Chapter 48: A True Southerner with a Genetic Mutation

Yang Jie sent the procurement list to the group chat:
Mechanical exoskeletons, robotic dogs, drones, surveillance cameras...

While on the airplane, Yang Jie had already been looking up domestic information. Dragon Country was currently the only superpower in industrial manufacturing across the Blue Planet. Not only did he need to purchase industrial supplies, but he also needed to acquire some production machinery.

Most importantly, the prices were truly people-friendly and an absolute bargain.

For convenience, he had also asked the attractive female salesperson to rent a warehouse near the tumor hospital, specifying that it needed to be sturdy and spacious to facilitate the storage of goods.

"Then I'll go procure some computer-related gear!"

Zhao Baitong was getting restless again. Compared to others, she preferred dealing with computers.

Yang Jie shrugged.

"You have things to keep you busy too. The cigarette procurement is handed over to you!"

Zhao Baitong was slightly taken aback. "How many should I buy? My requirement is that we must deploy the doomsday shelter either today or tomorrow, otherwise time will be too tight!"

Yang Jie laughed heartily. "Are you foolish? Have that woman go rent the warehouse, and you go to the warehouse and call every single tobacco shop in all of Sea City, telling them to deliver all their cigarettes straight over. You just need to pay the bill. Once I get all the pre-made meals sorted out, I'll come back to collect the cigarettes."

"Alright!"

After Yang Jie left, Zhao Baitong immediately took Li Siyao to find the female salesperson to negotiate the lease for the storefront.

Meanwhile, Yang Rongrong was called over by the other women. Most of them were not fluent in Chinese; even Sophia, who could speak a little Chinese, had never lived in Dragon Country, so they still needed a local guide.

Yang Jie went first to a car rental company, secured a cold chain truck, and then planned out the routes to a dozen pre-made meals factories, making appointments right while he was driving.

Why didn't he have them delivered? Yang Jie had his own considerations.

Cigarettes and machinery were things few people would fixate on, so having them delivered wouldn't be much of an issue. But food was different—if someone delivered it and then connected the dots after the apocalypse, though he wasn't afraid, it would still be troublesome!

When he arrived at the first factory, someone was already waiting at the entrance. After verifying the details, the workers loaded a large quantity of pre-made meals directly into the refrigerated truck.

After paying, Yang Jie immediately drove the cold chain truck toward the second factory. Along the way, he had long since transferred the pre-made meals into his spatial storage.

By repeating this process, he could sweep up all the pre-made meals without missing a single supplier, while completely avoiding suspicion from others. It truly served two purposes at once.

Upon returning, Yang Jie headed straight to the warehouse rented by Zhao Baitong.

When he saw the cigarettes inside, Yang Jie was slightly dissatisfied.

"This isn't really that much. Which ones did you buy?"

Zhao Baitong shrugged. "Huazi, Liqun, Yunyan, Huanghe, Furongwang, Huangjinyu, Yuxi, Huangshan, and Guangxi!"

"Why did you buy Huazi?"

"You're the one who said it—treat them as currency for trade!"

Yang Jie shook his head. "Huazi is quite expensive and not cost-effective. Besides, once there's no smoking allowed in the future, getting some cheaper ones to use as currency will do just as well!"

"Got it!"

At this moment, Li Siyao asked, "Are you planning to go deploy it now?"

Yang Jie nodded. "If we drag it out every day and still haven't deployed it when the apocalypse arrives, it's going to be a hassle!"

"I checked Zhan Ting's social media moments today. She's been having a really tough time lately."

Yang Jie wore a nonchalant expression and shrugged.

"Huh? And? What does that have to do with me going to deploy the shelter?"

Seeing Yang Jie's utter indifference, Li Siyao took a deep breath.

"She just can't accept her parents leaving us; she hasn't done anything wrong, has she?"

Yang Jie ticked off points on his fingers. "A heavy drinker, a bleeding-heart saint, a nagging pest—I've tolerated her for a long time! You..."

