Still hoarding supplies in the apocalypse? I'll just go on a killing spree and looting!

The technician seemed to sense her embarrassment, after all, she didn't look like a wealthy boss at all.

Then, changing the subject, "However, the core of a water purifier is just one thing—the RO reverse osmosis membrane. Everything else is just auxiliary."

Lin You opened her narrowed eyes again and looked at the technician in front of her with a strange expression.

He figured it out? Lin You was a little unsure.

But Lin You still loosened the pistol she was tightly gripping in her pocket.

"To put it simply, an RO membrane plus a booster pump makes up a basic water purification system. If you want something simpler, you can buy the membrane and filter cartridges first, and the rest... we'll talk about later."

We'll talk about it later.

Lin You silently repeated the word in her mind, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Yes, we'll see when the time comes.

When the apocalypse really comes, who will look after all those expensive pieces of equipment stored in the warehouse?

She has drones, which is her most important reconnaissance capability.

When the time comes, you can simply "take" whatever you want.

Of course, to prevent a situation like the end of the world causing the shop to catch fire, or the shop being full of samples and not having enough stock, Lin You decided not to leave empty-handed.

"I need RO membranes and ultrafiltration (UF) filter cartridges, thirty sets in total."

Lin You took out cash, "Here's ten thousand."

The technician was stunned; it seemed to be the first time he had ever encountered someone paying cash directly like this.

After all, this era is all about electronic payments, which are fast and convenient.

After a brief handover, the technician stared blankly at Lin You, who had disappeared through the door.

He shook his head, put away the money, and went straight to find the boss, muttering to himself as he walked: What an impatient girl.

For her third stop, Lin You went to the electromechanical market on the outskirts of the city.

Energy is her biggest headache right now.

Water purification equipment needs electricity, drones need charging, and lighting, communication, and heating all rely on electricity.

Gasoline generators are cheap; you can buy a decent one for 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. But the longer the apocalypse lasts, the more expensive the fuel becomes, and they are a real pain to maintain.

She hated gasoline generators in the post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Diesel generators are more durable, but they are noisier and larger.

The key point is still to stockpile oil.

The thought of searching the whole world for fuel gave her a headache.

Oil prices in the apocalypse will be far more dramatic than they are now; now it's about money, but in the apocalypse, it's about human lives.

Lin You stood at the market entrance and looked up at the setting sun.

Solar energy.

Wind power is too expensive, and she's poor.

Gasoline and diesel are too reliant on the supply chain, and she can't afford to gamble on that. Only solar energy has a high initial investment but almost zero cost in the long run; sunlight is free and there's no shortage of supply.

She walked into a store with a sign that read "New Energy Equipment".

The boss was a lean, dark-skinned middle-aged man, squatting on the ground soldering wires. Lin You squatted down, looked him in the eye, and said, "I want a 100kW off-grid solar system."

The boss looked up, and the welding torch in his hand trembled slightly.

"100kW?" He wiped his hands. "Young lady, that's factory-grade, not cheap. The whole set... around 350,000."

"I know." Lin You took out 50,000 yuan in cash from her bag.

The brand-new Mao Zedong banknotes surprised the boss.

Lin You placed the cash on the table and patted it, saying, "This is the deposit. I'll pay the balance when the goods arrive."

The boss stared at the 50,000 yuan, then at Lin You's eyes, and remained silent for several seconds.

Then he smiled. "Young lady," he said slowly, "did you just withdraw this money?"

Lin You frowned but didn't move.

His eyes narrowed as he stared at the boss's dark face.

The boss put down the welding torch, stood up, and was surprisingly 1.8 meters tall. He picked up the cash on the table and casually flipped through it.

"New banknotes with consecutive serial numbers."

The boss looked up at her and touched his newly grown beard.

"I've been in this business for twenty years. What kind of money haven't I seen? When big clients place orders, they either go through corporate accounts or transfer money by card. I've only ever seen two kinds of people bring 50,000 yuan in cash to pay a deposit—either they're going to run away, or their money came from illegitimate sources."

Lin You met his gaze, and their eyes met without looking away.

"So, are you going to do this business or not?" she asked.

The boss was silent for a long time, then he smiled.

"I'll do it." He reached out and took the stack of cash, weighed it in his hand, "But I won't ask where your money came from, and don't ask me if I'll 'miss a couple of boards' during installation. We'll even be even."

Lin You breathed a sigh of relief, but only half a sigh of relief.

The boss's words implied another meaning—he might cut corners.

But she had no choice; she didn't have time to look for a second company.

Even if there is time, is the second company in a better situation than the first?

That's not necessarily true.

"Okay," Lin You said after only a brief hesitation, "but I have one condition: I need to supervise the entire installation process."

The boss raised an eyebrow: "No problem."

Lin You stood up and patted the dust off her knees.

"I'll send you the installation address tomorrow morning at seven o'clock."

The boss immediately gave out a phone number.

By the time Lin You left the electromechanical market, it was completely dark.

The streetlights came on, the traffic continued to flow, the convenience stores were still open, and the smoke from the barbecue stalls drifted over. Some people were arguing, and some were laughing.

Lin You stood by the roadside and watched for a long time.

We have a drone.

I'll pick up the water filter cartridge tomorrow.

