Preparations

Brick arrived at the convenience store and started packing all kinds of high energy foods that would last a long time along with bottles of water.

His trolley was packed full of biscuits, chocolate bars, canned goods, packets of nuts, instant soups, rice, noodles and all kinds of herbs and spices.

Come containers for cocoa powder, coffee and tea were added then Brick made his way towards the freezer aisle. "One final meal to have before everything begins and the electricity should go out the next day so I cannot get too much."

He took out a couple of frozen goods then made his way towards the stationary, alcohol and health aisles.

He bought several bubble wraps, duct tape, magazines, packets of antibiotics and painkillers then bought several bottles of higher concentration alcohol, needles, thread and some other of the basics he needed.

He reached the counter and when it was his turn, the person at counter was taking note of everything that went through. "Sir, you wouldn't happen to be stocking up for a zombie outbreak right? I watched a movie the other day and these are all the kinds of things most would stock up on."

The other party was messing around and was being playful towards Brick but Brick did not show any embarrassment or anger towards them since he understood that he stood out a little. "It is always best to be prepared for any situation, we never know what can happen in this world my friend. Remember that in those movies, the dangers often come when we least expect them too so I would advise you to prepare a means of survival for yourself before it is too late."

While it would be helpful to give a direct hint towards the incoming dangers, there were no new broadcasts about the early signs of outbreaks or potential warnings so his warnings would only fall on deaf ears.

Those that heard his warnings and had survived somehow would possibly have suspicions about him or hold a grudge because he possessed such strange foresight so it was not too wise to expose himself too much.

Since the other person had watched a zombie based movie the night before and the fear still remained within them, that fear may cause them to listen to his words even if the chance was very low.

They acted as he had expected though which caused him disappointment because the other party started laughing at his response. "Haha you are too funny. I almost believed you there."

Brick rolled his eyes and paid for everything before leaving with the trolley full of bagged goods.

The longer that he walked with the many bags, the more strain he felt on his arms even if his strength was greater than the average seventeen year old. 'No wonder space type powers are so popular in this setting. They are too convenient!'

Before leaving his home, he had looked up the area on the internet along with some stores and other services so he had already booked some things.

Among them was a storage container which was near his home so he went straight there to get the key.

Most spaces or garages were easy to rent and since the world was about to become chaotic, not many would care about it and would chase him up for further payments so the initial payment was enough to rent it.

After dropping off most of the things he had bought, he took a bag full of the frozen and other things with him as he ran back to his home to drop them off as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile the main character of the novel was inside a pawn shop and after spending some time negotiating with the owner to sell her most valuable items, she went on her own shopping spree.

Lucy had regressed not too long ago as written in the novel after she was experimented on until her death which made her become much colder and distant than she had been before.

She was written to have been quite naive and loyal so even after her uncle had cheated her out of her inheritance, she still believed her uncle would care for and look out for her if she worked hard enough.

Lucy valued her blood relatives even if they were not nice to her because she still had a roof over her head and food in her stomach.

There were many who had been beaten, starved and exploited after being cheated but she was just pushed out of sight of the uncle.

That was until she was betrayed by her uncle and died then carried that resentment with her into her regression.

Lucy's relationship with her cousin Tanya was not on bad terms and Tanya had been innocent in most of the incidents involving her life so Lucy did not carry much resentment towards her. 'Revenge.. I must get revenge against uncle and make him suffer. I need to find out more information in the future about that group.'

In her view, Tanya was very innocent and had no involvement with her misfortune so she was crossed off her revenge list but the uncle was still a target for her revenge. "I must make him suffer first.."

Her aura was cold and murderous which made others naturally avoid her as she walked towards the next shopping location after finding a place to store her things.

Meanwhile, Brick had already made his way to the local sporting, survival and army goods store.

After buying several waterproof sets of clothing, gloves, boots and a large backpack, Brick took a look around the store.

