Chapter Five: Taking a Gamble—Turning a Bicycle into a Motorcycle

The next day.

Kim Ji-yeon, the daughter of Choi Hye-joo, sat silently at the dining table. Yang Jie rubbed his sleepy eyes and glanced sideways. Due to his height, when he looked down, a sudden sight of a swollen, snow-white patch appeared before him.

Yang Jie was instantly puzzled. He had heard that eating papaya could help one grow taller, but could eating kimchi have the same effect?

Suddenly, Yang Jie seemed to have an idea and whispered to Sophia, “I fired the private chef. Who’s making breakfast in the kitchen now?”

Sophia sipped her coffee, eyes glued to her phone, without looking up, replied, “I think it’s Hye-joo!”

Yang Jie: What the heck!!!

Sophia raised an eyebrow. “A mother with a daughter wouldn’t be unable to make breakfast, right?”

Yang Jie covered his forehead in frustration. The food Choi Hye-joo made? Even a dog wouldn’t eat it!

When Choi Hye-joo brought out the dishes, everyone was dumbfounded.

Good news: there were many dishes, dozens of them!

Bad news: they were all kimchi!

“Hye-joo, I need an explanation!” Li Siyao immediately protested.

She was 1.95 meters tall and weighed over 175 pounds, with a full figure. As a tough cop from Houston, she had a huge appetite, but seeing a table full of kimchi was unbearable!

Hadn’t she seen Maria Sharapova take a few bites and already gulp down water?

Choi Hye-joo wiped her scarf and smiled cheerfully, “Kimchi is very nutritious and helps relieve greasiness!”

Zhao Baitong crossed her arms coldly, “Kimchi is a pickled food. Besides the excessive nitrites, the flavor is very strong. I haven’t even eaten any meat, so what greasiness is it supposed to relieve?”

Without further ado, Yang Jie pulled out his phone and started calling for backup.

“Hey, Lao Zhang, it’s me! Take down the menu.”

“Pan-fried buns, potstickers, shumai, tofu pudding, soy milk, fried dough sticks, baked flatbread—prepare for 25 people.”

“Flavor? The tofu pudding should be savory with extra pickled mustard greens, dried shrimp, and sesame oil. Soy milk, half sweet and half salty. For the flatbread, both scallion oil and sweet types are fine; for the savory one, add minced beef and preserved vegetables!”

Half an hour later, the breakfast finally arrived, and everyone immediately began to feast.

“Oh my god, Chinese food is still so delicious. I love the sweet one!” Maria Sharapova said, face full of enjoyment.

“Hehe, and my favorite pickled cucumbers!”

“Haha, we call them ‘jianggua’—they taste better than your sour cucumbers!”

Sophia, deeply immersed, sipped soy milk while biting into a potsticker dipped in vinegar. Then she pointed at her bowl and looked at Yang Jie.

“What’s this called?”

“Soy milk!”

“And that?”

“Tofu pudding?”

“Then why is soy milk sometimes sweet and sometimes salty, but tofu pudding is only salty? Can’t tofu pudding be sweet?”

Yang Jie answered readily, “Sophia, in the Dragon Kingdom, sweet tofu pudding is illegal. If caught, you’d be burned at the stake, just like heresy!”

Sophia twitched the corner of her mouth, feeling her intelligence ruthlessly trampled.

This had Zhao Baitong and Li Siyao laughing heartily.

After breakfast, Zhao Baitong sent everyone the data, and Li Siyao began hosting the meeting.

The plan was simple: everyone would support Yang Jie to seize the armory. Zhao Baitong would be responsible for data and information support and also manage everyone’s assets.

For example, Sophia and Choi Hye-joo’s real estate.

Yang Jie’s properties, farm, and factory—after a final discussion, selling was out of the question. They decided to take out loans on everything, borrowing as much as possible. If feasible, Zhao Baitong wouldn’t hesitate to apply for multiple loans.

After the meeting, Yang Jie drove to Houston Port, where many warehouses were available for rent.

When a huge warehouse was opened, inside were ten of the largest container trucks.

This was his future lifeline. Yang Jie carefully inspected each container. Upon discovering many weapons that didn’t belong to him, a smirk appeared on his lips.

This black market scheme—no, this quest for justice—definitely brought extra income!

Fortunately, his two containers of special operations equipment were intact. These were things money couldn’t always buy. He had put a lot of effort into acquiring them.

Touching the weapons, with a thought, all the armaments in the container instantly vanished without a trace.

As evening fell, the sunset painted the sky.

A massive Bao Ma K1600B heavy cruiser motorcycle rolled out of the warehouse.

Five hours later.

In a remote mountain valley, Yang Jie patted his back, and a palm-sized drone immediately took off, beginning a thorough scan.

“Zhao Baitong, are you connected?”

A few minutes later, a voice came through the helmet.

“Connected. Damn Star Romance, slower than a snail!”

Yang Jie lay hidden, not even lighting a cigarette, quietly waiting.

Half an hour later, Zhao Baitong’s voice sounded, “This hidden armory is guarded by at least five hundred soldiers, with various fortifications. Even if the Terminator came, it wouldn’t work.”

Yang Jie frowned, feeling a bit reluctant. He knew that weapons smuggled from the military were extremely valuable. If he didn’t take this batch, he’d surely regret it later.

Success meant everyone celebrating with champagne on a yacht.

Failure meant meeting on the rooftop.

“What choice do we have? If it’s impossible, I’ll just launch a missile and blow them up!” Zhao Baitong snapped.

“Fuck, are you crazy?” came the sharp reply.

Thinking it through, the high value meant heavy guarding. If only a few cats guarded it, there probably wouldn’t be much valuable stock inside.

According to Paul, this warehouse was one of Smith’s most prized.

That greedy bastard had cost him a lot of money. He had to repay him properly.

Retrieving the drone, Yang Jie took out five small drones, connected external power and a small wind turbine, then began to stealthily encircle the armory with miniature cameras.

After setting everything up, Yang Jie decided to give the others a surprise.

He secretly buried a huge surprise beneath one of the drones and slipped away.

With the team recruited, the next steps were to seize the weapons and procure supplies. Once those were done, he could return home. Thinking of the apocalyptic scenes ahead, Yang Jie was confident he could survive well.

This time, not only to survive but to live happily. His quality of life would be no worse than it was now!

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

In the computer room, everyone gathered to make plans. After three days of surveillance, Zhao Baitong discovered that the armory received deliveries almost daily. One vehicle was responsible for delivering food, which was outsourced to a company.

Zhao Baitong hacked into the catering company’s network and obtained the schedule.

Yang Jie was ready to leave when suddenly, curses and a woman’s crying rang from the door.

He rushed outside and saw a white man repeatedly cursing Kim Ji-yeon, Choi Hye-joo’s daughter.

“Damn it, Mark, shut your filthy mouth!”

Yang Jie pulled Ji-yeon into his arms. He had always disliked this neighbor, but after foreseeing the apocalypse, his hatred had deepened.

Usually, Mark’s dog pooped on their lawn and wouldn’t listen when told to stop, acting arrogant. If not for the fact that the wealthy neighborhood was tricky, Yang Jie would have dealt with him already.

After the apocalypse, survivors gathered to band together, but Mark caused trouble. He even parted his hair in the middle and introduced outsiders to the villa’s details.

Several families were tricked into opening their doors by him, and the outcomes were tragic.

Anyway, in a few days, Yang Jie would return home. This time, he planned to give Mark a proper welcome. Otherwise, it would be a disservice to himself.