For solar energy, once the deposit is paid and a suitable site for the base is found, construction can begin.

In half a day, all three most important things were taken care of.

There is still time.

One day later, all of that was gone.

Lin You took a deep breath, wrapped her coat tighter, and turned to walk into the night.

Just this once.

She walked faster than she had when she arrived.

We went to a nearby bookstore.

Here, Lin You found a map of the area surrounding Z City. She traced her finger across the map, frowning as she thought about obtaining fragmented information from other survivors after the apocalypse.

The finger stopped on the map.

This is the northeast corner of Z City, where there is a blue area representing a lake.

Lin You knew that place; before the apocalypse, it was a tourist attraction in Z City—Orchid Mountain Scenic Area.

To be honest, Z City doesn't have any particularly noteworthy scenic spots; this is just a tourist project that was built to follow the trend.

It's been put on hold now.

Even locals don't really go there for tourism; the entrance fee is high, there's nothing new, and the environment is just so-so...

Numerous reasons led to the cancellation of this project, which was expected to revitalize the local economy.

With tourism development taking place across the country, this outcome would have been expected if it weren't for its established reputation.

The reason for choosing this location is not only because of the existing building complex.

Because of the lack of customers, many shops have already closed down, leaving the area in a semi-abandoned state. It can be lived in after just a little cleaning.

Most importantly, this lake is a real lake, unlike some scenic spots where the lakes are completely fake artificial lakes without water pumps drawn from underground.

It will dry up in a month at most.

Once the location was confirmed, Lin You planned to conduct an on-site inspection.

I remember during the apocalypse, this place was where Qian Yuan and his gang were based. Ordinary survivors who approached would be captured or killed.

Everyone is keeping their distance, so there's very little specific news about this place.

Lin You felt ashamed that she hadn't supported the tourism development of her hometown; she had given up immediately upon seeing the ticket price.

It seems it's not too late yet.

It was past 8 p.m. when we arrived at the scenic area by taxi. From a distance, it looked like an abandoned town.

Apart from the streetlights, most of the scenic area was pitch black.

This was completely different from the promotional images Lin You remembered; she vaguely recalled a scene of bustling crowds.

However, Lin You saw a different scene.

The streets shimmered with a silvery-white tranquility under the moonlight as Lin You walked through the alley.

The shoes made a soft clattering sound on the concrete floor, echoing back and forth in the quiet, deserted alley.

The shops on both sides of the street all have signs advertising food, so it must be a street full of specialty snacks.

Lin You walked slowly, observing her surroundings.

This tourist town is no different from other tourist towns; it has a fairly nice environment with mountains and water.

It has no famous mountains or rivers, nor is it the hometown of any famous person from ancient times.

Even places not mentioned in poems and songs have naturally become this desolate.

She walked into the square, one of the few places to take photos in this tourist town.

In the center of the square stands a giant wishing tree, covered with red ribbons and wooden plaques representing good wishes.

The wooden signs swayed and occasionally clattered as they were blown by the night breeze.

Lin You looked up at the huge ancient tree, her eyes filled with strangeness.

Who would have thought that after the apocalypse, the wishing tree would no longer be adorned with prayer items, but with swaying, unsteady figures?

She hadn't seen it with her own eyes, but a scavenger who had escaped from a small town in the tourist area had told her about it.

The scavenger was missing an arm, and twigs and tender shoots were growing on the severed wound; just one look was enough to send chills down your spine.

According to the scavenger, the wishing tree had become a mutated plant, and a rather powerful one at that.

However, its drawback is equally obvious: this thing cannot move.

In the early stages of the apocalypse, even a child could kill it with a basin of hot water.

At the end of the tourist town is a set of stone steps leading upwards, beside which flows a stream that originates from the mountain.

The sound of water was exceptionally clear at night, with a slight echo.

Following the stream downstream, you'll find a shimmering lake.

The lake is neither very large nor very small, and it is shaped like a gourd.

At the narrow waist of the gourd, there is a bridge spanning across. Lin You walked along the bridge to the other side, where there is a hotel area for rest.

It looks just like an ancient mountain resort; now it should be called a farmhouse "villa".

Lin You is very satisfied with this place; it's secluded, with mountains and water, and there are ready-made houses.

Nowhere else is more suitable as a post-apocalyptic base. Here, people can even raise livestock and grow crops to be self-sufficient.

I took out my old Nokia phone and sent a location message, and quickly received a reply.

Knowing that her supplies would arrive at 9 a.m. the next day, Lin You randomly chose an empty villa and climbed over the wall to enter.

This place hasn't been cleaned for a long time, and you can clearly smell a musty odor.

I wandered around the yard twice and figured out the layout.

As Lin You walked up to the second floor, she heard a strange sound, which seemed to be the sound of a tree branch breaking.

It's right outside the room, or rather, right under the window.

The sound wasn't very loud, but it was amplified countless times in the quiet of the night.

Lin You instantly became alert and listened intently to the direction from which the sound came.

"Crack!" The sound of branches snapping underfoot—that's the weight of a large animal.

Draw your gun, pull your knife, and charge!

Lin You rushed to the location of the sound in the blink of an eye, holding a pistol horizontally in one hand and a mantis knife in the other.