The Apocalypse Took Everything, This Time I Hoard It All First
Chapter 4: Notification

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Notification

"If I said the world was going to end in three months, would you believe me?"

Rosalind Dawson frowned and reached out to touch her forehead, her voice filled with concern. "Did you have a nightmare last night? You’re talking nonsense."

Miles Dawson lazily chimed in, "Mom, call Uncle! Have him get a shamaness to come over. Sis is possessed. A bowl of talismanic water will fix her right up!"

Luna Dawson couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her brother and retorted irritably, "No! Weren’t you just asking where the cat and dog went? Watch..."

With a wave of her hand, a cat and a dog appeared in front of the living room TV, both looking utterly bewildered.

The dark TV screen reflected the wide, astonished eyes of the mother and son.

"Ah! Th-th-this..."

Before a stunned Miles Dawson could even process it, Rollo caught the familiar scent of his family. Wiggling his rear and whining, he excitedly leaped into Miles’s arms to show how happy he was.

Little Tiger, on the other hand, just gave two calm meows, jumped into Luna Dawson’s arms, and settled in, tucking his paws under his chest and closing his eyes to rest.

Rosalind Dawson touched her own forehead, then reached out to touch Luna’s. "Are we all running a fever?" she mumbled. "Is the fever making us delirious?"

"It’s not a fever! This is the Spiritual Spring Space, and I’ve come back from two years into the apocalypse!" Luna Dawson explained anxiously, adding, "Remember our family’s heirloom, the jade ruyi? It’s what brought me back. Look!"

The moment she finished speaking, she raised her hand toward the coffee table in front of her. With a thought, the table vanished instantly. A second later, it reappeared out of thin air, but now with two glasses of clear spirit spring water sitting on it.

Luna Dawson lifted her chin toward them. "Try it, and you’ll see."

Rosalind Dawson hesitated for a few seconds before picking up a glass and taking a tentative sip.

The next second, her eyes lit up.

The fatigue from her poor night’s sleep instantly vanished. She felt a surge of energy, leaving her refreshed and revitalized!

Seeing this, Miles Dawson immediately grabbed the other glass and drained it in one gulp. His eyes shining, he sidled up to Luna Dawson. "Sis, this water is so sweet! I feel like I could take down a bull right now! Isn’t this just like the storage spaces from cultivation novels? And the spirit spring water can even cleanse your body and purify your marrow. This is awesome!"

Luna Dawson smiled and nodded. "Yep. From now on, our family will use the spirit spring water for all our food and drinks to strengthen our bodies. Plus, I can farm and raise animals in the space. I bought a ton of fruit on the way here and brought it all back inside the space."

As she spoke, she grabbed her brother’s arm with one hand and petted the dog’s head with the other. The next second, she and the dog vanished on the spot.

Rosalind Dawson and Miles Dawson jumped in shock, frozen in place, unable to react.

But a few seconds later, Luna Dawson reappeared with the dog.

"Believe me now?" Luna Dawson took her mother’s hand, a confused look on her face. "Strange. I was trying to bring Miles and Rollo in together just now. Let me try again..." With a thought, she tried to enter the space but found that her mother couldn’t follow.

"Looks like only I can enter the space." A wave of disappointment washed over Luna Dawson’s face.

Miles Dawson immediately clapped her on the shoulder. "Sis, isn’t this enough? You’ve basically restarted the game with a space-mod cheat! Quick, tell us, is the apocalypse like it is in zombie movies?" He rubbed his hands together, his face full of anticipation.

The smile on Luna Dawson’s face faded. She shook her head with a bitter smile. "There are zombies, and they’re even more terrifying than in the movies."

An eerie silence instantly fell over the room, the earlier excitement completely gone.

After a few minutes, Rosalind Dawson abruptly slapped her thigh, breaking the silence. "Let’s eat first! Even if the sky is falling, we need to face it on a full stomach!" With that, she stood up and headed to the kitchen. "I’ll stir-fry some water spinach. Miles, come chop the chicken. We’ll eat right away!"

A short while later, the family was seated at the dining table.

On the table were stir-fried beef with pickled long beans, stir-fried greens, wasabi shrimp balls, and white-cut chicken.

