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Forced into an engagement with Serena, Julian follows his grandpa's order and works at Harper Enterprise for six months, secretly making Serena the new business queen of Wall Street. But Serena and her assistant Damian drive him out, and the company collapses without his protection.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
Forced into an engagement with Serena, Julian follows his grandpa's order and works at Harper Enterprise for six months, secretly making Serena the new business queen of Wall Street. But Serena and her assistant Damian drive him out, and the company collapses without his protection.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
Forced into an engagement with Serena, Julian follows his grandpa's order and works at Harper Enterprise for six months, secretly making Serena the new business queen of Wall Street. But Serena and her assistant Damian drive him out, and the company collapses without his protection.
Forced into an engagement with Serena, Julian follows his grandpa's order and works at Harper Enterprise for six months, secretly making Serena the new business queen of Wall Street. But Serena and her assistant Damian drive him out, and the company collapses without his protection.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.
Forced into an engagement with Serena, Julian follows his grandpa's order and works at Harper Enterprise for six months, secretly making Serena the new business queen of Wall Street. But Serena and her assistant Damian drive him out, and the company collapses without his protection.
Forced into an engagement with Serena, Julian follows his grandpa's order and works at Harper Enterprise for six months, secretly making Serena the new business queen of Wall Street. But Serena and her assistant Damian drive him out, and the company collapses without his protection.
Forced into an engagement with Serena, Julian follows his grandpa's order and works at Harper Enterprise for six months, secretly making Serena the new business queen of Wall Street. But Serena and her assistant Damian drive him out, and the company collapses without his protection.
"Listen, I make 50,000 dollars a year. That's more than enough to take care of you. At your age, you should be thinking about settling down while you still have the chance. In a couple of years, it'll be harder for you. You might not have many options left. Hey—are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Robin jerked in surprise. Her eyes flew open as she stared at everything around her, stunned. The air smelled strongly of fresh coffee. Warm sunlight poured through the bright windows and spread across the table in front of her. The café was quiet and calm. Every now and then, someone tapped on a keyboard. Soft laughter and low conversations drifted through the room. Everything felt peaceful. Normal. But just moments ago, her best friend Zelda Field and Noah Goodman had pushed her straight into a swarm of zombies. Pain had ripped through her body. Rotting mouths had torn into her flesh. Blood had filled her vision... Robin slowly looked away from the room and focused on the man sitting across from her. He wore a neat suit. His huge belly pressed against the table, and the hair on the top of his head was thinning. "You are...?" His face looked somewhat familiar. Robin moved her lips slightly. After surviving ten years in the apocalypse, she had learned how to stay calm no matter what happened. Even though this situation made no sense, she quietly picked up her phone and checked the screen. August 14, 3026. 4:00 p.m. Which meant— Ten years ago! She had returned to ten years in the past. Robin Neel forced herself to stay calm, despite her emotions running high. In her previous life, on August 24, 3023, Jeblea ignored warnings from the United Nations and dumped nuclear wastewater into the ocean. They confidently claimed it would cause no harm to Earth. But three years later, on August 24, Earth fought back. Humanity faced Earth's retaliation for that reckless decision. A zombie virus that only affected humans spread across the world. Animals and plants mutated and became highly aggressive. The weather turned extreme. Natural disasters followed one after another. The world humanity had built over thousands of years fell apart almost overnight. And today was exactly ten days before the apocalypse. Once Robin realized that, she couldn't sit still. Ten days. That was all she had left. "Sorry, I need to leave." She stood up at once, not caring about anything else. The man across from her suddenly changed expression. He grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? Was anything I said wrong? Do you know how popular an elite like me is in the dating market? You should