The Apocalypse Took Everything, This Time I Hoard It All First
Chapter 16: Change

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Change

On the afternoon of November 26th, the leaders of every department began to take her email seriously.

Several secret meetings were held in classified conference rooms...

In the tense atmosphere, no one dared to underestimate the prophetic email any longer. Every decision was fraught with a heavy sense of urgency.

A special operations team was established after all, and over a dozen secret directives were issued from Kensington to the entire nation.

A massive number of construction workers across the country were conscripted to build mysterious projects...

Countless domestic factories were requisitioned. They halted all exports of materials and energy, instead purchasing massive quantities of supplies from overseas. Countless ocean freighters were now shipping goods back to the country...

At the same time, purchase-limit policies were enacted. Staples like rice, flour, grain, cooking oil, and table salt were rationed per person, and security was tightened at all major shopping malls and markets with high foot traffic.

Some people noticed something was wrong. These measures clearly indicated that something big was about to happen.

All sorts of alarmist rumors spread across the internet, and countless people went into a frenzied hoarding mode.

Netizens followed the current events closely, and many "gifted commentators" left remarks under related videos and posts.

Some were actively preparing, while others were more carefree, saying everyone was being overly sensitive.

Anyone who wasn’t blind could see that trouble was brewing. After the purchase limits were announced, quite a few people tried to find ways to get supplies from abroad...

When Luna Dawson’s family saw the news, they felt a great sense of relief.

Someone was taking action. Although there was only about half a month to prepare, she hoped that more people would be able to survive in this life.

In a villa in Kensington, Lynn Shelby had intercepted two core secret directives sent from Kensington to various provinces and cities as early as the afternoon of the 26th: mass military conscription and the sell-off of foreign currency reserves.

The moment he saw the information, he froze. His fingertips hovered over the keyboard for a moment, and the first person who came to his mind was Luna Dawson, who had recently been trading huge amounts of goods on the market.

Immediately after, a meaningful smile played on his lips, and a flash of understanding crossed his eyes.

The next second, his fingers descended again, dancing rapidly across the keyboard. Code and data scrolled endlessly on the screen as he clearly followed the intercepted clues to investigate the connections behind them.

"Your little childhood sweetheart is hiding something from you~"

Kevin Keane’s nonchalant voice message came through, along with all the information Lynn Shelby had found on Luna Dawson’s family, including the flow of their funds, lists of bulk commodity purchases, and their entry and exit records...

Evan Olson’s breath hitched. Without even replying to the message, he headed straight for Luna Dawson’s house.

Kevin Keane stared at the screen, which showed that the message had been read but not replied to. He spoke, "It seems I’m not the only hunter to be outsmarted by this little fledgling." He turned and nodded to the others in the room. "Let’s start our own preparations..."

So what was Luna Dawson doing at this time? She and Miles Dawson had been amazed to discover that Rollo and Little Tiger seemed to have gotten smarter!

Today, Rollo had used his paw to open the refrigerator door, and the two little guys had dragged out the steaks from inside.

After letting them thaw on the floor for a while, the two little critters had an all-afternoon buffet. They even knew to slam the refrigerator door firmly shut with their butts.

The two siblings laid out a bunch of sound-enabled toys on the floor.

Luna Dawson demonstrated the five buttons, pressing them from left to right: "Turn on the AC," "Eat ice cream," "Go out to play," "Eat canned food," and "Take a bath."

Luna Dawson took out a can of food and said to Rollo, "Do you want some? If you do, press the button."

Rollo tilted his head, looking at the two siblings, while Mrs. Dawson watched them with amusement.

Miles Dawson pressed the buttons again from left to right, gesturing to Rollo.

Rollo decisively pressed the "Eat canned food" button!

The whole family was surprised and rewarded him by opening the small can of food.

Miles Dawson immediately mixed up the order of the buttons, took out some ice cream, and asked Rollo, "Do you want to eat some ice cream?"

Rollo let out a "WOOF!" and pressed the ice cream button.

The family was even more shocked, hugging and kissing Rollo.

Rollo, however, just focused on licking the ice cream, thinking, ’My big brother and sister should play more of these tasty games with me~’

Little Tiger licked his canned food. ’Stupid big dog... I get to eat even without playing.’

While they were still playing with Rollo, the doorbell rang urgently. Miles Dawson got up, muttering, "Who could that be so late at night?"

He opened the courtyard gate and saw Evan Olson. He was standing there in the dark with a serious expression, his resolute eyes filled with confusion.

"Brother Evan, what are you doing here? Come in, it’s a little chilly tonight..."

The two of them entered the house one after another and sat on the sofa. Mrs. Dawson got up and went to the kitchen to wash some fruit. For a moment, none of the three said a word.

Miles Dawson was the first to speak. "What’s wrong, Brother Evan? Why the serious face?"

"Luna, are you guys hiding something from me? It seemed like you already knew I might be going abroad." Evan Olson asked calmly. The flicker of doubt he’d felt when she asked him to stay had now grown into certainty.

Luna Dawson sighed and thought for a moment. The living room fell into a dead silence.

After a moment, Luna Dawson finally spoke slowly, "Brother Evan, I didn’t mean to hide this from you. What I’m about to say might sound a little strange."

At this point, she trailed off, trying to figure out how to put it into words.

Mrs. Dawson placed the fruit on the coffee table and handed each of them a strawberry. "Just say it. It’s all over the news now. How much longer could you have hidden it from him?"

"I was reborn," Luna Dawson continued. "In my past life, the apocalypse began on December 12th. I only survived for two years!"

"The apocalypse? Reborn? Not a war?" Evan Olson was stunned. His entire worldview shattered.

Miles Dawson looked nervously at Luna Dawson. Luna looked up at Evan Olson with a faint smile. "Look at the strawberry in my hand."

Evan Olson stared at her intently, and then his eyes widened. The strawberry was gone, and in its place was a little white rabbit!

His mouth moved, but his throat was tight, and no sound came out.

Then, Luna Dawson vanished on the spot. Evan Olson was so shocked he shot to his feet, his muscles tensing as he instinctively took a defensive stance.

A few seconds later, Luna Dawson reappeared on the sofa, holding the little white rabbit. Miles Dawson quickly pulled Evan Olson back down to sit.

"Brother Evan, it’s like in those novels we read, where cultivators have a Spiritual Spring Space," Miles Dawson explained anxiously. "And we didn’t mean to hide it from you. My sister was afraid she’d be captured for research."

"This... is a superpower? What did you go through?" Evan Olson let out a deep breath, regaining his usual composure.

"Next month’s meteor shower will bring an extraterrestrial virus. That virus will affect all living things on Earth like radiation. After being infected, seventy percent of humans will turn into zombies.

The remaining portion of humanity will awaken superpowers. There are Wind, Thunder, and Ice Systems, as well as the five elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. There are also mutated attribute superpowers, like Space, Spirit, Speed, and Strength, and so on. Of course, the majority of humanity will be ordinary people who are neither infected nor awaken any powers."

"So you have a Space Ability?! Does that mean all your bulk purchases over the past few months went into your space?!" After a moment of thought, Evan Olson pressed.

Luna Dawson paused for a second, then said, "Yes. Relying on the memories from my past life, all I could do was prepare in advance."

With that, Luna Dawson recounted her experiences in the apocalypse, explaining everything all over again in painstaking detail.