Chapter 014: Robbed

"What's even more insufficient is time," Cyrus Greene thought to himself, looking at the wall clock. It was now noon on August 2nd, 2030, and less than sixty hours remained before the Great Catastrophe would occur.

At this time, lunch at Katerina's home officially began. The fierce woman took out canned green peas, condensed milk, jam, and bread from the kitchen cabinet. Looking at this food, Cyrus Greene asked in surprise, "This is lunch?"

"What else did you want to eat?" Katerina sat at the dining table, spreading jam onto whole wheat bread with a knife. As she ate, she added, "If you've ever eaten lizards, snakes, or dead rats to survive, you'd consider all this delicious."

It was truly difficult to communicate with this kind of mercenary who had survived brutal battlefields. Cyrus Greene could only inwardly complain, 'Even ordering a pizza would be better than eating this stuff!' He scooped a spoonful of green peas into his mouth, and after chewing a few times, he realized that the days during the Great Catastrophe would likely be very difficult to endure.

My God! I have a Chinese person's stomach! I come from the great empire of food lovers! Eating canned food and bread every day - living like this for three months, humanity wouldn't need nuclear bombs to be destroyed; I'd die from low morale myself.

Before eating, Katerina finally agreed to Cyrus Greene's request and used her phone to order large quantities of supplies he needed from New York's online supermarkets. These supplies would be delivered directly by electric autonomous delivery vehicles in the afternoon and moved into Katerina's basement.

However, these supplies still didn't reassure Cyrus Greene, as the food lacked fresh meat and vegetables. Even if acquired, these items would require specialized cold storage, otherwise they would quickly spoil. This meant that once the Great Catastrophe arrived, Cyrus Greene's stomach would have to endure canned food every day.

"Damn it!"

Thinking about how American soldiers got sick of eating Spam cans on the battlefield day after day, Cyrus Greene could foresee that his future days wouldn't be pleasant. "I must think of something!"

Seeing Cyrus Greene frown, Katerina took the initiative to ask, "Hey! Why do your purchased supplies include women's sanitary pads?"

"Huh? Sanitary pads..." Would Cyrus Greene say that he had prepared them for Angie and other women, and in no small quantity? "I... did I buy those? Must have clicked on them by accident. I'll return them when they arrive."

It was well known that after the Great Catastrophe, human living standards would collapse dramatically. Especially when winter came, people would throw any combustible materials they could find into furnaces for warmth. By then, many everyday items that people took for granted would become extremely scarce.

"Hmm..." Katerina didn't quite believe Cyrus Greene's words. She muttered "pervert" under her breath, probably considering Cyrus Greene as some weirdo with peculiar habits.

The payment for the purchases was made online by Katerina on Cyrus Greene's behalf, while Cyrus Greene's $57,000+ in cash was placed on the dining table, essentially handed over to Katerina.

Thinking about how the dollar would become worthless paper after the Great Catastrophe, Cyrus Greene couldn't help saying, "Katerina, you'd better spend all this money in the next couple of days."

"Why?" Katerina ate quickly. By the time Cyrus Greene had barely started, she had already finished her portion and was taking her dishes to the kitchen.

"I'm thinking your supply stockpile isn't very adequate, which doesn't align with the survivalist mindset," Cyrus Greene could only use this excuse.

America had quite a few survivalists who constantly worried about not being able to survive natural or man-made disasters. In the 60s and 70s of the last century, when the shadow of nuclear war loomed over the globe, many Americans dug shelters in their backyards and stored supplies to endure a nuclear winter.

"I'm not a survivalist," Katerina denied, though she was enticed by Cyrus Greene's words. She added, "Maybe I should replenish some weapons and ammunition. I've been using up quite a bit of ammo in training lately."

"Buying ammunition is also a good choice," Cyrus Greene thought that as long as all the money was spent before 6 PM on August 4th, it would be fine. He added, "Actually, you could also buy more weapons; weapons tend to hold their value."

Katerina neither agreed nor disagreed with this. She quickly finished lunch, cleaned the table, and said, "Come with me. The nearby supermarket has the ammunition I need."

Cyrus Greene was also extremely dissatisfied with lunch, thinking he'd rather buy McDonald's or Subway, which would be a hundred times better than eating green peas. Before leaving, he put a few dozen dollars of small bills in his pocket, but was hesitant about his gun.

The Colt M1911A1 was too big and heavy, and he didn't know how to use it properly, making it cumbersome to carry. But seeing Katerina fully dressed with at least three guns tucked into her body, he decided to bring the gun after all.

"You need a proper holster, otherwise you look like an idiot," Katerina mocked, seeing Cyrus Greene awkwardly stuffing the M1911A1 into his waistband. She was just inserting a USP pistol into the holster under her ribs, which was convenient both to carry and use.

"Could you lend me a holster?" Cyrus Greene indeed looked like a complete rookie.

Katerina rolled her eyes and said, "Actually, I'd rather advise you not to carry that gun. It's useless for a newbie like you. I alone could easily take down a hundred people like you."

What a sharp-tongued woman. Couldn't she just speak nicely?

Cyrus Greene could only pull the gun back out, as he also felt that having a gun tucked in his belt looked foolish. Only African uncles with combat power below 5 would do such a thing.

Katerina drove a Land Rover SUV out from the underground garage. The powerful electric drive made this vehicle smooth, quiet, yet full of power. Once on the road, they quickly passed through several streets and found a nearby Target department store.

Buying guns in America was a bit troublesome, requiring applications and background checks. But buying bullets was much simpler - any supermarket had them. Actually, Katerina could have purchased them online, but having stayed home all morning, she decided to go out for a change.

Upon arriving at the Target parking lot, Katerina went to buy bullets, while the hungry Cyrus Greene spotted a McDonald's near the parking lot. He told Katerina "I'm going to buy some food" and strode away.

Standing in front of this McDonald's, Cyrus Greene discovered that this fast-food restaurant was very different from those in China. There was no spacious and bright service counter, no clean and comfortable seating, and certainly no sweet-smiling service staff - only two windows fitted with iron bars and bulletproof glass.

One window for payment, one window for food pickup - simple and clear. This kind of McDonald's was something Cyrus Greene had never seen before. Was this a New York specialty?

"Hey, young man, what would you like?" A fat white woman sat behind the cashier window, with a service attitude that could only be described as terrible.

"A Big Mac meal, please." Cyrus Greene slid the cash through the window. Soon, his food was handed out through the other window. But before he could take a few bites, someone approached from behind saying, "Hey, kid, mind giving me some money?"

Damn! Cyrus Greene immediately tensed up. He turned his head slightly to look, only to see a black guy pressing a gun against his waist, his dark face gleaming with ferocity.

Son of a bitch, this was Brooklyn, New York's area with the worst public security, crawling with criminals and thugs. In broad daylight, under the bright sun, in the time it took to eat a hamburger, I've been robbed!

Is there any justice? Is there any law? The key is - this wasn't in my plan!