Chapter 2

Sophie's rented apartment was very close to her college, and the dining district nearby was just a short walk away.

It was a Saturday, so the dining district was really lively, with young college couples out on dates, hand in hand.

The restaurants and food stalls were crowded, and the scent of good food wafted for miles.

Sophie didn't notice it at first, but the smell of food left her stomach rumbling.

She hadn't had a proper meal in years—she had to make do with eating weed and tree bark, and rat meat was basically gourmet food in the end times.

Drooling, she hit her usual Mexican joint for a huge bowl of soup, tacos, and meatloaf, wolfing down everything once the food was served. Heaven knew how much she had missed the savory taste of actual food after starving countless nights in her past life.

When she finished, she had the meatloaf boxed and took it with her.

Then, riding her electric scooter off to a quiet spot, she stored the meatloaf inside the void pocket to test its freshness.

As she prepared to leave, she was notified that five grand had been wired to her account.

The notification was followed by a short text from her mom.

[Check out some car models, but don't buy any. Your dad has bought a ticket to visit tomorrow.]

Sophie's eyes widened.

Her father was coming tomorrow? He must have been worried and traveled all the way here to check out a car that was good for her.

That gave her a surge of excitement, tears welling up in her eyes.

Her parents loved her to bits, and in her past life, her biggest regret was failing to get home in time.

That was why she absolutely wouldn't let that happen again in this life.

After some thought, she changed her plans—she planned to hoard supplies before heading back, but she didn't have enough money.

Even five grand wasn't enough for the apocalypse.

Since her father was coming, she thought she could call her mother over as well, and they could all stock up on supplies in Stockton before returning to Jonestown, avoiding any prying eyes.

After the apocalypse, communication was cut off, and all forms of public transportation were crippled from north to south. Even if someone noticed them hoarding, they couldn't interfere all that much.

As such, Sophie called her mother directly. "Thanks for the money, Mom. I just received it. Also, why don't you join Dad when he comes to Stockton tomorrow?"

Tina groaned on the other end. "I'd love to, but I can't—we'd be there for a couple of days, and there's no one to babysit Bibi. Someone has to take care of your baby brother, y'know."

Sophie did a double take.

She too had forgotten about her younger brother, Billy Zurer.

She thought about it before suggesting, "Doesn't Bibi hang out with Mrs. Quill sometimes? You could ask her to babysit a couple of days. School's out in a few days anyway."

Mrs. Quill lived downstairs back at Jonestown and had been friendly with the Zurers for years.

She had a grandson too, and he often ate at the Zurers' when he started attending grade school.

When Sophie started school herself and her parents were busy with work and didn't have time to cook, she would eat at Mrs. Quill's house.

Since they were such close friends, entrusting Billy to Mrs. Quill was no issue.

However, Tina immediately sensed something was off and demanded, "What's going on, Fi? Why would you want me to come over too?"

Sophie didn't need to feign sadness—her nose was runny just thinking of the days in her past life when her family was separated. Her voice choked with emotion as she sniffed. "I need help, Mom… Just come with Dad as soon as you can. And remember to bring your credit cards!"

"What is it?!" Tina exclaimed urgently. "Are you… pregnant?!"

Tina herself soon realized it didn't make sense, since pregnancy didn't require their entire family fortune.

"I'm sorry, Mom, but I just can't tell you over the phone. Just calm down, and travel safely. We can talk when we meet," Sophie said and hung up.

She knew her parents would be anxious, but this was the only way she could make her parents come quickly.

"Sorry," she murmured under her breath and switched lanes, first renting out a warehouse.

Then, she rented a beat-up van from a used car dealer, removed the back seats, and drove to Nikke, where the largest agricultural market was.

On the way, her parents called her a handful of times. She answered each time, patient but only telling them to get to Stockton soon before hanging up.

After looking around to get a feel for the right prices, she finally chose the most crowded shop to start buying food and ingredients.

She didn't have a lot of money left and she had to say she was buying for the family business. After all, she was carting off tons of grain, flour, corn, noodles, and so on.

That naturally cost almost all of her balance, but the boss lady cheerfully waved her off. "We can't go cheaper even if you're buying in bulk, girlie. We can give you a couple of sacks of grain on the house, though."

Sophie smiled and nodded—at this point, anything helped.

Though it sounded like a lot of stuff, it was mostly moved in two trips.

Sophie's rented warehouse was large, so she drove her van inside, locked the door, and moved everything into the interior store room.

Three hours had passed since she had placed the meatloaf in the void pocket. She took it out, and it was oven-fresh and steaming.

So, the void pocket kept everything fresh, and that was a huge load off her shoulders.

Her mother had transferred six grand, and she had around two hundred in her own account.

After taking care of the most essential items—rice, flour, and cooking oil—she withdrew what money she had left and headed to a condiment store for spices and the like.

Afraid of buying too much at once and arousing suspicion, she split her purchases and bought salt first, and then various cooking spices and seasonings, along with over a hundred dollars' worth of sugar.

Only having less than a grand left, she shrugged and bought everything from barbecue sauce, canned food, instant noodles, and the like.

In her past life, the prices of such items—especially canned food—had inflated to astronomical proportions. Even then, everyone was willing to barter if only for having one in their storage.

After all, canned food didn't spoil, and since it was flavored, they could save on salt.

In her previous life, Sophie had managed to exchange two bottles of mushroom sauce, which she had carefully used for a very long time until she ran out.

But she didn't have money, so she could only stare and drool over the neatly-arranged bottles of sauces and canned goods on the shelves.

Shelves were also something she desperately needed. Even the void pocket seemed limited in space, and without proper storage planning, it would soon be too small.

Making a deep mental note of these two things, she started her van and moved the bulk of her purchases to the rented warehouse.

She was just wondering how she could get her money back from Yorick when her phone rang.

She held it up and chuckled coolly—speak of the devil!

The birthmark had really left Sophie with an inferiority complex, and it was why she had fallen so easily for Yorick's charms.

After all, he was the tall, handsome student council president who studied in the same faculty, and she caved almost right after he started wooing her.

Still, the preexistence she lived exposed the maniacal, self-centered nature hidden behind that handsome face.

Nonetheless, Sophie answered the call, and Yorick quickly asked from the other end, "Hey, babe. What would you like for dinner? I'll cook."