appre—AH!" Before he could finish, he let out a loud scream. Robin could feel the warm, sticky touch on the back of her hand. Holding back her disgust, she twisted his wrist and pinned it firmly to the table. Her eyes turned sharp. "What do you think you're doing?" It was pure instinct. Even though her current body was weak, she used a clever grip. The man couldn't break free. The quiet café atmosphere shattered. People turned to stare. Robin looked at the man's round face and then thought about the timing. Suddenly, it clicked. A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips. Right. She remembered now. His name was Jim Patton. He had originally been the blind date arranged for her "best friend." But Zelda claimed she felt sick and begged Robin to go in her place. She even reminded Robin that Jim had been introduced by her Aunt Mabel, so Robin needed to be polite. Robin had followed that advice. During the whole meeting, she stayed polite. Jim said several ridiculous things; she kept smiling and remained respectful. But Jim saw her politeness as encouragement. That very night after the date, he tried to drag her to a hotel. When she refused, he wouldn't stop harassing her for days. On top of that, he secretly spread rumors that the two of them had slept together, which caused Robin a lot of trouble at the time. The memories came rushing back. Robin slowly loosened her grip. A strange look flickered in her eyes. She smiled softly and said, "Come to think of that, you know, I should thank you." In her previous life, if Jim hadn't sneaked into her apartment on the very day the apocalypse began, trying to force himself on her, she wouldn't have panicked and accidentally stabbed him with a fruit knife. Later, when a massive group of zombies surrounded the building, she used Jim's body as bait to lure them away. That gave her, Noah, and Zelda the chance to escape. In a way, if Jim hadn't been the unlucky sacrifice, Robin might have died during that first zombie siege. So when it came to an old "benefactor," she should at least show a little courtesy. Jim quickly pulled his hand back and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, look at this! This is unbelievable! I made time out of my busy schedule to come on this date, and she suddenly attacked me! I've never met someone like her before!" "Didn't you grab me first?" Robin said darkly. "Besides, I'm not interested in you. Isn't it normal for me to leave?" Jim shouted angrily, spitting as he spoke. "You—you're not interested in me? Do you have any idea how rare it is to catch a man like me in the dating market?!" Robin fell silent for a while before she asked evenly, "What, do you think you're some kind of rare prize?" "Huh?" People around them froze for a second. Then several of them burst out laughing. Jim finally realized what she meant, and his face flushed red. "I'm warning you—don't look down on a young man like me just because I'm not rich yet!" he snapped. "If your aunt hadn't set this up, you'd never even have the chance to meet a guy like me!" "Young man?" Robin's gaze slid slowly over his bald head. "Are you sure you're not middle-aged?" "So it starts with don't look down on a poor young man," Robin mocked lightly. "Then what—don't look down on a poor middle-aged man? And later, ‘don't look down on a poor old man?" The thought seemed to amuse her, and she gave a small laugh. She concluded sarcastically, "Guess some people are just destined to stay poor their whole lives." "Y-you bitch!" Jim exploded with anger. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "I'm going to teach you some manners on behalf of your parents today!" No one expected him to lash out so suddenly. People in the coffee shop gasped and shouted, and the place instantly turned chaotic. Seeing Jim's red, twisted face, a cold light flashed in Robin's eyes. Before his hand could come down, she moved first. Smack! Her slap landed fast and hard. Jim spun in place from the force before crashing down onto the floor. His head buzzed loudly, and the world seemed to spin around him. After a few seconds, he finally snapped back to his senses and shouted hoarsely, "Y-you... what did you just do?! When I get home, I will tell your aunt everything! What kind of family raises a daughter as rude as you?!" "Go ahead and say a few more things," Robin replied casually, shaking her slightly numb hand. She didn't even bother looking at him. "You should complain to your mom too. Otherwise, who's going to stand up for you? I've already paid for my coffee," she added lightly. "Just helping you keep your pride. No one can say I bullied a poor middle-aged man." With that, she picked up her bag and stood up. Jim roared from the floor, "Stop her! This is outrageous! Somebody stop her!" Robin paused slightly. "Are you sure you want to keep me here?" When Jim met her icy gaze, he instinctively looked away. A strange fear rose in his chest. For some reason, in that brief moment, the way Robin looked at him made him feel like she was staring at a dead man. What Jim didn't know was that in her previous life, he had died by Robin's hand. Seeing how cowardly he looked now, Robin let out a quiet scoff and walked away without even turning back. ... Robin returned to the place she remembered from her previous life. She took a slow breath and pushed the door open. It was a three-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The location was great, and transportation nearby made it easy to go anywhere. