Apocalypse Arrives: I Become a Powerhouse by Scavenging
Chapter 22: Getting into Planting, Buying Birds

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Getting into Planting, Buying Birds

Moira Lynch read their posts and was at a loss for words. ’Instead of complaining about their fate, they should hurry up and improve themselves.’

By afternoon, the temperature began to drop. Moira Lynch left the gym, took a shower, and changed into a clean set of clothes. Then, she stored the water-filled swimming pool in her space and took out a new one.

This was the last swimming pool that needed to be filled. Once it was full, her water storage plan would be complete for the time being.

When she went outside, the neighborhood seemed unusually busy today. A dozen or so large trucks were driving in and out of the complex.

Confused, Moira Lynch went closer to see what was going on. She saw a neighboring family, whom she had only met a few times, packing up their bags and baggage, clearly preparing to move.

This was surprising because their neighborhood had the best facilities and security. Even as the world outside descended into chaos, their community had remained peaceful.

After all, no one was short on food or water. Without the pressures of survival, everyone naturally got along.

Moreover, as Moira Lynch looked closer, she realized it wasn’t just one family. Several households around her were all moving out.

This discovery immediately put Moira Lynch on alert. ’Could they have discovered my identity?’

But she had never posted anything under her player identity since the game began. The most she’d ever done was sell items in her shop.

As Moira Lynch rode her electric scooter past the trucks, she scanned their contents. It was all just supplies; there were no weapons.

This discovery allowed her to breathe a little easier.

Given the current situation, finding a new place to live was impossible, and returning to the mountain villa was also out of the question.

For one, she had already sold it. On top of that, a wildfire had broken out there not long ago, burning the entire mountain.

This made Moira Lynch feel incredibly lucky. ’It’s a good thing I got out of there when I did.’

As for these new neighbors, as long as they didn’t pose a threat, she couldn’t be bothered with them.

If they really had any ill intentions, Moira Lynch’s eyes narrowed slightly. She would make them understand that she was not to be trifled with.

Upon arriving at the supermarket, Moira Lynch didn’t immediately rush to the food section. She wanted to buy a few more large containers—not for water, but for planting.

The idea had occurred to her on the way over.

Unfortunately, all the suitable large containers in her space were already being used to store water, and she couldn’t just pour out the water for the sake of planting. That would be too much of a waste.

Even though she’d had a black thumb her whole life—killing every plant she tried to grow—Moira Lynch still wanted to give it a shot. She might not be able to keep high-maintenance plants alive, but she could try growing some easy ones, like bok choy or sweet potatoes.

This would also give her a legitimate reason to be seen eating fresh vegetables. And if all else failed, she could just move the plants into her space to grow them.

With this idea in mind, Moira Lynch began to search around the store.

And what do you know, she actually found something: large, blue plastic crates used for transporting vegetables.

With vegetables being so rare these days, the crates were just sitting around unused. So, Moira Lynch bought all of them—several dozen in total.

She left her address and, as before, arranged for them to be delivered.

Moira Lynch then hopped on her electric scooter and headed toward the flower and bird market.

The once bustling flower and bird market was now completely deserted. Even the birds, which were normally chirping away, now looked listless and droopy, utterly devoid of energy.

As for the flowers, it was even worse. Aside from a few heat-resistant varieties, the rest had long since been scorched to death by the sun.

Seeing the cacti displayed at the entrance of a shop, Moira Lynch was tempted.

’Maybe I should try growing one?’

’Cacti are edible, right?’

’Then again, the ones here are probably ornamental. I should just go home and try planting some dragon fruit seeds.’

’Dragon fruit plants are a type of cactus anyway, and they’ll even produce fruit when they’re grown.’

Moira Lynch found a flower shop and ordered several hundred bags of potting soil, as well as some fertilizer.

She didn’t buy too much fertilizer, since she had plenty of manure in her space that just needed to be composted before use.

"Miss, are you buying all this potting soil to grow vegetables at home?" the flower shop owner asked.

"Yes, sir," Moira Lynch said, putting on a worried expression. "I don’t have much experience, but I wanted to give it a try. It’s just so hard to buy vegetables now, and you can only get a little at a time. It’s not nearly enough."

At her words, the flower shop owner sighed. "Who knows when this hellish weather will end. If it keeps up like this, we really won’t be able to survive."

Moira Lynch lowered her head, saying nothing. She didn’t know what to say.

’Even if this extreme heat ends, the apocalypse won’t be over. Humanity might face other extreme weather events: deep freezes, torrential rains, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions... Each one sounds even more terrifying than this heat.’

After paying, Moira Lynch rented a temporary storage unit and had the flower shop owner deliver the supplies there.

Just as she was about to leave, her spiritual power suddenly picked up on a faint plea for help.

This was the first time since awakening her spiritual power that someone—no, *something*—had communicated with her through it.

Tracing the "voice" to its source, she saw a brilliantly colored Macaw.

Animal instincts are incredibly sharp. Sensing Moira Lynch’s unusual aura, the Macaw’s survival instinct drove it to cry out to her for help.

Macaws have the intelligence of a five or six-year-old human child. This intelligence manifests in many ways, including their learning capacity, problem-solving skills, and interaction with humans.

Some studies suggest that the cognitive abilities of Macaws are on par with those of chimpanzees and dolphins.

’My spiritual power lets me communicate with animals. Maybe I could...’

Before putting her plan into action, Moira Lynch first communicated with the Macaw. After receiving an affirmative response, she walked into the pet shop.

The owner’s eyes went wide when he learned that she wanted to buy all the pet birds in the store.

"Are you serious, miss?" the owner asked, wanting to be absolutely sure. "I have to tell you, there are no refunds after you pay."

Moira Lynch nodded. "I understand."

She spent 20,000 to buy all of the several dozen birds in the shop.

Under normal circumstances, this many birds would have cost far more. But in this extreme heat, if people could barely stand it, the birds were suffering even more.

Only a small fraction of the dozens of birds were in decent condition; the vast majority were on the verge of death.

Moira Lynch placed the birds that were too weak to fly into a large cage to carry, while she opened the cages for the ones that could still fly and let them go free.

The shop owner watched this, confused. "Why did you let them go?"

Moira Lynch’s eyes were clear as she gave a faint smile, radiating an almost saintly glow. "They’re doomed to die in those cages. If I let them go now, at least they have a chance to survive."

The shop owner: ...