Chapter 205: The Phoenix Man Who Soared Before the Apocalypse (10)

Young Master Huo was a straightforward man. Not long after he hung up the phone, someone else called him.

“Hello, Young Master Shen? Young Master Huo asked me to contact you. I heard you’re looking to buy gasoline?”

“Yes, yes, I need both gasoline and diesel. I’ll take as much as you’ve got, even sixty tons—I can handle it.”

“Uh???”

The person on the other end was clearly startled. No one had told him the order would be that massive.

He hesitated and said, “That’s really flattering, but we don’t have that much at a single gas station. Plus, we still have to keep enough to operate normally.”

“I understand, I understand. Just give me however much you can spare—I’ll take it all.”

“Alright, I’ll do my best to gather what I can for you.”

After all, this was a directive from higher up. His job was just to execute it. The buyer was paying in full, and the more he sold, the higher his commission.

Shen Xiuyan added, “By the way, do you have any empty fuel drums? Get me some of those too.”

When the apocalypse hits, he could use the chaos to grab more fuel for free. That stuff would be priceless then.

For a moment, Shen Xiuyan was possessed by the spirit of a miser.

“Yes, yes, I’ll get them all ready for you.”

Shen Xiuyan said, “It needs to be fast. I’d prefer it delivered by tomorrow morning.”

“Uh… that’s a bit rushed. The guys might not be willing to work that early.”

“I’ll give you 200,000 yuan as a personal bonus once it’s done.”

“Ay, what are you saying? That’s not rushed at all. I’ll make sure it’s delivered first thing tomorrow. Just a little overtime—no big deal!”

As expected of a friend of Young Master Huo—generous to the core.

He was determined to handle this job perfectly.

And since he was getting paid, he certainly wasn’t going to tell Young Master Huo anything about it.

So when the apocalypse came, Young Master Huo had no idea Shen Xiuyan had bought up so much gasoline from him…

With the fuel handled, Shen Xiuyan called Su Mingyue. After learning that everyone had already left the supermarket, he rushed over.

The manager standing at the entrance lit up when he saw Shen Xiuyan arrive. “You’re here! Want me to give you a quick tour?”

Shen Xiuyan waved a hand. “No need. You’ve worked hard enough. Go home and get some rest. Just leave me the keys to the warehouse and the front gate. The construction crew will be arriving later.”

The manager looked at him gratefully. “Thank you, thank you. Here are all the keys. I’ll be heading out then?”

“Go ahead.”

With that confirmation, the manager left happily.

Once he was sure the man was gone, Shen Xiuyan opened a small door to the warehouse and slipped inside alone.

The first thing he did was cut the power. He even disabled the backup generator.

This was to ensure the surveillance system would go completely dark. He didn’t want any footage of him loading up supplies to exist once the apocalypse started.

To be extra safe, he even made a trip to the surveillance room to confirm that all equipment was shut down. Only then did he begin his real work.

The warehouse was packed with goods of all kinds.

Shen Xiuyan didn’t even bother to check what they were—he just started loading.

His spatial ability was incredibly convenient. It responded to his thoughts, and even frozen goods could be stored without thawing, as long as he willed it. It was better than a refrigerator.

In the blink of an eye, stacks and stacks of goods vanished into his space.

Of course, he wasn’t satisfied with just that. He wasn’t going to leave the front retail area untouched either.

By the time he finished loading everything, he was drenched in sweat.

Phew, finally done.

Looking at the now-bare supermarket, Shen Xiuyan chuckled. Not even a robbery could clean a place out this thoroughly.

He wondered what people would think when they came here after the apocalypse started.

Not that it mattered to him.

He repeated the same process at the other two supermarkets, sweeping up all their supplies as well.

By the time he was done, night had already fallen and the city lights were glowing.

Right then, Su Mingyue called. Everything she had bought today had been delivered to the warehouse, and she needed him to come over and store it.

Shen Xiuyan, exhausted as he was, dragged his tired body over without delay.

*

From a distance, Su Mingyue spotted Shen Xiuyan, looking a bit worse for wear.

It had only been a day, but he looked completely disheveled.

His hair was dusty, his jacket was covered in random white patches—he looked like he’d been off in the wilderness living the survivalist life.

Su Mingyue found it amusing and couldn’t help but laugh.

Shen Xiuyan gave her a resentful look.

Su Mingyue wisely shut her mouth and asked with concern, “You must be exhausted.”

But Shen Xiuyan wasn’t buying it. He grabbed her and rubbed against her, smearing dirt on the hem of her clothes before stopping, finally satisfied.

Su Mingyue twitched at the corners of her mouth. Since when was he this petty?

But she liked it. He felt more alive now, and much closer to her.

“Alright, enough messing around. Let me see what you bought today.” Shen Xiuyan pulled her toward the warehouse.

At the outer edge of the warehouse were piles of burlap sacks, packed with all kinds of seeds. Whether they planted them in the space or in a permanent settlement later, they’d ensure sustainable growth.

Further in were various types of livestock, though not many—just a dozen or so of each kind.

And beyond that were some fully grown fruit trees.

Su Mingyue pointed at the animals and said, “I didn’t buy too many. We wouldn’t be able to care for them all. I can’t expect you to go into the space every day to feed them, right?”

“Mm, you did the right thing.”

As they walked deeper into the warehouse, they were greeted by a surprising sight—large machinery.

Plows, bulldozers, even a tractor.

The rest were machines Shen Xiuyan couldn’t even identify.

Su Mingyue had bought them all.

Shen Xiuyan looked at her in astonishment. How much had she managed to buy in such a short time?

Su Mingyue said a bit sheepishly, “I went to a few trade markets today. I had them bring back any useful machines they had. But the models are all mixed up, and I don’t even know what half of them do…”

Shen Xiuyan patted her head and praised her. “Nice work. Better to be prepared. If we settle down somewhere in the future, these will come in handy. And by then, they’ll be hard to find.”

Pleased with the praise, Su Mingyue said proudly, “Right? I also ordered a bunch of solar generators and portable power banks. They’ll arrive tomorrow afternoon.”

“Excellent, excellent.” With such a capable wife, Shen Xiuyan was very satisfied.

Without another word, he started loading again.

Su Mingyue finally understood why he had looked so dirty earlier…

She’d thought that putting things into the space was as simple as closing your eyes and snapping your fingers—poof, everything gone.

Turns out she’d been way too optimistic. Reality was much harsher.

Her husband was leaping around like a monkey from Flower-Fruit Mountain, darting back and forth among the items.

Touch something on the left—it vanished.

Touch something on the right—that disappeared too.

Even things his foot brushed against would instantly be absorbed.

Apparently, everything had to be in physical contact with him to go into the space…

Thinking about the densely packed shelves in the supermarket, Su Mingyue couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

Touching everything one by one? He might as well have rolled across the floor to save time…

Come to think of it, maybe he really did roll around in there.

Ugh, she couldn’t even bear to imagine it.

After more than an hour of work, everything was finally loaded.

The two of them, looking a little worse for wear, finally returned home.

— Translator’s Notes —

• Flower-Fruit Mountain: The mountain home of the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, from the classic Chinese novel ‘Journey to the West.’ The reference implies agile, monkey-like movements.