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on the strange feeling of being back. She quickly reviewed everything she owned. Over the years, she had saved a little more than 2,000,000 dollars, along with this apartment and three percent of Neel Group's shares. Of course, that money didn't come only from her paycheck from the zoo. Robin was the adopted daughter of the Neels. She didn't have much standing in the household, but every year she still received a decent amount of dividend money from the company. After a moment of thought, she grabbed a piece of paper and started listing the supplies she needed. When the apocalypse arrived, the biggest problem would be a lack of resources. In her last life, she had seen it many times—people fighting until their heads were bleeding just for a small amount of food. Once society collapsed, the darkest side of human nature came out without restraint. Robin shook her head and opened the Amazon app on her phone. The first thing she looked for was instant noodles in different flavors. Normally people called them junk food. But in the apocalypse, instant noodles easily beat rice and pasta and became one of the most practical survival foods. If you had hot water, you could cook them. If you didn't, you could eat them dry. They filled your stomach quickly, came in many flavors, and soon turned into a rare luxury. Robin had just chosen several boxes and was about to place the order when—Beep! A sudden sound rang in her mind. Then a mechanical voice spoke. "Greetings, honored host. System Assistant Bell is here to serve you. "I have detected that you intend to spend money. Please feel free to spend as much as you like. For every 1,000 dollars you spend, you will receive 10 square feet of storage space. Once the ‘Big Spender' feature is unlocked, you will also receive one lottery draw as a reward. "Countdown: 167:59:59." What the hell? Robin froze when she heard the voice. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared in shock. Then her mind slowly cleared. Could this be the mysterious system ability people always talked about in novels? For every 1,000 dollars she spent, she would gain about 10 square feet of storage space. Robin decided to test it. She tapped the payment button. First, she bought instant noodles. Beef stew, shrimp, chicken soup, and two other basic flavors. She ordered ten boxes of each. Each box came with 24 packs. After the online discount, the total came to just over 2,000 dollars. As soon as the payment went through, Robin felt a strange drop in her awareness. The white mist in front of her faded away. A small storage space, about 20 square feet, appeared in her mind. Above it was a progress bar. At the end of the bar sat a gray trophy icon labeled "Big Spender." Below the progress bar was a huge wheel. A thin pointer floated in the center. The wheel was divided into many colored sections, but everything on it was blurry, and she couldn't see what the prizes were. Even so, Robin felt certain. This had to be the lottery panel. She casually grabbed the cup on the coffee table and placed it inside the storage space. What happened next surprised her. The moment the cup entered the space, the steam rising from the hot water froze in place, as if someone had pressed pause. The steam no longer moved upward. Time inside the storage space was completely still. That meant anything placed inside would never spoil. "It really is a system! A real storage space!" Robin was overjoyed. Spend money? That part was easy. Making money was hard. But spending it? Anyone could do that. Especially once the apocalypse began. When that happened, money would turn into nothing but useless paper. In an emergency, even a pack of instant noodles would be far more valuable. 