country, the only way to get powerful firearms is through the black market."
"Going abroad to buy guns isn't realistic either. I'm not familiar with the outside world, and a round trip would take many days. I don't have a foreign gun license, so I can't just go to a gun store and buy one."
Steven stroked his chin; he didn't have a solution for this problem yet.
But he still had a month. As long as he was willing to spend money, there should be a way to solve this problem.
He spent three hours devising a perfect plan, then took a satisfying hot shower and lay down on his comfortable bed to sleep.
The next morning, Steven got out of bed.
He hadn't slept well, waking up several times due to nightmares.
Upon waking and realizing he was still lying in his warm, comfortable bed at home, he let out a long sigh of relief.
The apocalyptic period had caused immense psychological trauma.
To avoid repeating the same mistakes, Steven was even more determined to be thoroughly prepared!
After getting up, Steven made himself some breakfast.
Then he opened the extradimensional space to check on the supplies he had placed inside.
To his delight, the meat, fruits, and vegetables he had left in there overnight showed no signs of change.
While it was hard to tell with the meat in such a short time, fruits and vegetables usually lose their freshness overnight.
However, after being placed in the extradimensional space, the fruits and vegetables looked as fresh as when he had bought them yesterday.
"My extradimensional space is independent of the world; perhaps the rules of time are different."
"Maybe time flows more slowly or even stands still. This is fantastic news!"
"This means I can store all kinds of things in there without any worries."
However, when Steven checked the fish he had placed inside, he found they were all dead.
They looked lifelike even in death and showed no signs of spoilage.
Steven stroked his chin, gaining a better understanding of the rules for using the extradimensional space.
"Living things can't survive there, or at least not for long. It seems my idea of living inside it isn't practical."
This wasn't a big issue, though. The extradimensional space was a blank, white void, nowhere near as comfortable as Steven's own home.
As long as he could store things in it, that was enough.
With this in mind, Steven's thoughts turned to many other items.
Since he could preserve fresh meat, vegetables, and fruits, what about prepared meals?
Although Steven could cook, he was still far from the level of a professional chef.
If he had to rely solely on his own cooking, he would eventually get tired of it.
So, Steven immediately called Starlight City's largest five-star hotel, the Waldorf Astoria.
This hotel also offered takeout, and their food was top-notch, which Steven loved.
"Hello, this is the Stellar Grand Hotel. How can I help you today?"
Steven quickly said, "I'm hosting guests at my home for a three-day party. I need to order food for about 2,600 people!"
The person on the other end was taken aback.
That much food would take them a long time to prepare.
And being a five-star hotel, the cheapest meal per person was $50.
For that many meals, it would cost $130,000!
The staff member didn't dare decide on their own and quickly said, "Please hold for a moment while I consult our manager."
After a while, another person picked up the phone.
"Hello, sir. This is Brian Gonzalez, the manager of the Stellar Grand Hotel. May I know your name?"