Chapter 12
In his previous life, when the apocalypse descended, the original owner of this body had been traveling with his university classmates.
Not far from the city lay a scenic national park. The original plan had been simple enough: a week-long getaway filled with hiking, camping, and exploring the wilderness. Everyone had prepared meticulously. The original owner and several other students had even driven their own vehicles, completely loaded with gear and rations. It was their first time going on a real camping trip, and their excitement was palpable.
Because of those abundant supplies, their early days after the disaster struck weren’t actually that difficult. Instead, the real nightmare began when bitter conflicts erupted as they tried to make their way down the mountain.
The person calling out to Yu Xiaoyuan right now was a member of the student council and the main organizer of that ill-fated trip: Zhang Wei.
He had been an absolute nuisance. Back then, when the original owner wanted to leave on his own, Zhang Wei had been terrified of losing the supplies packed in the car. Desperate to keep those shared provisions for himself, he flatly refused to let him go, barring him from taking the vehicle. He even rallied a few cronies to physically drag the poor boy from the driver’s seat and snatch the car keys.
Among those accomplices were the very two lackeys trailing behind Zhang Wei right now.
Hah. What a remarkably small world.
Yu Xiaoyuan turned around, his expression cold and detached. “I’m not going.”
“If you’re not going, why are you here buying outdoor gear?” Zhang Wei scoffed, casually reaching out to snatch the invoice from Yu Xiaoyuan’s hand. He was used to the boy being mild-mannered and easy to push around, so he assumed he could walk all over him as usual.
Smack!
Yu Xiaoyuan slapped the back of Zhang Wei’s hand away with a sharp, stinging crack. “Where are your manners? Did I give you permission to look?”
“What the hell is your problem, kid?!” Zhang Wei’s face flushed crimson with sudden fury.
The store manager stepped smoothly between them, blocking Zhang Wei. “Sir, please lower your voice. Young Master Yu just purchased over a million yuan worth of specialized snow-camping gear. From what I understand, your group is heading to Mount Qingyan on the outskirts, which requires an entirely different set of equipment.”
Zhang Wei’s face went from red to an ugly shade of pale. “Are you out of your mind? Spending over a million on gear just for a casual trip?” Is this little punk trying to show me up?
“It’s nothing, really. I just have money to burn,” Yu Xiaoyuan said, carelessly flicking the black credit card between his fingers. “Truly wealthy people don’t run around barking and showing off like clowns.”
He looked Zhang Wei up and down, watching the young man’s expression curdle. “You have no idea how the actual rich kids at our school laugh at you behind your back. With your family’s pitiful pocket change, you still have the nerve to strut around playing the wealthy young master? It’s pathetic. I usually couldn’t be bothered to stoop to your level, but did you honestly think you were above me?”
“You little bastard!” Zhang Wei lunged forward, his fist cocked to strike.
Before he could bridge the gap, the store manager and two burly floor security guards seized his arms, pinning him in place. “Sir! If you are not here to make a purchase, do not cause a disturbance.”
Turning his back on the struggling student, the manager bowed respectfully toward Yu Xiaoyuan. “Young Master Yu, would you care to browse further?”
“Yes, there are a few more items on my list,” Yu Xiaoyuan said, curling his lip in distaste. “Put together a full set of summer expedition gear for me as well. I’ll wire the payment shortly.”
Glancing sideways at Zhang Wei with undisguised contempt, he added, “My family may keep a low profile, but my uncle is Yu Yuanzhou. You’ve heard of him, haven’t you? That’s right—of the Yu Group. So what exactly gives a nobody like you the right to act so arrogant in front of me? Trash.”
Leaving the stunned student council member frozen in place, Yu Xiaoyuan turned on his heel and walked out.
In the past, the original owner had felt that his uncle had already done more than enough by taking him in. Having no desire to inherit the Yu family fortune, he had deliberately kept his background private at school. But with the world ending in two weeks, who cared about inheritance or modesty anymore?
Oh, right! The little hamster reminded himself as he reached the parking garage. I still need to secure marine-grade cold-water immersion suits!
Along with standard life jackets, emergency flare guns, rigid inflatable lifeboats, motorized speedboats, commercial life rafts, and buoyant rescue ropes.
These were essential for surviving the catastrophic downpours and world-drowning floods of the Seven Catastrophes. Yu Xiaoyuan wasn’t sure yet whether he could simply dig an underground shelter for his uncle and sister to wait out the disaster.
Digging a burrow would certainly be ideal; as a spiritual hamster, his tunneling skills were unmatched. The burrows he dug were always spacious, structurally sound, and well-ventilated—his family would be wonderfully comfortable down there. But if that proved unfeasible, having heavy-duty aquatic survival equipment on hand was an absolute necessity.
Better safe than sorry.