167 hours. That was almost seven days. She had to complete the "Big Spender" achievement within those seven days. Now that she had stocked up on basic instant noodles, shouldn't she also buy some premium instant foods? Pork ramen, hot & spicy ramen, chili ramen, teriyaki ramen, roast chicken ramen, and others. Stockpile! She started with ten boxes of each flavor. Just these instant foods alone added up to over a thousand boxes. Among them, she excitedly ordered 1,000 bowls of premium instant noodles from a well-known brand. Those were practically the luxury version of instant noodles. Normally, two bowls cost around 55 dollars. Robin had only eaten them twice before, but she had loved them ever since. Still, they were expensive, so she rarely bought them again. But now? There was no way she'd skip them. When she finished, she had spent over 100,000 dollars. The storage space in her mind had expanded to more than 1,000 square feet, yet the Big Spender progress bar had barely reached three percent. "So the system really wants me to spend money," Robin muttered with a small laugh. In her previous life, she had suffered for ten long years after the apocalypse began. This time, her goal wasn't just to survive. She wanted to live well. After thinking for a moment, she went to another shop on Amazon and ordered 1,000 pounds of boneless chicken wings from several different stores. That was her absolute favorite. For some reason, the wings bought online always tasted better than the ones sold in regular stores. 1,000 pounds came to about 20,000 dollars. Just then, she heard a soft "oink, oink" from the bedroom. The door slowly pushed open. A round, pink pig nearly three feet long waddled out, snorting as she walked toward Robin. "Ruby..." Robin froze when she saw the pig. A moment later, her eyes quickly turned red. The pig's full name was Princess Ruby. Eric Neel, that playful old man who loved surprising people with unusual gifts, had given her to Robin. Many people didn't realize that pigs ranked among the top ten smartest animals in the world. In fact, they were smarter than most dogs, except maybe border collies. Their emotions were stable as well. If you kept things clean and managed the hygiene properly, a pig could actually make a very good pet. In her previous life, Noah and Zelda had come running to Robin for shelter. But while she was asleep, the two of them secretly slaughtered Ruby. Robin woke up when the smell of cooked meat drifted through the house. When she demanded an explanation, Noah looked even angrier than she was. "Robin, do you even understand what the priority is here?" he snapped. "At a time like this, what matters more—people or animals? "Besides, she's just a pig. Pigs are meant to be food. You keep saying we're your best friends, but when your friends are in trouble, you suddenly act so cheap? Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you." That clumsy mix of guilt-tripping and manipulation had actually fooled Robin in her previous life. Thinking about all the stupid things she had done back then, Robin almost wanted to slap herself. Ruby snorted softly. She nudged Robin's calf with her long snout and tilted her head to look up at her. Her eyes held a kind of innocent, clueless look. Robin gently pinched Ruby's wide ear and said quietly, "Don't worry. This time, I'll protect you." Ruby snorted again. It was hard to tell if she understood, but she rubbed her piggy face against Robin's palm. After making the payment, Robin thought for a moment and called a real estate agent she knew. "Ms. Neel, are you really planning to sell your three-bedroom apartment downtown?!" the agent asked in shock. In a major city like Klam, and right in the downtown area, a three-bedroom apartment—even one just under 1,000 square feet—was worth at least two or even three million dollars. "Sell it," Robin said calmly. Downtown? Once the zombie virus broke out, downtown areas with huge crowds would become the first places to fall. It was far better to turn the apartment into cash, the only resource she could truly use right now. "And how much are you planning to sell it for?" the agent asked cautiously. Robin was just about to answer when she suddenly heard movement at the door. Someone opened the house with a key. A well-dressed man and woman walked straight inside. Even though Robin was still on the phone, the woman acted as if she didn't notice. The moment she stepped in, she started complaining angrily. "Robin, what had you done? Didn't I tell you Jim was someone Aunt Mabel introduced? You made such a mess of things that now I—" Noah and Zelda. Her enemies had appeared right in front of her. The pain from her previous life surged through her body in an instant. Hatred rose like a storm. Robin had to use every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from grabbing a knife and cutting them apart. The apocalypse hadn't begun yet. They hadn't faced true despair. If they died now, it would be far too easy for them. Robin cut her off coldly. "Shh." Zelda's words were forced back down her throat. She blinked in confusion. For some reason, Robin seemed a little strange