Suddenly, a flash of insight crossed Yang Jie's mind, and he slowly turned his head to look at Li Siyao with full suspicion.

"Don't tell me you've been in contact with her all this time?!"

"Wait, Zhao Baitong mentioned she has two apartments in Demon City, which her salary could never cover. Don't tell me you've been secretly funding her?"

Li Siyao fell silent.

Seeing Li Siyao's deadpan expression, Yang Jie instantly felt anger flare up, but looking at that face bearing a striking resemblance to Monica Bellucci, he couldn't unleash his temper.

Just as Yang Jie was about to blow his top, Zhao Baitong tugged at his sleeve.

"Among mercenaries, women are already scarce to begin with, and Dragon Country women are practically rarer than pandas. It's completely normal for Yaoyao to finally find a close girlfriend and have a good relationship with her, isn't it?"

Yang Jie retorted angrily, "Doesn't she have you to chat with?"

Zhao Baitong said expressionlessly, "In your eyes, am I the type who loves to chatter?"

"Uh~~~~"

Yang Jie shook his head speechlessly. Fine, Zhao Baitong was certainly qualified as a listener, but she just wasn't very fond of talking. This recent period had already seen her speaking more than ever before.

"Do you really want her to join?"

Li Siyao nodded rapidly.

"Yeah! And she also has a younger brother. I heard he used to idolize you a lot!"

Yang Jie didn't look conceited, but from the upward curve of his lips, one could tell his heart was swelling with pride.

Yang Jie rubbed his head, and after a long while, he said, "Alright then!"

"If she doesn't believe my words, there's nothing I can do!"

"No problem!"

Taking a deep breath, Yang Jie cast a sideways glance at Li Siyao. "I hope nothing is going on between you and her. Otherwise, I can't guarantee what I might do!"

Li Siyao smiled gently. "Rest assured, my orientation is normal, and I only share a best-friend bond with her."

Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, Yang Jie didn't even return the cold chain truck and simply parked it in the garage. Since he had money, buying a few extra garages with automatic doors was no issue at all.

Then, imitating the operations shown in videos, he used a ride-hailing app on his phone to book a trip to Demon City.

For a long time, no driver accepted the order, so Yang Jie directly slapped an extra five hundred yuan onto the tip.

The moment the payment button was pressed, the order was snapped up instantly. See? Ninety-nine percent of problems in this world could be solved with money, and for the remaining one percent, you just used even more money.

When the ride-hailing car sank downward under his weight, the driver instantly twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Buddy, you must be from the north, built like that?"

Every taxi driver was a master of conversation, and this one was no exception.

"Pure southern guy, genetic mutation!"

"Hehe, you sure know how to joke around!"

Ignoring the driver's banter, Yang Jie used his spare time to frantically absorb knowledge online, needing at least an understanding of what had happened domestically over the past decade and what good items were available for procurement.

Right now, he still had over six hundred million in funds, and what he needed to do was spend it. After the apocalypse arrived, the currency system of the Bald Eagle nation collapsed within two weeks; he wondered how long the domestic system would hold out.

Not long after, Yang Jie received a message from Li Siyao, marking the places where Zhan Ting and the others might appear.

When Yang Jie arrived in Demon City, it was already six o'clock in the evening. Looking at the towering skyscrapers everywhere,

Yang Jie wore a bewildered expression. When he first arrived, he had only caught a fleeting glimpse before getting on the highway.

Now, looking at it properly, Demon City didn't just compare favorably to Houston—no city in the Bald Eagle nation could hold a candle to it. That dazzling display of lights and intensely sci-fi urban landscape was entirely unique across the entire Blue Planet.

The crucial part was that such a bustling place was astonishingly clean on the outside: no homeless people, no pungent odor of weed. He really had been deceived by the media!

Arriving at an office-building-like complex, he took the elevator up to the 21st floor, where rows of training studios came into view.

There were taekwondo gyms, sanda gyms, archery halls, and body-shaping centers. Yang Jie stopped in front of a yoga studio.