Chapter 6: Keeping a distance from the white lotus

Leng Pan thought of Lu Zhen's modified humvee and thought it would be a waste if not used. Once the apocalypse started, it would only become one of the abandoned vehicles in his garage in the villa area.

So, she decided to ask for it and store it in her space together with the hummer and RV she bought.

"Can you lend me that modified humvee of yours?" She asked.

"Sure, I'll have it delivered to you tomorrow."

"Okay, have it sent to the villa. I'll be staying there for a few days."

"Alright, good night Panpan." He said as he got up and left.

"Goodnight Lu Zhen."

With that, she had secured her strongest ally.

The next morning, Bai Yinyin called early even before Leng Pan could get out of bed.

She got up and checked to see who the caller was. See the white lotus's name, she rolled her eyes as she got up and leaned against the head board before pressing the answer button.

"Panpan, let's go shopping today!" she chirped.

Leng Pan felt that no one was as thick skinned as this woman in the entire world.

This girl wasn't giving up, was she?

She would probably convince her to go shopping then manipulate her into going to get the jade bangle and give it to her. Too bad it already had an owner.

"Can't. I'm busy today."

Bai Yinyin pouted through the phone thinking that it would make her sound more pitiful, thus invoking sympathy. "Busy with what?"

Leng Pan replied. "Just something important." She wanted to distance herself from the white lotus without being too obvious. So, she could only tolerate her for now, but she also knew that this method would make Bai Yinyin curious.

Sure enough, the other girl hesitated before forcing a laugh. "You've been acting a little strange lately, Panpan. Did something happen?"

This woman was really sensitive so Leng Pan could only give her half truths.

"My security system malfunctioned yesterday and I am having it replaced. I can't leave the technicians alone."

There was a brief silence on the other end before Bai Yinyin laughed softly. "I see. Well, if you need anything, I'm here for you!"

Fake.

So fake.

Leng Pan resisted the urge to sneer out loud and thanked her before hanging up.

Six days left.

She would make sure she survived.

And Bai Yinyin?

She could go fend for herself.

Leng Pan got up and went to the bathroom to freshen up. She had to start the day early as she had called the water tank company the previous day and ordered five tanks of 50 tons each. If she didn't waste the water, it could last her a lifetime. The tanks would be delivered at the villa around 9.00 am that morning.

Luckily, the villa had many taps as there were two in the kitchen, two in the garden used for watering plants, and another one in the front lawn. If she connected a water tank in each tap, all five would be full by the time the apocalypse started. So, she has to rush to the villa before going back to the wholesale market.

Yeah, she thought she had bought everything that is required from the wholesale market, but later realized that she had bought staple food but failed to buy other types such as dry noodles, instant noodles, other types of food that don't require much preparation.

Once we had showered and dressed she had a simple breakfast of milk and toast and left. She drove her rented truck to the villa and the tanks arrived a few minutes later. She asked the delivery men to place them in places she could access them once she connected pipes to the taps.

After waiting for the men to leave, she connected the pipes to the water tanks and started filling them then she left for the wholesale market again.

Once at the market, she went to buy more than 100 boxes of instant noodles, 100 boxes of self-heating meals, 100 boxes of compressed biscuits, 50 boxed of milk powder, and 50 boxes of formula. She didn't know if she would have a child in the future, but she bought the formula just in case.

She also bought instant hotpot base, 20 boxes of different types of energy bars and chocolate. 50 boxes of tea, and another 50 boxes of coffee. She couldn't forget about tea and coffee. She knew it would become a luxury that most people long for but can't find since growing them would be impossible.

She also moved to another wholesale store owned by a food processing company and bought 50 boxes each of canned fruit, meat, fish, mushrooms, and tomatoes. She was finally done with the wholesale market at 10.00 am and immediately left for a water company a 20 minutes drive away.

Once she got to the water company she ordered 500 gallons of purified water for 20 liters, hundred dozen 1 liter bottles, and hundred dozen half liter bottles. She still had the spring water, so that was enough for drinking.

After telling the manager to have the water delivered to the villa, she left and headed to the fresh produce market. She bought two tons of mixed vegetables including cabbages, kale, bok choy, Chinese cabbage, mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions.

She also bought hundred kilograms of chilli. Then she went to another merchant and bought a ton of Irish potatoes and another ton of sweet potatoes, carrots, radish, cucumbers, garlic, and ginger.

She felt that even if she couldn't buy everything, at least her meals wouldn't be plain and boring in the apocalypse. Too bad her space couldn't grow anything. Otherwise, she wouldn't worry about fresh food.

Leaving the fresh produce market, Leng Pan finally went to the meat market. She purchased one ton of beef, a ton of pork, a ton of mutton, 1000 chicken, 1000 ducks, 500 turkeys, and a ton of fresh seafood including crabs, octopus, lobster, and others.

After securing all types of food and water, Leng Pan went back to the villa as it was already 5.00 pm and she had not eaten lunch.

However, on her way home she remembered the noodles she had ordered the previous day and turned around heading to the restaurant to pick them. When she got there she paid the rest of the money and had the noodles loaded into the truck.

Once everything was done she drove home and the first thing she did after parking in the garage was to store all the noodles in the space while they were still hot.

As soon as she was done, the bell at the gate rang and she knew it were the delivery men again so she pressed the button to open the gate and just like yesterday, he'd them unload in the court yard.

After the men left, she again arranged everything in her space and went into the house to cook dinner and sleep.

Tomorrow would be a busy day.