today. Robin spoke into the phone again, her voice steady. "I need to sell quickly, so my lowest price is two million. You know the value of that apartment. Downtown, three bedrooms. Even at 2.5 million, someone would buy it." Zelda gasped in shock, completely forgetting why she had come. "What?! Robin, you're selling this apartment?!" Noah's expression changed as well. "Wait, Robin, what are you thinking? The location is great, transportation is convenient, and you're selling it for only two million?" Robin finally lowered the phone from her ear. "What's the problem?" The two of them exchanged glances, both looking pained. "This is a big decision," one of them said. "And you didn't even talk it over with us first?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "My apartment. Even if I gave it away for free, that's my choice. Why would I need to discuss it with you?" "Well... " That question completely stopped them. They had long been used to interfering in Robin's life. Now that they actually had to explain why, neither of them could come up with an answer. Right. Why? Noah opened his mouth and said with a righteous tone, "We are your best friends. For something this important, shouldn't we talk about it?" "Oh—" Robin dragged out the word. After giving the agent a quick explanation, she hung up the phone. Then she looked at the two of them with a faint, mocking smile. Best friends? In her previous life, she had truly believed that. But what had they done to her? They talked about friendship in front of her but treated her like a complete fool behind her back. How could Jim have broken into her apartment without anyone noticing in her previous life without their help? Robin had never suspected them before. But now that she looked back, too many things didn't add up. The door lock that day hadn't been damaged. Her apartment only had two sets of keys, and the second one was with Zelda. Robin wouldn't believe for a second that Zelda had nothing to do with it. She thought they were her friends. To them, she was just a joke. Zelda's eyes darted around for a moment. Then she suddenly lit up with excitement. "Robin, if you're really going to sell that apartment, why not sell it to me? That place is worth way more than two million. If you sell it to someone else, they'll be getting a huge bargain. Instead of letting strangers get the deal, you might as well let me have it!" She flashed a wide smile. "You know what they say—good things should stay among friends. "Noah and I can probably pull together about 1.5 million right now. We're your best friends, so there's no need to be so strict about the money. And after I buy the place, you can still come stay whenever you want. It works out for both of us." Even though Robin already knew exactly what kind of person Zelda was, she still felt the urge to smack her in the face with a slipper. How could she say something like that with a straight face? "Well..." Robin nodded slowly, as if she were seriously considering it. Zelda's smile widened with confidence. Robin was easy to fool. She had never said no to her. Just then, Robin's phone vibrated. Robin pretended to glance at the screen. Her expression quickly turned into a mix of surprise and hesitation. "Oh, Zelda. I actually think what you said makes sense," she said. "But the real estate agent just texted me. Someone else wants to buy the apartment. They're offering 2.25 million in cash, and they can close the deal tomorrow morning." Zelda immediately grew anxious. "Robin, I asked you first! You're not really going to sell it to someone else, are you?" "I don't want to," Robin said with a sigh. "But they're offering a lot of money. Zelda, you can understand that, right?" While speaking, Robin recorded the voice message for the agent. "That price works for me. Tomorrow—" "Wait!" Zelda lunged forward and grabbed her arm, her face turning pale. "Let's meet in the middle. 1.7 million. Sell it to me." Robin looked like she was thinking it over. Zelda gritted her teeth. "Fine! 1.9 million! That's everything Noah and I can gather right now!" Robin closed her phone with a sharp click. "Deal." ... Half an hour later, outside the bank. Noah frowned at her. "Zelda, are you really going to buy Robin's apartment?" "What else would I do?" Zelda replied quickly. "It's a three-bedroom apartment right in the city center, and she's selling it for 1.9 million. You don't see deals like that every day. If we miss this chance, where else are we going to find something like it? Instead of letting strangers get the bargain, we might as well keep it for ourselves." Noah thought it over. The decision did feel a bit rushed, but Zelda had a point. Between the two of them, they had emptied nearly every bank account they had. They also borrowed money from friends and