Ch 20: Smooth Preparations- Part 2

While waiting for the contractor's survey results, Selene turned her attention to tech equipment.

Drones, surveillance cameras, portable generators—these would be crucial for security once the world fell apart.

She browsed the high-end section of a specialty store, letting her past-life experience guide her. What she was here was the drones as well as solar batteries that could last a long time. 

Once the supply of electricity was cut off, those two things would become something she would need to depend upon…until a new energy source was found at least.

As she checked out, she felt a bitter sense of satisfaction.

All those years she had spent fighting to survive, all the knowledge she had gained the hard way—

It was finally paying off.

Most awakeners relied on their system to get things for them, but Selene had been an-awakening. As such, she did not have the same benefits others did, and had to rely on herself for a lot of things.

But now she wasn't helpless anymore.

She was ahead of the game.

After securing the tech, she reviewed her plan.

[Food and water were stocked.

A safe location was purchased.

Construction was in progress.

Surveillance and tech were acquired.

The only thing left was transportation.]

The next thing Selene needed was a vehicle she could use to travel around.

Selene needed a vehicle that could handle rough terrain, store supplies, and be modified for defense later on. She headed toward a dealership specializing in off-road vehicles, knowing exactly what to look for.

She walked through rows of cars before stopping in front of a matte black SUV—one of the toughest models available. The salesman eagerly approached her.

"This is a top-of-the-line armored vehicle. Great for long distances and—"

The salesman tried to pitch the vehicle to Selene as soon as she told him what she needed. But Selene was in love the second she saw the SUV.

It looked exactly as the SUV she had gotten in the past once she was able to save up enough money from dungeon hunting, but it was a pity that it had not survived Nora's rampage during one of their earlier missions.

At that time, Nora had still been learning how to control her powers and had hit Selene's vehicle by accident.

And since this happened inside a dungeon, nothing had been salvageable.

"I'll take it. No negotiations. I'll drive it out of here."

Selene told the salesman and he looked surprised.

The salesman blinked in surprise but quickly smiled. A quick sale with no haggling? He wouldn't question it.

As the paperwork was being processed, Selene leaned back in the chair.

She was exhausted, but the feeling of satisfaction overpowered her fatigue.

Everything was finally falling into place.

For the first time since returning to the past—

She was ready.

As she moved toward her car to drive it out, the salesman finally remembered something and moved toward Selene with an urgent look on his face.

"Miss, just one second. Before you drive out, I have an important question to ask you-"

The salesman's eyes looked so sharp that Selene felt herself inevitably tense up. She had a feeling that she was forgetting something, but she could not remember what.

"Miss, do you have your driver's license? Can you show it to me? I need to confirm that you have your license before I let you drive out of our store."

The salesman asked in a clear voice.

Selene felt herself calm down and feel embarrassed at the same time. Now she realized why it felt as if she had forgotten something, but it was not important for her to force herself to remember.

"About that…I am sure you can turn a blind eye to this. A brilliant man like you should understand what I am asking."

Selene passed the man in front of a few fresh bills and whatever he had been about to say got cut off and the greedy man looked at Selene with a new look.

"I understand, Miss. I will take what happened today to my grave. Not a single soul would hear of it."

The man seemed sure of this, so Selene did not ask him more questions.

She was more embarrassed by the fact that she had forgotten about not having a driving license.

But in her defense, she had been driving during the apocalypse and had never needed to get a driver's license.

As a result, she had forgotten all about it up until she had been reminded of it by the salesman.

'Ugh, I'm so embarrassed. But at least I won't have to meet that person again in my life.'

It was the only consolidation Selene had in that moment as she drove out.

Since she was driving safely, no one bothered to bait an eye at her driving by. As soon as she reached a safe hotel, she decided to book a room to stay at.

It was one of the places her family liked to visit and they had taken Selene along a few times for appearance's sake.

That was why Selene knew that she wouldn't need an I.D to stay at that place. Her face would do the trick.

This could be considered another advantage of having the Vale family name. Most people did not bother asking questions or hold her back.

Selene headed to the hotel and entered the lobby. People looked at her funny because she was not wearing any designer brand clothes like other people around her, but the manager seemed to recognize her.

"M-Miss, you are…how can I help you out?"

The manager asked if she quickly stepped out to meet Selene. She made her way to Selene without missing a beat but Selene quickly shot her a look that made the excited lady calm down.

Selene did not need to say anything more, because the manager was quick-witted enough to get what she was not saying.

The manager quickly ushered Selene to the back room and then turned to look at her staff.

"Look, nothing happened here. Pretend as if you did not see anything and go back to work."