Chapter 003 Termination of Benevolence and Righteousness

"Chuchu, don't worry, this house won't be bought late for you," Lin Jiu put down the porridge in her hand. She couldn't help it. Even if she was hungry and cherished food, she felt that the porridge was too hot and disgusting.

"Even with a down payment of 300,000, we can't buy a very good house. Besides, we still have to pay off the mortgage, right? Xiaoye's salary is not high, and I quit my job. We'll have to rely on our parents for the mortgage in the future, won't we?"

After hearing this, Lin's mother fell silent. Lin's father was just an ordinary bus driver, and Lin's mother had retired long ago, and her pension was not generous. If they really bought a house, they would have to dip into her retirement money.

"So what do you suggest? Who told you to quit your job for no reason? Now it's all messed up..."

"Mom, I plan to use that 300,000 to invest with Mr. Li. The project will yield returns in two months, and we'll have at least 400,000 in hand by then."

Lin Jiu interrupted her mother's complaints and casually dangled the bait.

"If we use the 400,000 to buy a house for Xiaoye, we can still have around 100,000 left for the mortgage. If we continue to invest, it won't be a problem for the whole family to change houses."

"Jiu, are you serious? Is it reliable?"

Lin's father's heart was moved, and he put down his chopsticks.

"Dad, when our family went to B city last time, didn't you meet Mr. Li Chaoyang? He won't deceive me. He also doesn't care about our small amount of money."

Lin Jiu shamelessly brought up Li Chaoyang's name. After all, the end of the world was just around the corner. When the time comes, it will be difficult to survive, and they can still find someone in B city to verify, right?

"I quit my job this time because Mr. Li wanted me to invest with him. Why would I quit if I was doing well?"

"Okay, Dad, I understand."

Lin's father pulled Lin's mother into the bedroom, and Lin Jiu knew that she had succeeded for the most part today.

Only by getting her hard-earned 300,000 in hand and stocking up on supplies, could she have a secure life in the end of the world.

As for the life and death of the Lin family?

Lin Jiu asked herself, not to mention that in her previous life, she was manipulated and died by this family in the end of the world. Just speaking of the money that Lin's father and mother had squeezed out of her over the years was several times more than the money they spent raising her.

She had earned so much from them, and she had already repaid the debt of raising her. Their life and death had nothing to do with her anymore.

The old house had poor sound insulation, and Lin Jiu could hear the low voices of Lin's father and mother in the bedroom.

Lin Ye ate breakfast in silence, as if these things had nothing to do with him, slurping the porridge loudly, which made Xu Chuchu frown.

After a while, the bedroom door opened, and Lin Jiu keenly saw Lin's mother holding two bank cards, one was her savings, and the other she had never seen before.

It seemed that there was a bit of a surprise this time.

"Jiu, " Lin's father rubbed his hands, his face smiling kindly, making Lin Jiu feel nauseous, "I discussed with your mother. Can you talk to Mr. Li and invest our money as well?"

After speaking, as if afraid that Lin Jiu would refuse, Lin's father gestured to Lin's mother.

"Daughter..." Lin's mother's words made Lin Jiu's hair stand on end.

Lin's mother paused, but she still felt that it was not worth it to lower herself in front of her manipulative daughter, so she quickly changed her address.

"Jiu, we've worked hard all our lives and saved up this little money. Your brother's marriage house is still undecided... It's not a bad idea to earn a little more, is it?"

Lin Ye's marriage house was undecided, what about her marriage? As parents, they had never planned a single penny for her?

Lin Jiu nodded, seeming hesitant, "I can't say for sure. I'll ask Mr. Li later..."

"Okay, okay." Lin's mother smiled and carefully handed the bank card to Lin Jiu.

"This is your 300,000, and this card has 200,000 that your father and I have saved over the years. You must talk to Mr. Li and see if you can add this money. If not, you should try to please him. He's rich and promising, and you won't lose out, will you?"

Lin's father pulled Lin's mother, making her stop talking. After all, Lin Jiu was also their daughter. How could a mother remind her daughter like this? Wasn't she afraid of losing face?