He resolved to prepare at least two full setups for every scenario. With three dimensional spaces at his disposal, carrying extra backup gear wasn’t a burden, and having surplus equipment might even allow him to save a few lives when the time came.
Still, professional marine hardware required licensed maritime suppliers. If brick-and-mortar stores didn’t stock them, he would have to look up registered maritime supply companies and order directly from the manufacturer.
Sitting inside his SUV, he pulled out his phone to search for suppliers when an incoming call flashed across the screen.
It was his university senior, Qian Mingtian.
His senior’s name was a bit eccentric, but the young man himself was genuine and good-natured. Though his roots were in the rural countryside, his family was essentially the local agricultural aristocracy of the province, operating massive, multi-generational farming and livestock enterprises.
Yu Xiaoyuan had actually been looking for an excuse to reach out to him for wholesale agricultural channels. He hadn’t expected the senior to call him first.
“Hello? Senior Mingtian.”
“Hey, Xiaoyuan! Word on the grapevine says you gave Zhang Wei a proper beatdown at the mall today?” Qian Mingtian’s voice was loud and eager with gossip. “What happened? Why pick a fight with him of all people? You know how petty and vindictive that guy is. What if he tries to make your life miserable back on campus next semester?”
“Did he go crying to the group?” Yu Xiaoyuan asked with a faint, amused chuckle.
“Of course he did! He claims you’re an arrogant, selfish brat who snubbed his friendly greeting and slapped his hand away for no reason.” Qian Mingtian knew Yu Xiaoyuan’s mild temperament too well to buy that story. “So out with it—did that jerk cross the line first?”
“Nothing he hasn’t done before, but I’m done putting up with his nonsense,” the little hamster replied firmly. He was finished suffering in silence. “Didn’t I post in the group chat yesterday saying I couldn’t make the hiking trip because of a family matter?”
“Yeah, I saw that. I was actually going to suggest rescheduling, since I’m helping organize it too.”
“Well, Zhang Wei and his little clique kept tagging me non-stop. They insisted I had to show up even if the sky was falling, lecturing me about collective discipline and threatening to make me regret it next semester if I skipped out.” Yu Xiaoyuan let out a cold laugh. “Who does he think he is? I ran into him today and decided to give him a taste of his own medicine.
“The coward didn’t have the guts to tell you guys the whole story, did he? I explicitly told him that I am part of the Yu family, and Yu Yuanzhou is my biological uncle.”
Yu’s Enterprise, helmed by Yu Yuanzhou, was a commercial giant with immense domestic influence.
Qian Mingtian choked on his breath. “Holy smokes… you’re an actual top-tier corporate heir?! You hid that ridiculously well!”
“I don’t intend to take over the family business, so I never saw the point in flaunting it,” Yu Xiaoyuan explained smoothly.
Slipping his wireless earbuds in, he tapped open the class chat group, found Zhang Wei’s profile, and tagged him directly.
Yu Xiaoyuan: @ZhangWei Coward, do you actually dare tell everyone what happened? Still thinking of messing with me next semester? Do you want to know why he took a beating today and didn’t dare say a word back? Because I dropped over a million yuan on expedition gear in cash right in front of him, and while slapping his hand away, I informed him that I am the young master of Yu’s Enterprise.
Yu Xiaoyuan: @ZhangWei Learn some manners from now on. Oh, and as for your sacred campus goddess, Senior Jiao Yuwan? Her father was a deadbeat live-in son-in-law in my household. After my mother passed away, he demanded a fortune to sign away his custody rights, threatening to dump me in an unregistered village where my uncle would never find me if he didn’t pay up. Once he got the cash, he vanished for over a decade. Yesterday, he had the gall to bring his new family of four to our front door demanding millions more, and they even stole hundreds of thousands worth of family heirlooms from my safe. The entire family is currently locked away in a holding cell at the police station.
Yu Xiaoyuan: So don’t hold your breath waiting for your goddess on this trip~
Many students in the group had heard Jiao Yuwan boast about having a wealthy, influential relative in the city, but none of them had anticipated this level of sordid drama. The group chat erupted instantly.
“Holy crap! No wonder I couldn’t get ahold of her today… She got arrested for grand theft?!”
“Yu Xiaoyuan, you’d better watch your mouth! Slander is a criminal offense! Don’t make claims you can’t prove, or you’ll get sued!”
Yu Xiaoyuan casually dropped a photo into the chat.
Yu Xiaoyuan: [Police_Filing_Document.jpg] Your precious goddess might not even have a student status to return to next semester~
Leaving the chat in absolute chaos, Yu Xiaoyuan switched back to his call with Qian Mingtian. “Senior Qian, on a different note, I’m looking to source some livestock—a few calves, piglets, chickens, ducks, and geese. I also need freshwater fish and shrimp fry. My uncle is setting up a private recreational farmstead outside the city. It’s relatively small-scale, so we just need a modest starter batch.”
