Chapter 3: Global “Zero-Dollar Shopping” (Part 1)

The first time Dad called, it was to accuse Mu Jiu of being cold-blooded.

He scolded her for abandoning them at the restaurant and leaving them to pay a bill they could never afford.

Their mortgage back home wasn’t paid off yet, her aunt and uncle were unemployed, and they didn’t have a single cent on them.

Dad demanded that she transfer money immediately, or he’d cause trouble at her workplace!

Frightened, Mu Jiu promptly quit her job and told him:

“Once you’re gone, I’ll be sure to burn lots of paper money for you.”

Her words made Dad so furious that he smashed the phone!

Who knows if the borrowed phone had to be returned afterward.

The second time Dad called, it was to accuse Mu Jiu of being heartless.

Not only did she refuse to let them into her neighborhood, she even dumped all their luggage at the community gate.

On such a hot day, the entire family stood outside arguing with security for over two hours.

Grandma got so worked up that she had heatstroke and was rushed to the hospital. They demanded that Mu Jiu quickly send money for emergency care.

But remembering how, in her previous life, this very family had heartlessly locked her out of the house during a deadly winter storm…

Mu Jiu only replied blandly: “Next time.”

Knowing they were suffering made her feel at ease. Then she shut off her phone.

Being a sucker once was enough. In this new life, she would never again let these people cling to her and suck her dry.

While Mu Jiu was busy with renovations over the past two days, the capable real estate agent, Manager Ma, had already found a buyer for her house.

But since she was selling in a hurry and demanded full payment in cash, she had to agree to a 10% discount below market price.

Mu Jiu agreed without hesitation.

On the third day after her rebirth into the apocalypse, Manager Ma took her to the housing bureau, where they completed the ownership transfer. 5 million yuan was deposited into her account!

That took care of the renovation costs.

Now she had only 500,000 yuan of liquid funds left, and she’d have to figure out another way to stockpile survival supplies.

But she wasn’t worried—because her space had a secret weapon:

On the inside of the glass greenhouse door within her space, there was a Space Teleportation Mirror!

She could freely enter and exit through this screen and instantly teleport to any location within a 1-kilometer radius of her real-world body.

A literal must-have for stealth operations, burglary, and impromptu “travel.”

So, on the fourth day of her rebirth, Mu Jiu boarded an international flight to the Beautiful Country (nickname for the U.S.).

Time to begin her spontaneous, international “zero-dollar shopping” trip.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Back in the day, when China was invaded by the Eight-Nation Alliance, they looted countless Chinese treasures, gold, and artifacts.

Now, with the apocalypse approaching, Mu Jiu—an upright Chinese citizen—was simply collecting a tiny bit of interest on behalf of her ancestors. Surely the ancestors wouldn’t blame her too harshly.

As soon as the plane landed, Mu Jiu rented an inconspicuous, beat-up SUV from a local car rental shop.

First stop: a weapon store!

Unlike in China, the U.S. had relaxed gun laws, so gun shops were as common as hardware stores.

In the apocalypse, human evil would only grow more extreme, so securing weapons for self-defense was priority number one.

Mu Jiu headed straight to the largest gun shop in the area.

She put on an exaggerated Western-style makeup look to blend in with the tourists, and strolled through the store carefully.

She didn’t have a gun license, and firearms in the U.S. require official permits for legal purchase.

Although she had handled many guns in her past life during the apocalypse…

Seeing the dazzling array of firearms and ammunition on the shelves still overwhelmed her—it was a sight to behold.

She didn’t linger long and left quickly for the next shop.

In one day, she visited 20 weapon shops, memorizing their layouts, surrounding geography, surveillance setups, and interior details.

By evening, she had a meal at a local Chinese restaurant and waited for night to fall.

Once it was fully dark, she walked to the vicinity of the largest gun store she had visited earlier.

Staying about 1 kilometer away, she hid in a blind spot of surveillance and entered her space.

On the teleportation screen within the space, all stores and buildings within the 1-km range appeared vividly and clearly.

Mu Jiu applied dark brown foundation, put on a hat, changed into all-black clothes and shoes, then slowly stepped into the glass screen.

Inside the gun store, it was pitch-black. Using her memory from the day, she quickly found a high-precision night vision goggle on the counter and put it on.

Instantly, everything in the store became crystal clear, like daytime.

Without wasting time, she got to work.

Her space could absorb supplies either by scanning with her eyes or touching with her hands—fully controlled by her mind.

To save time, she placed her hand on the counter—all the pistols, bullets, and even the display case were absorbed into her space.

Next came the rifles, sniper rifles, shotguns, muskets…

Then came all the military knives, axes, entrenching tools, and bulletproof vests.

In just 10 minutes, she had looted the entire 300-square-meter store clean.

Even the 200-square-meter weapon vault locked inside was broken into with her bare hands and stripped bare.

Afterward, she returned to her car via the space and headed to the next weapon shop.

That night, all 20 shops she had surveyed earlier were quietly and completely emptied.

She collected over 100,000 firearms, uncountable ammunition, and massive stockpiles of military gear.

Mu Jiu was now fully armed to the teeth—these supplies would more than suffice for surviving the apocalypse.

Before dawn, she parked the car in an underground lot and squeezed in a nap inside.

Meanwhile, the U.S. TV networks were already exploding with headlines before sunrise:

[BREAKING] Mysterious Gun Thief Empties Entire Firearm Shops Overnight!

[ALERT] Mass Weapon Disappearance Sparks Fears of Terror Activity!

—-

Mu Jiu ignored it all. As the sun rose, she had breakfast at a Chinese cafe and began her new day.

Driving her beat-up SUV, she headed to the Famous Federal Reserve Gold Depository in the city center.

She had read rumors about this place while browsing online.

It was said to be the world’s largest gold vault, storing over 8,300 tons of gold from dozens of countries!

Mu Jiu parked in a farther lot and walked to the financial district around the vault.

She sat in a café closest to the vault and ordered a cappuccino.

Closing her eyes as if to nap, she was in fact scanning the nearby buildings with her consciousness.

And there it was—the legendary gold vault—displayed on her space’s teleportation screen in its full majestic glory.

The sheer scale of it made Mu Jiu gasp involuntarily!