There were camping items, army preparation items and all kinds of things for different kinds of sports like fishing, archery and so on but Brick walked past many of them until he got to the main counter where many things were kept behind. "I need a couple of good knife and a hatchet that are durable and are easy to use. An electric baton and stun gun as well. Do you have any recommendations? Possibly more than one of each actually… the compound bow and arrows on the display at the window too please."

He remembered that it was best to keep some spares for himself and possibly some for others too so they would have a means to defend themselves.

Although he himself or the original owner were not too familiar with a bow, he had read that Tanya was a part of an archery club which played a small part in her survival in the beginning of the story while the original owner of the body had experience wielding different types of tools in preparation for becoming a bodyguard.

Most things which he would be qualified to carry around were less lethal tools or weapons but for those entering the army or working as a bodyguard or in a security company, it was expected that they would carry around some more dangerous weapons to protect their clients.

The electric weapons would only be useful against humans or as a support against the zombies but the other weapons would prove to be the most useful overall.

The owner frowned upon looking at Brick since he was still quite young looking. "Young man, those are things you cannot buy so easily. You need a permit."

Although some hiking and survival tools could be purchased, other more restricted items were more difficult to obtain unless they were purchased under the counter, illegally or if the right documents were presented.

Brick revealed a calm smile as he took out his identification and some documents then handed them over. "Here you go."

The owner looked at them and showed a look of approval but also a little pity. "A young lad like you is already taking on such dangerous work. Alright then, I will get you what you need."

The owner recognised the company which was a food production company that was famous in the area so it was not strange for someone like Brick to come to buy such things since people of high status would receive more attention and threats than ordinary people.

The bodyguards or security personnel needed to be properly equipped to carry out their tasks.

Upon paying for everything, Brick packed everything away carefully that would stand out inside the larger travelling backpack then carried the other bags back with him to his home but along the way, he stopped by the park which was on the way.

Brick looked down at the large sized box which had several puppies within. 'So helpless and fated to die along with most of humanity once the apocalypse comes. I do not even know if I can survive as long as Brick had within the novel but I can only try my best.'

He stopped by the storage space to lighten his load then made a quick trip back to the park.

Brick picked up the puppies that he could hold onto then brought them back with him in his arms while walking through the front gate. "I am back."

The security guard looked at the identity card then frowned. "You had better stop jumping over the wall Brick! You need to follow the protocols and sign in and out when you are coming and going! What if there was a security breach or a fire? Oh.. so you got some puppies with you this time? Can you even have enough time to raise them with the time you spend training and on duty?"

Brick answered calmly. "I will take proper responsibility for them do not worry. I will try not to cause any more troubles for everyone."

The security guard glared at him but then allowed him entry which let Brick sigh in relief. 'The novel did not go too much into detail about Brick but it seems that he is quite well known her. It is no wonder since he is the sponsored child that the young miss brought in. So this is now my life!'

Upon returning home, he quickly ordered an immediate delivery of a decently sized metal animal cage and some other things he could not find at the stores then ordered a takeaway.

Later while he was busy preparing himself for the future events, the takeaway arrived which allowed him a little time to savour his final moments of peace and tranquility.

A large layout of pizza, chips, kebabs and sauces were accompanied by cold cans of beer.

Meanwhile on the side of the main character, Lucy had struggled to purchase a sharp and deadly weapon that would last her a long time because she lacked the documentation so she had to settle for the more legal stuff but she was able to eventually convince the owner to sell a blunt knife and a sharpening stone after a lot of effort on her part.

When she climbed back over the walls, her backpack was filled with a baseball bat, a blunt knife and a couple of other essentials which would be useful for surviving just like Brick had bought which included some hiking or camping tools, storage or cooking gear and other things.

The main reason why Brick and Lucy had been able to slip out so easily was because of a fatal flaw in the security or the original novels plot which had not been well written.

In the original, it was written that Lucy had been able to escape and slip out without being noticed by the security but in reality, the vague description had resulted in the overall security being quite poor which was not very good for protecting those within.

If there was a real threat to the lives of those within then it would be the fault of the workers who had failed to prevent the intruders entry.

Just like Brick, Lucy returned to her room to organise her things and enjoy the final moments of peace she had before the apocalypse began.