18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Stella was startled, hastily scanning with her mind. Arcadia was there, so were the supplies. She attempted to use her mind to retrieve items and found herself holding a coal ball. She scanned with her mind again, realizing that the light timer was at zero. Stella understood then. Arcadia could only stay for two hours. Two hours. It was better than nothing.-

After her shower, it was already past midnight. Stella glanced at Arcadia, a new two hours were added to her account, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Unable to sleep, she resorted to melatonin. She dreamt again of being chased and hacked at by a group of people, the rusty knives descending heavily onto her. Stella woke up in a cold sweat.

At five in the morning, it was still dark outside. She entered Arcadia and checked the stockpiled supplies to calm her nerves. Instead of going back to sleep, she grabbed her car keys and headed to the largest farmers' market.

The sky was just beginning to lighten, and the outside of the farmers' market was bustling with crowds of vehicles and people.

Stella went to the vegetable section to buy fresh produce still dewy from the morning. She got 100lbs each of various vegetables like zucchini, pumpkin, radish, eggplant, and string beans, and 200lbs of potatoes and sweet potatoes. She bought 100lbs each of ginger and garlic, which could be planted and also used as seasoning. In the freezing weather, a bowl of ginger soup could be lifesaving. She spent around 4000 dollars on all these.

Next, she went to the grains section. She bought 100 bags of 50lbs rice, 50 bags of 50lbs flour, 500lbs of pasta. She also bought 200lbs each of various beans and 50 large jars each of soy oil, olive oil, and sunflower oil. These alone would be enough for her to eat for 30 years.

She then stocked up on spices and condiments like ketchup, vinegar, and yellow mustard, and bought large amounts of sugar and salt. She knew that salt was crucial for survival. In her past life, she saw someone used one pack of salt to trade for 30lbs of pasta. If it wasn't for the limited space in Arcadia, she would love to stocked tons of salt.

Stella then went to the meat section. She ordered 200lbs each of various meats including pork, beef, lamb, and rabbit, and 100 each of chicken and duck. She also bought 50 geese.

The owner was shocked, "Stella, are you joking?"

His wife worked at the slaughterhouse, and Stella had referred many clients to earn commission, "For family wedding feasts. Could you give me a discount?"

"Of course! I'll give you a 30% discount!"

Buying meat was very expensive. The price of pork had only recently dropped, but beef and mutton prices hadn't fallen, so getting goods from someone familiar was the most cost-effective.

The total expenses were about 30,000. Stella didn't haggle over the price, but she did make another request - two bone-chopping knives and slaughtering knives. Self-defense weapons were necessary, but she neither had time nor resource, so she had to do this out of expediency.

The owner was scared, "What are you going to do with them?"

"Don't worry. I'm not going to commit a crime."

Considering the profit and personal relationship, the owner readily agreed.

Then she went to the fish stall and ordered 100 fish.

She bought 3000 chicken eggs and 1000 duck eggs, and also bought a small home-use egg incubator.

Thinking of Arcadia's garden, Stella bought vegetable seeds of dozens of varieties, all of which had short growth cycles.

She also bought some fruit tree saplings, including apple trees, grapevines, and orange trees, three of each kind.

Stella also bought a pair of breeding rabbits. Rabbits could be raised on vegetables and reproduced quickly, which could definitely meet her meat needs.

After spending so much money, she felt very pained, but thinking about the supplies that were continuously accumulating in Arcadia, she felt an indescribable satisfaction and confidence.

She spent the whole day at the farmers' market, and when she came out, the streets were brightly lit and bustling with crowds of vehicles and people. The most exciting part of the day was just beginning.

Stella went to a restaurant and ordered pork ribs, meatballs, and scrambled eggs. She enjoyed a hearty meal and didn't forget to take away the leftovers.

There was still time when she got home, so she busied herself organizing Arcadia, filling the large room with supplies, placing the vegetables and fruit tree saplings in the living room, and raising the breeding rabbits on the balcony.

Stella made a clever move and exited Arcadia when the timer had 10 minutes left. As soon as she left Arcadia, the two breeding rabbits were kicked out.

Stella was first frustrated, then overjoyed. It seemed that other living things couldn't stay if she wasn't there. This meant that others couldn't take her stuff away.

Feeling good, she sat down to check what she was missing. She had bought everything she could think of, and her account balance was around 20000 dollars.

Arcadia was down to just the living room and the bathroom, and there was still a lot to prepare if she wanted to survive the upcoming super storm. She decided against hoarding bulky supplies any longer.

She opened up her food delivery app and scanned through well-reputed restaurants that she had always wanted to try but could never justify. Jumbo shrimp in garlic sauce, chicken Alfredo, sushi roll, lobster bisque, and over twenty other dishes, she ordered ten of each. Donuts, french fries, bagels, burritos, beef patties, toasts, kebabs, barbecue, smoothie, and dozens of other items.

She spent over $10,000, and to ensure freshness, she chose to pick everything up herself at the scheduled time. It was tiring, but she wanted to witness the city's final bustling moments.

In the afternoon, she received a notification that school was cancelled for at least three days due to the upcoming hurricane. The return date was to be announced later.

The students cheered and celebrated, inviting friends to party and live it up before the storm hit. Having experienced a dozen hurricanes every year on the southern coast, they had always hoped for school cancellations. This time, their wish was granted. Stella was no different, but they didn't realize that this time, it was real. They would never have to go to school again.

With a mixed feelings, she sat down for barbeque and a cold beer, continuing her pickups in the city.

Upon returning home, Stella had a nagging feeling that she had forgotten something important. But what could it be?