Chapter 3​​

I read items from the list one by one, while the manager relayed them over his walkie-talkie.

By the time we were both hoarse, we were only halfway through the list.

He was flagging. "How about this? Leave the list with me. I'll pull everything from the warehouse for you and deliver it to your address, okay?"

Tian Tian and I exchanged a glance, looked at the ridiculously long list in our hands, and nodded.

After instructing the manager to prioritize delivering the appliances first, I paid a $10,000 deposit and gave him the address.

From a survival standpoint, the fewer people who know your location, the better.

But given the sheer volume Tian Tian and I were buying, if we tried hauling it all back ourselves, even a month wouldn't be enough. Better to leave it to the professionals.

However, I was careful. I didn't give them the real address.

I had them deliver to the entrance of an underground storage unit in the next building over.

This complex wasn't fully open for sale yet, had no cameras installed, and made moving things easier.

Tian Tian, using a piece of wire, picked the lock on an underground storage unit.

Her alcoholic dad used to lock her out when she was a kid; she'd picked up the skill over time.

The manager personally oversaw the delivery crew bringing everything to the storage unit. I directed the workers to stack it all inside.

After the workers left, we began moving everything under cover of darkness.

The storage unit connected to the underground garage, giving us direct access to our building's elevator.

It took two whole nights, but we finally got everything settled.

Four massive 735-liter refrigerators were placed in corners, and two large freezers were pushed into the storage room. Then came the deluge of supplies.

Time was running out. Barely rested, Tian Tian and I started organizing the mountains of supplies that filled the apartment.

200 pounds of rice, 100 pounds of flour, 200 pounds of noodles, 50 barrels of soybean oil, 100 packs of various seasonings...

100 pounds each of various fruits and vegetables, 200 cans each of various canned goods, 300 jars each of meat preserves and pickled vegetables...

500 packs of instant noodles, 400 boxes of self-heating hotpots, 200 boxes of self-heating rice meals, 200 portions each of various ready-to-eat meals...

The four double-door fridges and two large freezers were packed full of frozen meats, seafood, and various semi-prepared foods.

Snacks and drinks were brought into the storage room by the boxful. Watching the supplies pile up filled a void in my heart.

Seeing Tian Tian sweating profusely, I couldn't help but laugh. "This could feed us for years, couldn't it?"

Just as we finished organizing the supplies and were about to collapse, my phone rang at the worst possible moment.