I Was Robbed

'Actually, what I'm lacking is time,' Zhou Qingfeng lamented in his mind, looking at a clock on the wall. It was now twelve in the afternoon of August 2nd, 2030, less than sixty hours away from the Catastrophe. 

It was time for lunch in Catarina's house. The woman whipped out a can of green peas, condensed milk, jam, and bread from her kitchen cabinets. At the sight of those food items, Zhou Qingfeng said, surprised, "Is that all for lunch?"

"What else do you want?" Catarina sat at the table and spread jam on a piece of wholewheat bread. She said as she ate, "If you've needed to eat lizards, snakes, and dead rats before for the sake of survival, you'll think that everything in front of you is luxury food."

It was hard for him to communicate with her, a mercenary that survived a life of merciless warfare. Zhou Qingfeng could only silently complain, 'Even pizza would be better than this!' He spooned some peas into his mouth. After chewing a few times, he wondered if the days during the Catastrophe would be too hard for him.

'Damn it! I'm born with the stomach of a Chinese man! I'm a citizen of the Empire of Gourmets! If I have to live for three months with nothing but canned food and bread every day, I'd die from depression, no need for nuclear bombs to destroy civilization.'

Before lunch, Catarina had finally agreed to Zhou Qingfeng's request. She accessed New York's online supermarket through her phone and purchased a great deal of supplies. The purchases would be delivered by electric-powered self-driving cars and moved into Catarina's basement.

Zhou Qingfeng was not reassured despite the successful transaction. There was a lack of fresh meat and vegetables. Those had to be stored in special freezers or would spoil within a short time. If it came to that, Zhou Qingfeng would really have nothing to eat but can food when the Catastrophe happened. 

"Damn it!"

Thinking of how American soldiers ate spam every day on the battlefield, Zhou Qingfeng could almost foresee how grueling his future days would be. "I need a solution!"

Noticing Zhou Qingfeng's frustration, Catarina asked, "Huh, why are there women's sanitary pads here in your supplies?"

"Ah? Sanitary pads…" Zhou Qingfeng could not tell her that he prepared them for Angelina and the other women, and quite a lot in fact. "I… Did I buy them? Must've been an accident. I'll just return them when they arrive."

After the Catastrophe, the quality of life would decline steeply for humans, especially during winter. People would burn every inflammable possession they had for warmth. When that time came, many objects that people were previously used to having would be in short supply. 

"Hmm…" It was obvious that Catarina did not believe his words. She cursed softly, "Pervert." She probably had him labeled as a weirdo with some strange fetish. 

Catarina paid for the supplies online on behalf of Zhou Qingfeng, while he placed his 57000 USD on the dining table. The gesture was him giving her the money. 

When he thought of how the US dollar bills lost all value after the Catastrophe, Zhou Qingfeng could not help but say, "Catarina, you best spend all the money in the next two days."

"Why?" Catarina had finished her meal quickly. Zhou Qingfeng had only eaten a few mouthfuls when she had polished her own portion and was now bringing her plates to the kitchen.

"I just think you don't have a sufficient supply. This doesn't seem like what a survival maniac would allow." Zhou Qingfeng could only reach for a flimsy excuse.

There were quite a few people like this in the US. They were constantly worried about how they would not be able to survive in the occasion of a disaster. In the sixties and seventies, the aftermath of nuclear warfare loomed over the world. Many Americans dug bomb shelters in their backyards and hoarded supplies for the harsh winters.

"I'm not a survival maniac to start with," Catarina countered. However, she was obviously convinced by Zhou Qingfeng's words, as she added, "Maybe I should replenish my ammo supply. I used up a lot during my training."

"Ammo is a good choice too," Zhou Qingfeng said bracingly. He wanted to insist she spend all the money before 6 pm on August 4th, so he added, "Actually, you should purchase more weapons too. Weapons don't depreciate too quickly."

Catarina did not react to this statement. She polished her lunch and tidied the dining table before saying, "Follow me. The supermarket nearby has the ammo I need."

Zhou Qingfeng was not satisfied with his lunch. He was thinking of going out and getting some food from Mcdonald's or Subway; it would be a hundred times better than eating canned green peas. He stuffed a couple of ten dollar bills of spare change in his pocket. He hesitated when it came to the pistol, though.

The Colt M1911A1 was too heavy, and he did not really know how to use it, so it would just be a burden. When he saw the neatly dressed Catarina equipping herself with no less than three pistols, however, he hesitated for a while and eventually grabbed his pistol.

"You need a suitable holster, or you'll look like an idiot." Catarina could not resist aiming a jab at Zhou Qingfeng when she saw him try to stuff the pistol in his belt. She was fitting a USP pistol into a holster under her arm. It made both bringing the pistol along and using it more convenient.

"Can you lend me one?" Zhou Qingfeng looked like a complete novice next to her.

Catarina rolled her eyes. She said, "Actually, I wanted to advise you against bringing one. A novice like you would be useless even with a gun. I can put down a hundred people like you, easy."

'What a sharp-tongued woman! Can't she at least soften the blow?'

Zhou Qingfeng could only withdraw the gun, as he also thought stuffing the pistol in his belt looked stupid. Only Black African uncles who could not fight would do something like that. 

Catarina drove a Rover SUV out of the basement for the occasion. The car ran smoothly and silently but with aplomb thanks to its strong electrical drive motor. They cruised past several streets before they found a Target store nearby.

The process of purchasing guns was slightly more cumbersome for the average American. They were required to submit an application and let themselves be investigated. Purchasing ammo was significantly easier. Those could be found in any supermarket. Catarina could have bought them online, but she had stayed at home for the entire morning, so she was eager to come out for a trip.

When they drove into the Target parking lot, Catarina wanted to purchase her bullets and leave, but the ravenous Zhou Qingfeng spotted a Mcdonald's nearby the parking lot. He briefly told Catarina that he was going to "buy something to eat" and left with big strides.

When he walked to the shop entrance, Zhou Qingfeng discovered that this fast food outlet was greatly different from what he was used to back in his home country. There was no wide, brightly-lit counter, no neat and comfortable seats, and no waitresses with sweet smiles. There were only two counters, protected by steel gates and bulletproof glass. 

One for payment, and another for meal pickup. Simple as that. It was Zhou Qingfeng's first time seeing a Mcdonald's that looked like that. Was this a New York specialty?

"Hey, young man, whaddya want?" A fat white woman was sitting behind the counter. Her attitude was rather rude.

"I'll have a Big Mac Value Meal." Zhou Qingfeng stuffed some cash into the counter. His food came out from another window. Before he could take a few bites, someone approached him from behind. "Hi, kid. You don't mind giving me some money, do you?"

F*ck! Zhou Qingfeng turned his head back to look and was startled. A black man had docked a gun on his waist. His dark face was glinting with malice.

'F*cking hell, this is Brooklyn all right, the place with the worst security in New York! Criminals and thugs everywhere. I got robbed in broad daylight, while eating a hamburger!

'Is this reasonable? Is this the right thing to do? The crux of it is that this isn't within my plans!'