Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Stockpiling 2

The salesperson kept listing features, but Ling Mo barely heard her.

She’d never understood cars. Her knowledge stopped at vans, sedans, sports cars, and trucks. Now she could add one more category: RVs.

Still, even without understanding the specs, she could see what mattered. This thing was basically a compact villa on wheels—bedrooms, kitchen, even entertainment systems. If she had to run, she could live in it.

The salesperson, meanwhile, wasn’t expecting a sale. The girl was young, but she’d paid the deposit without hesitation, which meant her family was wealthy. If the salesperson built a good relationship now, Ling Mo might become a client later. Even if she couldn’t buy today, that didn’t mean she couldn’t buy later.

Then Ling Mo spoke.

“How much is it?”

“Twelve million.”

“I’ll take it. Can it be driven away today?”

The salesperson froze.

When she recovered, her voice shook with disbelief. “You… you want to buy this RV?”

“Yes.”

Ling Mo didn’t waver.

The salesperson’s attitude flipped instantly. She led Ling Mo into a VIP lounge, asked her to wait, and then ran around processing paperwork at a speed that bordered on frantic.

When everything was ready, all Ling Mo had to do was sign.

“Miss Ling, these are your keys and the purchase contract. Please keep them safe.”

Ling Mo accepted them, then added calmly, “Can you deliver the RV to an address for me? I don’t have a driver’s license.”

“Of course,” the salesperson said immediately. “Just tell us where, and we’ll arrange it.”

Once the deal was done, Ling Mo suddenly realized she’d overlooked an entire category of supplies.

Transportation wasn’t just cars.

What about boats? If floods came, a boat could save her life. And life jackets. Oxygen tanks.

She made a mental note: the gap-checking mattered.

There were too many things left to buy, and she wasn’t going to waste time visiting stores one by one. She’d order online and have everything delivered to her warehouse.

Under the relentless sun, she headed toward a large supermarket—partly for inspiration, partly to escape the heat indoors.

On the way, she passed an outdoor supply shop and immediately added outdoor gear to her list. The RV was great, but it was also conspicuous. Sometimes you needed something less obvious. And the more attention she attracted, the higher the chance someone noticed her pocket space.

Inside the supermarket, she saw a honey promotion. Golden, bright, tempting.

Wait.

Her pocket space didn’t have bees.

She pulled out her phone and added bees to her shopping list.

A little farther in, she spotted foldable family swimming pools.

Those things could hold a lot of water. Thinking about the furnace-like weather outside, she promptly bought all twenty on the shelf.

Then she filled her cart with candies, snacks, milk tea, instant coffee. She grabbed some toilet paper, though she planned to order most of it online.

When she reached the skincare aisle, she didn’t even hesitate. She added skincare products to her cart as well.

No girl hated being comfortable in her own skin. If she had the means, why shouldn’t she live well?

She stayed inside until the afternoon sun began to dip.

When the air outside finally eased a little, she left her address with the supermarket and had them deliver her purchases to her home. She’d bought enough that it could’ve been a hassle, but the staff agreed readily.

Ling Mo headed to her warehouse instead.

Deliveries had already piled up. The warehouse was crammed full, and the RV dominated the space like a sleeping beast.

With a casual sweep of her hand, she stored everything in her pocket space and left in a far better mood.

On the way home, she passed a pet shop.

Without thinking, she met eyes with a small border collie inside.

In her last life, she’d loved animals, but money had always forced that love to stay buried. Now, with an empty house and danger looming, keeping a dog—someone to watch over her—didn’t feel like indulgence. It felt sensible.

A border collie might be too clever for a guard dog, but clever had its uses.

In the end, she chose five border collies, two German shepherds, and two Maine coons.

The border collies would stay in the pocket space to manage the livestock and keep them from breaking pens and trampling gardens and orchards. The German shepherds would protect her. The Maine coons… were for her arms and her heart.

When she paid, something inside her loosened. It was subtle, but real—like she’d finally put a weight down.

She looked at the cats and dogs at her feet and smiled.

Good.

She wasn’t alone anymore.

Since she’d taken them, she stocked up on pet food, treats, and cat litter.

Cat litter was useful. If the water and power went out later, it could solve the bathroom problem. She could handle things in the pocket space, sure, but she still needed to keep up appearances.

The clerk tried to sell her toys, but Ling Mo refused. No matter how realistic they were, they were still fake. There were real trees in the pocket space. What did she need plastic for?

Back home, she let the little ones explore and settle in, then started opening packages. Some of yesterday’s orders had already arrived.

By the time she finished, the cardboard boxes formed a small mountain.

It wasn’t trash.

It was safety, stacked high.

She didn’t leave them out. With the daytime heat so extreme, she worried the boxes might even catch fire. She stored the boxes and the unpacked goods inside the pocket space instead.

After cleaning up, she pulled out her phone again and ordered everything she’d noted during the day.

For high-demand items like bacon and ham, she contacted the manufacturer directly and had the shipments sent straight to the warehouse.

Then she set up one of the portable pools. It took up half the living room in an instant, but the capacity made her deeply satisfied.

She turned on the tap and began filling it.

While scrolling through an app, she discovered custom-sized heat-insulating mats.

If she sealed the windows with those mats, the house should stay much cooler.

She ordered them immediately—then added several ice makers, too.