"Why are you pulling me? I'm doing this for her own good. Do you think she'll lose out..."

Lin Jiu had 500,000 in her hand and didn't want to stay here for another minute.

She had long been familiar with her mother's behavior, and she had heard even more unpleasant words. This time, she had come for the money, and being told a few more words wouldn't hurt her.

"Okay, Mom, I'll get this done in the next two or three days. Wait for my message."

"Wait," Lin's mother stopped Lin Jiu and took out a piece of paper from the drawer, "Investments also have risks. We can't just throw away the money we've saved over the years. Write an IOU, as if you borrowed money from home."

Even Xu Chuchu couldn't help but raise her head in disbelief, looking at Lin's mother's self-righteous face.

As a illegitimate daughter, she had seen a lot of strange things since she was a child, but she had never encountered a mother treating her own daughter like this.

Lin Jiu took a deep breath, calmed down the bitterness in her heart, and looked at Lin's father's quickly averted gaze, her heart trembling.

Fine, very well...

Lin Jiu took out a pen and quickly wrote an IOU.

"Don't write 200,000, write 500,000!"

Lin's mother was practically sticking her eyes to the paper.

Lin Jiu wrote the IOU at the fastest speed, signed it, and pressed her fingerprint. She took Lin's mother's ID card and the passwords for the two bank cards.

"Okay, I'll get this done in the next two or three days. Wait for my message, Mom."

"Okay, then I'll go contact Mr. Li. Give me your ID, I'll make an appointment to transfer the money."

"Wait, " Lin's mother stopped Lin Jiu and took out a piece of paper from the drawer, "Investments also have risks. We can't just throw away the money we've saved over the years. Write an IOU, as if you borrowed money from home."

Even Xu Chuchu couldn't help but raise her head in disbelief, looking at Lin's mother's self-righteous face.

As a illegitimate daughter, she had seen a lot of strange things since she was a child, but she had never encountered a mother treating her own daughter like this.

Lin Jiu took a deep breath, calmed down the bitterness in her heart, and looked at Lin's father's quickly averted gaze, her heart trembling.

Fine, very well...

Lin Jiu took out a pen and quickly wrote an IOU.

"Don't write 200,000, write 500,000!"

Lin's mother was practically sticking her eyes to the paper.

Lin Jiu wrote the IOU at the fastest speed, signed it, and pressed her fingerprint. She took Lin's mother's ID card and the passwords for the two bank cards.

"Okay, I'll get this done in the next two or three days. Wait for my message, Mom."

As she turned around, her beaming smile turned into a gloomy expression. Lin Jiu descended the stairs, her steps neither fast nor slow, her eyes filled with a cold determination.

They had personally shattered all her aspirations. From now on, everyone would go their separate ways, and those who loved would die for them.

Lin Jiu left the residential area and first went to two banks to make appointments for large withdrawals. It was impossible to withdraw the money today; she would have to wait until the next day. She couldn't be bothered to visit the Lin family again. After withdrawing the money, she would simply send Lin's mother's ID card back by express delivery.

Now, she needed to quickly start stockpiling supplies.

What was most important in the apocalypse? Food, weapons, and transportation.

Lin Jiu headed straight to the agricultural wholesale market, falsely claiming that a supermarket was about to open and managed to secure a direct supply channel from a grain and oil store.

Staple foods like rice and flour had to be stockpiled. Not only were they edible, but they were also the hard currency within the safe zone, aside from zombie crystals.

In addition, she also bought convenient-to-store ham, canned meats with long shelf lives, instant noodles, and various packaged dried and pickled vegetables.

Leaving aside other considerations, she had to ensure that she had enough food in hand before the official safe zone developed and stabilized, and before she headed to the safe zone.

Lin Jiu obtained the contact information of the suppliers and couldn't help but buy a large amount of fresh vegetables and meat. She then hurried back with bags in hand. However, before she could leave the agricultural market, she was almost overwhelmed by the various food items pressing against her.

Her current physical fitness was incomparable to that after the apocalypse. It seemed that she needed to prioritize exercising.

