Chapter 20: Cash is King

The door to apartment 3204 was tightly shut.

Two pairs of shoes sat at the entrance: a pair of men’s black leather shoes and a pair of women’s beige platform heels.

Judging by this, it was likely a couple or husband and wife who had just gotten home from work.

When Jiang Yan was stockpiling supplies abroad, she’d had the renovation company come over for some adjustments, so she’d given them a temporary access code.

Although that code had long since expired, she still reset all the codes before opening the door.

After double-locking both doors and setting the air conditioner to 28 degrees, Jiang Yan flopped straight onto the living room sofa.

The space had a rejuvenating effect on her body, so while she was overseas, she’d spend an hour or two in it every night after returning to her hotel.

Her physical condition had been steadily improving.

But after being on edge every day, now that she was finally home and able to relax, she actually felt a bit tired.

This fatigue wasn’t physical—it was more mental.

There were still a few fearless “lone warriors” out there, dressed in shorts and slippers, taking their dogs out for a walk in the garden.

Glancing at the thermometer, the outdoor temperature was still 41 degrees. Compared to 5 p.m., it had only risen by one degree Celsius, but it was already close to 10 p.m.—clearly, this was abnormally hot.

Jiang Yan guessed that the blood-sucking mosquitoes might only be present where An Ming was.

It seemed everyone had heard about the blood mosquito attacks and the official news urging people to stock up on water and food.

After the mask incident, most people were much more aware of the need to stockpile supplies.

Jiang Yan watched the surveillance footage for a while, but nothing new caught her eye, so she put down the tablet.

To prevent any creatures from entering through the exhaust vents, she’d not only had the renovation company install filters, but also designed a manual shut-off valve.

She glanced around every corner of her apartment, checking if there was anything she’d overlooked in her “safe house.”

Most people probably couldn’t stand the heat and had gone out to buy fans, or maybe some had seen the news and gone out to shop in advance.

But she wasn’t in the mood to cook today, nor did she feel like eating any of the fancy takeout meals.

With the sudden spike in temperature and the appearance of mutant blood mosquitoes, she’d moved up all the tasks she’d planned for the next two weeks and scheduled them for tomorrow instead.

At the entrance of Building A, several men, fully geared up with e-bike helmets and gloves, were rushing out with large non-woven shopping bags.

One delivery driver was even carrying an unopened standing fan—someone must have ordered it through a courier service rather than going out themselves.

She made herself a simple cabbage soup without oil or salt, mixed a dipping sauce, and paired it with a small plate of spicy, flavorful side dishes.

After dinner, she tossed the dishes into the dishwasher, grabbed a bottle of chilled soda water, and leisurely turned on the TV.

She’d had two real fireplaces installed in the living room, each with its own concealed exhaust vent.

Jiang Yan had also scheduled the bank to prepare a large sum of cash for her.

The news mentioned the global temperature spike but didn’t say anything about mutant blood mosquitoes attacking people.

After finishing these chores and taking a warm shower, Jiang Yan’s stomach started rumbling.

Aside from her own equipment, she didn’t find any new surveillance devices.

She’d always believed in the principle: never harm others, but always be on guard—her usual way of doing things.

Thinking of that giant blood mosquito that had slammed into her car window earlier, Jiang Yan quickly got up and closed both valves.

All the ice cream and popsicles were stored in special insulated boxes.

Tomorrow was going to be an extremely busy day for her.

After eating hotel and Western food for so long, she found herself craving simple home-cooked meals.

She simply took an egg and some scallions from her storage space and quickly whipped up a fragrant plate of egg fried rice.

She’d had the renovation company seal the bathroom drain with cement and cover it with a layer of waterproof coating.

Jiang Yan muted the TV and checked the surveillance feeds on her tablet.

At the elevator lobbies on several other floors, people were also waiting to get in.

She glanced at her phone—several suppliers had messaged her to confirm deliveries for the next day.

All the delivery drivers were wearing helmets and masks, their yellow uniforms soaked through with sweat.

When the renovation crew had come into the living room, she’d done a full sweep with her anti-surveillance detector, just in case.

The air conditioner’s outdoor unit was mounted on the exterior wall—who knew when a wire or part might break down.

She’d thought of installing the fireplaces while stockpiling supplies in Canada.

She’d also bought four high-powered ice makers, several custom luxury mobile “Apple pods,” and ten of the latest jet suits from the UK—each costing three million yuan per set, all arriving tomorrow.

Simple yet delicious, Jiang Yan finished every last drop of her soup.

Traditional heating and cooling methods actually last longer in extreme weather.

“The world is about to experience its hottest year ever. Global temperatures are spiking. Experts say the cause is warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean surface—El Niño—and increased solar activity.”

She used to think having a generator and air conditioner was enough, but after learning more in Canada, she realized that in extreme cold, a real fireplace heats a room far better than an AC.

The apartment looked much more spacious now.

When she had time, she’d listen to financial news and play a round of King of Glory—today was no exception.

“Japan begins its 100th discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean. The international community strongly condemns Japan, which admitted to secretly discharging low-concentration contaminated water without first consulting local fishermen.”

She’d already torn down the non-load-bearing walls of the two small bedrooms and the study, leaving only the master bedroom.

Jiang Yan lay down with her eyes closed for a while, and once she felt her energy return, she sat up.

The two automated hydroponic growing machines she’d ordered before going abroad had arrived.

The lease on her warehouse was expiring in the next couple of days.

“...We remind citizens to keep at least ten days’ worth of food and drinking water at home, stay indoors as much as possible until the heat passes, avoid working or walking outside in high temperatures, and call for help if you experience heatstroke.”

After an hour of news and three consecutive defeats in ranked matches, Jiang Yan finally quit the game in defeat.

On the surveillance feeds, she saw a few delivery drivers carrying big boxes of ice cream, popsicles, and cold beer.

She planned to pay off the remaining balance for this batch of supplies tomorrow, then use most of her cash to buy gold bars, and stash the rest in her storage space.

“In prosperous times, buy antiques; in troubled times, buy gold”—that rule never changes.

And in the early days of the apocalypse, cash is king."