Apocalypse Reborn : The Doomsday Archive

Chapter 3: The First Investment

Chapter 3: The First Investment

Ethan sat at the dining table with his laptop open, a notebook beside him, and his phone in his hand.

Six days and twenty hours.

That was how much time he had before the first catastrophic event.

He needed money, supplies, weapons, and somewhere safe to stay when the world collapsed. He also needed to think beyond the first few days. In his previous life, the people who survived the longest were not necessarily the strongest. They were the ones who prepared early and understood what was coming.

He opened his banking application and checked his balance.

It was less than he wanted.

He had some savings, but not enough to buy everything he would need. His salary would not solve the problem either, and he couldn’t waste time waiting for money that might arrive too late.

“Let’s see what I can work with.”

He wrote down his available cash, his savings, and the money he could withdraw without raising unnecessary questions. Then he opened his cryptocurrency account.

He had invested a portion of his income in crypto months earlier and had mostly left it alone. In his previous life, he had lost access to much of it when the financial system began to fail.

This time, he wasn’t going to make the same mistake.

A blue screen appeared in front of him.

[DOOMSDAY ARCHIVE ACTIVATED.]

[FINANCIAL ASSETS DETECTED.]

Ethan leaned forward.

“You can see my financial information?”

[ACCESS LIMITED TO ASSETS REQUIRED FOR SURVIVAL PREPARATION.]

“Then tell me how much I need.”

A list appeared, displaying his current resources and estimated expenses.

Ethan studied it carefully. The numbers weren’t perfect, but they gave him a starting point. He could afford to prepare if he stopped wasting money on things that would become useless in a few days.

He would need food, clean water, medicine, batteries, fuel, tools, and basic weapons. He also needed to secure a place where he could store everything without attracting attention.

His current house wasn’t suitable, his two enemies had access to it but there was another option.

His family’s old house.

It had been abandoned for years, ever since his parents passed away. The building needed repairs, but it had a large compound, a storage room, and a strong perimeter wall. Most importantly, nobody visited it anymore.

It was the perfect place to begin.

Ethan looked at the system again.

“Tell me what I should prioritize.”

The Archive flickered.

[SEARCHING AVAILABLE RESOURCE RECORDS…]

[RESOURCE IDENTIFIED.]

[DESIGNATION: CORE BATTERY CELLS.]

[CURRENT VALUE: LOW.]

[POST-CATASTROPHE VALUE: EXTREMELY HIGH.]

Ethan frowned.

“Battery cells?”

[THE FIRST CATASTROPHIC EVENT WILL DISRUPT POWER DISTRIBUTION.]

[CONVENTIONAL ENERGY STORAGE WILL BECOME A CRITICAL RESOURCE.]

[ADVANCED BATTERY MATERIALS WILL BE REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN SURVIVAL SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES.]

He read the message twice.

In his previous life, electricity had become one of the first luxuries people lost, People had fought over batteries, generators, and even small power supplies .

Ethan remembered seeing a group trade several boxes of medicine for a handful of functioning energy cells. At the time, he hadn’t understood why anyone would make that exchange.

Now he did.

“Where can I find them?”

A map appeared on the display, marking several electronics wholesalers and industrial suppliers across Newton.

[RECOMMENDED ACQUISITION LOCATION IDENTIFIED.]

[ESTIMATED CURRENT COST: AFFORDABLE.]

[ESTIMATED POST-CATASTROPHE VALUE: SIGNIFICANT.]

Ethan smiled for the first time that morning.

This was what he needed. Not just information about the coming disaster, but information that could help him get ahead of everyone else.

He grabbed his car  keys and left.

The first few hours were spent visiting suppliers and electronics stores.

Ethan didn’t buy everything he could find. He focused on the types of battery cells the Archive had identified, checking their specifications and making sure he wasn’t wasting his limited funds on incompatible or damaged products.

He purchased what he could afford without drawing too much attention.

The shop owners didn’t question him beyond the usual inquiries about quantity and intended use. To them, he was simply a customer making an unusually large purchase.

By midday, he had secured his first batch.

It wasn’t enough to transform his life overnight, but it was a start.

He loaded the purchases into his car and drove straight to his family’s abandoned house.

The gate protested when he pushed it open. Dust covered the windows, and weeds had grown along the edges of the compound. The building looked forgotten, exactly as he wanted it to.

Ethan unlocked the front door and stepped inside.

The air smelled stale, and a thin layer of dust covered the furniture. He spent a little time opening the windows and checking the rooms before carrying his purchases into the storage area.

He would clean the house properly later. Right now, he needed to make sure it could hold his supplies.

He placed the battery cells in a secure corner and began making a list of what he still needed.

Food came first.