Finally out of the market, Lin Jiu couldn't resist the urge and painfully hailed a taxi to head to a small courtyard in the suburbs.

In the car, as she watched the crowds coming and going outside the window, she fell into silence for a moment.

She wasn't devoid of sympathy. The spirit of unity in the face of a great disaster was certainly not lacking, but it was only under the premise of a few areas being affected.

In a global apocalypse, there were no innocent people.

She wasn't a savior and couldn't save so many people. It would be good enough if she could survive herself.

She had more preparations to make.

Weapons... were really giving Lin Jiu a headache. In her previous life, when the apocalypse suddenly arrived, her so-called weapons were just makeshift items like steel pipes, watermelon knives, and fire axes. When she was desperate, she even used chair legs.

In theory, the fatal weak points of zombies were in their heads, so sharp steel bars or sharp and heavy fire axes were good choices. Other bladed tools could only be gradually acquired after the apocalypse.

In her previous life, Lin Jiu had coincidentally acquired a Tang sword, which had an ancient appearance, a sharp and durable blade, and lasted for three years with just one use.

But now, the legal system was still very strict, and the Tang sword was a controlled type of blade. Even if it was available for sale, most of them were props for film and television use. To obtain a real one... she had no way!

After thinking for a while, Lin Jiu ultimately settled on steel bars as her weapon. She would smash the ends of the steel bars into a pointed shape. With proper force, she could pierce the head of a basic zombie, which was also convenient.

Moreover, steel bars were not subject to control. She could discreetly find a small workshop in a remote area that produced agricultural tools, and no one would be the wiser.

As for transportation... with her current financial resources, she couldn't afford to buy a sturdy and good car. It was better to rent one from a car dealership before the apocalypse approached.

In a small city like Z City, there were many sports cars and luxury cars in the car dealerships, but they were very impractical, with low chassis that could get stuck after running over just two zombies. The most ideal type of vehicle for survival in the apocalypse was an off-road vehicle, but it was hard to come by in Z City.

A too-good car would attract attention. For Lin Jiu, a city off-road vehicle was already sufficient. When her strength improved, she would naturally find a way to acquire better transportation.

Lin Jiu had originally planned to temporarily stay in her grandmother's small courtyard after the apocalypse began. The houses in the courtyard were made of sturdy brick and tile structures, so she didn't have to worry for the time being.

She just needed to reinforce the gate and other things. At least before the appearance of Level 2 mutant zombies, Lin Jiu could still sleep peacefully in the small courtyard.

After calculating everything, Lin Jiu sadly realized that 500,000 yuan was simply not enough for her plans. She had to be frugal in everything.

She could consider looking for small-scale loans to raise some more money.

With these thoughts in mind, Lin Jiu finally returned to her grandmother's small courtyard. This area was almost entirely farmland, forming a not-so-small village with several hundred households.

Especially since this courtyard was separated from other households by a stretch of land, the flow of people was not very high. The more Lin Jiu looked, the more satisfied she became.

She carried all the bags into the courtyard, opened the door, and found red bricks laid out in the courtyard, with weeds taking over the gaps between them.

Outside the kitchen, there was a deep well. Even though there was already running water here, Lin Jiu still had a strong preference for this deep well. The well water was clean and cool.

Unfortunately, after the apocalypse, all water resources would be contaminated by the zombie virus, and this old well would not be spared.

Lin Jiu opened all the doors and windows to ventilate the place. After making calls to the suppliers and ordering various food and goods, she began to clean the main hall and turn it into a warehouse for storing food.

Returning after many years, Lin Jiu felt that even the musty smell in the air was quite lovely.

In Lin Jiu's childhood, filled with injustice and suffering, her grandmother was the only bright spot. The old lady would save money to give Lin Jiu as pocket money, and would secretly buy her a few packs of shrimp chips and a box of candies from the supermarket at the village entrance.

In Lin Jiu's memory, her grandmother's "wallet," wrapped in layers of cloth scraps in her pocket, was one of the few sources of happiness and warmth for her.

Sighing, she said, "Grandma, I'm back!"