System Rebirth: Lucas thrives in the Endless Winter

7. Buying supplies

After considering his options, Lucas decided having his supplies delivered was the best. So early in the morning the next day, he searched for warehouses and stores he could order from.

By eleven, the delivery trucks started arriving, starting with the food delivery.

His experience from his past life taught him that high-calorie and easy-to-cook meals were the best options. So amongst the food packed into his storehouse were instant noodles, rice, beans, canned meat, canned stew, and other long-lasting food.

He also bought fresh vegetables and fruits. Normally, these would spoil quickly without refrigeration, but time didn't pass in his Dimensional Storage Space. He could store them there when need be.

Immediately after the food delivery left, the clothing arrived. He ordered a large quantity of snow jackets, thick pants, t-shirts, and boots. Warmth was just as important as food.

The last truck came with his gallons of water. The mansion had its own water supply, but anything could happen during the apocalypse.

After the truck left, Lucas dressed up and went out. It was past four in the evening at this time, and the city was still bustling with activities.

There were still supplies left to get. He needed medicine. There would be a lot of disease outbreaks in the apocalypse, and medicine would become difficult to get as hospitals would get infested with zombies.

He also needed fuels, utility supplies, and hardware tools like flashlights, axes, hammers, and stuff like this. You never know when these could come in handy.

And, of course, he needed a good vehicle to move around in the apocalypse when need be.

All of these had to be gathered within two days.

Therefore, Lucas dressed up and left Queens Avenue for a famous car dealership. After getting a suitable vehicle, he would drive around to get drugs and tools.

But when he arrived at the dealership, he found Oliver in the front beside a shiny black car.

Oliver blinked. “Lucas?”

“Oh, Oliver. This was where you were getting a car?”

He nodded and gestured at the black car. “What do you think? Cool, huh? This is what my money could get.”

“Looks great.”

“So, how was the hotel?”

Lucas pursed his lips. He had lied to Oliver that he stayed at a hotel the previous night. Telling Oliver he bought a villa would invite questions he wasn't ready to answer yet. He felt a pang of guilt but brushed it aside. He would tell Oliver the truth eventually. For now, he had more pressing problems.

Before Lucas could reply, a white car stopped by them, raising dust into the air. Lucas already knew who was inside before they got out.

“You have some guts, huh?” Dean said as he emerged from the driver's seat.

Jasmine came out from the other side while Brian and three men came out from the back seat. Lucas recognized the men as some of the Vale's bodyguards.

Lucas frowned. “What the heck do you all want?”

Dean's face twisted in anger. “How could you steal that house from Brian? You knew he was going to buy it.”

Lucas raised a brow. “Is that what this is about?”

“Answer my question.”

Lucas crossed his arms. “I just happened to buy a house before you. Your fault for not getting it on time.”

“Sorry, what house?” asked Oliver.

Jasmine's face hardened. “Where did you get that amount of money? And don't think we don't know what you've been up to. Stocking up the house? Where on earth did you get all this money?”

Lucas was taken by surprise. It didn't occur to him that his family could be stalking him.

“I didn't realize you all were this obsessed with me.”

Brian spoke. “We are just worried if you're doing something illegal, Lucas. That's all.”

"How I got my money is none of your concern. Mind your business.”

Dean pressed on. “You stole it from me. I know you did it.”

“Really? Did you lose twelve million dollars?”

Oliver's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “I'm sorry, twelve million dollars?”

They ignored him.

Jasmine said. “Maybe not from him, but from someone else.”

“Any proof, or is this just some baseless slander?”

“We know you can't do anything. It doesn't make sense that you just had this amount of money, but we are going to find out by all means.”

Jasmine snapped at the men. “Get him.”

Lucas's eyes widened.

The bodyguards advanced on Lucas immediately. One of them held out his hand towards Lucas.

Lucas jumped back, but before he could make a run for it, the other two men rushed forward and grabbed his arm.

“Let him go.” Oliver tried to intervene, but the other man held him back. “Hey, this is daylight kidnapping.”

Jasmine said. “He's our son. We have every right to do this. You are coming home with us. We'll get to the bottom of this.

“No, leave me alone.”

Lucas twisted violently, but his strength was nowhere near enough to break their grip.

“Stop being so stubborn. This is for your own good.”

The men began pulling him towards the car.

Lucas shook his body harder, his heart thumping faster. He was not going back to that house. He struggled hard, but the men didn't relent.

Lucas's face paled. Was this how he would go back? After being reborn, would he still be subjected to the Vales?

“What are you doing?” asked a pedestrian passing by. Some other people also stopped at the scene.

Jasmine smiled. “It's not what it looks like. He's our son. He's being too stubborn, so we had to resort to this.”

“Liars,” yelled Lucas.

“He stole a lot of money from us.” Jasmine added. “I promise we are not kidnapping him or anything like that.”

These seemed to reassure some of the pedestrians, but others still looked skeptical.

As they spoke, Lucas's and Brian's eyes met, and the faintest hint of satisfaction appeared on Brian's face.

No, he had to do something. He couldn't lose to Brian or the Vales. He didn't get reborn to let the past replay itself.

‘System, help me.’

He turned to his last resort. He wasn't sure how the system would help, but he was desperate for anything.

Almost immediately, the translucent screen came up.

Lucas's eyes lit up. Then he read the message, and his blood ran cold.

[WARNING: Seek protection now. An anomaly has occurred. The winter starts now.]

The sunlight suddenly dimmed and a violent wind swept through the street, sending dust flying into the air.

‘What? No. You said I had two days left. Why is it happening now?’ Lucas screamed in his head.

“What’s happening?” One of the pedestrians said, wrapping her scarf around her face as dust flew into their eyes.

Amid the confusion, Lucas felt the grip of the men loosen. He yanked his hand away from them and grabbed Oliver.

“Your car. Now.”

“Hey, he's getting away. Catch him.” Dean yelled.

Lucas and Oliver quickly jumped into the black car. Oliver started it immediately and drove away.

The wind continued raging outside, and the sky darkened further.

“That was close." Oliver exhaled. "But what the hell is happening with the weather?”

“We’re not safe yet. Go to Queens Avenue.”

“Why? You're not seriously thinking of going back to your family, are you?”

“No. Just drive. I know somewhere we can take shelter.”

“Shelter from what? It's just wind—” He stopped talking and frowned. “Wait. Why is the glass fogging up?”

With a sense of dread, Lucas gazed outside. A mist was beginning to creep around the surroundings. It wasn't dense enough to block the view but was still noticeable.

The apocalypse had begun.