He drove to several wholesale stores and purchased rice, beans, canned food, flour, cooking oil, bottled water, and other essentials. He added first-aid supplies, disinfectants, painkillers, batteries, torches, rechargeable lamps, and basic tools.

He avoided buying everything from one shop. There was no need to make one enormous purchase that might attract attention.

Every time he returned to the house, he stored the new supplies and updated his list.

By late afternoon, the storage room was beginning to fill.

It was far from enough for long-term survival, but it was more than he had possessed at the same point in his previous life.

And he was only getting started.

His next move was the money in his cryptocurrency account.

Ethan sat on the floor beside a stack of supplies and opened the Archive.

“What’s the safest way to handle my crypto?”

[FINANCIAL RECORD ANALYSIS AVAILABLE.]

[RECOMMENDATION: CONVERT AND WITHDRAW SELECTED ASSETS BEFORE MARKET DISRUPTION.]

A list of his holdings appeared, along with the assets the Archive recommended liquidating first.

Ethan checked the figures against his account. He wasn’t going to blindly trust a system that refused to explain its origins, but the information matched the balances he could see.

He followed the recommendations, converting the selected holdings and transferring the proceeds into his bank account. He made sure the transactions were completed before counting the money as available.

The process took time, but when he finished, he had a much larger budget for the next stage of his preparations.

He leaned back against the wall.

“ oh my goodness! This is so fucking brilliant ! “ 

He felt as though he was moving forward , now he couldn’t be caught off guard when the first wave comes like he was that day the apocalypse started . 

Then the Archive displayed another notification.

[STRATEGIC LOCATION IDENTIFIED.]

[LOCATION: BLACKRIDGE CITY.]

[STRATEGIC VALUE: HIGH.]

[POST-CATASTROPHE SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: INCREASED.]

Ethan sat up.

“Blackridge City? What’s there?”

[LOCATION RECORD: PARTIALLY LOCKED.]

“Of course it’s locked, how do I get there ?.”

A map appeared, showing Newton and the surrounding region. A route extended toward Blackridge City, ending at a marked area beyond the main urban district.

Ethan studied it closely.

“Why is this place important?”

[ADVANCED SURVIVAL OPPORTUNITIES DETECTED.]

[ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL BECOME AVAILABLE AS ARCHIVE ACCESS INCREASES.]

He stared at the map, trying to recognize the location. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t remember anything specific about it from his previous life.

He knew that some cities had become important after the catastrophe and last wave . Certain places had access to resources, defensible terrain, or facilities that became essential when the world changed.

Perhaps Blackridge was one of them.

“Can you show me the exact destination?”

The map zoomed in, highlighting a section of the city.

[DESTINATION RECORDED.]

[TRAVEL PREPARATION RECOMMENDED.]

Ethan saved the map on his phone.

He didn’t know how he would get there yet. He had no vehicle suitable for a long journey under dangerous conditions, and he couldn’t afford to leave Newton before securing his immediate needs.

Still, now he had a destination.

That was enough for the moment.

He returned to his inventory and checked what he had accomplished. The house contained food, water, medical supplies, tools, and the first batch of battery cells. His money was now more accessible, and he had a location to investigate when the time came.

It was a reasonable first stage.

He was about to make another list when his phone began ringing.

Victoria was calling 

Ethan stared at her name, He immediately remembered this call, the excitement in her voice, the way she had asked him to come home, and how happy he had been when he heard her news.

This was the moment she told him that she was pregnant, he was at work that day but he could remember this call. 

Ethan finally answered.

“Hello, babe?”

Victoria sounded excited.

“Babe, you need to come home. I have incredible news for you!”

He closed his eyes briefly.

There it was.

The same words.

In his first life, Ethan had hugged her, lifted her off the ground, and promised that he would do everything to make their family happy, he kept his words untill that promise took life away from him . 

“Ethan?” Victoria called. “Are you listening?”

He opened his eyes.

“Yes,” he replied, keeping his voice steady. “I’m listening.”

“So, are you coming home?”

Ethan glanced around the abandoned house. His supplies were stacked along the walls, and the afternoon light fell through the dusty windows.

“I’ll be there,” he said.

“Good! Hurry, babe. I can’t wait to tell you.”

The call ended.

Ethan lowered the phone and stared at the screen.

He could ignore her. He could stay where he was and continue preparing. But if he wanted to understand everything that had happened, he needed to know how much of their relationship had been a lie and how far she and Derek were willing to go.

He also needed to be careful.

They still believed he was the same Ethan who trusted them without question.

He would let them believe that a little longer.

Ethan slipped his phone into his pocket and looked toward the door.

“Enjoy the game you’re playing , Victoria,” he whispered.

His expression hardened.

“Because this time, I’m the one who knows how the story ends.”