“Say no more! Come straight to our family farm!” Qian Mingtian slapped his thigh over the line, delighted. “I’ll personally pick out the healthiest breeding pairs and prime fingerlings for you, full family-and-friends discount! What else are you looking for? Name it.”
He paused, lowering his voice slightly. “Wait… is that stuff you posted in the group really true?”
“Every word. She’s sitting in a jail cell right this minute,” Yu Xiaoyuan said, rolling his eyes. “I also need fruit tree saplings—high-sweetness varieties, as many cultivars as possible.”
“My second uncle runs a regional botanical nursery! He’s got navel oranges, cherries, honeycrisp apples, lychees, you name it. If you need rare cultivars, just let me know and I’ll have him track them down.” Qian Mingtian clicked his tongue in disgust. “Man, you really can’t judge a book by its cover. She looked so fragile and refined on campus, who knew she was such a conniving snake? Good riddance!
“Tell you what, little brother—you did our school a public service exposing her. I’m throwing in twenty premium Albion strawberry runners and four purebred meat rabbits on the house!”
“Hooray! Thank you so much, Senior Qian!”
The little hamster had completely overlooked rabbits. Those things reproduced like crazy—they were an incredible source of fresh meat!
“Let’s do ten saplings of each fruit tree,” he added happily. “Pick the absolute sweetest varieties on the market. My sister and I want to plant them ourselves for the experience, but since we’re amateurs, having backups will keep them from failing. Do you happen to have heirloom vegetable seeds too?”
“Is there anything our farm doesn’t have?” Qian Mingtian chuckled, grabbing a notepad. “Even if I don’t have them in the shed, I’ll turn the province upside down to find them for you, little ancestor. High-yield, resilient vegetable seeds, right? But sprouting seeds takes time and technique—how about I prep hardened seedlings for you instead?”
“Can I have both?” The little hamster sat bolt upright, his dark eyes shining with sheer greed. “Please?”
“Hah! The young master sure is ambitious,” Qian Mingtian laughed. “How many calves and piglets are we talking about?”
“A higher ratio of females to males… maybe twenty of each?” The little hamster was slightly unsure of proper herd sizes.
“You’re running a weekend farmstead, not an industrial slaughterhouse! Five or six piglets are plenty for leisure. I’ll prep ten just in case you lose a few early on,” Qian Mingtian reasoned professionally. “Cattle take a long time to mature, so ten calves will do nicely. As for poultry, they grow fast and provide steady eggs and meat, so we’ll stock up more on those. How about fifty chicks, ducklings, and goslings each?”
“Perfect!”
The little hamster didn’t know the first thing about commercial livestock ratios anyway. His plan was simply to fence off an entire mountain slope inside the Kuntian Jade specifically for free-range grazing. That way, his family would have an endless, renewable supply of fresh meat, eggs, and dairy throughout the apocalypse.
“Wire me a ten-thousand-yuan deposit, and I’ll have everything quarantined, vaccinated, and crated for you within three days. I’ll give you a ring when it’s ready, and you can drive out to pick them up.”
The Qian family village was situated just outside the metropolitan border, a pleasant two-hour drive along the northern expressway.
Yu Xiaoyuan was definitely making that trip in person. Beyond picking up the livestock and saplings, the region was known for vast grain silos and expansive farmlands. Although the spring harvest had concluded some time ago, he wanted to see if he could purchase bulk staple grains directly from local cooperatives, particularly aged grain that had been in regional reserve storage for three to five years.
He intended to amass massive quantities of bulk grain to rescue starving refugees down the road. Even if his dimensional spaces ran short on capacity, he could always shift into a hamster, dig a colossal subterranean vault, and bury the grain safely underground!
“Deal!”
Hanging up, Yu Xiaoyuan transferred the deposit through mobile banking without a second’s delay.
Checking his watch, he mapped out his afternoon itinerary. He needed to track down the specialized maritime survival gear he had brainstormed earlier, then swing by the local yacht club to place an urgent order for six commercial-grade jet skis and heavy-duty speedboats.
“At this stage, I can’t afford to be picky,” the little hamster mumbled to himself, drawing neat lines through the completed entries in his little notebook. “As long as it’s durable and functional, into the cart it goes!”
Then, a sudden realization hit him.
Even with three separate dimensional spaces, a wave of profound logistical panic washed over the little creature.
“Six speedboats, jet skis, industrial snowmobiles, plus Uncle’s custom-armored RV, the reinforced tactical trucks, and all those heavy farm harvesters…”
His tiny paws shot up to cup his cheeks in pure horror.
Oh no… Even with three magical storage realms, the little hamster’s space might actually run out of room?!
He rubbed his face frantically in absolute disbelief.
Is it possible? Could a grand spiritual hoarder like me actually face a storage crisis?!
The little hamster was genuinely, thoroughly shaken!
