Chapter 4

With the money, I headed straight to the used car market and bought a car.

I actually couldn’t drive before, but my parents had enrolled Blair in driving school. Blair complained about the heat, so she made me go learn instead, while she stayed home enjoying the air conditioning.

Now, it worked out in my favor.

Back in the car, I started thinking about the supplies I needed to prepare.

Even though I’d exchanged Merman pearls for a good amount of cash, it was still a bit tight for one person and one Merman.

With the high temperatures coming, water was the most important thing.

In my last life, the power never went out until I died, so as long as I stayed home and kept the AC running, it shouldn’t be a big problem.

But just in case, I still bought a diesel generator for the apartment.

I drove straight to the wholesale market, telling the owner I was opening a convenience store and needed to buy a lot of inventory.

I compared prices everywhere in the wholesale market and finally found a supplier who gave me the biggest discount.

I bought a hundred cases of bottled water in one go, arranging to pick them up over five days.

My neighbors knew that someone had died in my apartment, so they usually tried to avoid me.

A hundred cases of water was far too much for the apartment, so I moved them to the rooftop terrace. I also replaced the lock on the rooftop door; no one but me could open it.

I was busy from dawn until dusk, finally returning home. Hearing me, Lumi happily climbed out of the bathtub.

It spoke first. “Alice, why did you buy so much water?”

I was a bit surprised. “How did you know I went to buy water?”

Lumi, with a hint of pride, tapped its tail. A water mirror suddenly appeared in the air, reflecting my face.

I suddenly understood. In my last life, when the apocalypse came, I was also kicked out of the house. But because I had the white cat Beastkin, my survival wasn’t an issue. I’d always wondered how Blair knew I had supplies. It turned out the Merman told her.

With this, I could keep tabs on Blair’s movements at any time.

“In a while, the temperature will gradually rise. Rivers will dry up, and there’s a high chance the water supply will stop. So, we need to be prepared now.”

Hearing that rivers would dry up, Lumi frowned. “Do you still need pearls then? Maybe we should buy more water.”

I stroked its head. “I’ll tell you when we need them. I bought some small fish you like. Let’s eat first.”

Merfolk lived in the sea and liked fish. They could also eat regular human food. While I could still get live fish, I bought a good amount. Soon, Lumi would have to eat human food just like me.

Lumi took the opportunity to rub its head against my palm, like a kitten. “Alice is the best to me.”

For the next few days, I was out early and back late, stockpiling supplies. My small apartment was filled with all sorts of provisions.

At the same time, I didn't forget to use Lumi's water mirror to observe Blair's side.

Having experienced the last life, Blair had also become smarter. She started stockpiling supplies with our parents. But since my parents still had to work, they just gave her money and left the task to her.

I watched as she took Mom and Dad’s cards and went to the supermarket with Snowball. She bought whatever she saw, a chaotic assortment of items, then made Snowball carry all the heavy bags back.

“Hurry up! You can’t even carry this much? Why do I even keep a useless Beastkin like you?!”

Blair stood on the street, barking orders at Snowball.

The white cat Beastkin, small and slender, struggled with over a dozen large and small bags, barely keeping up with her pace.