Luna Dawson joyfully picked up her bowl and chopsticks, mentally coaching herself over and over. ’No one’s going to fight me for it! This isn’t my last meal... There’s plenty of food... I’m not going to starve to death right away... I have to eat slowly... eat slowly...’

She tried her best to restrain herself, deliberately taking a slow sip of congee before picking up a piece of beef and chewing it carefully.

The sour and spicy beef was springy yet tender, making her mouth water. It was so appetizing it made her want to gulp down a huge mouthful of congee!

It had been over two years. Eating her mother’s cooking again felt so incredibly reassuring!

The crisp clatter of chopsticks and bowls accompanied Luna Dawson’s voice as she explained what would happen in the coming months, her words filling the house.

Mrs. Dawson kept putting more food into her bowl. "Eat more. It’s been several years since you’ve had this, hasn’t it..."

Her heart ached as she spoke, and she raised a hand to wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes.

Seeing her mother crying and smiling at the same time, and glancing over at her brother putting a chicken leg in her bowl, Luna Dawson’s heart filled with a comforting warmth and a sense of security.

The familiar tastes, the company of her closest family—all her longing and struggles had finally found a home.

Her mother watched with a gentle smile, chiming in from time to time and gently wiping a grain of rice from the corner of her daughter’s mouth.

"At midnight on December 12th, a meteor shower will arrive. An alien virus will descend along with the meteorites. Seventy percent of the world’s population will turn into zombies.

Plants and animals will also mutate—or, you could say, evolve...

Some of the plants and animals will develop sentience, gradually taking over cities and roads. Like humans, they will also develop superpowers.

The flora and fauna will grow uncontrollably, and forest coverage will expand, drastically shrinking human territory.

Production, transportation, and social development will all come to a halt. Civilization and order will cease to exist, and resources will become extremely scarce. Humanity’s moral bottom line will drop lower and lower. Outside the safe zones, the law will be completely meaningless.

Therefore, everyone besides ourselves is a potential enemy.

We have three months. During this time, we must build a safe house, hoard supplies, and prepare to face the apocalypse!"

As Luna Dawson finished her calm and solemn explanation, the expressions on her mother and brother’s faces grew darker and darker.

"What else did you go through... during the apocalypse?"

Rosalind Dawson squeezed Luna Dawson’s hand tightly, as if afraid she might disappear. What she really wanted to know was how her daughter had died to come back...

Luna Dawson looked at her family, took a deep breath, and began to speak, recounting her two years of experience as calmly as if she were telling someone else’s story.

When she spoke of how Rollo had been devoured alive by zombies while protecting her in the early days, tears welled up uncontrollably in Luna Dawson’s eyes.

And!

She could never forget Susan Vaughn!

The woman who had snatched Little Tiger and thrown him viciously into a horde of zombies!

She had even put on a self-righteous act, claiming it was a necessary sacrifice!

That she was only thinking of the team, that sacrificing one cat could hold back the horde and buy everyone time to escape...

Just thinking of Susan Vaughn ignited a monstrous hatred in the depths of Luna Dawson’s heart.

She wanted nothing more than to tear that woman apart with her bare hands, to make her experience for herself what it felt like to be ripped to shreds by zombies!

Two years of struggle, summed up in just a few short paragraphs.

The mother and son listened with reddened eyes, one hugging the cat, the other the dog, letting their tears fall freely...

"Should we report this to the government?"

Rosalind Dawson said after a moment of thought.

Luna Dawson took a laptop out of her space and said, "I do want to report it, but not right now. Once we’ve sorted out our thoughts, we can figure out a way to send an anonymous email to the government."

"Take a look. This is an apocalypse plan I wrote this morning. It’s not perfect yet. Read it over and add anything you think is missing. Also, there’s one very important thing: we need money. Lots and lots of money."

She also told her family about renting the warehouse, selling the gold bars, and listing the house for sale that morning.

Rosalind Dawson took Luna Dawson’s hand. "I have some savings, just over three hundred thousand. I was always saving it for you two to use for your weddings."

The thought of getting money sparked an idea in Miles Dawson’s mind. "Sis, let’s max out all the different loan apps! I can apply for loans, too. I turn twenty-one in a few days!"