relatives. After scrambling all afternoon, they finally managed to put together 1.9 million. When Robin saw the new balance in her account, she felt a wave of relief. The price was slightly lower than she had hoped for, but that didn't really matter. As long as it drained those scumbags of all their savings before the apocalypse arrived, it was worth it. Once disaster struck, they wouldn't have any money left to prepare. And besides, she would not be the one taking the loss. By the time all the paperwork was finished, the sky had already started to darken. Even though Zelda had just bought a downtown apartment, she looked sour the entire time. Robin hadn't given them the extra discount she had expected. As they were about to leave, Zelda suddenly remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh right, Robin," she said. "I forgot to ask. What exactly did you do to Jim today? Didn't I tell you to be a little nicer to him?" "Nicer?" Robin paused and looked at her. "I could've been polite. But if he sexually harasses me, should I still be polite?" "Sexually harasses—" Zelda covered her mouth in shock. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?" she said. "Maybe you did something that gave him the wrong idea. Why else would he suddenly behave like that?" Robin smiled when she heard such unbelievable reasoning. She wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it just felt ironic. Wasn't this exactly how things had played out in her previous life? At the time, Jim had been spreading rumors everywhere, claiming he and Robin had slept together. Robin went to Zelda for help, but Zelda only said, "Honestly, if you put aside his looks and money, Jim isn't that bad. What really matters is how he treats you. Everything else is secondary." And that wasn't all. After that, Zelda kept trying to brainwash her. Again and again, she listed Jim's good qualities. He was balding? That meant he was smart. Overweight? That meant he had a big heart. Besides, chubby guys were usually easygoing. And if you looked long enough, they seem kind of cute. "He tried to drag her to a hotel on the first day they met; that just shows he's an inexperienced guy who's never been in a relationship. When he likes someone, he can't hide it. He's straightforward about his feelings. A guy like that, who loves so openly, is rare these days. You shouldn't pass up someone as pure as him! "And the way he keeps messaging and bothering you? That just shows how determined he is. A man who pursues someone with that much passion is pretty rare these days!" Now Zelda sighed and said, "I really think there's some misunderstanding between you two. Sometimes you can't just look for faults in other people. Maybe you should think about whether you did something wrong too." "I honestly can't believe this," Zelda continued, sounding irritated. "I told you to be polite to him, but you didn't listen to me. My Aunt Mabel called me this afternoon and scolded me for half an hour!" Robin replied casually, "Oh. Sounds like your aunt has quite a temper." Robin's calm reaction left Zelda with nothing to argue about. Frustrated, she could only snap, "Whatever. But next time, can you think about my feelings before you pull another stunt like this?" Robin nodded right away. "Sure. I'll remember that." Of course, there wouldn't be a next time. Zelda's expression relaxed. "Good. Since the apartment will be mine soon, you should start packing over the next few days. I'm planning to hire a renovation company this month." "Alright." The three of them parted ways at a nearby intersection. But Robin didn't head home. Instead, she got a rental bike and took a different route, circling around to wait along the road Zelda and Noah had to pass on their way back. There was a small alley nearby. No cameras. A pale streetlight shone down, casting a cold glow over the empty alley. After a while, the sound of Zelda and Noah talking drifted closer. "Zelda, don't you think Robin was acting a little strange today?" Noah asked. "Robin? Strange?" Zelda laughed with clear contempt. "What's strange about her? She's the same idiot as always. I say something, and she believes it. It's honestly hilarious." Noah hesitated. "Still... wasn't it a bit rushed to buy the apartment today? You didn't even talk to me about it first." "Oh, come on." Zelda waved her hand dismissively. "Housing prices are rising fast right now. And her place is in such a great location. Try finding another apartment in that area for 1.9 million. Only that fool would sell it cheap." She waved her hand. "This time we really scored a huge barg—" Her voice suddenly stopped. "Zelda?" Noah turned around without thinking. A sharp strike landed hard on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. A dark figure slowly emerged from behind him.