Chapter 5: Amassing Wealth! I Will Build the Ultimate Shelter!

Upon hearing this, the boss couldn't stop grinning.

A thousand banquet tables!

This was the big order he had always dreamed of!

"So, Benjamin, what price range are you looking for?"

The boss suppressed his excitement and asked Benjamin.

Benjamin calmly replied, "The best."

"Great, great! The best banquet at my place is 2888 dollars per table, with 66 dishes. Here's the menu, take a look."

The boss handed over the menu with a beaming smile, his hands trembling with excitement.

Benjamin silently glanced through the menu.

It was indeed a rural banquet.

The price was very reasonable.

Nearly half of the 66 dishes were meat-based, and there were some expensive seafood items.

If this setup were in a five-star hotel, it would easily cost over ten thousand dollars.

Benjamin immediately decided, "Good, this is it."

Hearing this, the boss was overjoyed.

Although their banquets were affordable, the profit margin was still substantial.

For a 2888-dollar banquet table, he could make a few hundred dollars in net profit.

That meant Benjamin's order of a thousand banquet tables would bring him hundreds of thousands of dollars in net profit!

Hundreds of thousands of dollars!

This was a huge sum!

Enough to buy a 100-square-meter apartment in the county town!

Benjamin suddenly frowned, "But..."

"But what?" The boss's heart skipped a beat.

Was Benjamin going to cancel the order?

"A month is too slow. You need to speed up and arrange the 1000 banquet tables within 20 days."

Although, in principle, the apocalypse was still a month away, Benjamin feared unexpected changes.

What if the apocalypse arrived early, or if something happened to him just before it? His banquet plans could be ruined.

Only by preparing as early as possible could he ensure everything was in order.

"20 days... alright, we'll arrange it!"

The boss looked troubled but gritted his teeth and agreed.

A thousand top-tier banquet tables.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in pure profit.

He couldn't let this golden opportunity slip away.

He would just have to make his staff work overtime.

"Yes, the sooner the better. Also, deliver the prepared banquets to this warehouse every day. Call me when you're about to arrive, and I'll come to inspect. I'll pay every five days!"

Benjamin handed over a note with the warehouse address and his phone number.

The boss took the note and quickly offered a discount.

2600 dollars per table, totaling 2.6 million dollars.

Since Benjamin would pay every five days, only a 100,000-dollar deposit was needed now.

Benjamin didn't hesitate and agreed promptly.

He signed the agreement with the boss, paid the deposit, and left in a hurry.

...

At an internet cafe.

Benjamin had just turned on a computer and immediately started searching for online loan platforms.

Surviving the apocalypse wasn't just about stockpiling supplies; he also needed a highly secure shelter.

In his previous life, when the apocalypse first arrived, temperatures plummeted, and the world was covered in ice and snow.

Building a shelter that could withstand the cold and resist various disasters would require an astronomical amount of money!

So!

He needed to raise funds to build the best shelter possible!

Earlier, he had taken the deed of his old house to the bank and, based on the property and his salary records, had secured a 3-million-dollar loan on the spot. He also managed to get several credit cards, cashing out tens of thousands of dollars.

That was about all he could get from legitimate banks; he couldn't squeeze much more out of them.

So!

Now, while the online loan platforms couldn't immediately check his loan status, he quickly took advantage of the situation to get as much as he could!

As soon as he started searching, numerous online loan ads popped up in his browser.

Hidden prompts for these ads also appeared before Benjamin's eyes.

[This is an online loan platform with a high approval rate, annual interest rate around 10%, and late payments will affect your credit after two days.]

[This is an online loan platform with a high approval rate, annual interest rate around 15%, late payments will affect your credit after two days, and your contact list will be exposed after five days.]

[This is an online loan platform with a high approval rate, annual interest rate around 20%, with issues of violent debt collection.]

...

Benjamin immediately applied for loans on these platforms.

He quickly secured 400,000 dollars in loans.

As for the interest rates and credit issues, they were not his concern.

By the time he needed to make the first payment, the apocalypse would have already arrived.

At that point, people would be struggling to survive; who would have the energy to come after him for money?

Benjamin didn't stop and quickly applied for loans from several more platforms.

Soon, the funds were transferred.

Adding the previous 400,000 dollars, he had already secured over a million dollars in online loans!

Benjamin continued to frantically apply for more loans.

Although he had applied to many platforms in a short time and had already secured a large bank loan, these platforms were inefficient, and most of his loan information hadn't been updated yet.

So, in the eyes of these online loan platforms, he was still a "high-quality" user with a property worth 2 million dollars and a monthly salary of tens of thousands of dollars!

Thus, he continued to easily take advantage of these platforms.

The loans kept coming in.

But soon, he had exhausted the legitimate online loan platforms.

What remained were the less reputable ones.

Benjamin continued to browse and applied for all the loans he could.

Suddenly, a hidden prompt from one platform startled him.

[This is an online loan platform with an extremely high approval rate, large loan amounts, annual interest rate over 45%, and severe issues with violent debt collection.]

Wow, an annual interest rate over 45%!

Even in business, it's hard to achieve such high profits.

Benjamin cursed inwardly but still applied for the loan.

After a call with the platform's customer service, a 300,000-dollar loan was approved.

[This is an online loan platform with a high approval rate, low loan amounts, requires weekly repayments, weekly interest rate of 20%, and severe issues with violent debt collection.]

Weekly repayments?

The apocalypse wouldn't arrive in a week.

He would still have to repay the loan?

He silently clicked the 'X'.

[This is an online loan platform with an approval rate close to 0%, primarily earning from user membership fees.]

Hmph...

Another scam to collect personal data.

He clicked the 'X' again.

At that moment, someone tapped his shoulder and asked, "Bro, are you short on cash?"

He looked up and saw a tattooed young man from the streets.

"Yes, I want to start a business, but I don't have the capital. I don't know what to do."

Benjamin immediately put on a worried expression.

"No problem, come to me. I can help. As long as you have collateral, I can get you as much money as you need."

The young man's fat face jiggled as he laughed.

Benjamin understood immediately; this young man was a loan shark.

"Really? You can lend me money? Even 5 million dollars?" Benjamin feigned excitement.

"Of course, as long as you have collateral worth 5 million dollars."

The young man chuckled.

Benjamin's eyes gleamed.

Then he sighed deeply, "I don't have 5 million in collateral. I only have a house worth 2 million dollars, and when it's demolished, I can get 3 million in compensation. If you can't lend that much, then forget it."

The young man quickly said, "Wait, we might not be able to lend 5 million, but since we've met, I can try to get you as much as possible from the boss. The interest is a bit high, though..."

"I can accept it! No matter how high the interest is, I can accept it!"

Before the young man could finish, Benjamin grabbed his tattooed arm, eagerly saying.

The young man laughed.

Benjamin also laughed.

What a fat sheep ready for slaughter!

...