The next morning.

Kathy Wren got up early and jogged around the mountaintop a couple of times. This was thanks to her parents' decision, while they were still alive, to hire a retired special forces soldier as her mentor.

Kathy was in pretty good shape; in this post-apocalyptic world, physical fitness was crucial. The first to perish were those with poor health.

After her run, she practiced a bit in the yard. Once finished, she returned to the dining room for breakfast. Today, she planned to contact a few mentors to enhance her villa's security system.

She intended to replace the windows with the latest glass on the market, which had a strength comparable to anti-theft glass and also provided insulation, effective in both extreme cold and heat. Additionally, she would apply a one-way film.

All the walls would be equipped with insulation, and the main door was fortified with a combination lock setup that required three layers of verification: iris recognition, a password, and a voice command. As long as Kathy stayed indoors, no one would be able to enter.

The villa was two stories high with a large courtyard. On the second floor, south-facing, was Kathy's bedroom, alongside a walk-in closet, a study, a living room, and two bathrooms. 

The first floor featured a spacious living room, two bathrooms, a large kitchen, and two guest rooms. Kathy decided to merge the living room on the first floor with the adjacent sitting room, turning it into a large training area. She would dismantle the kitchen to combine the second-floor study and living room into a new kitchen setup.

On the second floor, near the fireplace, Kathy placed a large dining table, intending to have her meals there throughout the extreme winter.

Moreover, the villa's courtyard wall had been heightened and thickened to prevent any average person from climbing over.

Kathy also purchased a double-door refrigerator and two freezers to store the instant food she had bought, mindful of keeping a low profile.

Some packages she had ordered yesterday via an online shopping app had already arrived. With sufficient funds, timely delivery was a given, especially since Kathy was a top customer.

She stored everything in a space she had created, organizing it into different zones for easy access later.

Oh, and the balcony!

Kathy instructed the installers to enclose the balcony and installed several solar panels on the roof to generate electricity during outages.

What else? 

While deep in thought, Kathy felt something rubbing against her leg. She looked down to see Goldie! Goldie was a golden British Shorthair, aptly named for his golden fur.

Seeing his owner looking at him, Goldie mewed softly.

"Meow~"

That was Goldie's sound when he was hungry.

Kathy picked him up and gave his head a gentle kiss. "Ah, how could I forget about you, Goldie!"

She poured two spoonfuls of cat food into Goldie's bowl, added some wet food, and topped it off with water.

Then, she opened her shopping app again, this time to buy items for Goldie. First on the list were essentials like cat food and litter.

To avoid arousing suspicion from sellers, she ordered three thousand bags of cat food and three thousand bags of litter from various stores, claiming she owned a large pet shop with high demand.

She also bought various toys in bulk and assorted outfits, shoes, and hats for Goldie, deciding against a cat bed as he could sleep with her.

Kathy made sure to stock up on pet medications as well, should Goldie ever fall ill.

After finalizing her shopping, she patted Goldie's head and prepared to head out to collect the weapons she had arranged with a classmate.

Her classmate's surname was Xu, and he would be delivering them to Kathy's storage facility. She drove over to the warehouse.

Upon arrival, Xu was already waiting at the entrance.

"Long time no see, Kathy!" Xu said with a smile.

"Long time no see," Kathy replied, returning his smile.

As Xu called for his men to unload the truck, he remarked, "I never expected my biggest order would be from you! You really helped me out!"

Kathy raised an eyebrow. Xu’s family was one of the largest weapon dealers in A City, and since his father had many illegitimate children, this order would likely give him a leg up.

"Those are the goods you requested," Xu pointed to a pile of boxes on the left. "You know, we can only get you this much in the country. Any more would… well, the higher-ups wouldn’t approve."

Kathy nodded. "This is already quite good. Thank you."

Xu smiled. "No need for thanks; you’re being too formal. But I'm curious, why does someone like you, always so well-behaved, need so many supplies?"

Kathy had her explanation prepared; she would shift all the blame to a relative. "It’s for a family member."

Xu nodded, unsure if he believed her, just as the last of the goods was unloaded.

"I’ll take off then. I have some buzzing fleas at home to deal with," Xu said.

Kathy hesitated a moment before adding, "I’ve heard some news—this year's temperatures will be abnormal, possibly extremely cold. You should stock up on food and warm clothing."

After all, she was giving him this information because he had sold her quite a few weapons. Whether he took heed of her warning was up to him.

Xu glanced at her from his truck, nodding. "Thanks." Even though Kathy’s parents had passed away, her family still held significant status, making her intel credible.

Kathy entered the warehouse and opened the boxes: handguns, sniper rifles, grenades, and—oh! A few crates of rocket launchers!

Kathy’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Her mentor had taught her how to handle various firearms, and she knew how to use them all. Unfortunately, both her mentor and parents had died in a plane crash.

Feeling a wave of sadness, Kathy found herself missing them, especially her mentor.

But there was no time for deep sorrow. Kathy stored all the weapons in her space and drove to another warehouse where the food delivery she had ordered yesterday had arrived. She stored the groceries and milk tea in her space, and then drove home.

By the time she got back, another part of her online orders had arrived. She stored everything properly and categorized it; at this point, the sun was already setting.

Kathy decided to make some curry rice for dinner.

After washing the rice, she added water and set it in the electric cooker. She took a carrot, an onion, a potato, and two chicken thighs, chopping everything into pieces.

In a pan, she heated oil and sautéed the potato and carrot pieces before adding in the chicken and onion, stirring continuously. Once nearly cooked, she covered the ingredients with enough water to simmer.

Letting it simmer on low heat for twenty minutes, she then added curry blocks, watching as the sauce thickened.

Kathy tasted it—perfect!

The rice was done as well, so she served three scoops on a plate, topping it with two generous ladles of curry. Fragrant! Goldie, having appeared out of nowhere, was meowing by her feet.

Kathy refilled Goldie's bowl with cat food and water, retrieved a coconut drink from the fridge, and turned on the TV to watch a movie while she ate.

Goldie joined her, happily munching on his cat food. Apart from occasionally sneaking over to lick Kathy's rice, he was very well-behaved.