Free Web NovelChapter 48: The largest zombie zone
Ten minutes later, the vehicle pulled into the massive, sprawling parking lot of the 24-hour hypermarket.
April and Alexander were already done licking their fingers by then and the can of water and soda were already emptied.
Looking at the towering glass facade and the neon signage, April’s expression turned deeply analytical.
In her past life, this very parking lot had been a blood-soaked graveyard. Because of its massive inventory, thousands of desperate citizens had swarmed it during the initial outbreak, turning it into one of the most heavily infested, claustrophobic death traps in the commercial district.
And yet... people still kept coming.
What could they do? They needed food to survive even at the risk of being eaten by zombies.
But that was all in the past. Tonight, it was just a brightly lit grocery store and it wouldn’t get bad until the apocalypse began.
"Let’s go," April commanded, stepping out of the car.
She fully intended to shop like a normal person to avoid drawing unnecessary attention from the late-night cashiers. However, her definition of ’normal’ quickly went out the window the moment her eyes fell on the sweet snacks and candy aisles.
Her survivalist hoarding instincts flared up alongside her sweet tooth.
Within fifteen minutes, Samuel and Alexander were forced to push three separate, deeply rolling shopping carts, and April was ruthlessly dumping entire shelves of junk food, chocolates, and sugary snacks into them, discarding her dignity completely.
Alexander didn’t even complain about the chaos; instead, he got caught up in the momentum, casually tossing in his own preferences of imported jerky and premium nuts.
Samuel was the only one standing there, watching this utterly bizarre method of shopping with an unreadable expression. freёwebnoѵel.com
A few late-night customers passing by were openly staring at the two immaculately dressed men in suits pushing mountains of potato chips and gummy worms behind a beautiful, intensely focused young woman.
It was so weird, but—Samuel just adjusted his tie—this was Miss April. She always did weird, inexplicable things, so he chose to simply accept it as a normal Tuesday.
"Hey, look at this," April called out, suddenly turning around and holding up two large bags of chips right in Alexander’s face. "Which flavor tastes better?"
Alexander blinked, looking closely at the packaging in her hands. One was a flaming hot spicy flavor, and the other was a sour cream and onion.
"I’d go for the spicy one," he answered confidently.
April looked at the bags, a bright, satisfied smile spreading across her face as she promptly dumped both of them into the overflowing cart.
Alexander stared at the cart, then at her. "What? If you were going to buy them both anyway, why did you even ask me?"
"Because," April replied, completely unfazed as she turned on her heel to scout the next aisle, "I needed to know which one I should taste first before I lose my interest in that brand of chips altogether. Better to start with the superior flavor, but I’m also curious about what the other one tastes like."
Alexander looked at her. Even if she had tried the sour cream and onion, her curiosity would’ve made her eat the spicy flavor regardless of what she thought of the first. She was strange.
But he chuckled under his breath, shaking his head as he pushed the heavy cart forward.
For a moment, Alexander completely forgot about the corporate war waiting for him tomorrow. And right beside him, Samuel gripped the handle of his own cart, his mind entirely occupied by the sheer logistics of navigating April’s massive snack haul, the phantom weight of his heartbreak temporarily buried under a mountain of potato chips.
They finally rolled the three towering shopping carts toward the checkout lanes, and the carts practically groaned under the weight of hundreds of bags of chips, boxes of chocolates, and assorted junk food.
As they walked, April fell into step beside Samuel, her playful demeanor instantly vanishing, replaced by the cool, sharp focus of a woman planning a war.
"Samuel," April began, keeping her voice low enough that the nearby shoppers wouldn’t overhear. "What about the pharmaceutical holdings I asked you to look into?"
She had her entire schedule meticulously mapped out.
Tomorrow was dedicated to locking down furniture, appliances, and heavy-duty survival gear. The day after that would be strictly for securing bulk medicines and emergency medical supplies. And the day after that, she would finally dive into real estate to find the perfect, strategically viable position in the city to build her impenetrable fortress before the world went to hell.
Samuel, displaying the flawless professionalism that made him indispensable, answered without a moment’s hesitation.
"I already have a few top-tier pharmaceutical distributors sorted out, Miss April. However, there is a legal hurdle." He said. "In order for an individual to make large, bulk purchases of restricted medicine and specialized medical supplies without raising red flags with the federal authorities, you need proper clearance. To bypass that, you would need to route the transactions either through Mr. Reed’s private medical team... or through the most successful, highly connected surgeon in the country, Dr. Oliver Baxter."
April tilted her head. "Which path is easier?"
"Going through Mr. Reed’s medical team, by far," Samuel replied instantly. "Dr. Oliver Baxter is notoriously difficult to deal with. He is widely known to be rude, unapologetic, and completely indifferent to wealth. He doesn’t even spare two glances at the rich or powerful. All he cares about is performing his duty as a surgeon and running the largest hospital in the city. And unfortunately for anyone trying to humble him, he definitely has the genius-level talent to back up his arrogance."
April paused, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully as she processed the name. Oliver Baxter... She racked her brain, but she didn’t recall this man from her past life. Of course, back then, she had been a low-level survivor fighting for scraps, not rubbing elbows with the medical elite before the outbreak.
Is he a billionaire? she wondered. His traits sounded suspiciously like those arrogant, untouchable male leads waiting to be knocked down a peg in a dramatic webnovel. And if he controlled the largest hospital and medical supply chain in the city, he was someone she absolutely needed to know.
"Samuel," April called out, a faint, calculating smirk playing on her lips. "I’m going to need a complete, detailed dossier on Oliver Baxter."
Samuel opened his mouth to ask the obvious question—why not just take the easy route through Xavier Reed?—but the moment his eyes met hers, he stopped himself.
Seeing that familiar, deeply conspiring expression in her sharp eyes, he just knew she was planning something again. It was something massive, something complex, and something his rational corporate brain could not yet comprehend.
Instead of questioning her, he simply bowed his head slightly. "Yes, Miss April. I will have the complete information ready for you by morning."
"Good."
