With 26 days left until the horrifying apocalypse…

I drove straight to a funeral supply shop in the remote outskirts.

While it was called a funeral supply shop, it was essentially a narrow shop with the elderly owner, Milton, behind the counter.

In my previous life, after the horrifying apocalypse, I had received a bank card with a balance of one thousand joss dollars. I knew deep down that it was a form of protection from my deceased father.

I had burned joss paper worth a hundred billion in his honor, but only the one thousand joss dollars I purchased from this shop could be transformed into usable underworld money after the apocalypse.

I steadied my thoughts and said to the owner, "I'd like to buy some joss paper."

The owner Milton immediately handed me a stack of joss paper and said, "These joss papers are handmade following traditional techniques. A stack of one thousand joss dollars costs only ten dollars. When you burn these, your ancestors can buy everything they need in the underworld."

Ten dollars can only buy one thousand joss dollars. This price was not just expensive, it was outrageously exorbitant!

In other stores, even a thick stack of joss paper with denominations reaching billions or trillions is sold for just ten dollars. However, most other cheap joss paper available on the market couldn't be used in the underworld.

While communicating with Milton, I learned why this was the case.

Milton's village, Phantom Glade, had a tradition of conducting funeral businesses for generations. Every household in the village makes a living by producing funeral supplies.

The traditional handmade joss paper was a painstaking craft. Special paper had to be selected and cut in a specific way. It was then dyed, printed, and dried, all done by hand, and the process included burning incense and offering prayers to heaven and earth. It was time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly.

Milton sighed and said, "But later on, the funeral industry introduced machines like the joss paper printer, the juice extractor, and the ingot stacker, which produced more and cheaper items. These traditional handmade joss papers from our village are no match for the efficiency of the machines. Our people couldn't make money in this business anymore, so the younger generations left for work, and the elderly in the village started producing less."

This was probably why the cheap joss paper from other stores couldn't be used. Patterns printed with a machine on regular paper were just worthless papers in the underworld.

"Can you make ten billion joss dollars in twenty days?" I asked Milton seriously.

Milton thought I was joking but still answered, "If we gather all the idle villagers, it is possible. However, even if we make it, no one will come all the way here to buy."

"I will buy," I said, and opened my phone to display the balance of 8.1 million dollars in my account. "As long as you can make it, this 8 million is a down payment. In twenty days, I will bring 100 million to pick up the order."

Milton blinked, his eyes gradually lighting up with disbelief.

"It's her, she wants to spend 100 million to buy ten billion joss dollars from us," Milton pointed at me and told the village chief, "She has already made a down payment of 8 million."

The village chief's mouth opened in astonishment, then closed, looking at Milton, then at me, as if he was observing a crazy rich woman.

I explained with a lie, "Our family business relies on the protection of ancestors. We burn a lot of joss paper every year to show gratitude to them. Last night, my ancestors appeared in my dream and specifically requested this amount joss paper made in your village within twenty days, saying that the joss paper from other shops wouldn't work."

I spoke confidently, though it was all nonsense. But I had no other choice. If I told the truth that the world would end in 26 days, I would likely be treated as a lunatic.

The village chief was immersed in joy, and didn't press for further questions. After all, when business came knocking, who would refuse it? I also praised the village for their authentic craftsmanship, which my ancestors greatly appreciated.

The village chief's face lit up with a prideful smile, hurriedly went from house to house to announce this good news.

Earning 100 million in twenty days would be a windfall for the entire village.

With the joss paper arrangements in place, I had 100 thousand dollars remaining.

I spent some time shopping at Milton's store.

The shop had many intriguing items, all handcrafted by the villagers and in limited quantities. There were paper birds, foxes, paper people, and paper boats made of joss paper. Large red lanterns, umbrellas, and red capes made of red oil paper. Copper mirrors and peach wood swords. There were also various delicate paper flowers, especially chrysanthemums and paper blossoms.

Traditionally, these items were burned along with joss paper to honor the deceased. I wonder whether these small items would serve a purpose in the underworld.

I bought all these items with the intention of trying them out. The most numerous items were the chrysanthemums and paper flowers, totaling over 500 dollars.

In my previous life, my fate was too fragile, and I died without a chance to explore these things further. What I didn't expect was that these items, purchased out of curiosity at this moment, will bring me tremendous surprises when I enter the horrifying apocalypse.